Doubt

A to Z Challenge

Doubt is not the opposite of faith; it is one element of faith. Paul Tillich

We all have doubts. What we do with them is the question. I prefer to examine and weigh the evidence, using critical thinking to come to the best conclusion. Still doubts may resurface simply because we are constantly bombarded with a cacophony of conflicting, confusing communication which stirs up uncertainty. So I go back to the examining and weighing of evidence, using critical thinking which generally strengthens my faith, because doubt is one element of faith. 

Here are a few web posts dealing with the issue of doubt.

http://www.keepbelieving.com/sermon/if-i-believe-why-do-i-doubt/

http://bible.knowing-jesus.com/topics/doubt,-dealing-with

https://bible.org/seriespage/lesson-31-dealing-doubt-luke-718-35

Maria

I is for I AM

 

I am convinced it is often better just to let the Word of God speak for itself.  As it does, I hope you will be encouraged to find out more about the Christ, and let go of doubt.  Give it your all as you hold on to something oh so much better - the Great I AM.

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 God said to Moses, “I am who I am.” He said further, “Thus you shall say to the Israelites, ‘I am has sent me to you.’”   Exodus 3:14

“As for me, I am establishing my covenant with you and your descendants after you,”
                                        Genesis 9:9

“… Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great.”  Genesis 15:1

And that very night the Lord appeared to him and said, “I am the God of your father Abraham; do not be afraid, for I am with you and will bless you and make your offspring numerous for my servant Abraham’s sake.”  Genesis 26:24

He said further, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.  Exodus 3:6

God said to Moses, “I am who I am.” He said further, “Thus you shall say to the Israelites, ‘I am has sent me to you.’”  Exodus 3:14

Say therefore to the Israelites, ‘I am the Lord, and I will free you from the burdens of the Egyptians and deliver you from slavery to them. I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with mighty acts of judgment.  Exodus 6:6

He said, “If you will listen carefully to the voice of the Lord your God, and do what is right in his sight, and give heed to his commandments and keep all his statutes, I will not bring upon you any of the diseases that I brought upon the Egyptians; for I am the Lord who heals you.”                                                  Exodus 15:26

“I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery;”   Exodus 20:2

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Jesus said to her, “I am He, the one who is speaking to you.”  
                                                                           John 4:26
                           
Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to Me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in Me will never be thirsty.  John 6:35

Jesus then said, “I will be with you a little while longer, and then I am going to him who sent me.”  John 7:33

So Jesus said, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will realize that I am He, and that I do nothing on my own, but I speak these things as the Father instructed Me.”  John 8:28

Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I came from God and now I am here. I did not come on my own, but He sent Me.”  John 8:42

Jesus said to them, “Very truly, I tell you, before Abraham was, I am.”  John 8:58
                              
So again Jesus said to them, “Very truly, I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep.”  John 10:7

But He was silent and did not answer. Again the high priest asked him, “Are you the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One?” Jesus said, “I am; and ‘you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of the Power,’ and ‘coming with the clouds of heaven.’”           Mark 14:61-62

Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in Me, even though they die, will live,”  John 11:25

            God bless, Maria

A to Z Challenge

D is for Doubt

 

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Doubt don’t got to dominate.
Doubt don’t got to rule.
Doubt is not the potentate.
Doubt is but a tool.

Doubt will help you measure
Your discipline and depth,
Your devotion to your treasure,
The fullness and the breadth.

Don’t follow doubt’s creation
To let it weigh you down.
With dogged determination
Defend your solid ground.

When doubt dangles its discordance,  
Deal doubt a diligence blow.
Depose doubt’s clanging dissonance.
Go to what you know.

Dedicate yourself to deepness.
Truth and triumph will console.
Your decision for completeness,
will guide you to your goal.

 

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Letter D for A to Z Challenge

Award Flu

I have not signed into or written on my blog for months.  Honestly, I found myself paralyzed by the blog awards.  It may seem silly, but what I found flattering and uplifting, I simultaneously allowed to confine and enslave me.

Not uncommon in my life, once other things clamoring for my attention filled my time, I found it easy to neglect blogging.  What had so recently been a joy to engage in, was now a weight.  Though I wanted to make time for it, I likewise wanted to avoid it.  The months went by and before I knew what had happened, blogging was but an afterthought, something I would read and respond to rather than a personal venture of my own.  How did the kindness of an award turn into a burden?

When I received my first award, I was touched that someone might think enough of what I had shared of myself to affirm me.  I followed the award reqs and I felt encouraged as was intended.  Then, as is almost routine among bloggers because everyone is about supporting other bloggers in their craft, more awards continued to come.  I appreciated the acknowledgement.  Wanting to honor those who had honored me by following through with what was expected in the awards, I found my strong sense of fulfilling my obligations shackling me and I couldn't break free.

The blogging community is about empowering others to write by providing tools and incentives to do just that.  The awards are one of those vehicles by which we can be a support staff to each other.  In no way do I want to impugn the giving of blogging awards.  Rather it was my response I hope to discourage in others.  I let self-imposed expectations inhibit me from doing something through which I found satisfaction.  I put up my own unnecessary road blocks.  Initially getting and responding to the awards was fun for me, but soon it became a trap for me.  I felt this cloud hanging over me.  I needed to let it rain my responses, I thought, before I could write anything else.  Pretty soon I didn't want to write anymore.

I tripped myself up by not letting go of something I didn't need to hold onto.  It is a real lesson for me personally in more than just blogging.  I like to say, "Get over yourself.  Get out of your own way,"  and here I was very much in my own way, not knowing how to move.

I just have to admit that fulfilling the requirements of the awards, as fun as they are, has got to be a secondary concern for me or award flu might set in again.  Better to get over myself and get on my way to delighting in living.

Confessions of an Insecure Writer/Blogger

Insecure Writer's Support Group

Thanks to Alex Cavanaugh, there is a place to go for insecure writer's like me.  Visiting those who link up there though, I find that even among the insecure I am out of my league.  However, the great thing about the blogging community is that there is no shortage of encouragers.  So I am grateful for the opportunity to expose my vulnerabilities to those who will only help me through them.  Thanks in advance.  Can you pick up on my insecurity already?

You see, I am always two steps behind the technological revolution of the day.  I don’t mind that and in fact I rather like it.  However, I am afraid I am two steps behind in other things as well.  I feel rather behind the power curve in blogging, two steps behind in my writing aptitude, two steps behind in keeping up with what I should know in both of these skills.  So sometimes, actually, I usually feel quite out of my league.  Confessions of an insecure writer/ blogger.  There it is.