Confident Faith by Mark Mittelberg

       How did you enter into a saving relationship with Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord? Was it because you had a dramatic experience? Were you always taught to be that way? Or was it something that just 'worked for you?' All of these and other approaches are the answers cited by those who profess to be believers in Jesus Christ. And, they are just a portion of the topics discussed by author Mark Mittelberg in his excellent new book Confident Faith.
       Mark Mittelberg codirects The Institute at Cherry Hills in Colorado, along with author Lee Strobel. He has served in full time ministry for a number of years and has written other books on apologetics previously. What I appreciated most about this book was it's simplicity in presenting the material that he covers. While some books on defending your faith can be, well, 'defensive' and complicated, Confident Faith is easy to read, and reasonable in it's presentation.
        The first section of the book discusses the various faith paths that people travel on their journey to their beliefs, ending with the evidential path. He continues with twenty 'arrows' of truth, or areas that point to spiritual truth. And the final section focuses on ten barriers to belief, which concludes with finding a confident faith. This is a great book that will equip you to not 'defend' your faith, but to share your faith with confidence. And I believe that high school students, college students and others seeking to grow in understanding the truths of Christianity will benefit from the material.
         Tyndale House Publishers provided me with a complimentary copy of this book free as a part of their book review program for bloggers. In an age where intelligent faith is slowly being replaced with a quick prayer for salvation, Confident Faith is a refreshing book that will strengthen your faith and better equip you to share Jesus with others. I highly recommend this book to you.
      

Don't Forget The Important Stuff

1 Peter 3:15 says "But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:". The theme of 1 Peter deals particularly with 'suffering' (that's the "S" word none of us like to hear). But, when we suffer, one of our tendencies is to become so self focused that we forget the opportunity we have to be a light to others.

Peter says that every man will ask you of a reason for the hope that you have in you. When we suffer as believers, to an unbeliever the fact that you have hope is rather perplexing and can be disturbing. But it is also a great occasion to allow the Gospel to go forth to others. The Greek word for "answer" in this verse is the word 'apologia', from where we derive our english word apologetics. It means a defense or a speech in defense. And from here the concept of defending the faith finds one of it's support texts.

To defend the faith, you don't have to be defensive (or offensive for that matter). You simply have to have a reason for your hope. What is your reason for hope? Jesus is alive. He lives in you and will take you to Himself one day. These light afflictions are but for a moment, Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 4. No one FEELS like these afflictions are but for a moment when going through them, and no one specifically enjoys pain. But, knowing that it is temporary makes it easier to ednure.

So the next time you're going through a trial, remember to look for opportunities for the light of the Gospel to go forth that you may have otherwise missed. And the next time I'm in one, feel free to send me the link to my own blog, so I can ask myself 'why did you have to write that' as I make the decision to be a doer of the word and not a hearer only, in the midst of any temporary moments of displeasure that lead to a far more exceeding and eteral weight of glory.