“I’m not sure what to
do with myself. I really want to read all of these books, study, and learn so
much more about God and my faith, yet I don’t want to miss out on life and
being with people. It’s such a struggle to find that balance.”
“You know what? That’s
a problem that only happens when you’re saved.”
Faith is not the absence of logic and reason. Faith actually
inspires learning. Why do we settle for our normal, hour long church services
on Sundays and our 15 minute devotionals that take a Bible verse out of context
to make us feel good about ourselves? In doing that, we perfectly ignore the
hard, cold truths in Scripture. That assumes that we even “have time” for
devotions in the mornings, though. We always have something else to do,
somewhere to go, and because of our busyness (and other things), we have
deservedly become called the most anti-intellectual people in the history of
the church (R.C. Sproul). In a world filled with more and more intelligent
gadgets, there are less and less intellectual people. We have forgotten how to
love learning and thinking for ourselves.
(2 Peter 1:5-8) “For this very reason,
make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge
with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with
godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection,
and brotherly affection with love. For if these qualities
are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
(Emphasis added)
Knowledge is so important. When is the last time
you have thirsted for knowledge about God and His word? Or even more knowledge
about the world, about how He made it all? When have you thirsted to gain
knowledge to back up your faith so that you can share with others both the hope
and the reason for the belief that
you have?
We walk around this world so blindly; sometimes
we don’t even realize that our so called “Christian” beliefs are influenced by
the world around us. America is starting to infuse their tolerance ideals and
their politically correct statements into the Church, the people, the body of
Christ. And most of the time, we don’t even realize it. The only way we would
know is if we studied the Word for ourselves, thought for ourselves, and came
to our own conclusions. Unfortunately, not many people take much time to do
that anymore. Let’s try something out.
True or
False? Christianity is correct and all of the other religions are wrong.
If you cringed a little bit reading that statement
above, you have been influenced by our culture that loves to not offend and to be
politically correct. It happens to us all, but it makes me personally realize
the importance of understanding the true, Christian worldview. Let us fill our
minds with things above, not on earthly things.
This week, I’ve been really learning these ideals
head-on. Right now, my intellectual mind is on fire, ready to inhale books and discuss
deep topics. Our class this week was based on the Christian Worldview and Apologetics,
which definitely revealed to me many ways in which my mindset has been influenced
by the world. It also was a faith builder, making me realize that my faith is a
lot more logical than what other people make it out to be. And it excited me to
share my faith with everyone I come into contact with, but also made me realize
that I need a lot of practice. I was so blessed this week; it flew by, but I
learned a lot.
I hope and pray that everyone reading this now
has a great thirst for learning, and desires to learn more about why we believe
the things we do. Let us not be held to that label of being anti-intellectual, but
rather rise above it and fall in love with God more because of it.
Do not be alarmed when I am in the States, and I…
1. .. say the word “Ay!” when I am frustrated. It’s
not normal, but I just happened to pick it up.
2. …hiss at you. I’m not trying to be mean or rude;
I’m just trying to get your attention.
3. … start wandering around, trying to find stray
dogs to pet on the street. Don’t worry about me; just let me be, and I’ll
eventually realize that there’s no stray dogs around.
4. ….get a little too excited about the fully
functioning toilet, and become surprised by the forceful water pressure of the
sinks and the showers.
5. …come to your house and keep my winter coat and
snow pants on inside. It’s a little bit warmer in the DR than in the states. Sometimes
I get chilly in the upper 70 degree weather here.
Prayer Requests:
-If you all could pray about my last week of
class and my midterm in Spanish that is coming up on the 15th of December,
that would be wonderful!
-Also, please pray for my relationships with the
people in the GAP program and that I can find my full identity and security in
God alone.
-There are numerous GAP students and interns that
still need to raise the rest of their money to continue on this wonderful
journey with me next semester. Please pray that their money will come in, and
if you feel led to give, please feel free to e-mail me, and I’ll let you know
how you can help!
