This might come off as strange but sometimes I find that being tired helps me think more clearly. I've come back from a friends place that lives a bit of a drive away. He needed help moving to his new apartment. With friends, I helped him move all his furniture and I spent the night there. It was hard work and I did sleep that night decently well but had a bit of a sore back the next morning. So after leaving and sitting in traffic for 2 hours I came home sore and tired. To relax I started to read some articles on www.gospelcoalition.org. I came across this one in particular. Now because I'm already tired I find I don't get caught up in emotions or go off track as much. My thought process seems far less distracted and I can focus more without my mind wandering. It's strange but it helps me think!
In the article it talks about how theology can be a test of faith. It challenges what we believe and can modify it. And if we are not careful, we can end up following a set of ideas rather than Christ. Now this made me think, "Whoa why do I believe what I believe? Is it because I read it and it sounds good? Or is it because I actually see it in the Bible?" Being tired helped me think in a very efficient way. It is as though because I am tired I tend to cut away all the unnecessary thoughts and 'what if's' and go straight to the 'why' and deal with it. Here are some of my conclusions;
I Believe the Bible is true because it answers all the important questions in life.
I believe Christ is the Son of God because He proved it through his life, death and ressurection. He is God incarnate in the flesh.
I believe that Christ's death and ressurection is my ONLY hope and reason for going to heaven. Anything else renders Christ's death useless.
I adopt certain doctrines only AFTER I have tested their concepts through Scripture and heard arguments from both sides.
It doesn't matter whether I like it or not if the Bible says it is true I am to believe it.
I want to always remain open for correction with Scripture.
I need to remain always teachable at all times, which means I need to admit the possibility of being wrong on certain theological stances.
When I adopt a certain doctrine I must be able to explain why I believe it and be able to back it up with Scripture.
With the guidance of the Holy Spirit and wise believers around me, I believe He will lead me to the correct theological conclusions to help me and mature spiritually.
Praise God that He gives us so much to think about in His word. Oh how I enjoy finding new truths in His Word! There are so many prayers to God about understanding His word in Psalm 119. Verses 12,26,27,33,34 to name a few but I end on one of the most well known.
Psalm 119:105 "Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path."
“The worldling’s Bible is the Christian. He never reads the Book, but he reads the disciple of Christ and he judges the Christian religion by the lives of its professors! The world will learn better and will more likely be brought to know Christ when the lives of Christians are better, and when the Bible of the Christian Life shall be more in accordance with the Bible of Christian Doctrine!" - Charles Spurgeon