"HOW STRONG IS YOUR FAITH?"

Good Evening To All,

Now Thomas (called Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. (25) So the other disciples told him, "We have seen the Lord!" But he said to them, "unless I see the nail marks in His hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it."
(26) A week later, his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you!"
(27) Then He said to Thomas, "Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe."
(28) Thomas said "My Lord and my God!" (29) then Jesus told him, "Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed."

I have heard time and again that "if something sounds too good to be true, it usually is." The key word here is usually. If we are talking about this world we live in and anything having strictly to do with our human side, I would say unequivocally it is true. However, in view of the powerfulness of our wonderful God, in view of His omnipotence, omniscience and omnipresence, I would definitely have to say that ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE and no humanisms apply to Him or anything having to do with Him.

This being said when something sounds unbelievable, we might check out the story on the Internet about hoaxes. Of course we don't want to made to look foolish, so we tend to be gun shy of people when they are telling a miraculous story. We start to try and rationalize everything they say. We definitely don't want to come across as gullible or be taken in by a "con artist".

It is one thing to doubt stranger's and even acquaintance's accounts of things happening, but Thomas doubted his close friends when they told him about seeing Jesus again. Remember, these were friends that were close enough to him to be his brothers. These are men he had spent more time with than apart. Thomas couldn't bring himself to believe until he actually experienced the truth.

Unfortunately, doubting is part of human nature. Faith does not come naturally to us. It takes the study of God's Word, prayer, and actually practicing faith, for it to come easier. When I say practice, I mean it takes pushing ourselves to step out in faith about things. Forcing ourselves to believe that God is going to take care of whatever we need help with. We should ask for his help, and then watch it come to pass. We must not give up even if it doesn't happen right away. This is how God tests our faith, as well as that He knows what is best for us. That is another aspect of faith. To realize that our CREATOR knows what is best for us all the time.

We must be patient with people who don't believe our testimonies as Christians or those who doubt our word. All we can do is pray that Jesus will reveal the truth to them.

Have you ever thought about the gender issue? Women seem to be more open to the idea of Jesus and are twice as likely as men to attend church. It seems like men are less likely to believe in Jesus and over come their doubts . I' m not positive, but I wonder if this stems from pride. After all, pride is a powerful deterrent. It got Lucifer thrown out of heaven.

A good many men don't like to ask for help. I won't stereotype and say all or most, because I have never "taken a poll", but just going by the men "outside" the church I have come in contact with, it seems that way. My husbands didn't and doesn't like to ask for directions when he's lost, let alone revealing his vulnerability to God and everyone in church. (Like God can't see him).

The best thing we can do for "doubters" is to PRAY for them and ask God to touch their hearts, and then live our faith so that they will see faith in action. There is no truer words that "Actions speak louder than words". If we talk the talk, but don't walk the walk, then we will come across as hypocrites, and that will do much more HARM than good.

Good Night To All and May God Bless!