📖 Are you doubting Jesus?

I. It is hard not to question the Lord when you’re trying to be faithful, and God is not doing what you hoped he would.

John the Baptist himself, who baptized Jesus at the start of his ministry and knew Jesus was the Messiah, experienced doubts himself.

In Luke 7, we find John the Baptist in prison for being a faithful prophet and calling out sin (where he would eventually be beheaded). He is hearing all the amazing things Jesus is doing, but he is confused.

He assumed the Messiah would bring God’s promised judgment in a more immediate and visible way, yet in all the healings and teachings of Jesus, the judgment John anticipated and the establishment of the Messiah’s kingdom were not happening, at least not in the way John assumed.

So John responds in Luke 7:18-19:

“Then John’s disciples told him about all these things. So John summoned two of his disciples 19 and sent them to the Lord, asking, ‘Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?’”

Now, John the Baptist knew who Jesus was, but Jesus wasn’t doing some of the things John thought he would be doing, and John was languishing in prison.

In the end, Jesus says this about John in verse 28, “I tell you, among those born of women no one is greater than John…” Clearly Jesus loved John, yet when Jesus wasn’t doing all the things John expected, John became confused.

In the same way, we can faithfully love and follow the Lord yet become discouraged or even confused when things don’t go the way we thought.

In those moments, we must remember that the Lord's ways and thoughts are not our ways or thoughts (Isaiah 55:8–9), and like John, remain faithful even when we do not understand what God is doing.

———————-

II. If you’re feeling overwhelmed by a besetting sin or sins in your life that you continue to succumb to, rather than focusing primarily on how to stop doing that thing, focus on developing a deeper love for Jesus.

Boundaries, accountability, and confession are all needed. But what is most needed is an abiding love for God. It is from that place that our hearts and desires are transformed. And this helps us not just in that particular area of struggle, but in all areas.

Jesus says this in John 15:4-5:

“Remain in me, and I in you. Just as a branch is unable to produce fruit by itself unless it remains on the vine, neither can you unless you remain in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. The one who remains in me and I in him produces much fruit, because you can do nothing without me.”

So create rhythms in your life that encourage you to abide in Jesus. Participate in your local church. Follow Jesus in community. Commit to the discipline of prayer.

None of these things will change you overnight. But they set you on a trajectory of spiritual growth that will deepen your love for Jesus and your experience of him.

And the more you know and love Jesus, the less appealing your sin becomes.

Wesley Huff on how God can change our labels:

“Joshua 2: ‘Rahab the prostitute’

Matthew 1: ‘Rahab, the grandmother of the Messiah.’

God has the redemptive capability to change labels and rewrite stories for his purposes and our better.”

This week’s question: How should Christians respond to spiritual attacks?

Have a Bible question, or a situation in your life you want a biblical perspective on? Submit it here to be answered in a future Bible Made Simple Newsletter edition.

In the Garden of Beasts by Erik Larson

A book focused around William Dodd and his US ambassadorship in Berlin, Germany, from 1933-1937.

The book primarily revolves around the years of 1933-34, where we read about Dodd’s life with his wife and two adult children living near the center of Nazi power. There is also a good deal of focus on his daughter Martha as well.

You learn a lot about the rise of Hitler and his regime during this time, as well as the horrors that the world justified away. It was a weird feeling reading this knowing where it ultimately led.

Overall, however, it was a somewhat strange book to read. It was interesting, but not necessarily a gripping or captivating story. It was well written and enjoyable to read, but in some ways, because it’s not a book that covers a significant person or a significant series of events (again, the book was primarily about Dodd himself), it is not all that memorable.

I liked the book, but it is somewhat surprising to me that this became an actual book. This would not be a book I’d reach for first, but if you’re interested in WWII history, you’ll like it.

8/10

This week on Thinking Biblically, I discuss 5 Biblical Truths About Homosexuality. We should never attempt to make unclear what the Bible makes clear.

APPLE PODCASTS // SPOTIFY // AMAZON

P.S. Ok, but I only get $15 for solving a murder?