The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit. 1 Cor. 2:14 – NIV 2010
I’m reading one of the foremost authors on apologetics, Lee Strobel’s The Case for Faith. If you’ve not read it I strongly recommend it. I decided last year that I wanted to become more of a student of the bible and truly be prepared to to give an answer to anyone who asks why I am a believer. So, I thought I should read at least one book on the subject. Not that my testimony couldn’t, with the help of the Holy Spirit, be enough, but Christianity is so demeaned and persecuted these days, I felt I needed more ammunition.
What strikes me most about this book is a somewhat recurring theme related to an atheist’s take on Christianity. That is, they just don’t seem to get it. More importantly, they don’t seem to want to get it. And now, after reading this passage in 1 Corinthians, I think I understand why. It’s because they don’t have the Holy Spirit to help them understand it. They see our lives as we live them for Christ as “foolishness” and scoff at what they consider blind faith.
Here is my prayer for anyone who sees it that way. Mine is not a blind faith. In all honesty, I wasn’t one of those people that took a lot of persuading – I was raised by a strong Christian mother and came to Christ easily – but in these last few years, and more so in these last 6 months of study, I can say, I get it. God is God. He is the Maker of our moral fiber. He is always good and always fair and always loving. He never makes mistakes and he never wavers. I may not truly understand every thing that happens to me, but those things are all second things. God is the First Thing in my life. I trust him completely and know that I am saved because of His truth.
Oh Great God, I pray that you help me to be wise enough and courageous enough to “give an answer.” Whether that be with my words, or my actions. I trust that you will use me to break through the guarded heart of those who think I am foolish. In Jesus name – AMEN.
Jim ~ jmitch1
Sixty-six books in a year 