YOUR SPIRITUAL QUEST
By W. Frank Walton
"We have too many men of science; too few men of
God. We have grasped the mystery of the atom and rejected the
Sermon on the Mount. Man is stumbling blindly through a
spiritual darkness while toying with the precarious secrets of
life and death. The world has achieved brillance without wisdom,
power without conscience. Ours is a world of nuclear giants and
ethical infants. We know more about war than we know about
peace, more about killing than we know about living."
-General Omar Bradley, Armistice Day Speech, 1948
Today is a time of enormous problems and
uncertainty. Political, economic, social and technological
changes can leave us uneasy in their wake. Today's material
prosperity contrasts sharply with culture's poverty of values.
Right and wrong are blurred. Crime and violence haunts everyone.
To brace against the buffeting winds of upheaval,
people often look for a spiritual anchor and compass. Social
trend watcher John Nesbitt observed, "Religious belief is
intensifying worldwide" (Megatrends 2000, p. 271). Many realize
science and technology cannot solve all our problems or fulfill
our spiritual longings. They cannot tell us life's ultimate
meaning. Others have found unbridled pleasure seeking cannot
satisfy our deepest needs. It's a dead end street. There's more
to life than the "9 to 5" grind.
We need tried and true answers in uncertain times
to help us cope. Where are you in your spiritual quest for
meaning and purpose? What's life really all about?
A SPIRITUAL QUEST
Man is incurably religious. No society of true
atheists have ever been found. Why? The Bible says that God "has
set eternity in their heart" (Ecclesiastes 3:11). We all have a
deep yearning to connect with eternity. We all have an eternal
spiritual dimension. We came from someplace and we're going
someplace. God has planted this spiritual quest for meaning in
us. Why? "So that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that
they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from
each one of us; for in Him we live and move and have our being,
as also some of your own poets have said, 'For we are also His
offspring'" (Acts 17:27-28). Each of us is a forever-living
spirit on a journey to eternity. In trouble, haven't you cried
out, "Oh God!" This is your spirit crying out for help.
THE MEANING OF LIFE
We can make sense of this life only by looking to
the eternal God who made us. "Let us hear the conclusion of the
whole matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is
man's whole duty. For God will bring every work into judgment,
including every secret thing, whether good or evil"
(Ecclesiastes 12:13-14). We need to anchor our lives to the
unchanging God, "the High and Lofty One who inhabits eternity"
(Isaiah 57:15). Each person is made in God's image, which is His
spiritual and moral likeness (Genesis 1:27).
You, as a human being, are uniquely fitted for a
spiritual relationship with God, the "Father of spirits"
(Hebrews 12:9). God made each one of us with a purpose in mind.
The wise person will look to His Word for the true answer of
where we came from, where we're going and why we are here. What
Scripture says, God says (2 Timothy 3:16). Only God's Word
answers life's two most profound questions: "how shall we then
live?" (Ezekiel 33:11) and "if a man dies, shall he live again?"
(Job 14:14).
RELIGIOUS CONFUSION
Yet, many people are "turned off" to modern,
organized religion. John Naisbitt observed that in periods of
great social change, organized religion is often unable to meet
the depth of man's religious needs (Megatrends 2000, p. 276).
Flaws of modern organized religion are moral corruption,
hypocrisy, denominational politics, too much emphasis on money
and spiritual superficiality. A 1988 Gallup Poll reflects
current disillusionment with organized religion. It found almost
60% surveyed complained that religious groups are too concerned
with organizational politics and not concerned enough with
spiritual issues. The same survey found the lowest church
membership affiliation since 1937.
Men often distort and dilute the ideals of God set
forth in the Bible. All problems in religion are man's fault,
not God's. "O LORD, I know the way of man is not in himself; it
is not in man who walks to direct his own steps" (Jeremiah
10:23). "Christianity has not been tried and found wanting,"
observed G. K. Chesterton, "it has been found difficult and left
untried." The religious movements of men too often taint the
truth of God.
We believe, for example, that hypocrisy in religion
is not the fault of Christianity, but rather it is a lack of
true Christianity. We believe that man-made religious beliefs
and practices are the flawed evolution of human
denominationalism. Did you know that all denominational churches
are less than 500 years old? The confusing multitude of
conflicting denominations are nowhere found in the Bible. There
is something better than the mediocrity of man-made religious
confusion. Many modern religious churches present a
contradictory message of how to be saved and how to serve God
acceptably. We believe we can peel away the layers of human
religious tradition. They obscure the ideals of the gospel of
Christ revealed on the pages of the New Testament.
THERE IS A BETTER WAY!
We want you to know that there are those nearby who
are sincerely striving to please God and follow Christ. We're
endeavoring to pattern ourselves as a simple, New Testament
church of Christ, like you read about in the Bible (Romans
16:16). We're simply Christians, honestly living to "glorify God
in this name" (1 Peter 4:16). We have no man-made denominational
affiliation. We're not some strange cult.
Our only creed is built upon the truth that Jesus
is the Christ, the Son of the living God (Matthew 16:18). The
essence of Christianity is believing in and following Jesus
Christ. He is the risen and reigning "King of kings and Lord of
lords" (Acts 2:36; 17:31; Revelation 1:5,17-18; 19:16). In the
practice of pure, New Testament Christianity, we have found
forgiveness, spiritual purpose and satisfaction in a right,
living relationship with Jesus Christ. He offers just what we
need: "Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I
will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for
I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your
souls" (Matthew 11:28-29).
Jesus boldly claims: "I am the bread of life. He
who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me
shall never thirst" (John 6:35). Only Jesus can satisfy your
spiritual hunger and give strength to live a purposeful life.
Jesus also says, "I am the light of the world. He who follows
Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life" (John
8:12). He alone can give you light to live by, while millions
grope in turbulent darkness. Again, Jesus says, "I am the way,
the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except
through Me" (John 14:6). He alone came into this world to show
us the way back to God. Jesus taught the best way of life, such
as loving God foremost means everything else will fall into
place (Matthew 22:37-38; 6:33). He taught us to love our
neighbor as ourselves (to seek their highest good), to treat
others as we wish to be treated, to be honest and forgiving
toward others as God has forgiven us, and to be faithful in
marriage (Matthew 22:39; 7:12; 5:37; 6:12; 19:4-6). He has
changed our life for the better, and He can do the same for you.
Our spiritual quest is directed by Christ's entire
Word of the New Testament. We believe we can go back to the
Bible and find the ideals of the gospel just as the Lord left
them for us to believe and practice. He says, "If you abide in
My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the
truth, and the truth shall make you free" (John 8:31-32). We are
freed from the problems of sin, self, ignorance and error only
when we live under the authority of Jesus' Word, which is the
New Testament Scriptures (Luke 10:16; 1 Corinthians 14:34;
Colossians 3:16).
SEARCH WITH US!
We admit that we don't know all the answers, but we
do know where to look! What we do know has changed our life. We
invite you to become a fellow searcher in the liberating quest
to restore the transforming ideals of New Testament Christianity.
We lovingly challenge you to read and study the
"one faith" that was "once for all delivered" in the New
Testament for us read and obey (Ephesians 4:5; Jude 3). Jesus
promised the apostles that the Holy Spirit would guide them into
"all truth" (John 16:13). Only the truth of God can save your
soul (James 1:21). Only the truth of God is tried, true and
reliable (Psalm 19:7-8). If it is true, then it is not new. If
it is new, then it is not true. By "walking in truth" (2 John
4), your spiritual quest is heading in the right direction.
The opinions and traditions of men are shifting
sand (Matthew 15:13; Mark 7:6-9). They cannot save. In the end,
the truth of Christ will judge our lives (John 12:48). If one
does not love the truth enough to obey it, they will be lost (1
Thessalonians 1:9; 2 Thessalonians 2:10-12). It doesn't matter
so much what we think, feel or say about it in religion. "There
is a way that seems right to a man, But its end is the way of
death" (Proverbs 14:12). Rather, it is what God's has said about
it that matters. Jesus challenges you, "But why do you call Me
'Lord, Lord,' and do not do the things which I say?" (Luke 6:46).
MAY WE HELP?
We have found that with an open Bible and an open
heart, the God who made us can meet our deepest needs. We
rejoice that someone like you has read this far. You obviously
want to better your life. We want to help you discover God's
will for your life.
We freely offer several Bible study aids. All our
resources are at your spiritual service, free of charge. A local
church of Christ is chartered to be "the pillar and support of
the truth" (1 Timothy 3:15). The men and women of this
congregation would love to personally visit with you, if you so
desire. We'd enjoy sitting down with you, at your convenience,
to get acquainted and study God's Word with you.
God promised long ago, "And you will seek Me and
find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart" (Jeremiah
29:13). We have discovered that this promise holds true in
knowing and obeying Jesus Christ, the living Word who perfectly
reveals God. "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and
we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the
Father, full of grace and truth" (John 1:14). In Him, you will
find spiritual fulfillment in your quest.
On a spiritual quest? Please, let us hear from you
at WFrankWalton@juno.com.
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