THINKING

Acts 17:2,3—As his custom was, Paul went into the synagogue, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures, explaining and proving that the Messiah had to suffer and rise from the dead. “This Jesus I am proclaiming to you is the Messiah,” he said.

It is my goal to read 24 books each year. Part of this discipline involves choosing books that cover a wide range of subjects. There is no end to the number of good books one can read. Scientists tell us we use so little of our brain. I discovered how little my brain was when I journeyed into the realm of Probability and her cousins Electrical Engineering and Thermal Dynamics. But I also learned how much greater my mind could be stretched than I would have dared imagine. It is better to be challenged in what is difficult than to be difficult about being challenged.

People are not won over by fanatics. A fanatic is a person who embraces a cause while shutting off the brain. Peter wrote, “But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.” (1 Peter 3:15) How can we give the reason for our hope if we cannot think? How can we share the reality of Christ if we don’t understand the reality of those who live around us? Fear in presenting Christ to a questioning world suggests we are unprepared to think or be discovered as ignorant. The test is not whether we have all the answers (we don’t), but whether we’re willing to convey with sound reasoning the hope we have in Jesus. A sure faith is never an excuse to stop thinking. Jesus is relevant to the issues people are grappling with today! Let’s be mentally sharp so He can work through us!

Inspiration
To think as a Christian is a rare accomplishment, especially as the curious leaven which puts a premium on ignorance works its sluggish way. To speak of Plato to the majority of Christian preachers would be to meet not a consciousness of ignorance, but a blatant pride which boasts of knowing nothing outside the Bible, which, in all probability, means knowing nothing inside it either. Christian thinking is a rare and difficult thing; so many seem unaware that the first great commandment according to our Lord is, “You shall love the Lord your God . . . with all your mind.” (Mark 12:30)—Oswald Chambers in Christian Disciplines