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This devotional was written by Robin Dugall
But I said to you that you have seen Me, and yet do not believe.—John 6:36
“To stand on one leg and prove God’s existence is a very different thing from going on one’s knees and thanking Him.” Søren Kierkegaard (1813-1855)
“Prove it!” I heard that phrase numerous times when I was a small child. When children get together, there are often stories being told that would best be regarded as “tale tales.” That’s why we learn at a young age that we want proof. Don’t tell me what I should believe is real or not real…prove it! Don’t tell me that the man next door keeps an elephant in his garage…prove it! That’s how many of us learned when we were children. We wanted proof! We wanted to put our hands on it, to taste it, to see it, to experience something that was real, or else it was just a fantasy.
It doesn’t take too much of a stretch of imagination to see how the “prove it” attitude comes sneaking into our understanding of God. If something had to be proved real when we were small, innocent, and naïve, it had to pass the same criteria as we started to emerge into the adult world. For many people in the world and in our culture, unless God can be proved, He doesn’t exist. Unless you can point to a picture of Jesus, or had actually been present when Jesus walked on water, it couldn’t have happened because it can’t be proven. In our world, we gain meaning by those things that can be proven real with our senses. And unless something can be proven real, it isn’t real. To one degree or another, we all struggle with what is real.
Yet a life in the
GOING DEEPER:
1. Try to remember some of the times you said, “prove it.” What was going on in your mind? Why did you need proof?
2. Does it bother you that we can’t prove God’s existence (conclusively)? Why is proving God’s existence so important to some people? How do you “explain” God?
FURTHER
1 Peter 1:3-9; Psalm 35; John 20:26-29
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Keep
Going
When things go wrong, as they sometimes will,
When the road you're trudging seems all uphill,
When the
funds are low and the debts are high,
And you want to smile, but you have to sigh,
When cares are pressing you down
a bit,
Rest if you must, but don't you quit.
Life is queer with its twists and turns,
As every one of us sometimes
learns.
And many a fellow turns about,
When he might have won, had he stuck it out.
Don't give up, though the pace
seems slow,
You may succeed with another blow.
Often the goal is nearer than
It seems to a faint and faltering
man;
Often the struggler has given up,
When he might have captured the victor's cup;
And he learned too late when
the night came down,
How close he was to the golden crown.
Success is failure turned inside out,
The silver tint
of the clouds of doubt.
And you never can tell how close you are,
It may be near when it seems afar;
So stick to
the fight when you're hardest hit,
It's when things seem worst that you mustn't quit.
Addendum -- James 1:12
(GNB) "Happy are those
who remain faithful under trials, because when
they succeed in passing such a test, they will
receive
as their reward the life which God has
promised to those who love Him."
Author Unknown
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Why
Go To Church?
A Church goer wrote a letter to the editor of a newspaper and complained that it made no sense to go
to church every Sunday. "I've gone for 30 years now," he wrote, "and in that time I have heard something like 3,000 sermons.
But for the life of me, I can't remember a single one of them. So, I think I'm wasting my time and the pastors are wasting
theirs by giving sermons at all."
This started a real controversy in the "Letters to the Editor" column, much to the
delight of the editor. It went on for weeks until someone wrote this clincher:
"I've been married for 30 years now.
In that time my wife has cooked some 32,000 meals. But, for the life of me, I cannot recall the entire menu for a single one
of those meals. But I do know this.. They all nourished me and gave me the strength I needed to do my work. If my wife had
not given me these meals, I would be physically dead today. Likewise, if I had not gone to church for nourishment, I would
be spiritually dead today!" When you are DOWN to nothing.... God is UP to something! Faith sees the invisible, believes the
incredible and receives the impossible! Thank God for our physical AND our spiritual nourishment!
All right, now that
you're done reading, send it on! I think everyone should read this! "When Satan is knocking at your door, simply say, "Jesus,
could you get that for me?"
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An elderly Chinese woman had two large pots, each hung on the ends of a pole which she carried across her neck.
One of the pots had a crack in it while the other pot was perfect and always delivered a full portion of water.
At the end of the long walks from the stream to the house, the cracked pot arrived only half full.
For a full two years this went on daily, with the woman bringing home only one and a half pots of water.
Of course , the perfect pot was proud of its accomplishments.
But the poor cracked pot was ashamed of its own imperfection, and miserable that it could only do half of what it had been made to do.
After two years of what it perceived to be bitter failure, it spoke to the woman one day by the stream
"I am ashamed of myself, because this crack in my side causes water to leak out all the way back to your house."
The old woman smiled, "Did you notice that there are flowers on your side of the path, but not on the other pot's side?"
"That's because I have always known about your flaw, so I planted flower seeds on your side of the path, and every day while we walk back, you water them."
"For two years I have been able to pick these beautiful flowers to decorate the table.
Without you being just the way you are, there would not be this beauty to grace the house."
Each of us has our own unique flaw. But it's the cracks and flaws we each have that make our lives together so very interesting and rewarding.
You've just got to take each person for what they are and look for the good in them.
SO, to all of my crackpot friends, have a great day and remember to smell the flowers on your side of the path!
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When in sorrow.............................call JOHN 14
When men fail you........................call PSALM 27
When you have sinned..................call PSALM 51
When you worry............................call MATTHEW 6:19-43
When you are in danger.................call PSALM 91
When God seems far away............call PSALM 91
When your faith needs help............call HEBREWS 11
When you are lonely and fearful......call PSALM 23
When you are bitter.......................call 1 COR 13
For Paul's secret to happiness....... call COL 3:12-17
When you feel down & out............. call ROMANS 8:31
When you want peace & rest......... call MATT 11:25-30
When you travel.............................call PSALM 121
When you want courage.................call JOSHUA 1
To get along with others..................call ROMANS 12
If you are depressed.......................call PSALM 27
If you pocketbook is empty.............call PSALM 37
If you lose confidence in people.......call 1 COR 13
If people seem unkind.....................call JOHN 15
Discouraged about work..................call PSALM 126
-----.Alternate Numbers:
For dealing with fear........................call PSALM 34:7
For security....................................call PSALM 121:3
For assurance.................................call MARK 8:35
For reassurance..............................call PSALM 145:18
These Emergency Numbers may be dialed direct, no operator assistance is needed, neither is a phone! No charges apply - It has all been pre-paid for you!
All lines are open 24 hours a day, seven days a week! Remember if you feed your faith, all worry, all doubt and fear will starve to death!
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