Posted on by Christina Adams

How to Handle the Idea ‘What if I pray for God to act, but He doesn’t?’

Have you ever prayed and then waited for an answer that never seemed to come? I know I have. Not knowing if God will answer can almost be worse than God saying ‘no,’ because you don’t know where you stand with God. It can be easy to let questions like, ‘Am I doing something wrong?’ ‘Did God even hear?’ and ‘Does God care?’ to fill your mind.

So, what do you do with the idea ‘what if I pray for God to act, but He doesn’t’?

This is a question I have struggled with myself. And it really put my mind in this place where it was difficult to pray. I mean what’s the point of praying if God’s not going to answer my prayers anyway? But this isn’t the way to approach prayer at all and I’d like to share with you some of the things I learned that pulled me out of the prayerless pit and set me on a better path. Here are three simple ways you can face the idea that God could act but might not.

First, realize that the question of whether God will act to answer a prayer is a fear issue.

We want to ask God to help, but we don’t actually think He will. We are afraid that God does not care as much about our request as we do or that God will not look favorably on our request. This kind of fear becomes especially true when we think of the safety of those we love or if there is an outcome we really want. It is the strength of the want that can make it seem like that is the very reason why we won’t get what we hope because we also know that God wants us to want Him more than any other thing.

This then, is a fear issue with God. Fear issues are a form of not trusting, so ultimately when we think this we are not trusting God. But we’re not trusting God because we don’t really know if we can trust Him. Which means there is an easy solution. We just need to know more about God. The more we know about God and His character, the more we will know we can trust Him, even when we don’t get what we want.

Second, know that the question of whether God will act does not come from a biblical worldview.

Doubting whether God will act comes from an uncertainty with our own standing with Him. We know God CAN act, we just don’t know IF He will.

A biblical worldview says: God exists, God is kind, loving, just, cares for all He has made, and He is involved in the smallest details constantly. God is already acting and probably acting on several different levels in the situation because sometimes it is not a matter of solving an issue as much as it is preparing the asker for the matter to be solved.

A biblical worldview says that this earth is a completely safe place for us and our loved ones, not because bad things will not happen to us or those we love, but because God will give us strength to survive anything that might happen and He will restore to us all we have lost and more at the right time when we are with Him.

Now a biblical Worldview will also say that you and I have a responsibility to take initiative and to prevent pain and suffering if we can, because to do so is to act in the character and will of God Himself. It is to join Him in what He is already doing. To comfort others with the comfort God has given us. Sometimes God is not acting in our area of request because we need to be doing something too.

Third, it is most important to realize that if God can answer our prayers in a positive way He will.

This statement assumes we’re asking God for things that God would approve of and that the Bible has examples of Him blessing. i.e. if we’re praying that God will help us hide our drugs during a sting operation, or that God will help us sneak out of the store with stolen items in our pockets, or that God will bless our porn business, that is not going to happen because we are already acting in ways that God does not support.

God knows how to give good gifts to His children. He will answer our prayers and bless our answers, unless He knows, because of His deep understanding of those involved and the time we are living in, that more good, greater virtue and richer blessing, will come from not answering that prayer in the way we asked. So, when we do not get what we think is good, we know that God must know more than we do about what is really good. This knowledge really frees us to always ask for what we want, but to also always submit our requests to God’s own discretion.

While it may still be difficult to trust that God will act, choosing to expect that He will is an act of trust. Trusting in God is a much easier way to live than to live in fear and distrust that God will act or act in a way that is good.

What about you? Have you ever struggled with the idea that God can act but might not? What one of these three do you relate to the most?

Also, if you would like to grow your trust in God, I have a Step-by-Step 4 Week Plan to Trusting God along with other helps that I would love to give you. Just enter your e-mail address below!

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Posted on by Christina Adams · 1 Comment

Pacifism vs. War

The debate over whether pacifism is biblical or whether the war is ever justified is a debate that has been going on for centuries. I discovered more of the nuance behind these positions when I wrote a paper on the just war theory and pacifism. For myself, I have always been more on the war side, but there are some good points that pacifism makes that should still be considered. Here are generally the extremes of the different sides:

Pacifists tend to claim that Jesus said we should turn the other cheek, that whoever uses the sword dies by the sword, that one of the commandments says do not kill, and that we ought to love our enemies as they are killing us or our loved ones. Thus, a pacifist would rather be murdered than to cause harm to an aggressor even if there were the means to defend a life the pacifist would not use them because it would not be loving. There is often an over-emphasis on love.

Proponents of war tend to claim that human nature is evil and that sometimes action is required to stop evil or to preemptively curb evil tendencies, that evil should be stopped even if it causes the death and possible eternal damnation of the aggressor, that to see oppression and not act is also evil, and that by stopping an aggressor it is most loving to others to keep them from being further harmed. Thus, a proponent of war is fine with everyone carrying a weapon and with stiff penalties for violent crimes because those could prevent future violence. There is often an over-emphasis on justice.

Errors with These Positions Use of the Bible

For Pacifism: Yes, the Bible does say to turn the other cheek. But the Bible does not say to turn someone else’s cheek. We are never to watch violence being done to others and not act. Also, both Jesus and Paul rebuked those who slapped them during their trials and so there is more behind what Jesus was saying about turning the other cheek than to always allow others to slap you twice.

Yes, Jesus does say that those who live by the sword die by the sword, but Jesus also told His disciples to buy a sword for that same night. Also, living by the sword is not the same as carrying a sword. It is possible to carry a sword, to use it, and to not live by it. Our source of life should be Christ, and if I am trusting in Him, I am living by Him even as I use a sword. Swords and guns are not in themselves intrinsically evil objects. How they are used is when evil or good can be done. A gun used to protect a child from harm is being used in a good way. A gun used to kill a child is being used in an evil way.

No, the Bible does NOT say you shall not kill. This is a translation error. Even ‘you shall not murder’ is debatable, but it is closer to the original intent. The point is that the carelessness and evil intention that leads to the death of an innocent is wrong. But having an intruder in your home that you use violence to stop is not violating the Ten Commandments, nor is going to war itself violating the Ten Commandments, and neither is the death penalty violating the Ten Commandments. As with all of God’s commands, our intention and motivation has more to do with it than our actions. Having contempt and wishing harm on others is wrong, but having to kill someone you would prefer not to kill in order to help others is not wrong.

Loving others never means allowing them to do evil to victims. Loving aggressors can mean that we stand up to them with graciousness and kindness, but to rebuke or warn or physically stop them can also be loving.

Finally in pacifism individual value is at stake. Every person has value, including Christians. While it is true that Christians ought to be at a place where they are confident enough in their own value that they can peacefully resist an aggressor or allow an aggressor to kill them for their belief in Christ, the pacifist position tends to over-value the aggressor’s value and under-value a fellow Christian’s value. Holding a weapon does not ensure the death of the aggressor or that a dying aggressor cannot be saved in his final moments.

For Proponents of War: Not all situations require violent solutions. The death of the aggressor should not be enjoyed or rejoiced over. This one is big since it can seem like Christians who are willing to protect and defend are only too willing to speak of aggressors in a way that diminishes or invalidates the value of the aggressor who is still made in the image of God. We are still called to love our enemies and to season our speech with grace.

Problems with Both Positions

Pacifism loves the aggressor at the cost of ‘hating’ the victims. While yes, it is important to love our enemies, to love our enemies while allowing them to hurt others by inaction or ineffective action is wrong. It is not loving to an enemy to give them more victims by standing in their way or requesting to be killed also. Nor is it loving to trade your spouse’s or children’s lives for the sake of an aggressor’s life even if you know the former will be with God in death. This choice to actively not protect your family is an active refusal to care for what God has given to you.

Pacifists also tend to take words that were given to disciples of Christ and apply them to others who do not follow Christ and apply them even more so to nations. If Jesus’ statement that we should turn the other cheek is applied on a national scale, then aggressive nations will become more and more aggressive. Why shouldn’t they as there is now nothing standing in their way? And they will be much harder to stop. Having weapons prevents war on the grand scale, just as having a parent in the room with eyes on their children prevents certain acts of violence from happening that would not be restrained if the parent stepped out.

Pacifists tend to ignore the fact that some people are complicit with evil and are fully dedicated to acting out the evil they have planned. Again, this is easy to see with young children. Two children fighting over a toy are not going to be reasonable nor can they be reasoned with. They simply have to be stopped. But children are easy to pick up and carry away. Grown adults are not and they have the same desires and impulses to get their own way that children have. Thus, if they are to be stopped, greater force is needed to keep them from harming others.

Proponents of war love the victims at the cost of ‘hating’ the aggressor. This can lead to vilifying all aggressors in such a way that it dehumanizes them. It should not be so easy to end a life without a care that the life could be eternally damned as a result. We are still called to love our enemy and it is possible to be loving toward them while still stopping their evil. We do not have to hate in order to kill. We can love them, ask God to give them an opportunity to hear the truth, stop them, and care for them or do what we can in their final moments.

What Both Positions Get Right

There are indeed times when a non-aggressive response is absolutely the best kind of response. Sometimes aggressors just need to be jolted out of their current mindset to realize what they are about to do. There are many stories where a person was able to prevent an evil act just by asking a random question or getting to know the aggressor or being able to humanize themselves. This is wonderful when it can happen. But this kind of scenario is not always the case.

There are other times when the aggressor absolutely knows what he is planning to do, he knows it is evil, and he does not care. He will be just as happy to harm a new victim as all the others. This kind of situation requires the aggressor to be physically stopped and that is the only loving thing to do for the aggressor and for potential victims.

God does want all to come to repentance and He does want the aggressor to repent. But God also knows if a person is willing to repent and there are some who have been given many opportunities but are hardened and unwilling to repent. Also, God has given aid to those who asked and only respond peacefully, and He has given aid to those who asked and respond with violence.

Basically, it is always good to think through a position. Not every side gets it right on every point. This is why it is so important to look to God first rather than to a side. But in this case, I would say that pacifism gets the love of our enemies right and proponents of war get stopping evil right. But what about you? What do you think each side gets right?

Posted on by Christina Adams · 3 Comments

Is the Villain Better Than the Hero?

Is the Villain Better Than the Hero?

Have you ever noticed that a common frustration a protagonist will have is that the hero cannot break rules whereas the villain can? All because the villain can kill and destroy to get what they want. The good guys are trapped into always having to do the right thing and obeying the law, which is boring and not as fun. I have frequently heard that, for actors, villains are more fun to play because there is more nuance to the villain’s character. This idea of the depth, interest, and complexity of the villain is the thread that often permeates hero/villain movies, shows, and books. All the while the hero is little more than a necessary aspect to the story to create conflict.

When I thought about this question, as an artist, I at first automatically assumed that the villain is indeed more interesting than the hero, after all, that was what all the writing books I was reading said and all the people who spoke about heroes and villains insinuated. The hero is often mocked for being good. Thus there is this struggle among writers to make the hero more ‘conflicted,’ more ‘interesting,’ and perhaps more like bad so that the hero will at least be somewhat relatable to the audience. This is also perhaps why the language in the writing world switched from calling the main character the ‘hero’ to the ‘protagonist,’ but more on that later.

At writers’ conferences all these workshops are created to teach new writers how to put flaws in their characters, to keep their protagonists from being too ‘perfect’ or to find a way to turn a strength and a good into a flaw, a weakness, a crutch. If characters are kind, then they are also easy to take advantage of. If they are care about an outcome, then they can be blinded to other possibilities from caring too much. If they are honest, then they are gullible. If they are self-less, then they give too much of themselves and over-extend. There could never be a character that did good completely because there had to be a flaw otherwise readers would never connect to the character.

Then I tried to create characters that were good and relatable—but not too good. Yet as I read YA novels or saw titles for books or watched previews for shows I noticed that the market’s heart was not with a good, heroic character at all. Wicked, Maleficent, Lucifer, Dexter, and more, were all focused on a villain as the protagonist, or anti-hero.

All of these stories make us, as the audience, root for the villain. You’re sympathetic to the villain and see that they ‘had’ to be mean or do evil because of the wrongs done to them in their past or because of who they are. This is actually why when story creators talk about the main character of a story, they now use the words protagonist and antagonist instead of hero and villain, because the protagonist could be an anti-hero, that is a main character with little to no redeeming traits. The anti-hero then needs someone to challenge him which would then make the hero the antagonist/’villain,’ or anti-villain, unless the antagonist to the anti-hero is an even worse villain.

If we begin to look at the modern hero and also to look at goodness itself. Part of the issue with the ‘who is better: villain or hero’ question is that we as a society actually know what the worst villains look like. If there was a pendulum that swung from hero to villain, we are very familiar with all the stages of a villain.

Once a character has killed a few people in cold blood, what is left for such a character to do to top that kind of evil. It’s basically the same. Stabbing an enemy and stabbing a friend just means the main character has no moral limits and it’s now a numbers game of how many people are going to be stabbed or whether the villain might be foiled in stabbing a potential victim. In fact, such a character in such a story becomes predictable. The only hook left is whether this new character or that new character will die next or how gruesome the death will be.

This story type does not have a gripping kind of hook. It is now a story where the inevitable is that characters will die. It’s akin to the story of a man whose arteries are clogged and who eats a greasy cheeseburger each chapter or episode ending with the hook, ‘Is this the meal that kills him…?’ We might be interested in such a story only because of our own morbid curiosity or the way the author portrays the scene rather than because the story itself is truly an interesting and engaging story.

In the pendulum swing from hero to villain we are also familiar with all the stages of a character who is part good and part evil. This protagonist hybrid of good and evil is the kind of ‘hero’ who keeps all the rules but one or two and only when the situation calls for that rule to be broken. Or the kind who longs to keep all the rules but has to ‘regretfully’ break them in order to keep up with the villain who arranges the situation so that the rules have to be broken (where the good ends justify the evil means). Or the kind who does good but has moral flaws in other areas that taint the good done.

The hero who complains, or mentions with frustration, that he has to keep the rules when the villain gets to break them is barely a hero at all. That is level one hero mentality. It is a hero with one foot already in villainy: it is complaining, it is a poor view of the benefits of good and a rich view of the ‘benefits’ of evil, and it is, at heart, a reluctance to do good or to keep doing good in the first place.

A hero who is reluctant to do good is no hero at all. A hero who sees or justifies murder, theft, lying, or destruction as viable options of action is not a real hero, even if it is ‘just this once.’ Thus, we often have been given flabby, weak heroes and slow, indecisive heroes unequal to the task of facing dedicated and determined evil villains. It is little wonder that villainy seems greater and more interesting than the modern idea of a ‘hero.’

So, we know about the depths of the villain and the middle conflict between good and evil, but as a society we actually know very little about the heights of a truly good hero. The opposite side of the pendulum swing from the villain is in reality a mystery. We do not know much about the hero’s struggle to stay good once the temptation to break the rules is no longer a temptation. Nor do we know much about the push for deeper and greater goodness that comes once one truly has no interest in evil.

Good is not refraining from evil. It is never considering evil as an option in the first place because someone who is truly good understands the pain that is caused by evil. Goodness stands confidently in the position that doing what is right despite what might be felt or what injustice could be quickly self-resolved is always the best opinion with the greater results. Goodness is willing to fight and to stop evil, but it is also willing to purge the evil from those controlled by it and to love them out of their bondage. Goodness is unwilling to destroy its own soul for a temporary fix.

We often have stories where heroes could actually become truly good, but we stop a few miles from that destination or right at the point of almost reaching it. Perhaps it is assumed that a story where the protagonists learns to commit one good act is the best kind of story because it keeps the protagonist in almost a constant middle hero stage and then barely raises him to good before quickly slamming the curtains shut.

What of the hero who does not struggle to do what is right, but instead struggles to do what is right better or whose struggle is not to tell the truth once but to never tell a lie? What of the hero who is poor during a time of famine, but never considers stealing? What of the hero who has all the power needed to crush others to get his/her way and never uses it to hurt others even when it would be the quickest solution?

If you have ever known a person you considered to be a seriously good person, have you ever known that person to think that he/she was seriously good? Or did they point to someone else they think is good or mention their own areas of ‘badness’ that they think would disqualify themselves, like ‘I’m not as humble/patient/kind/good/loving as I should be.’

The interesting thing about this tendency is that if you do meet a person who can tell you they are good, you instantly, and perhaps correctly, assume that they are not as good as they think. So why is it that good people don’t think of themselves as good? Is it because there is a limit to how evil and depraved a person can be, but no limit to how good and caring a person can be? That once an evil act has been done it can never be undone, but once a good act has been done it needs to be repeated over and over? That selfishness is automatic, but self-lessness itself is a continual battle that only the best of the best perseveres to fight?

So, is the villain better than the hero? At this point, it seems honestly hard to tell because we have rarely, if ever, seen a true hero in action. The heights of what a true hero should be have not been fully climbed. To make an accurate comparison we would have to see both to the extreme, but we already know what an extreme villain is. It’s time, then, to consider the extreme hero.

Posted on by Christina Adams

Why is it Hard to Trust God?

Everyone’s reason is not going to be the same for why it is hard to trust God. But there are certain patterns that tend to be more popular than others. Here are the top three reasons why trusting God is hard:

  1. Desiring to Stay in Control

The desire to control things in life makes it difficult to trust God because by the definition of trusting God we have to let go of our own ability to control things. This can be very scary for some people. Often we can use control over certain things as a coping mechanism to help us to feel safe. And there are legitimate historical reasons for not wanting God to be in control of our lives because real people who trust Him have been thrown to lions, tossed in rivers and flames, had loved ones die horribly, or had their car break down on their way to something important. Secretly we know that if we trust God, He could, and at some point probably would, take us to places where we experience things we could have avoided by not following Him there. So it becomes easier to shrink our circles of comfortability and try to control all we can to keep the status quo.

2. Being Overwhelmed by Fears

Having fears is very similar to wanting to stay in control, but with this one, fears and focusing on fears are what keep us from trusting God. Instead of saying in our minds that we want to trust God, we focus again and again on our fears until our fears are more real to us than we could be without them. The fear actually becomes our reality and letting our fears go would destroy the world we want, and yet hate, to live in. We want to be free of fear, but we exist in a fearful state creating a pattern of thought that requires a lot of time and mental reprogramming to break out of.

3. Not Trying to Trust God

Not trying to trust God is ultimately the biggest reason why it is hard to trust God. Have you ever stood at the edge of a cliff or pool or on a plane with an open door ready for you to jump out? If you stand there and look at the edge, the water or open, empty space under you, the longer you look the easier it is to talk yourself out of taking that first step. And if your first step led to an unpleasant experience, it can be harder to take the second step. The main reason why most people, even those would are controlling and fearful, don’t have more trust in God is because they have not really, actively tried to have trust in God. If all we do is bemoan the fact we don’t have trust, we will never grow trust because we haven’t done anything that will help us change from someone who does not trust God to someone who does.

Now, it is important to note here that trusting God is also much easier to do when there is someone giving us direction on how to do it. Imagine not knowing how to swim and standing at the edge of the deep end with no one else there to catch you or direct your movements. This is often how it is. Yes, Jesus is always right there with us and He is speaking directions to us, but if we don’t know how to hear Him or we are ignoring Him, it won’t help us. We learn best through experiences and that is often the best way that Jesus can teach us, because we know how to listen to those. Still, experiences can make us gun shy and reluctant to try things again.

Trusting in God is always the best place to be, but it does take time to get there. What about you? Which of these three do you relate to? Write me a comment below and tell me about it!

Also, if you would like to grow your trust in God I have a Step-by-Step 4 Week Plan to Trusting God along with other helps that I would love to give you. Just enter your e-mail address below!

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Posted on by Christina Adams

Does God Care About Theological Differences?

Predestination is the only biblical explanation.
No, free will exists throughout the Bible.

You should baptize your infant.
Not at all. Unless you can state what you believe, you haven’t been baptized.

God exists with and experiences time with us.
That is a false view of God who is clearly outside of time.

God is holy, just, and full of wrath.
That makes God too mean, rather God is love.

Inside the church there are many differences of interpretation and opinion on theological positions. Some of these differences are bigger than others and some are more heated than others. But do the positions actually matter?

There are some people who throw their hands up in the air despairing of ever knowing the truth because both sides will use the Bible to prove their points. It can be easy to just want to say, “Both sides just need to get along” or “It doesn’t really matter” or “The Bible says not to get involved in meaningless debates.” Yet is it meaningless?

First, it is important to know what is going on behind these theological debates. What is often being argued behind the scenes is a way of understanding God and thus the world and reality we live in. This is ultimately an important debate because our ideas of God and reality affect how we live and interact with each other. Our ideas of who we think God is ultimately determine the highest goal we are aiming for ourselves. If we think God cares most about His power, then we will see a pursuit of power and position as a way of reflecting God. If we think God cares most about His humility, then we will see menial tasks as a way of reflecting God with nothing being to dirty or unimportant for us to do. In this way these debates are in fact very important. Not just for the people involved, but more importantly for the person who is just beginning to be exposed to them and who may soon pick a side that will change his character for the better or worse.  

Second, it is also important to note that many of these debates are over contradictory ideas or views. Meaning that it is not possible for both to be right and for us to live in a rational world. If I have been predestined from before time began to say yes to God’s salvation on a specific day, then when that day to say yes comes, it cannot be a choice where I have the option of saying no if it is truly fixed. That would be a contradiction. This is not necessarily true for all theological debates, for instance the baptism debate is more of a traditional/historical debate that will not affect real world implications as much as a view on whether God’s primary motivation toward humanity is one of love or of hatred for sin. So, in this since, if we live in a world where certain laws and traits have been fixed, then we also live in a world where contradictory positions cannot both be right. I cannot both sit and stand at the same time. I cannot be both free to choose between two options and limited to only picking one option. God cannot be atemporal and completely viewing the world from outside of time so that He is always viewing all times at once and so intimately engaged with this moment that He is emotionally affected or surprised by it.

Third, now this does not mean that in arguments over free will/predestination, time, or God’s character, etc., that the two sides presented are the only options we have or that could ever exist. Just because two sides are arguing does not mean that one side has to be right. It is entirely plausible that both sides are wrong or have some areas where both are right and others where both are wrong. Nor does it mean that there could not be a way to remove the contradiction for certain arguments like God could be both angry and loving since anger itself is a means of wanting to protect from harm and love also wants to protect from harm. So, He could be loving sinners by wanting what is best for their souls and angry over the way they hurt each other which leads Him to stop them. But if there really is a contradiction, only one side or neither can be an accurate reflection of reality.

But does God care about theological differences? The answer would be both yes and no. It can depend on the debate, but no theological ideas themselves are not an obstacle to a relationship with God. In general God is a generous and gracious God who wants all to have life with Him. Historically too, it is important to remember, that God was saving souls that believed the earth was flat for thousands of years and it’s possible He is still accepting people who believe, despite strong evidence, that the earth is flat. God will accept people who believe they had absolutely nothing to do with their salvation and people who believe that they of their own will decided to follow Jesus. God will save all He wants to save despite what they might say they believe or despite what issues they live out, because that is the kind of God He is.

However, while God cares more about you and I and how much we love Him and each other, He does also care about ideas because our ideas are directly connected to how we live. Not all ideas are equal. Some ideas bring life abundantly with wholeness and joy as a byproduct, some ideas are harmless with only minor effects or inconveniences on a human life, but other ideas when lived out can destroy lives and cause intense suffering to them and everyone around them. Such wrong ideas whether they are popular or well-argued will always have opposition to them for the simple reason that God knows those ideas cause pain and suffering and He resists them.

Still, we can have most of our ideas be wrong, yet if we have a relationship with God and He has one with us, then we will one day wake up to discover reality as God sees it. We will all rejoice at our acceptance of good ideas, shrug at our mediocre ideas, and cringe at our wrong ideas. All of our wrong ideas will fail, and we will have to adjust what we think is right to what really is right. It is in that reality that our lives will continue forever.

Until then, it is important to hold on to ideas loosely for one day we may have to give them up. But the ideas that matter most, are the ideas we have about God and reality. While we should always treat each other with love and present our case with gentleness and respect, love is not silent. Sometimes the most loving thing you can do is to present another side to the wrong ideas others are touting so that those who haven’t decided yet can hear another option.

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Posted on by Christina Adams

What is Trust in God?

What is trust in God? It seems like such a simple question that it ought to have a simple answer, but where the answer itself is pretty simple, the application is less so.

Trust in God is living your life under the expectation that God is real and actively engaged in what you are doing with Him.

This means that you wake up with God, eat breakfast with God, go to work with God, engage with others with God, and end your day with God. All your cares and concerns are brought to Him. He is the counsel for all your successes and failures. Your life, the source of your energy and satisfaction, are bound up and intertwined in Him so that you no longer know how to function without Him. That is trust in God.

Now, trusting in God is not an all or nothing activity. It is more of a sliding scale that is either progressing to greater heights or declining to lower depths. God is always ready and willing to meet anyone wherever they may be, however trusting Him is also an activity where we have a degree of control. We can always choose to trust or not to trust in any or every situation. We can also choose to ask God for more trust.

Trusting in God grows with time and practice. The more you actively engage in trusting Him, the more and more your trust in Him will grow. This is because trust, even among human relationships, requires time and experience. The more experiences you have the more confidence you will have from those experiences because you have begun to see how God works in your life and you are more able to recognize Him working.

So, if you don’t have a lot of trust in God right now, that is okay because you can do something about it. Today could be the day you have the least amount of trust in God because every day from now your trust grows and grows!

If you would like a practical plan for growing your trust in God check out the link below! And if you try the steps given on trusting God, be sure to tell me how it went!!

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Posted on by Christina Adams

A Story of Two Paths

Not too long ago there were two brothers who were planning to make a trip. While the younger brother was delayed by work, the older brother packed all his suitcases and set off. He came to a packed city with tourist attractions and had to weave through the crowds just to get to his hotel. One his way he kept seeing signed about a glorious mountain that had a secret path to the best view in the whole city. He paused by one of the flyers and a old man saw him.

“Sir, I don’t say this to everyone, but I have picked you. I will show you where the secret path is and you will be so amazed at the beautiful sight,” the old man said.

“That sounds wonderful!” the brother said. He quickly dropped his stuff in his room and met the old man at the hotel door.

“This way,” the old man said and he moved with great agility through the masses.

The older brother hurried to keep up with him, but the old man was never too far ahead so as to lose him. They walked past a building next to an abandon lot that was covered with small trees and overgrown grass. The brother planned to walk right by, but the old man motioned toward the grass and it seemed to the brother that maybe there was a small trail through the grass.

“Just follow that trail and you will see all you hope to see and more,” the old man said.

So the brother took the trail. The mountain seemed too far, but it was also right behind the lot which meant it was at least the right direction. At any point where the trail seemed to stop the brother was able to see where it started up again farther away and he followed it for a few minutes before realizing that the old man was no longer with him. Still he stayed on the trail as it started to angle up and was soon high enough to look back on the city. But he pressed on until as he drew near the top of the mountain the trees cleared away and there the brother caught his breath at the sight.

The whole city lay before him in sparkling wonder. The roads, the buildings, and the whole surrounding area was laid out in living color and with such clarity that he felt like he could make out more details than seemed possible. He could see the individuals walking in the glass skyscrapers like he was only 20 feet away. He could see small houses on the other side of the city and could almost make out the red flags on their mailboxes. Then there right below him was the vacant lot with leaves and blades of grass each blowing in the wind.

There were people walking down all the road passing by the vacant lot and ignoring it like he would have. But the old man had shown him the path and kept him safely to it. There was no reason why the old man had picked to him to find the path when all the other people could have been told too, at least none that the brother knew about. The brother knew that it was only by the preference of the old man that he had been blessed with that sight. There was nothing special about him at all. He was just like all those other people walking by the trail they could not see because the old man had not pointed it out to them, yet despite it all there he was able to enjoy everything below.

Now, the younger brother was only delayed shortly and he too arrived in the city. Like his older brother he too saw the advertisements and was instantly intrigued by the glorious mountain view. He found his hotel room and dropped off his bags, but the mountain view stayed in his mind and he set out about the city to learn more. He had not gone far when he heard a voice calling out, “Come see the mountain view! Best sight of the city.”

There was an old man holding one of the flyers the younger brother had seen.

“Directions to the path all here! Come see the mountain view,” the old man’s gaze turned to the younger brother. “Do you want to see the mountain view?”

“Yes, I do!”

“This way! Follow me. The path is tricky to find, but I’ll show it to you.”

The younger brother followed the old man, weaving through the crowds. But as they went the old man continued to offer directions to the the mountain path. A few people looked interested, but were then distracted by other city sights. One surly woman even pushed the old man out of her way saying that she hated the mountain and the view. A young couple saw what happened, felt pity for the old man, and said they would like to go see the view. As they drew near a vacant lot, the old man paused and pointed at the grass. The younger brother thought he saw a trail going through the overgrown bushes.

“Just follow that trail and you will see all you hope to see and more,” the old man said.

The younger brother eagerly followed the trail with the couple. When the path started to angle upward the woman began complaining about wearing the wrong shoes for a hike. Eventually, although the man was reluctant, the couple turned back, but the younger brother kept going. At last, he too made it to the top of the mountain and the clearing of trees. The sight below him was three times better than he had been expecting. Everything his eyes focused on he found he could see. When he looked down at the streets he saw the surly woman still frowning, the young couple at a shoe store with the woman looking at a pair of glittering heels and the man looking up at the mountain, and the people walking by the old man standing next to the vacant lot pointing to it. But the people ignored the old man not knowing what they were missing. The sight made the younger brother sad because the path was right there only they didn’t want to climb it.

“You know,” a voice said behind the younger brother. “We’re not special.”

“What?” The younger brother turned to see the older brother leaning against a rock looking out at the view.

“We’re really not special because we were picked to find the trail.”

“What? Wait…you were picked?” the younger brother frowned.

“Yes, I was picked. The old man picked me out of the crowds and took me to the path. Weren’t you picked?”

“No, not really. The old man I met was telling everyone about it.”

“Well, why would he do that if only those he picked to know the path were going to climb it?”

“But anyone can climb the path. It’s right there where everyone can see it.”

“Yes, but not everyone does see it. So those who see the path have to be picked and they will gain this glorious view.”

“But I started climbing with a young couple and they aren’t here now.”

“What happened to them?”

“They turned back because she didn’t have the right climbing shoes.”

“See! They weren’t picked, because if they were picked they would be here by now.”

“I don’t know. The old man I knew was telling anyone who would listen how to get here. It sounds like anyone can come.”

“So, you think you’re better than everyone else because you did come and they didn’t?”

“Not at all,” the younger brother said. “Do you think you’re better than the other people down there?”

The older brother let out a laugh. “Of course not. I am just as blind as they are and I always remind myself that I don’t deserve to be here at all, except that I was picked to find the path and they weren’t.”

Author’s Note: While this story is in no way a perfect explanation of the predestination/free will debate, it’s purpose is to show the difference in how both view the world, salvation, and those who are not yet saved. Nothing theological is meant beyond that. Nor are there any deeper symbols behind any of the other elements of this story.

Which story do you find best represents the picture of salvation from the Bible? Where have these brothers differed from their real counterparts in the modern church today?

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Posted on by Christina Adams

Don’t Ask God For Yesterday’s Bread

It can be really easy to look back to a time in your life where God and you were close, where He was doing things and revealing Himself in exciting ways. But then you look back to now and wonder what happened. It is also really easy to look at the past to revivals, moves of God, or even the book of Acts and wonder why things aren’t like that now. Then you read Habakkuk 3:2 and feel a deep sense of connection with his statement that he has heard of what God has done in the past and you want to ask with him for God to renew them again in our day.

This was a mentality that I lived in for years. I grew up hearing adults speaking with longing of the Jesus Movement or various revivals that were going on, it seemed everywhere but where I was. There was even a time when I was a part of a group that met to pray for revival in our church. And revival happened, of sorts. Our worship services were great. Some nights I could feel God in the room. It wasn’t every week, but it was enough that the expectation was there. Then I left for a few months and when I came back whatever we had was gone. And then I heard people speaking longing for those days again too.

The whole experience was brought back to mind as I was wanting to enter into a deeper relationship with God recently. I was thinking about the works that God had done in the Bible and in history. It is interested that He never did the same great deed in the same way twice. I’ve heard that when Jesus healed a blind man in the Gospels not one time did He do it the same way, almost as if He were intentionally fighting off the human desire to systematize healing.

If we are honest, we know that humans have a tendency to do the same things over and over. It’s perhaps behind the reason that Moses struck the rock twice, simply because it worked the first time and it makes more sense that a striking action can bring forth water than a speaking action. I’ve known people who try to duplicate certain movement methods with the hopes of having a similar result.

However, as I was thinking all these things I also was thinking about the Lord’s Prayer how we are to ask for our daily bread. Not tomorrow’s bread or yesterday’s bread. But today’s bread. I thought about how asking God to do the exact same thing He already did long ago could seem constricting to God. He is ever creative and ever moving and doing something new.

I wondered if asking God to redo something that had been done means I was too focused on what I remembered bread looking like in the past to recognize the bread I could have now. Bread that would taste so much better today then it would tomorrow or five years from now. Bread that might lead to even better bread made just for now and for what I need now not what I needed then.

It’s scary to think that God is always moving and His works are always moving because it means I have to keep moving too. But if the price of having to move and to having to keep realizing I’m missing something because I’m still wanting to go in an old direction, means that I am always receiving fresh bread from God and I’m always with Him where He is, then that is worth it. And the more I become used to moving with God the easier it will be to keep moving with God. It’s only when I stop and watch yesterday’s bread mold over time that I loose out.

So I wrote a note and stuck it on my wall. Don’t ask God for yesterday’s bread.

Have you ever wanted God to duplicate something He has already done? Tell me about it!

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Posted on by Christina Adams

God and Reality

The idea that is most pressing on me today is the idea of God and reality. There is a part of me that wishes now that I was writing about something else, something more interesting, but God and reality matter. When a Christian approaches life he should do so from an informed view of God and His influence into reality. To lapse in this kind of approach will lead to internal confusion and run-ins with reality that could have been avoided. This is why it is important and why as Christians we should all consider how we think and what kind of worldview we might have.

What I mean is this: We all have a view of what is real. But not everything we think is real is actually real in the way we may think it is. An example is when a person thinks that they will be happy once they get a newer, better job. How many people have thought that they would be happier at a different place of employment? Probably many people have, but how many of those same people were actually happier when they did move to a new job? While detailed statistics on this topic do not exist as far as I am aware, I would be willing to bet that the number is fairly low. So, why are people who were unhappy in an old job still unhappy with a new job?

The answer is that the idea “A new job will make me happy” does not conform to reality in the way that most people expect it to and all the people who hop from job to job then have a decrease in happiness and joy because they are relying on an idea that is false. False ideas are those that lead us to experience a clash with reality and some clashes are harder than others.

We understand this idea perfectly fine when it comes to the idea of gravity because it is immediately observable. A person who thinks he can walk on air will not live long enough to convince others that his idea is true because we have all been told, and told often, that gravity not only exists, but also that we can be hurt by a misinformed belief about gravity. Yet our world and reality itself has so much more to it than laws of gravity. The problem is that we do not always recognize the cause and effect that our false ideas have in our lives and so we repeat the same mistakes expecting the results to be different.

As Christians, we believe that God created all things and that reality, the things that are real and true, are consistent with God’s character and can be known. This is huge because we are not starting from nothing and making up reality as we go. We start with God, who knows all of reality as it exists and who has made known to us how to navigate reality to the maximum benefit for ourselves as long as we are following Him. Furthermore, we start with a God who wants us to know reality and who wants us to know Him. Throughout the Old Testament, God repeatedly tells the Israelites in the Egypt and the wilderness that He will act in a tangible way so that they will know He is real. He wanted Israel to know He was real and how He acts with the purpose that they would then know and relate with Him.

The same is true today. The problem though is that many Christians have not been taught how God works and then we live in disappointment assuming that God is distant or against us. But God is working around us even when we do not see Him or attribute to Him the works that He does.

Finally, once we have come to fully trust in God and we have learned how He created reality to function, then we can confidently live our lives free from worry, free from fear, free from failure.

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Posted on by Christina Adams

Do Christians Have Rights? Part II: God

The quick answer I have now come to is yes, Christians do still have rights.

As a Christian, God is the author and preserver of our rights (indeed of all the rights of humanity). God is also the one who gives each person value. This value is a dignity that we should not allow to be tarnished on a whim. What He gives to us no one else has the right to take away without His or our permission. And what we have we should give back to God freely, not just to those who might demand it.

Now here is where we can get tangled because we have been told to give our cloak and our tunic, we have been told not to resist an evil man, we have been told to submit to others in the church and to serve. Never mind that the context for these passages are often not included when they are mentioned, but they seem to present an air-tight case for a Christian to become passive in accepting suffering or humbling at the hands of others, a lack of rights to stand upon.

However, God has not called us to wait for the world to act upon us, but to act upon it. We are called to action, to defend, to protect, to stand when everyone else would bow. How can we do both?

By remembering who holds our rights. God is the only One that we surrender our rights to. He is the only one we lay down our rights for. It is not wrong to refuse to hand over your purse, unless God whispers to you that you should. It is not wrong to protect your life, even at the loss of another person’s life. After all, if Jesus only came to die then Herod would have fulfilled that purpose before Jesus was three. But Jesus escaped from Herod’s grasp at the loss of many boys his age. It was not wrong for Jesus to flee. Nor would it have been right for Him as a two-year-old to run to the gate at Bethlehem and allow the soldiers to trample Him for the sake of sparing all the other boys.

God has a plan and a purpose for our lives and we should not be foolish with His gift. He has given us value and possessions so that we may learn through our caring of them how to live with Him. Yes, we may come to a point in our lives where we are just as content to walk around barefoot as we are to walk around in new shoes, but the person who has no shoes is not necessarily a better Christian than the one who has new shoes.

Freedom and rights are a gift. They exist whether the state or others acknowledge them or not. But they also have to be used and used wisely.