Unlike driving a car, flying can be very unforgiving. If your car runs out of gas or your engine burns up because you forgot to add oil, you can simply coast over to the side of the road and call a tow truck.

But neglecting similar “basics” in the air can be fatal. If you lose engine power while flying through rugged mountains at night … well, you get the picture.

The same can be said about your faith. So let me ask you — how long has it been since you reviewed a basic checklist on your spiritual health? Making sloppy assumptions regarding your relationship with Christ can have very tragic, eternal consequences — just read Matthew 7:21-23!

So how can we know with confidence that we are walking in God’s will? Paul gives us this advice: “Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you? (2 Corinthians 13:5).

With that in mind, what better time than this — the dawn of a new year, and a new decade — to reflect and take personal inventory of our spiritual condition?

Checklist for Eternity
If an airplane loses its forward motion, it will stall and fall to the ground. The Christian life is also a dynamic experience. We never just stand still. Either we are pressing forward, or we are losing altitude …

So by what checklist should we apply this challenge to “examine ourselves”? Here’s a short list based on biblical principles to get you started.

1. Does sin still have dominion over you? If you are addicted to anything other than Jesus, you can’t be a healthy Christian, plain and simple. I don’t mean the occasional moral failure, “for there is no one who does not sin” (2 Chronicles 6:36.), but rather, habitual sins that enslave us.  Through God’s power, we need to break the pattern no matter the cost — Romans 6:14.
2. Real Christians will forgive others who might have hurt us. This means we can’t nurse offenses against anyone — Ephesians 4:32.
3. Are you sharing your faith? If you are the only person who knows you are a Christian, you might not be one — Mark 8:38. (Amazing Facts has a ton of material that makes it easy to share your faith!)
4. Are you bearing fruit? Those who become new creatures in Christ will experience the “fruit of the Spirit,” — Galatians 5:22, 23. But remember that even non-Christians can at times reflect some of these traits.
5. Do you have regular time with God in prayer and the study of His Word? Our personal devotions with Christ are the fuel that powers our relationship with God — 1 Timothy 4:13, 1 Thessalonians 5:17
6. Are you generous toward God and man? Loving God and our neighbors, real Christians will choose to be cheerful givers — Proverbs 3:9, Proverbs 28:27. (Amazing Facts is a great ministry to support in your mission giving!)
7. Are you experiencing spiritual growth? Looking back over the past year, can you identify progress in modeling the character of Jesus — 1 John 1:7?

So now what? Perhaps after reading this brief list, you feel a tinge of conviction. That’s not a bad thing. Taking inventory of our souls is often the starting point for renewal. Turn to the Lord and ask Him for strength to walk in His Word. Then make a tangible plan to do things differently — Psalm 139:23, 24.

Flight Plan for 2010
In the last few months, Amazing Facts has also been taking inventory of its forward progress. In 2010, Amazing Facts enters our 45th year of ministry! During this entire 45-year period, Amazing Facts has never changed its logo, which depicts an open Bible. Quite simply, it represents that all we do stands firmly on Scripture.

So what is Amazing Facts’ flight plan for 2010, which ensures that we are not standing still and that our mission, with your support, can be achieved?

After much prayer, we have developed a list of key projects. I ask that you read this list prayerfully, as Amazing Facts cannot act on these projects without your support. Indeed, for our entire 45 years of ministry, all our forward movement has been the result of faithful supporters like you.

Our key projects:

• Broadcast evangelistic programs globally on more TV and radio stations. (We are currently on more than 600 stations in five major languages.)
• Begin producing the next installment of the Cosmic Conflict DVD series
• Establish evangelism training centers in England and the Ukraine
• Have more than 40 live evangelistic meetings around North America and overseas
• Complete the Prophecy Foundations sharing DVD
• Present the Faith Summit revival in Nashville, Tennessee (next month!)
• Have a week of prayer and revival at River Plate University in Argentina
• Expand web evangelism, which already generates over 400,000 visits each month
• Conduct four evangelism training programs around North America
• Broadcast a satellite evangelism program specifically for teens, with new lessons!

The Full Spectrum of Evangelism
From this list, you can see that we have a broad and exciting mix of publishing, evangelism, TV and radio, internet, and even plans for another major evangelistic series. I openly share our vision for 2010 with you to show how — with much prayer — Amazing Facts will never stand still in our commission to spread God’s last-day message everywhere.

Your gift today will make a huge difference in the last-day work. Please prayerfully consider what you can do today to help Amazing Facts move forward from here.

Your friend in Christ,

Pastor Doug Batchelor

• Click here to support our evangelism efforts!