Faith, Revisited

Recently, I was asked how it is that I can maintain my Christian Faith. Correctly, I believe, I assumed that the question was asked in light of the prevailing circumstances. And, in reflection, this seems to be a very important topic today. P eople walk into the Church today, looking for answers and it is my opinion that some of them hit upon what they are looking for but are unable to remain focused.

When I was a seventeen year old soldier, I, literally, soaked the Army into my very being. i.e. When we were learning to Field Strip our Rifles I came in from supper that night, blind folded myself, sat on the floor and became intimate with my M-1 Gerand to the point that I could, blind folded, strip and reassemble my weapon before an enemy could cross a field between us. At twenty-one I routinely, pulled my UH-1H helicopter apart in the jungles of South Vietnam and pulled all my Quarterly and some of my One Hundred Hour Inspections without even a book to help.

When we look at the Exodus there is a facet to the story that is much debated and totally ignored by the modern day New Testament and New Covenant brands of Christian, God was commanding an army! When all was said and done, that is just how the Israeli Nation entered the land, they were the concurring army. And when we look at John 14:15 we find something interesting, Jesus says that if we love Him we will obey His commands.

From John 1 we know that Jesus is the God of the Old Testament, the Creator. In the last chapter of Matthew we learn that Jesus has all, not part and not some, but all authority here on the Earth. So Jesus is our Creator/Commander that we are to obey and I contend that it is wise for me, for you and for everyone to study to show themselves approved and this we do with prayerful study of the Word of God and prayerful, thoughtful meditation on what God teaches us as we study.

The Bible is not a book to show us how it “was” done, it is the guide for living the successful life.