What Faith Really Is (#696)

This summer some leading authors, church leaders, and worship song composers announced that they were abandoning the faith, no longer finding it real or relevant to their lives. What do we make of this trend? Brad and Wayne talk about what faith really is, and if you really have it would you ever consider leaving it? We've confused religious institituions for the faith, and when they are exposed for the flawed systems they are, people confusing losing faith in them with losing faith in God. Faith is not believe in a creed or identifing with a religion, it's the growing trust in a Father's affection that helps me navigate life with his strength and wisdom. That's the kind of faith you'd never want to leave.

Podcast Notes:
Author Joshua Harris Kisses His Faith Goodbye
Hillsong Worship Leader Rejects Christian Beliefs
If You Can Help Us in Kenya

10 Comments

  1. When my son died I felt judgement and not love. He died of an accidental OD of prescription drugs. In his brokenness he led many to God…yet a scriptural quoting women told me my son was probably in Hell. I left the church, and was mad at God too. God loved me through the pain. Thanks to listening to your podcasts years earlier, I knew God understood my emotions. I wanted my son healed, and God healed my son of his addictions and mentail illness by taking him home. God loves my son more than I do…and I truly loved my son, prayed hard over him, and fought hard for him when he gave up in himself. It took a while fot my heart to accept this since I wanted my son healed here on Earth. God was big enough to understand. I left the church, but my faith is intact. If God had not placed books like “The Shack” and “He Loves Me” in my path, along with some of your podcasts a few years before my loss…I too would have lost faith. Nice to take God iut of the box and enjoy the Love of my daddy in Heaven. Always missing my son, but know God’s love was there for him and I will see my son again. He is in God’s presence now, and God truly loved him, even in his brokenness.

    • Religious people say the cruelest things! Suzette, I’m so sorry for your loss and so grateful that God has led you to better space and rest in the security of this Father’s affection. Your son could be in no better arms than Fathers. May the Lord continue to draw you ever deeper into the fullness of his love and provide all the courage you need to continue to walk with him in this age.

  2. I often awake in the mornings with hard things to think on/pray about…my next door neighbor/sister in Christ whose husband was sentenced to over 8 years in federal prison for selling drugs and all of his kids graduating high school before he gets out, my close friend whose husband and daddy to her three kids anniversary of taking his life coming soon in Sept., my close uncle who had esophageal surgery last week and now has bag and feeding tube…and goes on…
    Yet when praying, something neat happened…I was able to say, “I trust You Papa” and when I said that I felt an amazing sweet spot…the place of Jesus goodness and love…what I loved about it was that I didn’t have to strive or work to trust…it was just a gift and the fruit of trust is that sweet goodness that sweet loyalty and faithfulness that exceeds far above human capability. A place of safety and sweetness. My girls and I sang “Tis so sweet to Trust in Jesus” hymn that morning…I see now the author of that song sure tasted the sweetness of Jesus also. The verse given to me that morning was Lamentations 3:22-24
    Your mercies are new every morning Your compassions they fail not Great is Your faithfulness…The LORD is my portion” Amen

    I happened to listen to this particular podcast the same morning of this prayer and devotion:).

  3. Your words were so encouraging in my own “storm” Victoria. Thank you. Sue

  4. I’m happy it encouraged you Sue! When I first found out about my close uncle I was putting my daughter to bed and she could see something was wrong and I began to cry saying “yes I’m sad….I just wish things could stay the same everyone happy and getting together and playing cards (we are close cousins/relatives)” then she and I began to pray together and as I talked with Father God…as soon as I said “I just wish things could…” I was reminded…yes there are changes in this life …some good some hard but God’s goodness never changes His love is always the same and to keep our eyes fixed on that during life’s difficulties. Then my girls’ VBS theme this year was “Life changes but God is Good” and their songs talked about hardships and changes in life but God’s love never changes:)!
    “His eye is on the Sparrow” is another hymn I’ve been blessed by singing in this season.

    Love and prayers of His hugs to you??

  5. Wayne. Like usual I enjoyed this weeks podcast. I was part of the group you met with in Australia a few years back which included ex-Hillsong people. Living very close to Hillsong I know a lot of current and former Hillsong members. In fact the times I do attend a Sunday thing, it’s Hillsong, mainly because my wife is a creative/musical type and its hard to do better. I think about the Hillsong phenomena from time to time and was interested in your comment about the music being “bait”. My own reflection is that when Father gifts people or groups in a particular way they and us tend to see that gift as an endorsement of their entire organisational model and what they have to say. We tend to overshoot what Father is doing with gifting/grace in one area to become authority to everything they do and say.

  6. Wayne, in the beginning of the podcast where the Gender Identifications came up and it seemed (to me) that you and Brad were maybe kind of doing a good-cop bad-cop skit about those lost in these issues, and my former self would have thought, yeah this whole issue is getting out-of-control; if we could simply elect the right people in state and federal government, we could end this silliness. But then I remembered back to the podcast you did back in 2016 with your friend Bob Prater, and re-listened to it (#525) and I was quickened by the Spirit, thinking, yeah Bob’s looking at these suffering people through Jesus lenses. My judging people puts distance between me and them, no unity there! Too often I act as though God’s great LOVE is unable to fix people. Foolish me. I love love, doesn’t everybody!? Especialy when we begin to plug into the length, width,height, depth, etc., of God’s LOVE.

  7. If you’ve been there I don’t think it’s so hard to imagine how someone with a personal relationship to Jesus could find themselves walking away from it. What if someone spent time with Jesus, maybe years, but something got in the way of that relationship? What if the person lost the connection and couldn’t seem to find it again? What if they couldn’t seem to break through; the still small voice seemed too quiet, the nudges seemed to come from too many directions? What if it seemed like there was only silence? What if this went on for a long time? Maybe the person might feel guilty because they pushed Jesus away. Maybe they might start to wonder if what they thought was a relationship with him was really a fantasy or a figment of their imagination. Maybe they might run into others with the same thought. What if the person loses hope or can’t persist or decides they’ve been fooled? Walking away is not the work of a day. I think it takes a 1000 small cuts to bring it to an end.

  8. Thanks for your ecouraging words Victoria. Within the mixture of a family caught in an obligation system…then add to the mix my own health and future…it looks dark at times. However the freedom that living in Him provides allows me to see little by little more of His life. Emotionally hard at times and then other times encouraged. Blessings to you.

Comments are closed.