Faith is taking the first step even when you don’t see the whole staircase – Martin Luther King, Jr.

Why do we need to have faith in something? In something greater than us, in particular. Is it because it is what gives us meaning and purpose? Is it because it gives us something to aspire to? I hate when people say “since men and women have existed.” So ask yourself, since you have existed – have you always had this desire to explain why things happen the way they did? Of course. Who hasn’t? And for some of us, putting that faith in God and using him to explain all of the wonders and questions in this world is just what we need to help satisfy those meanings in life.

People like to say that the truest form of faith is in that of a child. And that’s because their faith hasn’t been obscured by reason, other people’s opinions and what they read or see on TV. I look at where I am now, and wonder if I am really questioning that there is a God or if I’m just afraid to admit that he might actually exist.

And I wonder if it’s not because I can’t prove he exists – like I have been telling myself, but if it’s because of the changes I have to make in my life if he does. Living a life based on what I think is right or wrong, and with what I think my time should be devoted to doesn’t always matchup to what we’re taught in Church and in scripture. My life is busy enough as it is. Do I have time for this? Are these adjustments I’m ready to make?

And yet, I think I also question God because I do want him to exist. I want to be comforted. I want Heaven to exist. But with the way I’m wired I find it so hard to believe in something I can’t prove is there. And so I startup this site. I dive into research mode to learn what I can about it. Because I’m trying to prove to myself that he is really there. And if he’s always there than things will always work out and in the end everything will be okay.

Who wouldn’t want that?

I always find that when I start focusing on how God can enrich my life and not that he would be some other item on my todo list, that the staircase Martin Luther King Jr. is talking about doesn’t seem so scary after all. We all go about coming to terms with our faith in our own way, and while mine may be much longer than others, I trust it will pay dividends in the end. But the key is to not be afraid to take that first step.

Taking a Step Towards Finding Your Faith is a post from Finding My Grace by Taylor Pratt.

There is a distinction between belief in a set of propositions and a faith which enables us to put our trust in them. – Karen Armstrong, A History of God

As you may have noticed, I haven’t been writing lately. It’s not that I’ve given up my journey / quest, it’s just that I haven’t been able to dedicate as much of my time to it as I would have liked. Over the last few weeks I’ve been thinking a lot about religion as a whole. It’s something that truly fascinates me in just about every aspect of it.

I’ve also been asked a lot recently about why I’m thinking so hard about my faith. Isn’t it something that should just come naturally? I really don’t think it can, at least not the kind of faith I’m looking for. I’m not just looking to believe, I’m looking to have faith. And those are two completely different things. For me, it isn’t simple enough to just believe in something because it’s the norm. I need to know why I should believe in it. Like many things in life, why isn’t an easy question to answer.

In my current state of mind, believing in God isn’t logical. I don’t understand how so many people can believe in something they can’t see and can’t prove exists. And I’m not ready to just join the crowd and believe simply because I want to believe. And I do want to believe. So what I’m focused on is understanding everything I can about religion. What is known. What people theorize. Why the idea of God has been able to sustain itself for 4,000 years.

So what I’ll be doing from now on is sharing my studies with you. I’m currently reading an amazing book by Karen Armstrong called, “>A History of God (note: affiliate link). If you’re interested in learning about God and how our belief came in existence, I highly recommend this book. Ms. Armstrong has created a thirst of knowledge for me. I want to know not just about Christianity, but about all religions. My thought is if I can learn as much as possible about the various religions and about God as a whole, I’ll be able to make an objective decision as to his existence.

Hopefully you’ll enjoy learning about important holidays, religious traditions and history. I really think that challenging your belief is one of the best things you can do. If anything, it will strengthen your relationship with God. Don’t be afraid to ask why just because those close to you aren’t.

Changing of the Tide is a post from Finding My Grace by Taylor Pratt.

Reason is the greatest enemy that faith has. – Martin Luther

I haven’t been writing much lately and that’s because I’ve been spending a lot of time researching the history of God. I figured if I want to understand something, I need to know where it all began. Or at least where we’re told it all began.

But I’ve also been very frustrated with my faith among other things. For some reason I have always had this system of checks and balances in my head about God’s good will: you do right by Him and he’ll do right by you. Simple, right? Too simple, I’m sure. But what I don’t get is how you can work on doing all the right things and have nothing change positively or negatively in your life. You have to wonder, what’s the point then?

Now people say He has a plan for us all (and I’ve given my two cents on that whole free will thing), but I have to wonder how much of that is just said to make us all feel better. It seems like whenever good things happen to us it is because of God, but whenever bad things happen it’s never anything He is doing. Why does He get credit for the good and none of the bad? How does that make any sense?

If you do things the way it is taught in scripture, then why would bad things happen to you at all? Shouldn’t your life be perfect? I realize how boring that would be and that perfection is just a perception we all have that we’ll never be able to achieve. But is that logic that far off? I don’t think so.

And does God not play a role in the things we ask him to, that we pray for Him to, because they aren’t important enough of matters? Does it have to be life and death in order for you to be able to justify praying to Him and asking Him for help?

And when things do start to fall into place, do we just assume it is because God stepped in? How do we know those things wouldn’t have happened naturally?

I’m not exactly sure what goes on in my life is important enough for God to even have the slightest thought about given what else goes on in this world.

I’m beginning to realize just how distant He really may be.

My frustration with faith is a post from Finding My Grace by Taylor Pratt.

How Great Thou Art is a post from Finding My Grace by Taylor Pratt.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, on this most holy night, in which our Lord Jesus Christ passed over from death to life, the Church invites her members, dispersed throughout the world, to gather in vigil and prayer. For this is the Passover of the Lord, in which through word and sacrament we share in his victory over death. – Traditional Easter vigil liturgy

Holy Saturday is the day before Easter, the last day of Lent and is the day when Christ’s body lay in His tomb.

The History

There isn’t a ton of information that I was able to find about Holy Saturday, other than after sundown on Saturday, the chief priests and Pharisees went to Pontius Pilate and asked that a guard be placed at Jesus’ tomb to prevent His disciples from removing the body. They had remembered Jesus saying that he would rise again and they wanted to prevent that.

Fail.

Reflection

Holy Saturday is traditionally a day of quiet meditation as Christians contemplate remember Jesus and His sacrifices. More importantly, it’s a time to remember why Jesus made that sacrifice for you.

Oddly enough I think about a wonderful quote from one of my favorite movies, V for Vendetta. It seems so applicable to what Jesus went through and may have though; especially the part in bold.

It seems strange that my life should end in such a terrible place, but for three years I had roses and apologized to no one. I shall die here. Every inch of me shall perish. Every inch, but one. An inch. It is small and it is fragile and it is the only thing in the world worth having. We must never lose it or give it away. We must NEVER let them take it from us. I hope that whoever you are, you escape this place. I hope that the world turns, and that things get better. But what I hope most of all is that you understand what I mean when I tell you that, even though I do not know you, and even though I may never meet you, laugh with you, cry with you, or kiss you, I love you. With all my heart, I love you.

Holy Week: Holy Saturday is a post from Finding My Grace by Taylor Pratt.

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? – Psalm 22

Good Friday. The day that Jesus was arrested, tortured and then hung to die on a cross next to two criminals. One of the two most important days in Christianity (the other being the resurrection).

Why is it “good”?

I’ve always wondered why Good Friday was known to be “good” given all of the torture, betrayal and hardship Jesus went through on that day. It’s because of what Jesus’ sacrifice meant. Jesus took on our sins so that we may one day join him and God in Heaven.

For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive by the spirit. – First Peter 3:18

His Many Sufferings

• Betrayed for 30 pieces of silver – Matthew 26:14-16
• Struck and spit on – Isaiah 50:6
• Impaled – Psalm 22
• Reviled while on the stake – Psalm 22:7
• Executed without having any of his bones broken – Psalm 34:20

Seven Last Words

The Seven Last Words refer to Jesus’ final seven utterances spoken from the Cross:

1. “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.” – Luke 23:34
2. “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.” – Luke 23:43
3. “Mother, there is your son. Son, there is your mother” – John 19:26
4. “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” – Mark 15:34
5. “I thirst” – John 19:28
6. “It is finished” – John 19:30
7. “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit” – Luke 23:46

More Than a One Day Event

What’s interesting about Good Friday is that the Bible doesn’t instruct us to celebrate Jesus’ sacrifice on a specific day. Instead, we are told to remember it always, especially during communion.

…do this in remembrance of me…for whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes. – First Corinthians 11:24-26

Holy Week: Good Friday is a post from Finding My Grace by Taylor Pratt.

And He took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” Likewise He also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My Blood, which is shed for you.” – Luke 22:19-20

Maundy Thursday. One of the most important parts of Holy Week. This is the day that Jesus celebrated Passover with His disciples, often referred to as the Last Supper.

The History

During the Last Supper, Jesus instituted Communion (referenced in the passage above). Jesus asked that we take part in communion in remembrance of Him, His principles and His sacrifices.

Jesus also went around the room and washed each of his disciples’ feet. I know what you’re thinking: “why on Earth would he want to do that? Especially back then!” It’s actually a very important lesson He was teaching us. By washing the disciples’ feet, Jesus was showing an act of humility. He wanted to show us that we should love and serve each other in humility. Such an important lesson that far too many Christians overlook.

Maundy?

“Maundy” is Latin for “command.” “Maundy Thursday” refers to the command that Jesus gave his disciples at the Last Supper: that they should love each other, just as Jesus had loved them.

Or was it Maundy Wednesday?

Recently in London, Professor Colin Humphreys claimed that there is evidence to support the fact that the Last Supper actually took place on the Wednesday before before the crucifixion – not Thursday as it is traditionally celebrated. All thanks to a calendar mixup.

The interesting part is, if he is indeed right it would mean that we would have a fixed date for Easter. Instead of his bouncing around between March and April has it usually does. You can learn more about his theory in his new book: The Mystery of the Last Supper: Reconstructing the Final Days of Jesus. And yes, that is an affiliate link. In a post about Jesus. *high five*

The Betrayer

This is the betrayer we’re all familiar with: Judas.

“But behold, the hand of My betrayer is with Me on the table. And truly the Son of Man goes as it has been determined, but woe to that man by whom He is betrayed!” – Matthew

What’s pretty amazing is that even though Jesus knows who will betray Him, he still protects Judas.

The Big Takeaway

There is so much to be learned from Jesus. The Last Supper was one of his most important speeches, and this passage is without a doubt the one that drives it home for me:

There I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature? – Matthew 6:25-27

Jesus goes on to say:

Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. – Matthew 6:31-33

I know I can learn a lot just from that last sentence. I spend far too much time worrying about tomorrow and focusing on what I want and not what I have.

So much to learn.

Holy Week: Maundy Thursday is a post from Finding My Grace by Taylor Pratt.

And the crowds that went before him and that followed him were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest! And when he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred up, saying, “Who is this?” And the crowds said, “This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth of Galilee.” – Matthew 21:9-11

Palm Sunday. The start of Holy Week. Yesterday kicked off one of the most important weeks in Christian history: the “triumphant entry” of Jesus into Jerusalem. All week I’ll be explaining what each celebrated day in the Christian religion stands for; both the history and meaning behind it.

Palm Sunday takes place exactly one week prior to Christ’s crucifixion. Let’s take a look at a few of the lessons we learn from this special Sunday, as well as the traditions created for it.

The History

As mentioned before, this marks the day Christ enters Jerusalem. It is known as “Palm Sunday” because palm branches were laid down on the road as Jesus rode into the city on a donkey. Everyone was so excited for Jesus’s arrival because they believed he would end the Roman occupation of Jerusalem and they would be able to once again be a Jewish city.

For the next few days, Jesus taught in the Temple (many of the lessons he teaches we learn about during Lent). The Book of Luke lays out many of those lessons.

A Donkey?

One of the things that jumped out at me was how frequently it is mentioned that Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey. At first I didn’t understand why that was relevant, until I discovered it was all part of a prophecy.

You see, the prophet Zechariah (pronounced Zechariah) said:

Behold, your king is coming for you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a col, the foal of a donkey.”

Well he says a little bit more than that (which you can read in Zechariah 9:9), but the point is – it was foretold that Jesus would enter in this manner because the donkey is a symbol of peace.

Palm Crosses

If you ever attended a Christian Sunday School, you probably remember making crosses out of palm branches. I know I still have dozens of them lying around the house in various places (it never seemed right to toss a cross in the trash). Well as you may have noticed earlier, when Jesus rode into the city they laid down palm branches (a symbol that a king was arriving in victory or triumph). We make these palm crosses to remember and celebrate the last week of Jesus’s life.

The Betrayal

Those crowds mentioned in the quote at the top of this post are the same people demanding Christ’s crucifixion just five days later. We’ll get to that later this week.

Holy Week: Palm Sunday is a post from Finding My Grace by Taylor Pratt.

Destiny itself is like a wonderful wide tapestry in which every thread is guided by an unspeakably tender hand, placed beside another thread and held and carried by a hundred others. – Rainer Maria Rilke

One of the things that always rubbed me the wrong way about religion was the idea of destiny. It seems like many people of faith – whether it be Christianity or a different religion – have this preconception that God is in control of everything in their life. And to be honest, that just irritates me.

Why would God want to control everything? That would be boring. That would be in direct contradiction to another major conception in the Bible: free will. When people bring up the idea of having a destiny the first thing that comes to mind is all of the bad things that exist in this world.

How could it be someone’s destiny to be murdered? How could it be the destiny of a sweet little girl to have terminal cancer? And what about the recent events in Japan? And disease and famine and…you get the idea. That’s not destiny. No one was brought into this world just to suffer in that way. And what’s more is no just, righteous and loving God would ever make so many people’s destiny so painful. Would he?

Naturally I started researching passages related to free will and destiny. After consulting with a few friends I came to the conclusion that the Bible doesn’t preach destiny in the way that so many of us believe. The Bible teaches us that we make our own decisions, and as a result, we face the consequences of those decisions. Good or bad.

Adam and Eve are a perfect example of this. God presented them with a choice. They could be obedient and not eat from the tree of knowledge, or they could choose to disobey God and take a big ol’ bite. If God wanted to control our destiny, don’t you think he would have made it so they obeyed Him? In fact, I think the point of that story is that we do make our own choices. We choose to obey or disobey. We choose to do the right thing or do the wrong thing.

Revelations 20:13 says, “Each person was judged according to what he had done“. How could God judge us if He had already decided for us if we would be good or bad? We sin because we choose to. Bad things happen to us all because of the collective decisions of a population. So why do we blame God for them? Because He has the power to put an end to them? That’s not the way something like free will works. You can’t just get the good things, you have to accept what can go wrong.

There is no such thing as destiny. Just the aftershock of the decisions we are all making.

When tempted, no one should say, ‘God is tempting me.’ For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. – James 1:13-14

On destiny, control and free will is a post from Finding My Grace by Taylor Pratt.

Time is an equal opportunity employer. Each human being has exactly the same number of hours and minutes every day. Rich people can’t buy more hours. Scientists can’t invent new minutes. And you can’t save time to spend it on another day. Even so, time is amazingly fair and forgiving. No matter how much time you’ve wasted in the past, you still have an entire tomorrow. – Denis Waitely

Time is a funny thing; especially when it comes to something you’re not used to making time for. When I first started this site at the beginning of the year, I thought it would be easy to maintain. After all, if this is something I want so badly, how could I not have time for it?

Well, thanks to a heavy travel schedule and a busy work life, things got a little out of control for me. I was still having plenty of time to devote to my family, but because I wasn’t in the habit of keeping God in my life it quickly became that thing I promised I’d get to tomorrow. And then the next day passed. And the next.

Here we are almost six weeks later and I can’t help but sit back in my chair and thing, “what the hell happened?” My plan to read the Bible in a year quickly fell apart. I wasn’t praying often anymore; especially when I didn’t need/want anything. I had quickly fallen back to my old habits. Always thinking about my faith but not doing anything about it.

Well, I’m finally tired of excuses. If I die tomorrow and come face to face with the Lord, the last thing I want to say to Him is, “Well, it was either you or another episode of Friday Night Lights. And who can say no to Tim Riggins?”

If I want this bad enough, then I need to commit to it 100%. That means adjusting my lifestyle to better accommodate my commitment to finding faith. I underestimated that at first, but I get it now. Expect to hear from me much for frequently, everyone. I’ve got some big things planned for this site, and I appreciate everyone’s patience.

I knew this transition wasn’t going to be easy.

Making Time is a post from Finding My Grace by Taylor Pratt.