One of the things I enjoy most is listening to Bible preaching on my iPod. Anyone who knows me for more than 5 minutes will get a sales pitch on a) why they should own an iPod and b) why they should be into podcasting. There is such a wealth of rich Bible preaching available today that there is no excuse why anyone to not understand and learn and know the Word of God.
But enough of that. This morning, both on the way to playing basketball with the guys at Faith Church and on the way into the office, I was listening to one of my favorite Bible expositors, Michael Easley of Moody Bible Institute. Currently, his program, In Context is airing a series of chapel messages entitled, "Why We Believe What We Believe." Dr. Easley did this series to affirm the essential truths of the Christian faith. Its an important series for a culture that eschews absolute truth and for a church easily pushed from its orthodox moorings.
As he wrapped up his message on the Bible, the inherent Word of God, Dr. Easley shared a quote from Sam Harris, athiest, skeptic, and author of Letter to a Christian Nation. In this excerpt, Harris essentially said, "One of us is right. If the Bible is true, then I have spent my life in vain and I will perish in eternity forever." Sobering words, but Easley ended his lecture by saying what a privilege it is to be in the community of faith, centered around a book, God’s Word, that offers life, when everything else offers death.
This message hit me and for a second I thought to myself, How profoundly grateful I am to have been born into a Christian family, raised in a Bible-believing church, trained in a Christian school, Christian college and afforded the opportunity to work in Christian ministry for over a decade. Sometimes us second-generation Christians lose our wonder. We have always known Christ.
Today, stop for a second. Bow your head and thank God for being a Christian. For knowing the God of the Universe, who hung the stars, created the human cell, and breathed life into you and I. We know Jesus Christ, God in the flesh, and thru Jesus have access to the throne room of Heaven. What’s more, we each hold in our hands the Scriptures, God’s rich Word. And praise God for the parent or the pastor or the coworker or the brother or sister or radio pastor who exposed you to the truth.