Luke 1:1-4 (written c.AD 69)
We live by faith, not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7).
AND, our faith is based on historical facts, without which our faith is useless (1 Corinthians 15:17).
‘Faith’ is not a virtue on its own – many people have ‘faith’ in people, ideas, things or their own strength, all of which in time is shown to be fallible. Our faith is in the one who has been proven to be exactly who he has claimed to be for thousands of years: God.
Our faith is in the fact of him sending his one and only son to earth, to live here in perfect sinlessness for over 30 years, to die, and then to be raised to physical life again before rejoining his Father in heaven. Encouraged by those historical events, the keeping of God’s literally hundreds of promises about Jesus, and the witness of the Holy Spirit in our hearts we come to repentance and faith, which God bolsters throughout our lives even as our circumstances may wax and wane.
Luke’s acquaintance/friend Theophilus had been taught the truth about Jesus, and had heard the stories of the apostle Paul’s life (and, by this time, most likely also his death). Luke therefore decided to write a two-part history of Jesus and the early church (which we think of as the books of Luke and Acts) to help bolster and ground that faith in the facts of history.
Christians, then, are not people who run from history or science to an echo chamber of unverifiable ideas. Rather, we trust in the God for whom history really is HIS story, trusting that as the creator of the universe and Lord of all, and as our Saviour, that he will continue to be faithful to us even as we are frequently unfaithful to him.
Thank God that he inspired Luke, and the other writers, to research thoroughly and write down exactly what Jesus did and said, because he has given us the words of life.
Paul T Reynolds 
Paul just now getting caught up… I have a great need.. I have 14 grandchildren.. 4 of them have turned away from their faith.. I am stunned and saddened. I was born into generations of Christian believers… now I am faced at 72 to defend my faith in my own family.. it is sad but yet good for me!!! Please pray that I will rexamine what I believe and have answers to clearly share the truth of the gospel
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hey Janice, good to hear from you.
First thing to say is that you’re obviously in a very tough and demanding situation. I’ll be praying for you.
But my other reaction is: WOW!
To have TEN grandchildren who know the Lord really is amazing.
When you think that even with their Christian parents and grandparents, that they were born in a state of sinful rebellion against God.
When you think that God reached into all TEN of those lives and turned them all from death to life, from blindness to sight, from lostness to being found. From the road to hell to the promise of heaven.
Then that really is a blessing.
Your 14 grandchildren were not born into being Christians, merely born into a Christian environment. So to think that – already – 10 of 14 belong to the Lord is amazing.
This is so much easier said than done, I know, but thank Him for those 10 saved lives as you persevere in prayer for the remaining four.
You keep living the life that I know you live: gratitude to God, perseverance in the face of life-threatening suffering. That’s the defence of the faith that your family need to see. They already know what you think, seeing you LIVE it when denying it would be easier? That’s what separates Christians from general religiousness. They’re familiar with hypocritical fake-Christians, Sunday Christians and so-called Christians who do nothing but look down on them. What they can’t help but see in you is something different, something inexplicable, something divine.
So yes, absolutely, keep reading and learning so that you can “Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have” (1 Peter 3:15). And keep praying. And remember that their salvation doesn’t depend on you knowing enough about the Bible. And remember that God’s not late on the scene with those four, and we don’t know what will happen; or if or when. But we know – YOU know – that God is love, God is patient, and God is kind. And he loves to hear and answer the prayers of his sons and daughters. And that NOTHING brings more joy to heaven than a soul saved from sin.
Blessings,
Paul
LikeLike