Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
**Daily Devotional**
David McCullough?s biography of John Adams, one of America?s founding fathers and early presidents, describes him as ?both a devout Christian and an independent thinker, and he saw no conflict in that.? I am struck by that statement, for it carries a note of surprise, suggesting that Christians are somehow na?ve or unenlightened, and that the idea of a ?thinking Christian? is a contradiction.
Nothing could be further from the truth. One of the great benefits of salvation is that it causes the believer?s mind to be guarded by the peace of God (Phil. 4:7), which can foster clear thinking, discernment, and wisdom. Paul described this in his second letter to Corinth when he wrote that in Christ we are equipped for ?casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ? (2 Cor. 10:5).
To sift through an argument wisely, to embrace the clarity of the knowledge of God, and to align our thinking with the mind of Christ are valuable skills when living in a world lacking in discernment. These skills enable us to use our minds to represent Christ. Every Christian should be a thinking Christian. Are you? ? Bill Crowder
If you grasp the message of God?s Word,
If you?ve learned to think things through,
Then you can defend the Christian faith
With wise words both clear and true. ?Branon
Faith was never intended as a substitute for intelligence.