To Have A Great Year, Read More Of The Bible, A Personal Letter

Many religious fanatics are illiterate or only exposed to one book. They lack the ability to think for themselves. We need to be able to examine evidence and decide what is right or what to believe.

“Finding God in the Waves” was written by Mike McHargue. He’s known as “Science Mike” on his podcasts. His book is about, “How I lost my faith and found it again through science.” His personal struggle was gut-wrenching. A former Baptist, he lost his faith and became a closet atheist. He nearly lost his marriage. Then he went public with his conflict. Some people who loved him prayed for him. Some church people crucified him. Then he had a supernatural encounter with God. I liked that part: been there, done that. I grew up learning to read the Bible. I still revere it.

But I worship God, not the Bible. That’s an important distinction. Some fundamentalists idolize the Bible. For example, “KJV only or burn in hell!”

Science Mike is a believer again, but he’s not afraid to acknowledge his doubts. He’s a witness to the skeptics of today. This book was helpful to me but the topic may be difficult if you’re not grounded in the faith. As a writer, I wanted to understand the culture of skepticism.

My city of Fayetteville is prosperous, liberal, educated, progressive, modernist, secular, humanistic, pro-gay, democratic, and somewhat anti-Jesus but not anti-God. Tolerance is its highest virtue. Yet the Christian community is thriving in slices of society. Mike’s book is full of valuable insights for me as a communicator for God.

I recently discovered David Gregory. His fiction novel, “The Last Christian,” occurs in America a few decades distant. The setting was familiar, the Metroplex in Texas. The heroine returned home from an isolated tribe where her parents had died as missionaries. She found America no longer a Christian nation.

The author showed the clash of conflicting worldviews: techno-humanity divorced from historic biblical faith. We watch her trying to explain the gospel to a culture whose thinking no longer comprehends it. The way she resolved this has practical applications to the modern church. This book was a fascinating read on many levels.

I’ve been rereading one of N.T. Wright’s older books, “Simply Christian.” I enjoy reading N.T. Wright because he makes me think. Wright, an Anglican, has been called the greatest living Christian apologist (“explainer”) of the faith. I also like Leonard Sweet, who is brilliant. Derek Prince was a favorite. C.S. Lewis set the bar high. But Wright makes his topics reader-friendly and applies his thoughtful ideas and applications of biblical truth in a relevant way.

To have a great year, read more of the Bible, like it’s a personal letter. To have a great life, yield your life to the Lord Jesus Christ. Discard religious views that don’t fit the narrative of the reality of Christ’s kingdom or the return of the Great King.

The Bible’s Author told us, “Love God! Love your neighbor!” That’s a condensation of the “new and living way” in his kingdom. It’s really that simple. To have more benefits overtake you as a bonus, practice these things: “Keep the covenant. Honor God. Raise the kids.” With this lifestyle, it becomes difficult to dodge the abundant blessings of Christ.