I believe the case can be made that we are witnessing today...as many are personally experiencing...a ‘crisis of faith’.

How might we even define the phrase ‘faith crisis’ or ‘crisis of faith’?

How’s this for starters? - A faith crisis is a period of intense doubt or questioning of one's religious or spiritual beliefs. It involves a struggle between existing beliefs and skepticism, often triggered by conflicting information or challenging life experiences. This can lead to feelings of confusion, disillusionment, and a reevaluation of one's faith and spiritual identity.

Now, let’s narrow that down in a more specific way: Many professing believers today...are struggling to ‘believe’.

In the gospel of Mark, we read about a distressed father who brought his son to the disciples seeking help. The son was demon possessed and suffered much torment, having seizures, throwing himself into both water and fire; not to mention he was deaf and mute. The disciples were unable to cast the spirit out, so the desperate father made his appeal to Jesus begging for compassion to be shown to him and his son. (Mark 9:22)

Jesus said to him, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.” (23)

Please let this next verse settle deeply into your soul:

“Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, “Lord, I believe; help me [overcome] my unbelief.” (24)

Can we talk about this acute shortage, or deficiency of ‘belief’ that is plaguing us today? I think a deeper study comparing the two words, ‘faith’ and ‘belief’ might lead to some insightful truths of distinction, but let’s keep it simple for now, and I’ll use an example to illustrate my point that maybe you have heard before:

If you are in a movie theater and someone comes running in midway and yells: “FIRE!”...you are about to witness who truly ‘believes’ and who doesn’t ‘believe’.

You might say you ‘believe’... what you just ‘heard’; but if you remain in your seat, unmoved to what you just heard and don't respond by seeking the nearest exit...can we question if you really did believe what you heard? And if the stampede of those who are responding has no effect on you, nor the smoke filtering into the auditorium...and you remain in your seat fixated on wanting to continue to watching the movie...I think we can say “Houston...we have a problem here.”

I would submit to you that we have a hard time truly ‘believing’....God’s word today.

We claim to love it, read it, uphold as ‘infallible’. We study it, memorize it, and make a habit of quoting it and sharing it through various means.

But do we really ‘believe’ what God says in it? Because if we did, I don’t think there would be as much needless suffering and heartache that exists today, especially among people who are professing ‘believers’.

I only say that because truth be told...God has been hollering ‘FIRE’ since He first put man in the garden (Gen. 2:17) and for a host of reasons...we just don’t seem to believe that God really means what He says. God even admits that His people are ‘foolish/stupid’ (depending on translation you read- Jer. 4:22) and reminds us that they are ‘destroyed for a lack of knowledge’ (Hos. 4:6)

Last week, we spent some time in Isaiah 5, where God talks about ‘removing the hedge’ from His vineyard (5), a vineyard that failed to produce good fruit. This was a form of judgment that brought devastating consequences if you read through that chapter (5:6-30). And dare I remind us all that God has not changed...He is still looking for good fruit and a day of reckoning is upon us where the ‘hedge’ is once again being removed and the wrath of God is coming (and is already here). You might review 1 Pet. 4:17; Matt. 3:7-12; 7:19; 13:36-43; Rom. 1:18; & Mal. 3:6.

And friends...so much heartache and suffering could be avoided...if we just believed what He says...and let that belief or ‘faith’ ...produce the necessary action of response to His word (Heb.3:16-19).

So let’s revisit the question that the Lord put forth (Isa. 5:5) when He looked down on His vineyard and saw only bad fruit. God asked: “What more could have been done to My vineyard that I have not done in it?”

Would you let that sink in for a moment, please. As I said the other day...God is still asking that question of His church - 'what more'...could He have done that has not been done to free His people from the bondage of sin, Satan, and the world. And yet...we continue to practice sin...thinking God won’t notice or has become overly ‘lenient’ with this thing we call ‘grace’; and yet...little do people realize...that despite all the ‘wonderful things we have done or continue to do...’in His name’...we will see the same consequences that the vineyard in Isaiah 5 saw. You should have Matt. 7:21-23 memorized by now.

I feel led to move in a direction these next few days that is going to hit very close to home; and if you get ahead of me, you will jump to faulty conclusions. But let me end on this note: Do you really believe God created a world that was beautiful and ‘good’, before finishing off with his crowning masterpiece...creating man in His image, only to then bombard humanity with sickness, disease, suffering, destruction, and death? I hope you'll join me tomorrow.