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Pastor Chris White says to all of you: HELLO MY FRIENDS. May the Lord bless you today.
HOLA MIS AMIGOS. Que el Señor los bendiga.
When we find ourselves doubting something, there is a sense of uncertainty,
not knowing if the thing is true or false. The Bible likens this attitude to
“double-mindedness” (James 1:6–8).
Double-minded thinking results in a person’s beliefs always changing, never
coming to a determined conviction. A mind that constantly doubts Jesus and what
He teaches will never be at peace because, like a ship in the middle of a
storm, it is tossed to and fro with no hope of rest.
Doubting Jesus and faith are in direct opposition. Hebrews 11:1
states, “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of
things not seen.” When Christians have a healthy faith, they have “assurance”
and “conviction.” They are sure of faith’s object, even though they have
not seen the evidence with their eyes.
Jesus said all believers must become “like children” in order to inherit the
kingdom of heaven (Matthew 18:3).
Childlike faith differs from a doubting faith in that children are trusting and
ready to receive whatever they ask for without questions or fear. When a parent
makes a promise, a child naturally believes. He does not worry about whether or
not the parent will follow through (unless the parent has made a habit of
deceit or unreliability). Even when parents tell absurdities like tales of the
tooth fairy and the Easter bunny, how readily a child believes! Perhaps the
child’s faith is partly because he wants to believe such wondrous
things, but it is mostly because he easily trusts the parent. When a child lays
his head down to sleep, he doesn’t worry or fret or become anxious about what
tomorrow will bring; his sleep is sound and deep. Jesus wants us to trust Him
with the heart of a child and without the skepticism of an adult.
So how does a Christian become childlike in faith and stop doubting Jesus?
First of all, by remembering God is our Heavenly Father (John 1:12; Romans 8:15). God
wants to be known to His children as a loving, compassionate, ever-present,
never-wavering parent (1 John 3:1). The
Bible calls believers God’s “sons” (meaning daughters also) numerous times
(e.g., Ephesians 1:5; Romans 8:14; Galatians 4:7). If
Christians know they are children of God, having been adopted into His family,
it ought to help them gain the childlike faith Jesus spoke of. Our Father in
heaven desires to “give good things to those who ask him!” (Matthew 7:11). The
best thing to know about God as Father is that He is perfect, with none of the
sinful shortcomings that accompany human parenthood. All of God’s attributes
are perfect, and, even when He disciplines His children, it’s because He loves
them (Hebrews 12:6–8).
Second, consider who Jesus is: the express revelation of God Himself (Hebrews 1:3; John 14:9–11). “Do
not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me,” Jesus
said (John 14:1).
Jesus’ trustworthiness was validated by the testimony of the Father (John 8:18) and
confirmed by the miracles He did (John 14:11).
Third, in order to stop doubting Jesus, a Christian must constantly recall the
cross (Hebrews 12:2). When
a believer meditates on what Christ did as our Redeemer, he will see how deep
and strong Jesus’ love is for His sheep (John 10:11; Ephesians 3:17–19). If
Jesus was willing to go to the cross and die a horrible death on our behalf,
would He withhold anything else that would be good for us (see Psalm 84:11)?
The natural mind tends to doubt and fear and question what the Bible says
rather than simply believe. To overcome doubt, a Christian should continually
seek God through Bible study and prayer. He should commit to a local body
of believers to be fed by biblical preaching and have fellowship with
like-minded believers. In this way, the doubtful mind can and will become
increasingly stable, Jesus-focused, and able to find peace (Isaiah 26:3).
Thank you to Got Questions Ministries
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