You’ve probably heard it as often as I have. “You just need more faith!” “Just believe!” “Just let go, and let God!” The subject is faith, and the common theme is the modifier “just,” making it sound really, really simple. Like flip a switch, and suddenly I’ll have strong life-changing faith. But where is that […]
What Being a Christian Is For — and From: Heidelberg Q. 32
“But why are you a Christian?” It is a question shy evangelicals desperately wish somebody would ask. “Be ready to give a reason for the hope that is in you,” but hope you don’t have to bring it up yourself. “Why are you called a Christian?” Take the question slightly differently and it sounds a […]
What Faith Can Really Do: Heidelberg Q. 20
“Just have faith!” they tell us. What do you think happens when you believe in Jesus? Some will tell you that if you really had faith all your prayers would be answered just the way you want. Others will say the key thing is that faith brings justification — it is the one way to receive […]
Need a Tour Guide to the Bible? Heidelberg Catechism, Q. 21-22
How do you make sense of the Bible? It comes in two testaments written in multiple languages and cultures across a vast span of centuries. The list of its literary genres includes poetry, law, letters, micro-fiction, history — and it tends to include multiple versions of key stories. A whole lot of us could use […]
A Leap into the Light
What is faith, really? Some will tell you it is a leap into the dark — jumping into the unknown, off a proverbial cliff, and hoping that Someone will catch you. For Jesus that wasn’t faith; that was “tempting” or “testing” God, and he wouldn’t do it. Or when we need faith to pray effectively […]