(Romans 1:18) For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hinder the truth in unrighteousness; (1:19) because that which is known of God is manifest in them; for God manifested it unto them. (1:20) For the invisible things of him since the creation of the world are clearly seen, being perceived through the things that are made, [even] his everlasting power and divinity; that they may be without excuse: (1:21) because that, knowing God, they glorified him not as God, neither gave thanks; but became vain in their reasonings, and their senseless heart was darkened. (1:22) Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,
The Greeks were well known for their penchant for pondering great thoughts. Philosophy as a category of human conceptualization is attributed to having begun with the Greeks. The Pharisees loved nothing better than to sit around and debate the intricate complexities of the Law. But mankind, in general, has always been bent toward considering, compartmentalizing, theorizing, and attempting to define oblique abstractions. Personally I have come to see this as just a way to make the mysteries of the universe less mysterious and therefore console those who place human intelligence in high regard that they are indeed intelligent. Intelligence hates admitting that it simply cannot know a thing.
I am a thinker as well. I am hard-wired to do and love studying and researching, especially history. Mostly I am interested in balanced perspective though, more than absolute answers. For example, I am willing to concede that God is not understandable by the human brain so I give Him more latitude than one who insists that if God cannot be defined by human measurement then it is not possible for Him to exist. Really?
I have been asked a question: what is God’s will? Simple as it sounds, it is not unlike asking for absolute definitions of concepts like, love, good, fair. Ask ten people, you’ll get ten answers. The problem is not that we desire to know these things, it is how we approach the question, not with open minds, and more importantly spirit, but with hidden and fixed perceptions that become walls to a box we can then use to confine the answer that we already sort of formulated when we asked the question.
When I started this blog, I purposefully chose not to post my profile, testimony, experience, human and spiritual credentials, because I believe that I am just a vessel like anyone else, desiring only to be usable as often as possible. Testimonies have their place but, most particularly online, they are just nice words unless you can see the fruit. I trust what someone does more than what they say. I also carefully avoid using the buzz words, such as “God told me” because that puts focus on me. All I claim is that I am surrendered, which means, I just do and then expect God to use or NOT (and that’s a big or not) because I refuse to fall into the quagmire of spiritual arrogance determined that I know all because God speaks to me. He speaks to many, some hear, some don’t. Some hear some of the time but not always. Many hear and then go off on their own tangents, puffing themselves up and claiming to be all that and a bag of chips. I try to be cognizant of that trap and avoid it as much as possible. We are, in the end, humans and all are subject to being sifted now and again, even the most surrendered, faithful among us.
To answer the question, “what is God’s will?” I offer the only answer that satisfies me. It won’t work for others, I understand. But I post it, revealing what I have held in my heart for a long time, praying that, if it comforts someone else, if it gives peace and a place where the noise is turned off, to be able to rest in Him, He will use it to His good purpose.
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(John 3:16) For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on him should not perish, but have eternal life.
FOR GOD, Holy, Sovereign, Mysterious, Unfathomable Creator of all things, the earth, the heavens, and the Rules, even if we don’t agree with or like them. What child likes his/her parent’s rules?
SO LOVED THE WORLD, all mankind, as any father loves his creations (children).
THAT HE GAVE, He devised the only way the sins of man (as defined by His Rules) could be erased, opening the way for a fallen, reprobated mankind to be reconciled to Himself and then He offered The Way as a gift without price.
HIS ONLY BEGOTTEN SON, the Lamb of God, the Word, the Messiah, the Alpha and Omega, the Savior, The Redeemer, The Light of the world, the Bread of Life. The only One worthy, blameless, sinless, to be the final sacrifice for man’s sins.
THAT WHOSOEVER BELIEVETH ON HIM, whosoever, anyone, (Romans 1:16) For I am not ashamed of the gospel: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. (1:17) For therein is revealed a righteousness of God from faith unto faith: as it is written, But the righteous shall live by faith. True faith asks few questions.
SHOULD NOT PERISH, should (auxiliary verb qualified by whosoever makes the free will choice to believe) not come to an end, die (away), disappear, vanish, fade, dissolve, evaporate, melt away, wither.
BUT HAVE ETERNAL LIFE, (Romans 10:6) But the righteousness which is of faith saith thus, Say not in thy heart, Who shall ascend into heaven? (that is, to bring Christ down:) (10:7) or, Who shall descend into the abyss? (That is, to bring Christ up from the dead.) (10:8) But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach: (10:9) because if thou shalt confess with thy mouth Jesus [as] Lord, and shalt believe in thy heart that God raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
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Again, the ongoing problem is not that we ask questions but rather that we ask the wrong questions. If we do not ask correctly, how can we expect to be answered correctly? Instead of asking what is God’s will, which is loaded with presumption, perhaps we should ask, “What is Your will for me, Father? How can I be Your will today, right now, without questioning why?”
(Romans 9:20) Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why didst thou make me thus? (9:21) Or hath not the potter a right over the clay, from the same lump to make one part a vessel unto honor, and another unto dishonor?
For Christ,
Meema
Yes, the answer is there in the words of John 3:16. Unfortunately, without the Spirit to interpret the words, many will see exactly what they wish to see, though. That’s why we have so many different denominations.
ReplyDeleteFor Christ,
Meema
I did say that there is a place for testimony. :-) Your testimony is the foundation for your blog. I find that most people expect “miraculous” testimony, like yours and others who can actually note the minute/hour/day they found Christ. Like a business associate of my husband who was born and raised Jewish and found Christ all by himself in a hotel room having picked up a Gideon’s Bible out of boredom. He started reading and all of a sudden the Holy Spirit came on him and he knew what he was reading was the truth.
ReplyDeleteThat is the kind that certainly ought to be shared, that gives hope to the hopeless. My testimony isn’t that dramatic, not to me anyway. I don’t recall not knowing Christ. My earliest recollection is having conversations with Jesus while I was swinging in the back yard. I couldn’t “hear” Him, of course, but I did know He spoke to me. For example, I asked Him one day, “Why am I here?” (Interesting question for a five year old, don’t you think?) Immediately, He responded, “You’ll know.” That’s it. That’s all He gave me. As I grew older, I’d ask the question periodically and I’d get the same response. I always assumed it meant I had a calling of some kind. Over time I came to understand it was more about Him than me. More about not losing focus and growing in my daily walk with Him, rather than some future spectacular job.
When I was nine, (1957) my country born, high school educated mother had an end days vision that changed our lives. She thought what she saw was imminent and told our pastor who then suggested to my father that she needed psychiatric evaluation.We left the church. I never joined another. All these years I was in the wilderness, not exposed to and untrained by manmade doctrine. My intimate relationship with Christ is completely about Him and me desiring to serve Him. I read the Bible from Genesis to Revelation and then start over again I can’t tell you how many times. As I have matured and was ready for understanding, each reading has opened more truth and is ongoing. I could never deny Christ or what I know. Amazingly I never needed church to define Christ for me either. It’s all there in the Bible and when your heart is open, your spirit can easily be filled.
Fast forwarding to now, the things my mother saw in a life-altering vision in the middle of the night, fifty-five years ago are coming true. Imagine, in 1957 knowing that one day every move you make would be monitored by technology that had not yet been invented. We had a party line (if you know what that is) and yet I grew up knowing that one day every thing we say on the phone would be listened to and recorded.
I now believe I have been held out from modern apostate religion for a reason. I have a clearer perspective. God has moved me about, learning this and that. But now, it seems, after all these decades that the most valuable thing I have learned, besides the pure Gospel without the bondage of dogma, was how to write clearly. So now I write about Him and this era of the last call, which is the point of this blog. Anyone reading will see or not see. My mandate is not to evangelize but to write and let God bring people or block them as He sees fit.
(Romans 8:35) Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or anguish, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? (8:36) Even as it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; We were accounted as sheep for the slaughter. (8:37) Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. (8:38) For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, (8:39) nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (9:1) I say the truth in Christ, I lie not, my conscience bearing witness with me in the Holy Spirit, (9:2) that I have great sorrow and unceasing pain in my heart.
I am blessed to meet you, Sarah. :-)
ReplyDeleteIn the pre-internet years I used to long to be able to meet and fellowship with other members of the Body. I knew they were out there. Sometimes I’d try out different churches and though I knew there were probably dearhearts in the congregation, I never found a whole Body serving Christ with pure hearts that I could join. In 1999 I came across a website of a man who seemed to have a good, clear foundation and I spent the next ten years working for him. It was another learning curve.
The lesson was: we all fall short. Trust Christ, not man. We all are vulnerable to being wooed away by our weaknesses. No one is exempt from being sifted and found wanting.
In the last six months before I was able to walk away from the apostate cult-like ministry this man had become, I anguished over what I knew to be true, had been raised to know, yet struggled to let go of what I had taken in. One morning, while just waking up, I heard, “If you found [name deleted] teachings today would you follow him?” I sat straight up and said out loud, “NO!” I resigned that day. It was a messy leaving though. The man was quite ugly about it, revealing a side that was clearly not God-like.
In the last three years, back in self-imposed exile, back to just Jesus and me, I have regained my strength and peace and joy. Older but wiser, I dug into to the Word deeper than ever before. Armed with a mature perspective born from my experience, I asked questions I had never asked before. I was given answers I did not expect. In retrospect, I know that my ten year journey had a good purpose.
I am taking the opportunity to bring this up because in the last few months others who have left this “prophecy cult” have contacted me, wounded and suffering. I knew it was time to come out and speak out. I have no desire to vilify or condemn this man. My interest is saying what I am inspired to say and then allowing the Holy Spirit to open eyes and ears to receive it. There is a much bigger story to be told than this man.
Sarah, there are all manner of cults out there. Some look just like churches. Some look very good on the outside but are quite rotten on the inside. It is nothing but Satan’s work. The Destroyer is prowling, inventing new ways to destroy.
I am dedicated to spending whatever time I have left shining whatever light God gives me, not so much on the wolves but on the lies that pull the sheep away from the Shepherd. And there are many, many lies.
For Christ,
Meema
All glory and praise to Him!
ReplyDeleteI finally learned that it is so much better to have a handful of real, faithful, Godly friends than a host of false friends. Jesus is really my first and best friend. Everyone else is counted as a blessing.
For Christ,
Meema