Faith Alive FAQs (frequently-asked questions)

Most people have experiences in growing up and also in adulthood that point to God. Then, however, something painful happens and in their pain, they have difficulty believing any more. It is as though God caused or at least allowed this painful circumstance.

Take for example, my grandmother. She believed in God, but then her favorite brother was murdered one night in his sleep. How could a loving God let such a thing happen? Her response was to give up on God.

Several years later, she worked out her own understanding through studying the Bible and other reading. These got her beyond her pain. My grandmother was prompted to resolve the matter, because she kept experiencing God in relationships and other situations.

When hurt robs us of faith, it may be we are unrealistic. We may expect God to save us from problems. What God often does instead is to help us cope with difficulties.

Sometimes there are miracles. Most often, I’ve experienced God’s calm presence helping me see my way through hard times.

If you are expecting a pain-free life, that’s not possible. What is possible is a peace of mind that is beyond our understanding.

When you have problems, it does not mean that God isn’t there or that God doesn’t care. It means you’re alive and we all have problems. Believing in God, though, can certainly make everything much better.

Why don’t you go back and click another question? Let’s keep the discussion going.

God made himself known to me as I studied the bible in seminary. God wants you to know him, too. Don’t take my word for it. Let me show you.

God's own genius is behind the biblical text. I came to see this for the first time in a very serious seminary bible class. Believe it or not the professor leading the class was named "Dr. Boring!" Yet he was anything, but.

One lady described him as a little kid with white hair. His eyes danced as he shared the scripture with us. 25 years later he doesn’t look like he has aged. He still translates a chapter from the Greek New Testament every day just to stay immersed in the original language.

Dr. Boring’s favorite book was the Gospel of Mark. Amazingly, Mark’s Gospel does not include the birth of Jesus. Mark begins with John, the Baptist, baptizing Jesus and Jesus starting his public ministry. This was my first awareness of how the gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) are different.

My semester project was to write a 20 page paper on one specific vignette from Mark. I picked Mark 8:27-30. This project opened up a new universe for me. The more that I studied these few verses, the more I learned. The more I learned, the more I realized there is a depth and a genius to the bible that I never knew before.

Mark has 16 Chapters. Our passage is about the middle of the book. Up until now Jesus has gone about with power, working miracles, healing people and taking care of demons. You might say he was SUPER-JESUS. If this were all we knew about Jesus, as his followers, we would expect our lives to include no problems. Children would always mind. Parents would always be encouraging. Teachers would always be excellent and our bank accounts always full. All of our demons would be under control.

Is this the way you experience life? Not me, but there are another 8 chapters in Mark. Our passage is where the clutch goes in and the gear is changed. Our scripture is a transition between Jesus, the miracle-worker and Jesus, who dies broken and alone.

I find myself swallowing hard as I say this last sentence.

Sometimes suffering-servant images from Isaiah 51-53 are superimposed on Jesus. The last chapters of Mark are why. In these chapters, Mark tells of Jesus’ suffering and dying.

When you read Mark, if you haven’t already, you will discover three times that Jesus talks about his coming death. Jesus says this in 8:31, 9:30-31, and 10:32-34. You might stop right now and look these up. Each time Jesus talks about his death, the disciples are confused. They don’t get it.

Look at 8:32-33, 9:32, and 10:35-38. The disciples don’t understand, but we do. As readers you and I become insiders to the story. Are you starting to see a genius at work in this?

The more that we study these 3 chapters the more it becomes obvious there is a formula. This is not just a biography; this is a narrative sermon. Now let’s look at my assigned text.

Mark 8:27-30

"And Jesus went on with his disciples, to the villages of Caesarea Philippi; and on the way he asked his disciples, ‘Who are people saying I am?’ And they reported to him, ‘John the Baptist; and others say, Elijah; and others say one of the other prophets.’ ‘But who do you say that I am?’ Peter answered him, ‘You are the Christ.’ And Jesus sternly told them to tell no one about him."

Are you having any insight here? Jesus wants to know what’s the word on the street. Who are people saying I am? The disciples give 3 responses of various Jewish prophets. Then when asked who do the disciples think he is, Peter makes a statement of faith – ‘You are the Christ.’

By saying this, Peter is saying that he believes Jesus is the one sent from God with special power to save the people. The word ‘Christ’ is Greek for the Hebrew word, ‘Messiah.’ Both words mean anointed and are similar to how an English king might knight someone. Putting oil on a person, anointing, when done by God is a way of sending the person with the power of God. Peter is saying Jesus has the power of God.

Peter’s confession is based on what has happened in the first 8 chapters of Mark. To say Jesus is the Christ at this point is to say Jesus is here from God to work miracles.

Note what Jesus says to Peter and the others. "And Jesus sternly told them to tell no one about him." We have to wait until the whole story is revealed before anyone is asked to tell about Jesus. (See Mark 16:1-8). The only time in Mark’s Gospel that the identity of Jesus is expressed without covering it up is on the lips of the centurion who watched Jesus die. Mark 15:39b says, "Surely this man was the Son of God."

What are you hearing from your heart as you work through this material? I hope you are starting to sense the vulnerability of Jesus and in Jesus starting to see the vulnerability of God. As we study the scripture, God reveals himself on every page. Can you know God? I hope so. I have found that Jesus is a window through which I can look to see God. The more I know about Jesus, the more I know God loves us all.

The Christian Bible has two major divisions, the Old and the New Testaments. The Hebrew or Jewish Bible is the Old Testament. These were the scriptures that Jesus based his ministry upon. They were the scriptures of the early church. Later some of the writings of the earliest Christians became regarded as Holy Scripture and we call them, The New Testament. The word Testament means "covenant."

In looking up a scripture in the Bible, the first question is Old or New Testament?

The Table of Contents in the front of your Bible names the 39 Books of the Old Testament and the 27 Books of the New Testament.

Mark 8:27-30 is a reference telling us to turn to the second book of the New Testament, Mark. The number before the colon, the 8, tells us the Chapter number. Mark has 16 Chapters. Chapters generally run about a page or so in length. The numbers after the colon are the verse numbers. So the reference is the Book of Mark, Chapter 8, verses 27, 28, 29, and 30.

A fun thing to know is that if you take a closed Bible and guess on the middle of the Bible. Divide the pages in the middle with your thumbs. Did you open to the Psalms? If so, divide the second half again in two. Did you find Matthew? Matthew is the First Book of the New Testament. This is a quick way to get to the Testament.

"Yes!" is the super short answer!

If you have ever watched a US sporting event, you have probably seen another short answer to this question --

John3:16 "For God so loved the world that he gave his only son that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have everlasting life."

In the USA, we’ve all watched in the stands when some one holds up the sign, John 3:16. Did you know one of the key reasons John's Gospel was written was to help people like you know that God loves them? Check this...

John 20:30-31

"Jesus did many other signs and wonders in the presence of his disciples (followers) which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ (The special one sent with God’s power), the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in his name."

Imagine a picture painted by an artist. Do you think she recognizes her work? Whether you were planned by your parents are not, you are no accident to God. God knew you before you were born. God loves you. Even when you have rebelled, God has loved you.

God wants you to know him through Jesus Christ, his son, and God wants to use Jesus to give you a better life now and a life forever with God after you die.

Do you sense how important this is? God loves you and wants a relationship with you that lasts forever. When you believe that Jesus is God’s son and you receive Jesus as your savior then you are beginning this relationship.

Guilt is the emotion we are supposed to feel when we do something wrong. It is designed by God to help us do what’s right. Sometimes, however, we can feel guilty when we haven’t done anything wrong. This is false guilt and it only sets us up to be hurt and manipulated by others.

So how can you tell the difference between real and false guilt?

Glad you asked.

Imagine this situation. Dad is drinking before he gets home and he is always spending the family's money on alcohol. In order to keep debts paid, Mom gets a job outside the home. Since she is not there, the house suffers. Dad comes into the kitchen and blows up because the counter is a mess and dishes are everywhere.

If the eldest child feels guilty that Dad has gone into a rage, guilty that he is drinking again, or guilty that the other siblings have left a mess, then all of those feelings are false guilt.

However, if Mom asked the eldest to clean the kitchen but all she or he did was blew it off, then feeling guilt is appropriate. When guilt is connected to doing something wrong or failing to do something that’s right, then guilt is helpful. It is true guilt. Do you see the difference between true and false guilt now?

You need to work at only being responsible for your actions and not taking responsibility for things beyond your control. The eldest could not control Dad’s drinking, could not control Dad’s rages, and could not control Mom’s response of getting a job. Therefore feeling guilty about any of those things is false guilt and not at all helpful.

If you are mean, hateful, lie or steal guilt is something God gives you to help you want to change. Guilt like this is genuine and helpful. Guilt like this comes because you have sinned.

Next time you feel guilty, try these two questions.
1) What am I feeling guilty about?

2) Is it my responsibility? (Yes or No)

If you are feeling guilty about something that is not your responsibility, let go of this negative emotion. It will hurt you, if you don’t.

If you are feeling appropriate guilt, then how do you get beyond it? Can you go back, undo, or try again? Can you apologize or make restitution? Maybe it is something that you can’t change, but you need to confess.

Consider I John 1:8-9

"If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, God is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all evil."

God wants us to be in right relationship with God and with each other. Not having false guilt and resolving true guilt allow us to be right with God. Jesus did not go to the cross so we could feel guilty.

God loves you very much and God doesn’t want you stuck in guilt. You are to learn and go on.

Jesus was asked once what was the most important commandment. He gave two. "Love God with all you heart, soul, mind and strength and love your neighbor as yourself." Sometimes we miss this, but we are supposed to love ourselves. (Matthew 22:39)

Loving ourselves, how do we do this? It might help to know that God made you. Even if you were an accident to your parents, you weren't to God. God made you because God wanted you. God loves you and God has a purpose for your life.

Not only do I feel this way about myself, but I believe part of my purpose is to encourage you to feel better about yourself. So how am I doing?

Did you watch the Salt Lake City Winter Olympics? Sarah Hughes, a figure skater from the United States was wound very tight in the early going. She didn’t look like she was having any fun. Her movements were stiff and fearful. She managed to be in fourth place after the short program. Do you remember the smile that came to her when her short program was over? She was a different person. There was a relief and joy that came.

During the long program, she did not think there was a chance that she could win so she just went out and had the skate of her life. She won the Gold Medal! The crowning move of the performance was to thrust her arm straight up into the air. She was magnificent. The Video Clip

Her final gesture said it all. She was at one with herself and all of creation. It was incredible God moment.

This is the way you were made to live. Moment by moment, day by day, when you are fully connected to God you will live in this joy and your joy will be complete. Does this mean you won’t have problems? Of course you will have problems. You may, however, start to see them as opportunities.

Be encouraged for God loves you very much. You were designed by God who loved you before you were born.

There are steps that you can take to become a Christian and I will share them with you here. Then there are more steps that you can take to continue to grow in Christ. They will also be included here. Plus I have some suggestions for your personal Bible study and daily prayer time. These will be included in another area of this website.

To become a Christian is to believe that Jesus is the Son of God and to give Jesus the lordship in your life. This means that as your faith develops, you look to Jesus to direct you. I like the way Paul expressed this in Romans.

Romans 10:8-13

"The word of faith is near you, on your lips and in your heart; because if you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and if you believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. The scripture says, ‘No one who believes in him will be put to shame.’…For everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved."

If a person is getting married or having a baby, they tell everyone they can the news. This is how we are to feel when we trust Christ for salvation and give him lordship in our lives. It is an exciting day! It is a glorious day!

There are all sorts of ways of doing this. You can pray a prayer or say it out loud, "I believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and I accept him as Lord and Savior of my life." You can come forward in a worship service or you can fill in the blanks in a Gideon Bible.

However it happens for you, when it does it is very exciting. God wants you to know and trust Jesus as his son and your savior. If this web site has encouraged you, please let us know through email.

Unfortunately, the minute you accept Christ you will begin encountering resistance. Some will be family members that will discount what you have done. Others may be hostile to you decision. But even worse, the devil does not want you to follow Jesus. All kinds of road blocks will occur. Your health may be attacked, your family, your work or something else.

This is why you need a community of faith. You need to be in a local church fellowship. You need other Christians to support and encourage you. You need to develop a daily prayer life where God helps you stay connected to him. You might find yourself developing a real hunger for the scriptures. This is great because God will use the Bible to grow your faith.

Please know that living a life in Jesus is the most wonderful existence there is. It is not always easy, but it is filled with joy. May God bless you richly right now.