by Bert Harned, MD

FAITH has been established by God as the means by which He transmits ALL His blessings and benefits to us. That includes knowledge of Him, forgiveness, salvation, justification, redemption, reconciliation, the control of the Holy Spirit, peace, guidance, hope, assurance, and joy. His grace is lavished on us, has no limits and when we are connected to it, we have a continuous supply of everything we need at all times and in every situation. Faith is sorta like the wire that brings electricity from the power stations into your house. If that wire is cut, or absent, or too small, the power (Grace) that reaches you…is diminished or cut off. The power is still there, but not to you.

Romans 4 uses Abraham as an example of the right kind of faith. The faith that God accepts is what Abraham had…he “believed God.” What does that mean? He believed in his heart that God always told the truth. He believed in a big God, one Who created the universe, Who was absolutely sovereign, Who could raise the dead, Who knew everything, and Who had limitless power. He believed that God was absolutely trustworthy, that He was always present, and always did what He promised–and that God loved him. The weakest believer can do the same, and the strongest–can do no more. THAT was the faith that God counted, imputed, credited to Abraham as righteousness (and to us today). Faith has no value of itself, the value is in the object of the faith.

This faith always produces a lifestyle and mindset that is different from the world’s! BELIEF CAUSES BEHAVIOR! A crummy mindset produces lousy behavior. Look at the behavior listed in Romans 1:29-32 when God let them develop their own crummy depraved minds! This means faith is the one thing that we MUST have to please God, or know Him, and that unbelief is a huge affront to Him.

So what is the best way to increase, strengthen and reinforce your faith? Newell says, by considering the character and resources of God! I like that. Not just reading the Bible, but taking the time and effort to study and consider, and meditate on the incredible infinite and glorious character of God, and be immersed in the infinite limitless resources of His power and wisdom. Faith makes the realities of God real to our experience.

by Bert Harned, MD

Here are a few thoughts I remember from reading A. W. Tozer’s book, The Knowledge of the Holy (have you read it yet?):

God (alone) perfectly knows Himself, and He knows all that can be known about everything. He knows it instantly, to a perfect degree, which includes everything that exists or could exist or did exist anywhere, any time in the past or in the future. He knows it effortlessly, whether mind, creature, laws, relations, causes, thrones, dominions, personalities, visible or invisible in heaven or earth or space, including life, death, good, evil, heaven and hell, and all creatures, spirits, and creations [unknown to us].  He knows them all perfectly and equally well. He never discovers anything or learns anything, is never surprised and does not seek information or ask questions, except to test us. His knowledge and wisdom are infinite…there is no end to them, no limits. The same is true of His power. Continue Reading »

by Bert Harned, MD

“Nothing so relieves suffering and misery as a spirit of non-resistance.” Isn’t that an interesting observation! But most of us don’t go that route–instead we grumble, gripe, fuss, fret, and think of ways to “get even.” The foundation of non-resistance in your thinking is that you recognize that God is sovereign, and that nothing is incidental, accidental, or wasted. The Bible says that “all things work together for good.” Very few of us actually believe that!  The end result is great perplexity. But I read this week that “[Jesus] has no perplexity.”¹ Continue Reading »

by Bert Harned, MD

The word “some” has interesting implications. In Luke 21:16, Jesus said “some of you (not all) will be put to death…” He didn’t tell them who that would be, and that leaves us knowing that the Christian life involves risk (exposure to possible loss or injury). The risk and its outcome are not made known to us. Have you thought about that? John Piper’s book, Don’t Waste Your Life, has incited me to do some serious thinking here. I looked up the word “some” and found it everywhere. I realized that these things refer not to ugly sinners, but in most cases, faithful saints.  It made me take a deep breath! Continue Reading »

by Y-Jesus.com

Christmas means different things to different people. To most, it is a heartwarming time with family and friends. To many children, it’s about presents and Santa. To merchants, it means a season when many retailers finally begin making money.

But if you were go back seven hundred years before the birth of Christ and ask the prophet Isaiah what it means to him, he would tell you Christmas is about the birth of a special child: Continue Reading »

The Gospel writers all anchored their historical narratives in the Old Testament, beginning with messianic passages from the Hebrew prophets.  These passages foretold the coming Messiah, using a fulfillment formula stating that “that” is “this.” One such passage is Isaiah 9:6-7:

“A child is born to us, a son is given to us. And the government will rest on his shoulders. These will be his royal titles: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. His ever expanding, peaceful government will never end. He will rule forever with fairness and justice from the throne of his ancestor David.” (Isaiah 9:6-7, NLT) Continue Reading »

by Bert Harned, MD

A homeless drunk, with a $10 billion bank account, sleeping under Chicago bridges is not nearly as pathetic (foolish, insane) as a Christian, indwelt by the Holy Spirit of God, who is still living a spiritually crummy, self-centered life. Continue Reading »

by Bert Harned, MD

I heard an E.R. doctor say the other day that no one ever takes responsibility for his troubles. When a man comes in with a bullet would, he almost always says, “I was minding my own business, and this guy walked up and shot me.” The truth–he was doing a drug deal that went bad. It’s human nature, when things go badly, someone else is to blame–the boss, the other driver, a co-worker, your spouse, your background, the economy, the neighbor’s dog–whatever. Continue Reading »

by Bert Harned, MD

When you lose, you muse, and then choose. That is a potential pathway for depression. You lose something, (or are blocked, thwarted, diverted from what you wanted) then you muse (think about it) and then . . . choose what to do next. The loss may be something material like your tooth brush, or intangible such as information you need for a test. It can be insignificant, or extremely serious, such as the death of a loved one. It happens to all of us, and frequently! How you think (muse) and choose to process these daily losses is of tremendous importance to you. Continue Reading »

by Bert Harned, MD

Suppose your old roommate had become an insane, paranoid, vicious, convicted serial killer. The police called to tell you that he had just escaped from a nearby maximum security facility five miles from your house and had left a note that because you had offended him once, he was planning to come to your house to kill you and your family. What would be your response to that news?

Well, it would depend. It would depend on whether or not you believed it was true–was it from a source that you could really trust? Continue Reading »