Doubt and the Refreshing Breath of Biblical Preaching

I was recently listening to a podcast from Ravi Zacharias entitled Faith Under Fire: Jesus Among Other Gods. during this podcast I heard Dr. Zacharias say that since he had become a Christian at the age of seventeen he had not once doubted who Jesus was. I have to be honest at this point, I wish I could say that since I became a Christian I never doubted who Jesus was, but as much as I would like I cannot say that. I find it odd that a lot of the Christians I know, including my wife, think that I never have doubts about Jesus or a myriad of other things. Partially I think their perception comes from the fact that I am very interested in apologetics and feel that I have very rational reasons for believing in the God of the Bible. Also, I believe this perception comes from my far too often unwillingness to be vulnerable with people. I have experienced doubt several times about who Jesus was, The nature of the Bible, the existence of God. Sure, most of those times my doubt was little more than an itching in the back of my head that kept saying "what if your wrong Baird, then your life will be a waste." Still, some of those times of doubting have been more serious than just those minor nagging fears. Doubt, though, is not really what I wanted to focus on, but rather the preaching of the Word of God. When I go through those times of doubting I especially look forward to joining the saints in the house of God. Why? Because I know that there I will find a glorious release from those doubts. I cannot explain it, I just know that every time I have entered a Bible preaching church with doubts in my heart, I leave with those doubts swept away like so much chaff. I know also what it is that sweeps those doubts away, the preaching of the Word. Truly I am encouraged by the worship through music, and I would never begin to try to lessen the music to something other than worship, but when I hear a preacher who loves the Word and exposits it from the pulpit, it is like a flood of clean water filling my soul and washing out the sewage. I also notice that I can listen to sermons on my Zune and love every minute, but there is just something about hearing the preaching amongst other believers in our Lord Jesus Christ. As I mentioned in my last blog, I try to regularly listen to some atheist podcast so that I can be current on what they talk about and what their arguments are, but I would never do this if I were not gathering with the local church of God on a weekly basis. Sometimes I get done listening to those podcasts and it literally feels like shaking off a physical pressure on my body. To conclude, I want to thank God that He has brought me to a church with elders that love and cherish the Word of God and make it a priority to bring the counsel of God before the members of the church. I know this is the means of Grace that keeps me rooted in Christ, and I shudder when I think where I would be if I was not involved in such a church.