2009-10-29T10:22:26-05:00 GCI info@gospel.com http://www.gospel.com/feeds/topics/doubt http://gospel.com/blog/index.php/2009/10/29/can-you-be-an-ex-christian/ 2009-10-29T10:22:26-05:00 When you hear somebody describe themselves as an “ex-Christian” or “former Christian,” what’s your reaction? http://hutchcraft.com/a-word-with-you/your-hard-times/it-aint-over-2581 2009-10-02T10:32:03-05:00 You can't tell what God is going to do for a wonderful finish to this game. God has a way of hitting a bases loaded, grand slam home run in the bottom of the ninth with two outs - if you don't give up before that harvest comes! I just hope you don't miss that grand finish because you gave up on the game too soon! http://biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John%2020:26-28&version=NIV 2009-09-27T19:53:01-05:00 Thomas, one of the disciples, refused to believe that Jesus had risen without physical proof. He received that proof when Jesus appeared before him, although Jesus praised those who had believed without the benefit of evidence. http://biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John%2020:28&version=NIV 2009-09-25T11:41:44-05:00 The famous words of Thomas, the doubting disciple, upon meeting Jesus in the flesh after his resurrection. Any doubts that Thomas still held disappeared in that moment. http://biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2%20Peter%203:3-7&version=NIV 2009-09-18T10:12:57-05:00 Christians are warned that scoffers and doubters will emerge and question whether or not Jesus will really return. In the face of such doubts, we must cling to God's promises, and take heart in His faithfulness over the centuries. http://hutchcraft.com/a-life-that-matters/radio-program/when-you-are-doubting-thomas-8243 2009-09-11T14:41:55-05:00 When we moved in my senior year, I lost my Christian cocoon. I’d had a good youth group, a Bible club, a lot of Christians. And then, man, I had none of the above. I was like the “Lone Christian.” And I was in this one class where the teacher challenged everything I believed, and now I was questioning things that I never really questioned before. What if we’d been raised in another culture? Would I have believed something else? Well, I really started digging into the evidence for myself, and I’ll tell you today the things I struggled with are the things I know are true beyond any shadow of a doubt. http://biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis%2018:10-14&version=NIV 2009-07-22T14:25:27-05:00 When told that she would bear a son in her old age, Sarah laughed and didn't believe it. In a similar way, it's tempting to question some of God's promises--will He really return and wipe away sin? Would He really send His son to die for sinful people? But as this passage reminds us, nothing is impossible for God, no matter how unlikely it seems from our human perspective. http://biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm%2073.1-Psalm%2073.28&version=NIV 2009-07-21T16:44:28-05:00 The writer of this psalm experiences deep, wrenching emotions that we might recognize as depression or despair: his heart was grieved and his spirit embittered; he could not break out of his bleak mood alone. He finds strength and encouragement only in God and His faithfulness. http://biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John%2020:24-31&version=NIV 2009-07-21T10:13:28-05:00 Doubt is not a new phenomenon--one of Jesus' own disciples couldn't bring himself to believe in Christ's resurrection without seeing physical proof! Jesus graciously supplies that proof, but encourages us nevertheless to have faith even in the absence of scientific proof. http://biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Judg.6.1-Judg.6.40&version=NIV 2009-07-17T10:05:02-05:00 Gideon, like many of the judges of the Old Testament, is a curious hero. He wanted tangible evidence of God's favor before he carried out his tasks--and he asked for it, more than once. This story of Gideon's requests for proof and God's patient responses makes for an enlightening read.