Your 2007 Spiritual Checkup

“11These were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so….” (Acts 17:11 NKJV)

The Gospel of Luke tells Jesus’ story from Luke’s unique perspective as a Gentile, a physician, and the first historian of the early church. Luke was concerned with accuracy.

As a medical doctor Luke knew the importance of being thorough. He used his skills in observation and analysis to thoroughly investigate the stories about Jesus. His diagnosis? The gospel of Jesus Christ is true! You can read the accounts of Jesus’ life with confidence that they are true and reliable. Because the gospel is founded on historical truth, our spiritual growth must involve careful, disciplined, and thorough investigation of the truth of God’s Word so that we can understand how God has acted in history…and in our own life. Christianity doesn’t say, “Close your eyes and believe,” but rather, “Open your eyes and you’ll believe!” Jesus didn’t blind people, He opened their eyes! Jesus has nothing to hide; He has everything to display! Look for yourself!

The Bible encourages you to investigate its claims thoroughly because your conclusion about Jesus is a life-and-death matter. Check out the evidence. This is an invitation for the biblically knowledgeable as well as the ignorant. This is an invitation for the spiritually healthy as well as the spiritually sick. This is an invitation for the saved soul as well as the searching soul. This is an invitation for the spiritually secure as well as the agnostic or skeptic.

Go on! Investigate! Challenge! Pursue! Jesus can handle it. In my college days I rebelled against the Christian faith seeing it as a crutch for the psychologically weak. I attacked with a vengeance. Jesus won. He always will. To this day, the great ancient historian Josephus is my anchor. Josephus is known for his thoroughness. He did not accept Jesus as the Christ, the Messiah. But his passion for historical accuracy drove him to in-depth research. The more he learned. The more he doubted…his own doubts. At the end of it all, Josephus acknowledges Jesus as the Christ, the Messiah, the Savior of the world! When you’re dealing with a doubter, don’t feel YOU have to defend the faith, challenge THEM to DISPROVE it! And, for our own spiritual growth, each day of 2007 let’s look into something about the faith that we are uncertain of, confused about, doubt. Keep looking, keep researching, keep digging…




until our eyes are opened to the subject. Our faith will be strengthened.


Blessings Always
in All Ways,

Steve
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