Below is a significant presentation that I was recently directed toward. If you’ve ever felt as though you lacked confidence in your faith, this MAY feed your spirit.
Michael Ramsden: A Fresh Approach to Witness
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Category Archives: Faith
Inspiration from John Wesley
Researching recently a bit about John Wesley, I came upon this line:
“Though his understanding of both justification and the assurance varied throughout his life, Wesley never stopped preaching the importance of faith for salvation and the witness of God’s Spirit with the belief that one was, indeed, a child of God.”
Wesley would accurately be called a heavyweight in church history–a figure of influence and impact with lasting (and labeled) influence being seen still in the Methodist movement and the Holiness movement. All that to say: This is a big fellow in the history of Christianity, with a sharp mind and a robust faith.
Yet the quote above speaks to movement and variance in his faith. There was journey, and not always in a steady, upward direction.
And that makes me smile a small smile, for that is my road too. And for all the stress that I have felt from times of uncertainty, longing for firmer ground and a steadier spirit, it appears that God is quite able to use such wobbly folks as this.
I’m grateful that this is so.
Why Faith is Hard
Henri Nouwen says it this way:
“The movement from illusion to prayer is hard to make since it leads us from false certainties to true uncertainties, from an easy support system to a risky surrender, and from the many ‘safe’ gods to the God whose love has no limits.”
Yeah, that about sums up the struggle of my journey so far!
Faith
Here’s a bit from Charles de Foucauld’s work, “Meditations of a Hermit”:
“Our Lord asks great faith from us, and he is right. We owe him great faith. After our Lord said, ‘Come’ to him, Peter had no more fear and walked upon the waters. So that when Jesus has quite certainly called us to certain circumstances in life, given us a certain vocation, we need fear nothing, but should attack the most insurmountable obstacles without hesitation.”
In case your spiritual life was in a mode where you needed to hear the word “attack”, consider yourself served… by a hermit.
Attracted to Weakness
My watch says that 2010 has less than thirty hours remaining in its existence. In considering what I want from 2011, I’ve observed a steady strand running through flashing thoughts.
In the year ahead, I am craving God’s touch.
I am seeking to seek more. I am longing for courage to walk long paths. To pray more real-ly, to humbly invite God’s Spirit, to shut down foolish interruptions and to tune in quietly: These mark the strand I speak of.
Certainly, these words of Jim Cymbala’s fit as well:
“I discovered an astonishing truth: God is attracted to weakness. He can’t resist those who humbly and honestly admit how desperately they need him. Our weakness, in fact, makes room for his power.”
That’s what it is.
I could ramble and write for hours, but it would all come down to five words.
I want to make room.