faith – Page 10 – John Markum

The Questions You Asked… Part 3

Posted on August 6, 2011 by johnmarkum

Question: “Is it ok to ask out a girl who has a boyfriend?” Answer: I don’t have a Bible verse to go with this really… But here’s how I would see it: If she did say yes, and becomes your girlfriend, how much confidence do you have that she won’t leave you when the next guy asks her out? I don’t have a clear right/wrong answer on this, but most things that are “gray” are usually more black than white. Tread carefully…
Question: “Since Adam and Eve were the first humans, where did their sons’ wives come from?” Answer: Don’t be too grossed out, but… their sisters. God allowed it in the beginning for the propagation of the race. Hey! Facts aren’t always fun. Just be glad that you have more options now…
Question: “Does God hear the prayers of unbelievers?” Answer: God hears every prayer. The real question is, does He answer? As far as I’m concerned, I’m not entirely sure, though in general, I would elan toward “no.” I answer the needs/desires of my kids, but not usually those of the neighbor’s kid… One prayer is sure that God will listen to: Faith in Christ/Repentance of sin.
Question: “How can I know what my spiritual gift is?” Answer: By refusing to sit still hoping God will speak it to you in a dream or special revelation. I was not a great communicator when I surrender to full time ministry in 8th grade (You should have heard my first message… on second thought, no you shouldn’t!). When you open yourself up to letting God use you, instead of waiting for “something” to happen to you, God shows His will. Faith requires action. Your gifts will always be in the capacity of helping other people grow closer to God. And there are thousands of ways this could look for you. I made a post here on finding God’s will for your life. Hope that helps.
Question: “What does it really mean to have a walk/relationship with Jesus Christ?” Answer: When you stop asking “What can I get away with?” and start asking “How can I be like Jesus?” you’re getting close. The evidence can be found in how you treat others. I think I’ll give this more attention with it’s own blog post. Thanks for asking a great question that we all need to answer for ourselves!
Question: “What does it mean when a Christian ‘accepts Christ,’ gets baptized, does most of the right stuff, but they never give or serve anywhere? Are they really saved?” Answer: “Faith without works is dead.” What you believe is evidenced by what you do. But I don’t know if anyone is saved… except for me. I don’t know people’s hearts. I can only observe their outward behavior as indicators as to whats inside. In this case, I would suggest that you expand your idea of how gracious God is with His own children. Maybe this person just hasn’t matured to that point yet. If Christ has given them new life, they’ll get there. If they are not saved, then our response is still the same: Love them to Jesus! Let Him change them! I can’t change anyone… neither can you.
Question: “Did dragons/dinosaurs exist after the flood?” Answer: My thought? Yeah… they did. Maybe still do. Several “pre-historic” species (such as certain fish) were believed to long since evolved or died off that have been caught in the wild still. Job, in the Bible, refers to two creatures –Leviathon and Behemoth– that existed post-flood and sound dinosaur-esque. Some have tried to label these two creatures as a hippo/elephant and an alligator. But that just doesn’t fit. They sound like a dinosaur/dragon of some kind. And there is plenty of scientific theory to lend support as to how this may have been possible.

The Questions You Asked… Part 2

Posted on August 4, 2011 by johnmarkum

Question: “Are there people in Heaven right now?” Answer: 2 Corinthians 5:8, “We are confident, I say, and willing rather, to be absent from the body and be present with the Lord.”
Question: “Would something artificial (hearts, lungs, etc.) be considered bad?” Answer: The Bible gives us no direction on this. Some argue that “the life of the body is in the blood.” (Leviticus 17:11) and therefore we shouldn’t have a blood transfusion. I don’t find that conclusion in this passage. As far as I am concerned, there are no guiding principles against it, and if I (or any of my family) ever needed an artificial body part in order to live a relatively functioning lifestyle, I would accept it.
Question: “What is the best way to speak to people of other faiths, including atheists?” Answer: In general? Find common ground and love them to Jesus. That is a gross over-simplification, but without dealing with every specific religion individually, that’s the best advice I can give. That, and be sure of what you believe, and why you believe it. Oh and one more thing… decide not to argue with anyone. Most of the arguments we get into drive people away from Christ, and if they just want to argue with you, they’ve already chosen to blind themselves for this conversation at least.
Question: “Are piercings bad?” Answer: Like tattoos, I would say it depends. Why are you getting a piercing? What are you hoping people notice about you or think about you? Can you do it for the glory of God (1 Cor. 10:31)?
Question: “What [clothing] is considered too revealing?” Answer: As Pastor Craig and I dealt with this in Elevate this past Sunday, if you’re having to ask that, it might be too revealing! Remember to ask yourself, “who am I trying to impress, and what do I want to impress them with?” If the answer is some aspect of your body, it’s probably inappropriate. Even worse, you will attract guys, but not the one’s you really want to be in a relationship with. If you’re unsure, ask someone you trust like a parent, pastor, pastors wife, etc…
Question: “How far should education be allowed to go with sex-ed, ancient cultures, violence…?” Answer: Excellent question! Personally, I am adamant that this is the role of parents first and foremost. I’m comfortable with schools dealing with issues of anatomy and physiology. But sex-ed is an entirely different subject. If/when my kids are at that age and being directed to a sex-ed class in school, I will withhold them on religious grounds. Even churches need to be cautious about dealing with minors on this subject without parents’ knowledge.
Question: “What if a girl says no to a date?” Answer: Ask a different girl out! Don’t get your feelings hurt. And don’t be desperate.

What you CAN’T See

Posted on July 27, 2011 by johnmarkum

2 Kings 6 tells this fascinating story of Elisha being surrounded by the Aramean army. He had been relaying the details of their battle strategy to the king of Israel, and when the enemy found out they didn’t want to take chance by only sending a dozen troops. So they sent the likes of an entire battalion… for one man.

You ever felt the same way? Like you were being surrounded by seemingly impossible circumstances and the future was unclear, and there was no clear way of survival? Maybe for you it was a relational thing. Or college. Or your finances. Chances are, you can fill in the blank with your own example of an army surrounding you.

The best part of the story is when Elisha’s servant looks out the door to see the army surrounding them: No way of escape, no weapons, and outnumbered 1,000 to 2. Elisha prays for God to “open his eyes that he may see.” As God does so, the servant sees them being protected by an even greater army – an unseen army – made up of the hosts of Heaven.

Elisha does not pray for the army to be killed, he simply asks God to blind them. Then he leads the blinded battalion to the king of Israel, asks God to restore their sight, and then allows them to go back to their land unharmed. The Arameans leave Israel alone after that.

Funny, how something that looked so impossible was resolved, and without even a battle taking place. That’s how big our God is! Our God will take our overwhelming odds, and thwart their efforts to harm us.

Real faith is believing that there is something greater at work than what we can see with our eyes.

He never promised us bad stuff would never happen to us, He only promised that we’d never be alone, and that through Him we are more than conquerors. We will overcome by the power of our God. He is greater! He is with us! What can possibly stand in our way? Do not fear your circumstances. Look to our God, and expect great things from what you do not see.

Blessings,

John