My father is an atheist, so I still remember having no idea what the Bible was, let alone that my first name appeared in it so many times.

As a teenager, however, I started reading God's Word from cover to cover, and before college I had memorized nearly 100 pages of Scripture. I've read through the Bible dozens of times. And I've discovered that only four chapters don't talk about sin and temptation.

From Genesis 3 to Revelation 20 we find that the biggest temptation is for believers to experientially "lose" our faith.

How? We stop doing what the Lord says.

Why? We stop believing what God's Word says.

The startling truth is that no one reading this Keeping the Faith article is exempt from the temptation to experientially "lose" his or her faith. None of our credentials makes you and me exempt from life's faith wreckers.

I remember reading the Bible from cover to cover the first time. Imagine my surprise reading the David and Goliath story for the first time. I cheered: What a great hero story!

Then imagine my chagrin when I read the David and Bathsheba story. I was shocked: How could "the man after God's own heart" break half of the Ten Commandments in one fell swoop?

It's no different today.

As I discuss in more detail in my new book If God Disappears (SaltRiver, Tyndale House Publishers), we all have to watch out for nine specific faith wreckers:
    1. Experiencing evil and suffering
    2. Living recklessly as a rugged individualist
    3. Making our own rules, whatever the cost
    4. Believing that anger is justified when my vision of God is clouded
    5. Neglecting my time with God and failing to see him in my life
    6. Studying about God without heart devotion
    7. Experiencing the most crushing circumstances in life
    8. Giving myself permission to do as I please-especially sexually-pushing reality (and God) out of sight
    9. Being wounded in or by the church

Conversely, we all need to actively seek nine faith builders:
    1. Telling my story to a friend who knows God
    2. Cultivating relationships of humility, trust, and submission
    3. Being courageous enough to make choices based on the truth
    4. Experiencing the power of love with grace
    5. Reclaiming God's promises even if I have to wait
    6. Asking questions, wrestling with doubt, and embracing hope
    7. Seeing God as he is and believing that he is working behind the scenes
    8. Rediscovering God's ideal and allowing him to write a vibrant new script for your life
    9. Awakening to our calling as God's new prophets to the church

To say the least, we need to start talking about these issues openly and often within the Church.

We also need to talk about all this openly outside the Church. After all, almost everyone knows someone who used to be an active follower of Jesus Christ, but not any longer.

The assumption many non-Christians have is, "Christianity doesn't work." We need to counter that fallacy and explain the reality of what God's Word really teaches. Thankfully, it clearly teaches that God is ready to welcome any and all of us with open arms, no matter how long or far we have strayed.

Thank God for His great love, mercy, and grace. He still amazes me after all these years. I hope He still amazes you, too. Then again, maybe you're struggling. If so, let's talk. I encourage you to visit my www.IfGod.Disappears.com website, which includes a free Bible study guide and a helpful section answering a number of "frequently asked questions."

I also invite you to visit my www.IfGodDisappears.blogspot.com blog, where I post new stories and further reflections from God's Word, church history, modern biography, and contemporary cultural addressing the themes we've considered briefly in Keeping the Faith this past week.

The bottom line is: Like the apostle Paul, I want to be able to come to the end of my life and say:

"I have fought the good fight,
I have finished the race,
I have kept the faith"
(2 Timothy 4:7).

I trust that is your heart's desire and pledge before God, as well.

Dear Lord, thank you so much for the gift of faith, which you offer to each and every person. Thank you so much, God, for the gift of your presence, which you promise will be ours now and always. Thank you so much, Lord, for the gift of your Word, the Bible, which builds up our faith and assures us you will never leave us or forsake us. We love you, Lord. By the powerful work of your Holy Spirit, please strengthen our love, our hope, and our faith. Please use us to encourage and come alongside those who are struggling. Help each one of us to "keep the faith" until the very end of our days. We pray this in Jesus' name, Amen.