Confidence and Boldness | It's a Journey

Reflections on: Hebrews 10:33 & 35

"33 Sometimes you were publicly exposed to insult and persecution; at other times you stood side by side with those who where so treated." ... "35 So do not throw away your confidence, it will be richly rewarded."

No matter where I stand in my faith journey, I sometimes still find myself tending to lack confidence when trying to speak about or even live out my faith.  Do you ever find yourself in the same position or find yourself in that position right now?

2 Types of Confidence Lacking

It could be that we are new to this whole Christian thing, and we don't feel like we can contribute to the conversation or we feel in adequate because we don't know as much as the person in our small groups feel we can't answer a biblical question if a person asks it.  Can you relate to this?  In this circumstance, we lack the confidence because we feel inadequate.  Well, we shouldn't be so scared, we should gain confidence and boldness in growing in our faith and knowledge.  Boldly stand up and say, "I don't know what that means, can we go deeper in understanding?".  I have a good friend that when confronted with a question, he boldly says, "Well, let's unpack that together."

It could be that we find ourselves in the position where we have confidently and boldly proclaimed our faith only to be challenged, and like me, start to avoid the conflict called "religion".  Remember, your faith and hope may be classified as a Religion by the secular world, but your faith and hope in God is your own.  Have confidence my friends, as we proclaim our faith, conflicts are unavoidable, we must be willing to stand up for our faith.

2 Types of Confidence Growth

If you find yourself in the place of the growing and not feeling adequate in knowledge place, scripture tells us in 1 Thessalonians 5:20 - 21, "20 Do not treat prophecies with contempt 21 but test them all; hold on to what is good,".  When we read God's living Word, especially in prayer, the ideas and beliefs jump out as prophetic teachings from the Holy Spirit.  If you do not have the confidence to dig deeper, trying leaning on a fellow Christian to "unpack" your questions.  More importantly, pray to God for understanding and truth.  This confidence and boldness in testing and questioning is extremely important to growing your faith.  It prepares you for the confidence needed to proclaim your faith.  2 Peter 1:5 - 8 helps us to understand the progression of confidence, "5 For this very, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; 6 and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; 7 and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love.  8 For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ."

If you find yourself in the place of being the Christians that has felt burned by your confidence, let's reflect a little on that and see if there is a way to objectively grow in our confidence.  As Christians, we must be careful when we reflect on those times we have felt burnt, because we can walk a fine line between confidence and arrogance, and one is definitely more productive than the other.  In my reflection of my past, I did not practice the meekness we are called to when proclaiming the gospel of Christ, which means for years I lived up to the persona of being an arrogant Christian.  It wasn't until I personally felt the words from the Spirit of Romans 1:11 - 12, "11 I long to see you so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to make you strong-...", this next part was the part I was missing and the most important lesson to learn, "12 that is, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other's faith."  I was boldly being arrogant as opposed to being meek with a bold confidence, as is captured in 2 Timothy 2:24 - 25 "24 And the Lord's servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, 25 correcting his opponents with gentleness...".  The Greek word used in this text is , meaning consideration, gentleness, humility, and meekness.

Final Thoughts

Gain in confidence my friends; ask questions, test your faith, seek for the truth that you may gain in knowledge and understanding.

Grow in in confidence my friends; gently, meekly, and boldly proclaim your faith and hope so that others may have the chance to feel and partake in the loving and saving grace of our Lord and savior Jesus Christ.

1 Peter 3:15

"15 But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord.  Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.  But do this with gentleness and respect,"

God's peace - Joshua

Colossians 3:17 And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Patience as a Virtue

How often do we live our lives with wanting God to ensure our prayers or showing Himself to us happens NOW?  Well, I think the answer to that question is, yes, everyday. 

It says in 2 Peter 3:9, "...He is patient with you,".  As we look to emulate the character of God, patience is the virtue we have lost track of as Christians.  Verse 9 goes on to say, "...not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance."  We lose track of the fact, we are not the only ones in the race for righteousness, but their are others God cares about and want to provide grace and salvation to. 

Do you feel like today you're doing enough or are good enough to get to heaven?  Do you wish God would just come right now so you don't screw it all up?  Well two things to consider there.  One, God is patient with us, Ephesians 2:8 says, "For by [His] grace you have been saved through [your] faith."  God is grace filled and continuously forgiving us through our repentance.  The second thing to consider is, 2 Peter 3: 14 - 15 instructs us, "So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless, and at peace with him.  Bear in mind that our Lords patience means salvation..."

Be patient my friends, let's lean on God's word and strive to live by His character, knowing that salvation is here, and the answer to our prayers and our time with God will come.

Through thought, word, and deed, continue to be like our lord and savior Jesus Christ.

Peace - Joshua

Intelligence, What is it Really?

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Why do intelligent people find it so difficult to discover who they are, where they belong, and what they are supposed to do?

I think that this is an interestingly posed question. Throughout history intelligence has been measured by how knowledgeable or wise a person is about earthly matters. We have developed the intelligence quotient, which is a score we derive by having and individual take several tests which are designed to assess their intelligence. Heck, I work for a group that is call Business Intelligence. I feel when everyone answers this question, that they will be answering it from the view point of what they deem to be earthly intelligence. Our definition of Intelligence is also based on what we as humans have actually discovered. Because of science and hypothesis, which we take as intelligence, our view of things in the world have been skewed to trust science and the tangible.

I would like to come at this question by redefining what I believe intelligence is to God, and using God's Word to show why what we deem to be intelligence creates such a gap to what God deems to be truth and intelligence.

Last weeks verse that we memorized, John 8:30 was a great verse. What I believe we missed was reading on to John 8:31. John 8:30-31 says,30 So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, "If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, 31and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." So often, we as humans think we are smarter or know the truth better than we really do. At today's debates, it is hard to differentiate between what is truth and what is not. They have actually hired Fact Checkers to follow up after debates to help keep us informed. Imagine, as intelligent beings, if we were in a debate with God. What we deem to be truth would need to be followed up by a Fact Checker. But, if we read God's Word and abide by what Jesus Christ says, the Bible is the only Fact Checker we need. That is intelligence, and that is truth.

Another verse that speaks well to this intelligence definition is Proverbs 3:77 Be not wisein your own eyes; fear the Lord, and turn away from evil. It will be healing to your flesh and refreshment to your bones.

This verse truly answers the question above for me. We think we are wise, especially in our own eyes. We have defined it as IQ, we have created business positions for intelligence, we make "wise" choices. All of this, because we are a proud nation/people that "know". Because of this, we do NOT receive healing to our flesh nor refreshment to our bones.

It is because we think we are intelligent and are knowledgeable that makes it so hard to figure out what we need to do. If we abide by the truths of God and His son Jesus Christ, that is when we will see what God has in store for us.

Dear Heavenly Father, Open my eyes and heart to your truths. When making decisions in my life, direct me to Your word. Direct me to Your wise council. Help me to not measure my intelligence in my own eyes and rely upon you to prophecy through my heart through Your words and not mine.

Gods Peace and Love,

Joshua Gamradt

Reasoning versus Debating

18 Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool

I could write multiple thoughts around Isaiah 1:18, but while reading this verse today, one word sticks out to me the most; reason.  Reasoning is the art of drawing conclusions based on facts.  In fact, Reasoning is defined on Dictionary.com as; 2: the process of forming conclusions, judgements, or inferences from facts or premises. 

One of the most successful reasoners in our Christian faith, besides Jesus Christ, would be Paul.  Paul by far is one of our most influential Christian missionary's.  His success was built largely in part on his ability to reason with those he spoke to.

I have often heard from those that know me, I like to "debate".  That I seek out opportunities to debate with others.  I have always struggled with this perception.  I tend to cling to today's verse, knowing that my love for Christ increases my will to want to reason with God, myself, AND others.  The thoughts and knowledge I use during my reasoning is not built on just questioning the reasoning of fellow brothers and sisters, but continuously questioning my reasoning and seeking the answer through God's word and prayer.  Only then do I feel that my reasoning is sound and that when I speak with others, I am either affective in helping them fill gaps in their reasoning or they may help fill gaps in my own reasoning, thinking, or my Theological views. 

Where I can get in trouble is, and I've spoken with my wife about this, is, I rise and fall to how the mood is set by my following conversationalist.  That is when I become a debater, and reason at a much louder volume of voice.  For those of you that have been caught up in the unthoughtful way of reasoning I have instigated, I do apologize. 

As Christians, we owe it to ourselves to be great reasoners of our faith.  We are asked to go out and make disciples of all nations, and in a time and place where logic and reasoning is very powerful, to hone your skill set in reasoning not only strengthens your faith, but it maybe the deciding factor on how affective you are as a disciple.

As a Christian, how many times have you reasoned with yourself the words of other Christians?  How many times have you been in a conversation you felt uncomfortable, because you could not reason yourself out of a question asked by a non-Christian.  We must own our faith.  We must build our arsenal of truth by reasoning with God, other Christians, ourselves, and non-Christians. 

God's Peace Love and Understanding to all of you.

Colossians 3:17 17 And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Head to Heart

18 Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.

The saying, "Christians talk the talk, but do not walk the walk", comes to mind when I read from 1 John 3:18.  I cannot tell you how many times I have seen Christians only love in word or talk.  I cannot tell you how many people I know that provide a lot of lip service to our Lord and Savior.

A synopsis of James 2:14-26, which my pastor speaks of as the "Coming to Jesus" book of the Bible, and I whole hearted agree, states that what does it profit us if we say we have faith but we do not have works.  Some may argue that we are not saved by works.  That being saved by works is SO Old Testament.  Well, they are right, BUT...works that are driven by faith in Christ are not works of our own accord.  They are a bi-product of letting the Spirit into our heart.  It is not by those works that we are saved my dear friends.

All can agree that as an individual, you mature as you get older.  Same holds true in our faith.  Hopefully, they are one in the same.  Personally, I see faith growing in understanding, knowledge, and then back to understanding.  As a child, for those that have grown up in a Christian household, faith was so simple, it made its way from our head to our heart easily.  As we grow older, we tend to close the veil of our heart and only let our faith live in our head.  As we grow older or more mature, we tend to start to love in word and talk, because we have pushed it from our heart to our head.  We know what is right to do, but that knowledge lives in the same place that useless knowledge lives.  Useless knowledge that may one day make you a winner on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?  Let me be frank, faith does not deserve to live in the same place that your useless information lives.

We must make a connection in our faith maturity to start moving our faith in Christ from our head back to our heart.  I picture the painting with Jesus Christ standing outside the door and knocking.  When we were children, it was so easy for us to just open the door and let him in.  As we matured, we have pushed Him outside the door, and it becomes harder for us to open the door again.  It is when you have opened the door to Christ that we have let the Spirit back into our heart.  To me, that is the time in which we have truly given ourselves completely to God, and when we should subsequently be Baptized.

Open the door my brothers and sisters.  Let Christ back into your hearts.  Loving in deed and truth will not be a burden onto your heart alone.  Christ shares that with you, and the deeds and truth you perform on not yours at all.  They are the works for our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  They are not deeds that save you.  It is the act of letting Christ into your heart that has saved you.

Amen and God's Peace and Love

Colossians 3:17 17 And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Hitting the Reset Button

I have re-purposed this blog so many times, I'm not sure I can even remember why it was brought into existence.  As I thought about why I can't make up my mind for this blog, it donned on me, maybe it is because God has continuously re-purposed me multiple times.  Maybe a better way to look at it is, I continuously try to put what God wants me to do into perfect little categorical buckets, and all He wants to do is have an avenue to speak about whatever and whenever. 

In celebration of this realization, I will be re-purposing this blog one last time.  This will be the last time I need to hit the reset button for what God wants to specifically talk about through me.  In fact, I don't think God wants me to be so one sided in His conversation.  Sure, my conversations with God maybe played out in the words that are written in this blog, but they should not be finalized with a punctuation.  They shouldn't just stop with the last period I put onto the sentence.

Have you the desire to have "cage rattling" conversations?  Do you have questions that you feel have never been answered?  Do you want to speak in an environment that shows no judgement, that will not jump to any conclusions?  Well, this is the right spot for you.

Some of you may know that I have two ministries I like to lead called Theology on Tap and Theology on Caffeine. Their purpose is similar in nature to this blog, in that they are environments where all walks of life should be able to come and enjoy the fellowship with God and His creation.  The individuals invited to these ministries are not meant to be just Christians.  They should be open to anyone seeking or wanting to question without being given the, "I can't believe you don't know that answer to that" type of response.

God has hear by re-purposed this Blog to be Theology on Blog.  It should be a continuation of the purpose of the other two ministries.  Sure, I'll be blogging my thoughts, but God asks that you ask questions as you have them.  Do not be afraid...if you do not challenge yourself by even questioning what is preached to you, you may find yourself being led by dogma or theoretical theology that not all agree on, which will only frustrate you.  Will we find all the answers, I can't answer that, but I do believe God will let you know if it really matters or not based on the type of answer you may NOT receive.

God loves you, me, and everyone.  We are all brothers and sisters in Christ.  Let us treat each other accordingly.  Please join me and all the fellow individuals that care to contribute.

God's Peace and Love to you all.

3 Modern Day Wise Men?

I have seen myself being influenced the past couple of weeks by 3 sources. 1. The book of James. Although there is speculation as to who actually wrote the book of James, it is a worth while daily devotional to skim through the 6 chapters. A person that is extremely busy can afford 10 minutes of their day to be brought back to earth a little bit. 2. Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis. Not only did our Theology on Tap group just talk about this book, but I was lucky enough to find it in the midst of my ever growing library collection. If this book has found the ever growing dust in your constant strife to keep up with your reading, trying makeing it a priority, it is a worth while read. 3 The Comfortable Pew by Pierre Berton. It has a preface that tells us that this is for the Anglican Church of Canada, but please, don't think that these problems are not far reaching to all of our denominations. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ The reason I mention the above three books is, I have seen a constant theme between 3 different perspectives on Religion and Christianity. For the sake of helping define what I mean between Religion vs. Christianity, I will take a second to explain my views on the 2. Religion is the set of dogmatic and theological differences that make up our ever increasing denominations. Christianity is the belief in Christ and that He was the Son of God sent down to die for us and our sins. Although simple definitions and whole books could be written about the two, those are my brief defintions as I stand. The book of James perspective is based on the teachings of the early church in the view of either James himself (the originally doubting brother of Jesus Christ) or at least a complilation of teachings from churches that James shepard to. Regardless of it's background, it is from the perspective of a Christian mind. The book, Mere Christianity, is from the mind of an individual that was an Athiest and explains how Christianity made more logical sense than anything else in his life. This being from the perspective of a once non-believer. The third book is from the perspective of a successful writer that no longer practices his Religious beliefs. The book was written in 1964, so he might have started up his practicing, but for the sake of his perspective at that time, it was a critisism from an outsider. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3 different views from 3 different perspectives, with one outlining message to me as I read them. If we find ourselves as Christians feeling that we are better than our so called enemies, be it people that theologically think differently, atheists, Jews, Muslims, Gays, etc., and base our critsism on our self described Christian standards, we have only to look in the mirror and see our only true enemy...Pride. Perfection has only been perfected once, maybe twice depending on how you look at it, and that is God and the begetting of his Son Jesus Christ. We must remind ourselves that if as Christians we ask what James and John did in asking Jesus if they could sit on the left and right hand of him, we should be ashamed of thinking we have exalted ourselves to that deserving privilage. Do not look down upon your brothers and sisters, and I don't mean just your brothers and sisters in Christ, look up at them and allow your Pride to fall from your eyes. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dear heavenly Father, Open our eyes to the humility that has been spoken by You to us for centuries. Help us to drive pride from our hearts and to kick out the petistal of our Christian Hierarchy and focus on being actionable Christians to your word. Through thought, word, and deed, I will be You Lord Jesus Christ...AMEN!