Tag: assurance

Posted in Through the Bible Devotions

You can count on him

Posted on by William Douthwaite
Photo by Frank OConnor on Unsplash

Some “through the bible” thoughts from Hebrews 10.

“Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful” (Hebrews 10:19-23).

The writer here refers to “confidence,” “full assurance,” and “without wavering.”

That would be a great place to be, wouldn’t it? Any one of those would be a good place to be, wouldn’t it?

Confidence is elusive. I probably could have done better. Full assurance would mean an absence of doubt. But who doesn’t have lots of questions? On any given day our faith can feel either strong or weak. Who doesn’t waver when the highs and lows of life hit hard?

The key to all that is in the last phrase: “He who promised is faithful” (10:23). God doesn’t change, waver, drift, waffle, yo-yo, flip-flop, or vacillate. He keeps his promises. He does what he says. His word is truth. He is trustworthy. He is the only source of confidence, assurance, and unwavering hope.

Old Faithful (pictured above) used to erupt every 60-70 minutes. Earthquakes have changed that interval to anywhere from 35 to 100 minutes. The geyser isn’t as faithful as it used to be.

My car faithfully starts up every morning. Until it doesn’t and I have to install a new battery. My AC faithfully keeps the house at a comfortable temperature. Until it doesn’t, and I have to call for service. My Amazon orders faithfully arrive within two days. Unless they don’t because of supply chain or shipping delays.

So it can be hard to grasp God’s perfect record of faithfulness. But after some investigation, he always does what he says. He fuels unique confidence, assurance, and unwavering hope.

Posted in Through the Bible Devotions

What does faith look like?

Posted on by William Douthwaite
Photo by Kyle Loftus on Unsplash

Some “through the bible” thoughts from Hebrews 10 and 11.

So what does faith look like?

I guess there as many answers as there are answer-ers. For some, faith looks like going to church. For others, it’s traveling far from home on a mission trip. Memorizing bible verses? Praying before meals? Wearing a cross necklace? Being nice. Honest. dependable. Perhaps all of the above.

But perhaps more. In Hebrews 11, faith means looking forward to everything God promised, trusting him, and doing what he says. It means not looking back, but always towards what will be.

Why do that? Because he who promised is faithful (10:23). That’s why faith looks like confidence (10:19), full assurance (10:22), and no wavering (10:23). It’s absolute certainty in God’s mercy and grace that is ours in Christ.

Posted in dying, Life, Ministry

You need to hear it again.

Posted on by William Douthwaite

silvestri-matteo-176500The call came pretty late last night, about 10:45. I was driving, and felt my phone buzz in my pocked, but didn’t listen to the message until after I got home. “She said she thinks he’s dying.” I only live about a mile away and I didn’t want them to be alone, so I headed over to the apartment.

When I arrived, it was and it wasn’t what I expected. I’ve been with many people in hospice care for the last days and hours of their lives. I’m familiar with the shallow, irregular, rattling breathing. I just didn’t think it would happen this soon. Just hours earlier, he had been awake, conversant, signing his own documents and deciding to come home from the hospital. Hospice hadn’t even been to the house yet, and it looked like he’d be gone before they even arrived. He wasn’t conscious, but he also didn’t seem uncomfortable, which was a blessing.

A few more people arrived. All we could do was wait. Wait for a call back from hospice. Wait and wonder whether it was a wise choice to come home. Wait and pray, commending him to the Lord’s care.

With her encouragement, we left about 12:30 pm. She knew who to call if anything got out of hand. When I called back this morning, I learned he had died about an hour after we all left. Her words to me on the phone were, “I know he’s with the Lord. I just hope God accepts him.”

Without hesitation, I replied, “I have no doubt! He had faith in Christ. We just talked about that the other day when I brought him communion, He was forgiven. You don’t have to worry about that at all.”

“Thank you so much. That’s just what I needed to hear.”

If you know me at all, you know I talk about that all the time. Maybe when you’re sitting there on a Sunday and life is pretty good and you don’t have too many worries, it doesn’t register. But when the breathing stops, you feel all alone, and reality kicks in, it suddenly becomes an issue. So, you need to hear it again. If I can, I’ll be there to make sure you do.

Lately it seems like I’ve been spending a lot of time with people who get hit with stuff over and over again. What do you do for someone when the cancer keeps coming back? Or the headaches? Or the strokes? Or the flooding? I’m humbled knowing I don’t have a whole lot of answers. But I get to bring Christ, and he gives more than we ask or imagine.