After a couple of weeks considering what authentic faith is, here’s my summary – we don’t know.

That’s not a cop-out answer. 1 John 3:2 says “Beloved, now we are the children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.”

Authentic faith is a humble realization that we have a long way to go, and a lot to learn along the way. Every day and every situation brings the opportunity for a deeper understanding of God and His ways, which we relish. We readily share our insights, rejoice with each other, grieve with and comfort one another. We uphold each other, carry each other to the throne of grace, and lean on each other. All the while we hold on to the hope the assurance that one day we will know, we will understand, we will see.

And we welcome fellow-travelers.

It was such a simple thing, and I’d done it dozens of times before… Schedule a blog post. Once it posts, a tweet is generated with a link to the post. Straightforward, uncomplicated… At least in theory.  Yesterday, the post missed its schedule. The tweet however, generated anyway with a link to a post that didn’t exist. And a minute later, another tweet was generated. And again a minute later. And again… for forty-seven minutes. (Something like that… I couldn’t count the  tweets. Frankly I didn’t want to count the tweets.)

I disabled the tweets. They didn’t stop. I disabled the WordPress plug-in. The tweets didn’t stop. Finally, I deleted the post. They stopped. How embarrassing!

That was a tough lesson for this perfectionist. I have a pathological aversion to looking stupid. A tweet- the same tweet- every minute for the better part of an hour certainly qualifies as stupid. So in the face of such a techie disaster, I could choose to crawl in a virtual hole, disable my Twitter account and not post for a while… like months. Then come back under an assumed name. I gave that more than a few moments consideration.  A much more reasonable reaction is to chalk it up as a learning experience, and move on. And here we are.

So near the close of the Authenticity Challenge, how does this apply to my faith? If I am putting forth any effort at all, at some point, I will fail, perhaps spectacularly. When that happens… (And that’s not saying it hasn’t already happened. Because it has.) I need to absorb the lesson and get back to work. I can never outfail God’s grace.

Tomorrow is the last post in this series… Be sure a check back for some parting thoughts. Tuesday’s post will be another study tip.

And that’s how it is with the problems and questions we face. Sometimes the answers just won’t come. Sometimes the question doesn’t even make sense. No matter how we reframe things or cycle through the possibilities, nothing clicks.

Thankfully God surrounds us with brothers and sisters to give us perspective, wisdom and consolation when we can’t come up with an answer. I did a post recently on what to look for when seeking good counsel. Additionally, many instructions about how to function as the body of Christ have to deal with how we help, respond to and uplift our fellow believers.

Half the battle is simply making ourselves available and a willingness to get involved. Therefore, comfort [or encourage] each other and edify [build up] one another, just as you also are doing. 1 Thessalonians 5:11

Who knows? You may have the very answer someone is looking for. Jingle Bells.

Jesus had some real challenges in His ministry. We tend to think because He was God that everything clicked along smoothly. Everything DID click along according to plan, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it was smooth. He said we shouldn’t expect any better treatment than He got.  Reading Mark 3 this morning, I saw a picture of ministry.

• People will take advantage of your time and attention. Verse 20 said Jesus couldn’t even grab time to eat.
• People will question everything about your ministry. Verse 21, Jesus’ own people, His family and friends questioned His sanity.
• People will misattribute your motives. In verse 22, the religious leaders reasoned that Jesus had to be in league with Beelzebub.

If ministry wasn’t tough enough, what makes it more difficult is that these same people…

• May be part of the respected religious establishment (v.22)
• May believe they have your best interests at heart (v.21)
• May be well meaning (v.31)
• May be your closest associates, perhaps even family (v.32)

I tend to take opposition as a sure sign that I’m headed the wrong direction. That’s not always the case. I need to take the time in prayer and study to confirm with God. Once the confirmation comes, I can’t second-guess that.

The flip-side is a warning to be very careful before questioning or criticizing another’s ministry. I can’t presume to know how God is directing someone else.

Search me O God and know my heart…

Search… Strong’s defines it as examine intimately, or penetrate. God shines His brilliant, all pervasive holiness into all the corners of my heart and mind. That’s unsettling, unnerving. When He does that here’s what He finds

• Hollow motives, times I’ve done what I “should” not because I wanted to, but because I figured I ought to. No joy.
• Failure to follow through, times I’ve known what God’s word says, but I’ve stopped short of full obedience. I skated by. I caved. I wimped out. No power.
• Self-centeredness, greater concern for myself, my comfort, my reputation than for God’s glory. No compassion.
• Despair, that ‘why bother- nothing’s every going to change anyway’ feeling. I give up or stop trying. No faith.

Those are the kinds of things that make me want to slink out of God’s presence. These are the things that Satan points out to me, to mock and accuse and defeat. God, however, redeems.

He knew what He was getting with me, and He declares without wavering, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you. Before you were born I sanctified you.” (Jeremiah 1:5) I am chosen, set apart for His purposes. He also knew exactly what was in my heart all along, before the search ever began.

So why make me go through this searching process? To bring me to a place of intimate trust. So that I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that in spite of all that He finds, He loves me and He will never give up on me.

Food… and bed and stuff and pizza… and boxes

Rachel is 3, and this was her prayer at bedtime. Simple. Straightforward. Often I make prayer too formal and stilted, too grown-up. Here’s what I can learn from her.

• Nothing is too small to pray about. Or too unusual.
• It’s for God’s ears. It doesn’t matter what anyone else thinks about the requests.
• No big words. You don’t have to impress God with style or oratory. No sense wearing Him out either.
• Prayer naturally flows from what’s already on your heart.