It really is not a sin to be a thinking Christian.  Our emphasis on faith does not exclude being intelligent in terms of spiritual matters.  Working on my material for today reminded me that our understanding of God is a blend of mind and heart.  Isaiah is a challenging book to make simple for a Sunday morning.  My fear is that my efforts are falling short.  But all of my study is forcing me to really think as well as pray about God's promises.  Then we talked about how to approach the book of Revelation in the evening time.  You can imagine that dealing with the varied theological statements on that book can seem foreign to those who only know of one teaching.  Using our brain doesn't always come natural to us as believers.  We ignore learning how to think at our own peril.

Do not misunderstand me here.  Being smart does not equate to being a mature disciple.  Knowing lots of biblical stuff does not automatically translate into a godly personality.  There are more than enough people who write books and the like who are educated beyond their intelligence.  Perhaps you would even place me in that category.  My point here is not to advocate that only academic believers are truly spiritual.  That is not my idea.  Simon Peter was a somewhat uneducated person who was a commercial fisherman.  He would leave the past failures behind to lead that first church into the world.  But remember that Paul would have more education in his days before becoming a follower of Jesus.  He also would be used by God to do remarkable things.  So my effort this evening is not to put the smart, educated or intelligent on a pedestal.  I only want to encourage you to think as well as trust.

Learn how to ask questions of scripture for an example.  Reading the Bible is a great practice but you can gain even more by moving past the surface.  God connects His word all through scripture.  Think long enough so you start getting the big picture of His activity.  Prayer is a good place to use your mind.  This is one reason we use our Wednesday prayer time to learn what exactly is taking place in the people mentioned.  You can be real specific when you know more than superficial illnesses to grasp how serious is the condition.  Using our brain is a habit not limited to a select few.  Paul writes that we believers possess "the mind of Christ."  A little thinking just may lead to a lot of spiritual growth.  Refuse to remain in the shallow end of maturity.  Take the risk to use your brain so God leads you into His wondrous depth.

Bro. Trey