Daniel Kahneman talks about our our "fast thinking" leads is to operate in terms of WYSIATI - What You See Is All There Is. When we are limited in our perspective and don't recognize how much we don't know, we miss God and get mired in despair and worry.

God not only calls Ananias to meet with the blinded Saul of Tarsus; God also commits him in advance. If Ananias had not gone, there could have been real loss.

In Acts 9 we see a pattern for how Jesus changes lives. Saul was deeply religious - even zealous for God - before his encounter with Jesus. It was meeting Jesus, however, that transformed his life.

Joshua has to take over leadership of the Israelites after Moses died. They've known Moses' leadership for forty years, and now have to face huge change. God tells Joshua to be "strong and courageous" and promises to go with him the whole way.

The faith Peter exercised when he walked on water is available to us. This faith is not and does not require absolute certainty. It DOES require paying attention to Jesus and staying in touch with him.

In John 11 we read the story of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead. In this story we see (a) Jesus not rushing to meet our desires, (b) Jesus expressing and sanctifying our grief in the face of death, and (c) the promise of resurrection as more than just the resuscitation of a corpse.

Without the Holy Spirit there is no church, no Christian life. Belief - even true belief - is not enough. Nice buildings, strong plans, good people - none are sufficient. Only the Holy Spirit - God living within us and making us one body in Christ - makes for real Christianity.