Spiritual issues are the deepest and most serious that we ever have to deal with. Nothing is more important. We must give such matters our undivided attention, as Lydia did, “whose heart the Lord opened, that she attended unto the things which were spoken of Paul” (Acts 16:14).
Such thorough concentration is not the attitude that many have when they use the internet. Studies show that most people do not read web pages word by word, sentence by sentence, paragraph by paragraph. Instead they scan for words and phrases that happen to stand out, flitting like butterflies from one page to the next. This can make the use of the internet to provide spiritual help far from ideal, for this is not the way to resolve the greatest issues that affect eternally our never-dying souls.
The introduction to the book Anxious Inquirer shows the right way to read for spiritual profit, whether what we are reading is on printed pages of paper, or electronic pages displayed on a computer or smartphone screen. Its directions include:
- Read in private, alone with God.
- Read seriously.
- Read prayerfully.
- Read thoughtfully, with meditation.
- Read sequentially, in order. We should resist the ease provided by internet technology to jump from one thing to another almost randomly.
- Read the Bible texts referred to.
In spiritual matters, it is not only the internet that can be used unwisely; books too can be read unwisely, as when people flip from page to page, or just read the conclusion. But with the internet, we must be especially careful not to allow the format of presentation to divert us from the need for the most careful reading. Our prayerful hope is that the materials provided here for spiritual help will be used wisely, and that by the Lord’s blessing true spiritual profit will follow.
In the first instance, we would encourage anyone needing spiritual advice to attend the public means of grace, and attend with diligence to the preaching of God’s Word. Preaching is the chief means the Lord uses to save sinners and edify His people. “It pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe” (1 Cor. 1:21). Many recorded sermons are available on this site.
Also our ministers can always be contacted in person, by phone or email. Details of current Free Presbyterian ministers can be found at this link.
However, we are aware that for some these means may not always be possible or practical, and therefore provide the following for their benefit. Besides that, we are mindful that the Lord has often blessed the reading of spiritual books, and trust that He would bless the materials provided here, though in a different format, to the good of never dying souls.
Nothing can or should take the place of having personal dealings with God. That means prayerful study of the Bible itself. The Lord Jesus Christ said, “Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me” (John 5:39). Only the Bible can make souls “wise unto salvation” (2 Tim. 3:15). And the promise has never changed: “Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Rom. 10:13).
There are two great issues that face souls on the way to eternity, and the linked pages help to address these concerns: