Time for a spiritual reboot?

I have a tendency to open a lot of programs at once on my computer. What ends up happening when I get all of these programs open is that my whole system begins to slow down. Then I realize it is time for a reboot. When I shut my computer down and restart it, everything starts running smoothly again.

This can be true spiritually as well. Maybe things have been freezing up on you lately. If that is the case, then it is time for a reboot. I believe that Christianity will work for every individual because, simply put, Christianity is Christ. If someone were to tell me they have tried Christianity and it doesn't work for them, I would reject that outright. Why? Because Jesus will change any person who will come to Him in genuine faith.

I am not implying that the Christian journey is a result of human effort, because only God can convict us of our sin, and only God can forgive our sin. But only we can repent of our sin and make the choice to follow Jesus Christ. So there is a part that God wants to do and there is a part that we need to do.

But to succeed spiritually, we need to first change our thinking. We live in a culture where we get everything fast and everything easy. We can download our music. We can get our news in real time. We can text or e-mail instead of writing letters.

We live in a society where we want everything now. So when we learn in the Bible about discipline and obedience and applying ourselves to these truths, it can be hard for some of us, because we want the spiritual fast track.

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When Billy Sunday became a Christian, someone advised him to put into practice three simple rules that, if implemented, would keep him from a spiritual backslide: First, take 15 minutes every day to let God talk to you; second, take 15 minutes every day to talk to God, and third, take 15 minutes every day talking to someone else about God.

The way we change our thinking and the way God speaks to us is through his Word, the Bible. As one person wrote, "He who rejects the Bible has nothing to live by. Neither does he have anything to die by."

I can tell you from personal experience that I have put the Bible to the test, especially since my son Christopher's departure to heaven last year. I have trusted in what the Bible says, and it has sustained me and given me direction and hope and comfort when I needed it. Platitudes or clever little sayings don't do it, but the Bible does. And I would urge you to get a good foundation in this Book, because it is only a matter of time until hardship or tragedy will strike. It happens in every life; there are no exceptions. But if you have a foundation in the Bible, then you will be ready for what comes. Don't wait until then to try and catch up. Get that foundation now. Know what the Bible teaches.

But it is not just enough to read it. You need to process it and then do what it says. If you don't, then it is like looking at your reflection in a mirror, but doing nothing about what you see. The only one you are fooling is yourself (see James 1:22). So we have a choice. We can do what the Bible tells us to do and live a happy and fulfilled life. Or, we can ignore it and reap the consequences. The earmark of a believer, of a follower of Jesus, should be a genuine commitment to doing what is right – not a commitment to being perfect, but trying, by the grace of God, to change.

As G.K. Chesterton said, "Christianity has not been tried and found wanting. It has been found difficult, and not tried." The problem is not that people have tried Christianity and it doesn't work. The problem is that when people look at what it really means to be a Christian, they decide it just isn't for them.

The reason some succeed spiritually while others fail is because they choose to. If you want to succeed spiritually, then you will go for it. But if you don't want to, then you won't.

If you have a real desire to know God, then I believe that, by God's grace, you will.