Now He stands in front of them to receive their worship, a parting gesture that will remain in their memory as they face a world that most certainly is not a friend of Jesus of Nazareth. Their hands are raised, the praise begins. And then, can you possibly believe this, the Gospel writer adds, "but some doubted."

Doubt has been showing up at church ever since. We who have the entire written testimony of these and other men in a Book that has become in itself a miracle; we who have had our own mountain-top experiences with Him, not the least of which has been a changed and changing life, often sit in our little prisons of doubt and fear and ask with John the Baptist, "Are You the One Who was to come, or should we keep looking for someone else?"

That's who we are at times. We doubt Him, and we doubt what He has done for us. And we wait for a rushing mighty wind or light from Heaven that has not been promised us in these days. Some do experience unqualified and totally verifiable miracles. But not all. Maybe not even many. And both the haves and the have-nots of the miraculous must deal with the Word that says, "Blessed are those who do not see [something] and still believe."

The Jesus who left from a mountain in the Middle East will eventually return via the clouds to that same mountain. All will be gathered to Him to give an account. John in his first epistle indicates that many will be ashamed. And John shows the way not to be ashamed at that coming. In 1:28 he counsels us simply to abide in Him. Stay put. Keep believing. Keep trusting. Talk to Him, walk with Him. Let Him talk to you.

By this method, slowly but very surely one becomes aware of the dual nature of the non-physical part of man, and sees that all those doubts - which will plague from time to time - are part of the old nature, the corrupted mind, the messages from elsewhere. He will see that the new man continues to broadcast hope and courage. The key will be , which of these two power centers will be strongest, which will he feed the most?

John takes it farther than a struggle of the soul. He gives a series of tests of the whole man and the actions being produced in it. He says that the man abiding with Jesus will not have a sinning habit any more. He will have a healthy dislike of this present evil world system. He will naturally gravitate to the brothers and sisters in the Lord and care about their well-being. This man can take a look in the mirror John has fashioned and know in an instant whether there is a real Jesus and whether this Jesus lives in him. Great antidotes for doubt. Has the new nature produced a new man?

Of course, such an examination is a potential cause for concern, too.What if the image is blurred? What if staring back at him is a picture of an empty man who loves his worldliness and his vices -even chuckles about it all - and has a hidden distaste for people who are into Jesus "a little too much", which means being interpreted, more than himself ? One can throw away such a mirror of course and live with the ever-nagging and ever-growing doubt, or one can repent.

I believe now that doubt in most believers is a common possibility. The enemy will continually look for an entry place. But if Satan finds that the entry-ways are well guarded, there is a good chance he will go to some simpler task elsewhere. Doubt then becomes our choice.