Dear Friends,
This week one man prayed with me according to the pattern of Luke 18:13 & Romans 10:9.
The man is in his late 20s, a mental health counselor, and he lives in Europe. Here was the pre-meeting dialogue:
Hi Dr. Tour, I was raised christian and lost my faith for 10 years. At the start of this year I decided to give my life to God and Jesus. I have started reading the bible and praying to God and am trying to build my faith. I came across a video of you talking about belief in the resurrection and this is certainly a problem I am having, perhaps because I have been lost for so many years. I can’t seem to find true belief in the resurrection, as you talk about in the video. Please can you help me? Thanks,
Dear _____, I would like to understand. You gave your life to Jesus, but you do not believe in his resurrection? If he is still dead, to whom did you give your life?
God bless, Jim Tour
Dear Dr. Tour, Thank you so much for your reply. You make a valid point, that must mean I have not given my life to him. Of course, it’s not possible to give your life to someone who is dead. You’ve made me re think my problem. Perhaps currently it feels more like I am dedicating my life to him/who he was/what he taught, as I cannot feel belief in the physical resurrection, I hope that makes sense. If I continue to study the bible and drench my life in Jesus, I am hopeful that this will grant me such belief, what do you think? Kind regards,
So we met. He was not far from the kingdom. He listened to the gospel message and the evidence for the resurrection, and he received the word with many tears, and prayed accordingly. I set him up in daily reading in the Gospel of John, and in 13-week Bible study with Burt Brink. The young man wrote to me after our meeting after I sent him the homework regarding daily reading and Bible study:
Dear Dr. Tour, This all looks amazing thank you again, I cannot express how grateful I am to have this guidance towards the Lord from a busy stranger across the world, even that alone is enough to greatly enhance my faith. Kind regards,
"When Jesus saw that he had answered intelligently, He said to him, 'You are not far from the kingdom of God.’” Mark 12:34.
"But Jesus responded and said, ‘Were there not ten cleansed? But the nine—where are they? Was no one found who returned to give glory to God, except this foreigner?’" Luke 17:17-18
God bless,
Jim Tour
