jhinshaw's blog

Faith that Overcomes Doubt

Posted August 31, 2009 - 1:01pm

Faith that Overcomes Doubt
September, 2009

Bible Reading: Matthew 14:22-33

Doubt, according to Webster, is “to waver in opinion; to be inclined to disbelief; to hesitate; to be fearful or suspicious; to lack conviction.” We all understand that definition. Everyone has doubts. Even disciples of Jesus have doubts.

Faith Is...

Posted August 4, 2009 - 6:28pm

Faith Is…
August 5, 2009, 2009
Bible Reading: Hebrews 11:1-2, 6

The writer to the Hebrews tells us that faith is substance. I see two words in that description: “sub” and “stance.” In other words, faith is just below the surface; it’s something to stand on. Faith is like a sub floor we can’t see, yet we know it’s there. We can’t see faith or measure it or weigh it, but we feel its stability. Faith is the foundational bedrock that stabilizes our relationship with God. Faith is real; it is substantive.

I Choose You

Posted May 7, 2009 - 9:16pm

The playground of Berkeley Elementary in North Denver was brutal at times. Whenever sides were chosen for dodgeball or softball or kickball, somebody would be chosen last. I always felt sorry for the final pick because they already knew. It’s as if they experienced the rejection before it actually occurred. Their chins were tucked in their chests while they glared at the ground—like they didn’t want to look in the eyes of the person who refused to choose them. Then they’d angrily kick at the dirt when their name wasn’t called. It was, as I said, brutal at times.

IT’S WHAT WE DO IN CHURCH

Posted February 17, 2009 - 9:26am

I was captivated by an unusual sight last Sunday. The worship service had just concluded and I noticed a young wife, pregnant with her first child, staring intently at the side of her husband’s head. The bright sunlight, shining in from the windows of the sanctuary, made it easy for her to see something—something protruding from her husband’s left ear. She moved slowly, calmly reaching for it, obviously intent on securing the little protrusion between her thumb and index finger. And then she pulled on it—no, she jerked it. The husband didn’t budge.

THE LITTLE PHARISEE IN US

Posted January 24, 2009 - 10:18pm

Do you know any modern day Pharisees? You say, “What’s a Pharisee?” Well, a Pharisee is a person who pushes his or her personal views on everyone else. Hardly anyone desires to be controlled by the same views except other Pharisees with similar tendencies of morbidity. But the problem with Pharisees is that they don’t view themselves as being a problem—they don’t have a clue concerning their selfish, arrogant behavior. You see, Pharisees are quick to see the Pharisee in others, but not so quick to recognize the Pharisee in themselves.