Luke 18:35-43

Hello devotional blog, how are you? Long time no see, I'm sure all of my 0 readers have been waiting with bated breath for my next entry. Honestly, I have no excuse. 1 week after Ben talked about us reaching a sort of fatigue point in the MDG, I admit that it hit me. But I'm hoping I can catch up to, and climb back onto the wagon. :)

This devotional comes coincidentally after having an interesting conversation with friends and reading an interesting article.

The article: John Dominic Crossan asserts that Jesus was a regular guy who did heal and was revolutionary, but didn't actually raise from the dead.

The conversation: A friend and I were discussing a family member who always prays, for long stretches of time, in tongues.

And for me, this has been, and continues to be, a struggle in my faith: Acceptance of miracles, gifts and the supernatural.

Like John Crossan, I do believe that Jesus healed this man. I don't believe in tongues.
Unlike John Crossan, I do believe Jesus was who He said He was, and was resurrected. But I'm highly skeptical of miracles or healing performed by people today.

I can't really articulate why.

Maybe it's because I'm more comfortable with my faith in abstract and long-time ago, but not as comfortable with supernatural stuff happening here and now.

Maybe it's because there's no shortage of delusional dingbats, and it's easier for my brain to group everything not-mundane into the fraud/delusion bucket. Think: Jesus's face in toast, End of Days prophecies, those God-The-Mother nuts...

Maybe it's a protection-mechanism, from not wanting to be fooled/swindled and not wanting to be one of "those guys"

But where does that leave "my Jesus?" Is He safe/accessible as the doer of His miracles b/c He and His miracles are all in the past and not present with or in me?

Faith is complicated for me. I do believe in some things I can't prove, but only to a point and that point isn't very well-defined in my mind.


Another aspect of today's devotional that's a little murky for me; We never want to box God into what we think He'll do for us. We don't want to treat him like our wish-making slot machine. Why then, is it OK for the blind guy to ask Jesus for sight? I mean, OK...it's not the same thing as like, wishing for a Ferrari.

I get that; but as an example, I have out-of-work friends. I want to ask God to help them find new jobs, but is that putting God in a box? Shouldn't I be asking him to do what He knows to be best for those friends?

And if so, shouldn't the blind man have cried out, "Jesus! Do what You think is right!" instead of "Lord, let me see again."

Q's, Q's...