WALK WITH ME
“But those who obey God’s Word truly show how completely they love Him. That is how we know we are living in Him. Those who say they live in God should live their lives as Jesus did.” ~ 1 John 2:5-6 (NLT)
When Jesus said, “Come follow [walk with] Me,” He was challenging us to travel outside of our comfort zones and live a life dedicated to Him. It’s not easy and He knew it never would be. Still, we must choose to carry our own crosses and die to ourselves (sometimes daily!) so we don’t journey too far into the deep end.
Walking with Jesus means to walk like Jesus. Side by side, in sync. He is the ultimate role model, will never leave our side and is always there to lift us up. His teachings are perfect and our lives should reflect His.
But the reality is, while Jesus was always with us, He wasn’t always a part of our life. Whether we grew up in a God-centered home or had to stumble off course and hit rock bottom, we all have a moment where we accepted that Jesus is our Lord and Savior and we have our own stories to tell. The amazing thing about becoming a Christ-follower is our story is continually unfolding as our walk with Jesus travels down a long and narrow path toward eternity.
We may stumble, but with Jesus we will never fall. You are invited to walk with SG&G and be encouraged by these stories.
“God blesses those people who refuse evil advice and won’t follow sinners or join in sneering at God. Instead, they find happiness in the Teaching of the Lord, and they think about it day and night. They are like trees growing beside a stream, trees that produce fruit in season and always have leaves. Those people succeed in everything they do.”
~ Psalms 1:1-3 (CEV)
BOOK REVIEW: Why I Believe
Why I Believe: Straight Answers to Honest Questions about God, the Bible, and Christianity
By Chip Ingram
After reading and reviewing Fearless Parenting by Jimmy Myers and George Barna, I started to devote time towards studying books on apologetics.
Apologetics, for those who aren’t familiar with the term, are a defense of one’s faith. I am a mother of three (soon-to-be four) children who pray’s daily for each of my kids to all come to know, love and follow Christ. As a parent in today’s secular-filled culture, I am personally inspired to seek wisdom and knowledge to defend my faith and to educate my children about why I believe in the God of the Bible. It is one thing to go to church, study God’s Word, attend community groups and maintain Christian friendships, but it is a whole other thing to be able to intelligently and proficiently converse with someone who is a skeptic or atheist and be well-informed and efficiently prepared to expertly defend your faith and the God of the universe.
This is what attracted me to Why I Believe: Straight Answers to Honest Questions about God, the Bible, and Christianity by Chip Ingram.
Why I Believe addresses relevant issues and topics that are being challenged each day in our culture. Chip Ingram, a pastor for over thirty years, authentically and vulnerably admits to his lifelong struggle with skepticism. While he has been a follower of Christ for the majority of his life, he isn’t afraid to call himself a “skeptic at heart.” Because he is very intellectual, his skepticism has led him to be open and impartial in his research.
Chip uses various arenas of science and historical research to investigate the validity of the Bible and of the God Christians claim created the universe. In this book, he covers a wide range of topics expanding from the resurrection of Christ (did it really happen or is it a conspiracy theory?), the evidence of life after death (is Heaven real?), the accuracy of the Bible (is there proof that certain people existed and certain events occurred?), the argument between creation and evolution (did God create the universe on purpose for a purpose or was the Big Bang theory responsible and life as we know it happened by chance?), the historicity of Jesus (was He a real human that walked the earth while also claiming to be 100% God?), plus much more.
There were times throughout this book where the information presented was so in-depth and intellectual that it made my eyes gloss over a bit, but all and all I absolutely loved Why I Believe! I found it to be both enlightening and encouraging while not being bias or judgmental. I thought all sides were examined in a very fair way as well as every possible angle presented clearly and objectively. Chip states his beliefs throughout the book as a result of his personal research but he does not push his beliefs on the reader. Rather, he challenges the reader to personally observe and dissect their own thoughts and beliefs as a way to develop their own individual opinion. Additionally, Chip does not solely rely on the Bible for support of Christianity but includes an intensive variety of study, expertise, documents, etc. to debate each and every topic addressed.
It took me a little over one week to read Why I Believe and it’s been one day since I finished it. Since reading this book I have found myself engaging in conversations with both believers and skeptics and feel 100% confident in my faith. I have a newfound courage and confidence and feel fully prepared to accurately defend the history and science behind God and His creation.
I would highly recommend Why I Believe to any person who wants to challenge their beliefs, learn about Christianity, or simply become better educated to defend their faith. I know I feel more secure in what I believe as well as very equipped to talk about any and every issue with anyone who is questioning their faith or doubting the validity of this crazy, fallen world we live in.
Give Why I Believe a chance and discover why you believe what you believe.
*I received this book from the publisher in exchange for my honest review
