By Dr. Don Bierle, FaithSearch President

A Christian friend recently said to me, “I am praying like never before that Jesus will return to end it all.” He had given up on the world. Is that what Jesus said His followers should do?

I’m hesitant to criticize because I have had similar thoughts. Many Christians have. There is a sense in which those thoughts are right, as C.S. Lewis wrote, “A continual looking forward to the eternal world is not a form of escapism or wishful thinking, but one of the things a Christian is meant to do” (Mere Christianity, Macmillan, 1960, p. 118). 

By Dr. Don Bierle, FaithSearch President

As kids and adults head back to school this fall, a variety of questions students ask Christians is sure to arise. Some are even likely to challenge your own faith. Why not anticipate them and prepare biblical answers? 

On our Web site I have posted more than fifty questions and answers (Q&A) on topics such as:

• Creation and evolution
• The existence of God
• New Testament reliability
• Life after death
• Comparative religions 

Check them out. I have included some revised, selected samples in this issue of the Paraclete.

By Dr. Don Bierle, FaithSearch President

When I’m doing my presentations on evidence for the Bible and the Christian faith, there is a question I frequently get. The question says a lot about the Church’s lack of effectiveness in communicating truth to our current society, both Christians and non-Christians:  “Are the people real or are they just Bible people?”

Implied in the question is that the Bible “stories” are only “make-believe” and have no connection to the “real world.” This point of view expects that they should all begin with “once upon a time!” Because FaithSearch International has excelled in demonstrating the Bible is “real history” and identifying the evidence of archaeological discoveries to support its reality, we have maintained our ministry relevance for evangelism and discipleship for nearly forty-two years. 

At least one million people have either read or heard the “real story” of Jesus, the Bible, and Christian faith through FaithSearch publications and recordings. More than seventy-two thousand have experienced an “Ah-Ha!” moment at one of our apologetic presentations as the Holy Spirit draws them to follow the “real Jesus.” No “fairy-tale” can transform a life and place it on the certain path to eternity!

“…who will go for Us?” Isaiah 6:8

In a vision, Isaiah responded to God’s call to deliver His message to Israel. Likewise, the church has been commissioned to take the Good News of redemption in Jesus Christ to the world (Matthew 28:19-20). 

The twenty-first century has taken a toll on the Church’s ability to do that. 

The Gallup polling organization reported in March this year that American church membership fell to 47% in 2020, the lowest since Gallup began tracking the statistic in 1937. Church membership was 70% at the turn of the century. 

Source: Answers Magazine Vol. 15, No. 4 (Oct-Dec, 2020), p. 27.

“…come away… rest a while.” Mark 6:31

Jesus gave us an example. This summer might be a great time to practice it. When Jesus faced the crucial task of choosing His twelve apostles, Luke records that He retreated alone to a mountain to pray (6:12). When the ministry later attracted such a crowd that “they could not even eat a meal,” Jesus said to His disciples, “Come with Me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest” (6:31). When the 5,000 whom He had just fed pressed in on Him, He dismissed them and “went up on a mountainside by Himself to pray” (Matthew 14:23). Finally, when He faced imminent arrest, suffering, and death, He went to the Garden of Gethsemane – “withdrew from them…knelt down and began to pray” (Luke 22:39-41). 

Take time this summer to rest and refresh your spirit in His presence (Psalm 16:11).