Using Apostle Thomas as an example, do you think questioning or seeking evidence of God can coexist with strong faith? Didn't Thomas doubt, but once given proof, became Jesus' most loyal follower?
Using Apostle Thomas as an example, do you think questioning or seeking evidence of God can coexist with strong faith? Didn't Thomas doubt, but once given proof, became Jesus' most loyal follower?
1. Thomas wasn't a chronic doubter or questioner of God. He only doubted the resurrection itself.
2. And yes, once he was shown that Jesus has come back, his faith and commitment to Jesus was even stronger.
Seeking evidence of God is natural. Questioning God? If you mean questioning His existence or authority, I do not find that natural. Personally, I don't see how any person can look at the universe, nature, everything, and NOT see God! This complex universe and every complex creature came to be out of chaos? Out of an explosion?
I'd need to take a far greater leap of faith to buy the Big Bang theory. It's nonsensical. But people have an unhealthy way of buying anything because some scientists or "experts" say so. See Covid for more on that phenomena.
Even though I see evidence of God everywhere, I love seeking more evidence of God and biblical truths. But I EXPECT to find the evidence. It's all out of faith and then the opportunity to share with others. With disbelievers especially. You can find many faithful Apologetics who essentially defend Christianity with evidence. They use evidence as a way of witnessing and hopefully saving souls.
If you are seeking evidence because you lack faith? You're certainly not alone out there. Keep asking and seeking! But I'd recommend sincerely asking God to reveal Himself to you as well.
Using Apostle Thomas as an example, do you think questioning or seeking evidence of God can coexist with strong faith? Didn't Thomas doubt, but once given proof, became Jesus' most loyal follower?
“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.
For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.
Using Apostle Thomas as an example, do you think questioning or seeking evidence of God can coexist with strong faith? Didn't Thomas doubt, but once given proof, became Jesus' most loyal follower?
Deuteronomy 13: 1-5 tells people what they should have done with Muhammad.
If a prophet, or one who foretells by dreams,appears among you and announces to you a sign or wonder, 2 and if the sign or wonder spoken of takes place, and the prophet says, “Let us follow other gods”(gods you have not known) “and let us worship them,” 3 you must not listen to the words of that prophet or dreamer. The Lord your God is testing you to find out whether you love him with all your heart and with all your soul. 4 It is the Lord your God you must follow,and him you must revere. Keep his commands and obey him; serve him and hold fast to him. 5 That prophet or dreamer must be put to death for inciting rebellion against the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt and redeemed you from the land of slavery. That prophet or dreamer tried to turn you from the way the Lord your God commanded you to follow. You must purge the evil from among you.
so ive never read the bible, but have been giving it serious thought lately
do you approach it like you would any other book, and just start reading from front to back? i know there are like hundreds of chapters, and "book of matthew", "book of paul", "revelations", etc
but i dont really understand the structure, would you just recommend i pick it up and start reading, or just dive in on chapters etc that interest me the most?
I'm in a similar boat as you. I've read much of the Bible when I was much younger, but am going through it again now with more attention. I'd echo others in starting with the Apostles, Mathew seems to be a good place to start. I have been jumping around a bit to parts read by my Pastor at Church, and I've been watching "The Chosen" which is pretty good, the show has lead me to look into different parts of the Old Testament, as they quote it a ton, and the new because of certain scenes with Jesus' followers or events that I become interested in knowing more about.
I'm in a similar boat as you. I've read much of the Bible when I was much younger, but am going through it again now with more attention. I'd echo others in starting with the Apostles, Mathew seems to be a good place to start. I have been jumping around a bit to parts read by my Pastor at Church, and I've been watching "The Chosen" which is pretty good, the show has lead me to look into different parts of the Old Testament, as they quote it a ton, and the new because of certain scenes with Jesus' followers or events that I become interested in knowing more about.
Hope this is not out of place and i'm ok in posting here, but I felt it fit here well.
I played for Nick Saban, Bill Belichick, and Sean Payton.
I studied under some of the greatest coaching minds in the history of professional football. And after the Lord saved me, I realized something that changed everything.
Every single leadership principle that made those teams thrive is biblical. They just did it for the glory of man instead of the glory of God.
Here is what I mean.
Belichick taught us to do our jobs. Scripture commands us to work as unto the Lord, not for the approval of men. (Col. 3:23)
Belichick held Tom Brady to a higher standard than anyone else. Scripture says to whom much is given, much is required. (Luke 12:48)
Belichick cut the cancer immediately, no matter the cost. Scripture tells us that a little leaven leavens the whole lump. (Gal. 5:9)
Belichick sacrificed personal credit and took responsibility for every loss. Scripture calls leaders to be servants first. (Matthew 20:26)
Brady sacrificed personal stats for the good of the team. Scripture says do nothing out of selfish ambition, but in humility consider others above yourself. (Phil. 2:3)
Brady could encourage a teammate and confront him in the same breath. Scripture says speak the truth in love. (Eph. 4:15)
These men did not know they were pulling from eternal, biblical commands. But the principles worked. They always work. Because truth is truth whether the man wielding it knows its source or not.
Now imagine this.
If these principles built a two-decade dynasty in professional football with men who did not know the Lord, what would God do through His church if we humbled ourselves and followed the same playbook?
What would happen in your marriage if you coached yourself harder than you coach anyone else?
What would happen in your home if you cut the cancers of laziness, passivity, and selfishness?
What would happen in your leadership if you stopped protecting your ego and started serving your team?
The blueprint is not new.
The playbook has been written for two thousand years.
The question is whether you are willing to run it.
I spent 10 years in the NFL and the best locker rooms I ever walked into operated on principles that Scripture laid out long before football existed.
Stop looking for a new framework.
Open the Book.
And do your job.
Job 5 is one of my favorites of the Old Testament. Our pastor calls the OT “Christ Concealed,” and the NT “Christ Revealed.”
1 “Call if you will, but who will answer you?
To which of the holy ones will you turn?
2 Resentment kills a fool,
and envy slays the simple.
3 I myself have seen a fool taking root,
but suddenly his house was cursed.
4 His children are far from safety,
crushed in court without a defender.
5 The hungry consume his harvest,
taking it even from among thorns,
and the thirsty pant after his wealth.
6 For hardship does not spring from the soil,
nor does trouble sprout from the ground.
7 Yet man is born to trouble
as surely as sparks fly upward.
8 “But if I were you, I would appeal to God;
I would lay my cause before him.
9 He performs wonders that cannot be fathomed,
miracles that cannot be counted.
10 He provides rain for the earth;
he sends water on the countryside.
11 The lowly he sets on high,
and those who mourn are lifted to safety.
12 He thwarts the plans of the crafty,
so that their hands achieve no success.
13 He catches the wise in their craftiness,
and the schemes of the wily are swept away.
14 Darkness comes upon them in the daytime;
at noon they grope as in the night.
15 He saves the needy from the sword in their mouth;
he saves them from the clutches of the powerful.
16 So the poor have hope,
and injustice shuts its mouth.
17 “Blessed is the one whom God corrects;
so do not despise the discipline of the Almighty.
18 For he wounds, but he also binds up;
he injures, but his hands also heal.
19 From six calamities he will rescue you;
in seven no harm will touch you.
20 In famine he will deliver you from death,
and in battle from the stroke of the sword.
21 You will be protected from the lash of the tongue,
and need not fear when destruction comes.
22 You will laugh at destruction and famine,
and need not fear the wild animals.
23 For you will have a covenant with the stones of the field,
and the wild animals will be at peace with you.
24 You will know that your tent is secure;
you will take stock of your property and find nothing missing.
25 You will know that your children will be many,
and your descendants like the grass of the earth.
26 You will come to the grave in full vigor,
like sheaves gathered in season.
27 “We have examined this, and it is true.
So hear it and apply it to yourself.”
