I know I don’t talk about religion much on here. Sometimes, however, my posts do have a religious slant. I tend to keep my religious beliefs very private, and I don’t like to air my dirty laundry or any religious group’s dirty laundry in public. It seems that tends to be what most people do when they want to discuss religion. I don’t enjoy doing that. I do enjoy debating and discussing religion with friends or brothers, but I keep many of my beliefs personal because stating them would do nothing. I also know that I have many faults, and I know that I fail God miserably. The Bible says that we should not judge others lest we be judged. This is talking about the fact that if we judge others, we are setting ourselves up to be judged by God. I don’t live up to God’s standard. I wish that I did, but it is impossible. That is why we must depend on his grace. The Bible does say that we must judge a tree by its fruit.
I have weighed in on the burning of the Quran in Florida. I still think it was a stupid idea as it does not help further Christ’s kingdom. It is meaningless and would only stir up anger. I do, however, support their right to do this if they so choose. I support the 1st Amendment wholeheartedly. I do not support ignorance, but I support their right to do this. The freedom of association allows me to associate or not associate with those types of people. I, apparently, do not subscribe to their version of Christianity. If Christians come into contact with religious books that go against Christianity, Christians should try and make sure that those things do not find their way to others as a way to keep others from falling into error.
I also weighed in on the building of the mosque. I do not like the idea of the building of the mosque near Ground Zero. I do not like the idea of a mosque being built anywhere. As a Christian, I believe that Christ is the ONLY way to heaven. I do not believe anyone gets to heaven through Islam or any other religion. I do support the freedom of religion and the right to property. This means I must accept the right for a mosque to be built there or anywhere else.
That is my religious stance as I attempt to relate it to my beliefs on rights and liberties, but it is not the reason for my post.
I have had an issue that I have been praying about for years. I have prayed for guidance and even signs on what to do. God is not slow to answer. We have to be open to what He is saying. I don’t think I have been. When we do not listen to what He says, it is sin. It can lead us to greater sin if we are not careful. When you run from what God says, it compounds problems. I have been uncomfortable with decisions I have made. I know what is right and what is wrong. I have not gone where God has led.
The story of Gideon is found in the Bible in Judges. It is an amazing story of how God told a man to do something. The man did not make many excuses as did Moses in questioning the power of God, but He questioned whether God was really calling him to do something. He asked for a sign. He laid out a fleece and asked God to make the fleece wet, but leave the ground dry. The next morning, Gideon went out and the fleece was wet, but the ground was indeed dry. That wasn’t good enough for Gideon. He asked God to forgive him for asking again, but he asked God to make the opposite happen. He asked that God would keep the fleece dry but the ground wet. The next morning he found the the fleece totally dry but the ground soaked.
I am not suggesting that God will always give signs. He expects us to listen to Him when He speaks. When we don’t, He sometimes gives us signs. We just have to keep our eyes open. Sometimes God speaks through a fire as He did with Moses. Sometimes God speaks to us as he tears down as He showed Israel through the prophets. I believe God tried to speak to me these ways, but I did not listen.
This burden has hindered me from growing in Christ. I have wanted to fix it for a long time, but it recently got unbearable. I was sitting in a church service the other night. I was scanning the song book and laughed to myself as I thought about my burden. Silently I prayed that God would again show me a sign. I picked three songs out of the song book. The first two songs were songs that were sung quite often when we use that particular song book. I asked that God have the song leader choose just one of those songs if His will was that I go the direction I felt was opposite of what He had been showing me. The third song is my favorite hymn. It is a song that I have only heard a total of three times maybe since I had been going to church there. I felt pretty safe in using that as the song that God would have sung if I were to follow what I felt He was telling me. I had not even finished praying when the song leader announced the next song would be “Give Me Lord a Double Portion,” which is my favorite hymn. I was amazed, but I did not fully accept it as God speaking.
Last Sunday night we were again sitting in church. Again that burden was weighing on me. I prayed for another sign. I prayed that the next time I was at church that a certain guest preacher would preach. It is never announced that the pastor will not be there for a service. We just find out when the guest preacher gets up to preach. Low and behold, the very next service, that guest preacher got up and preached. Now, at this point, I have been spoken to through a fire. I have seen God tear down. I have been given the sign of a wet fleece and dry ground, and I have been given the sign of a dry fleece and wet ground. It was certainly weighing on my mind, but I still did not listen. I told my wife of my decision, but in my own mind I was still wavering.
I guess biblically it is unprecedented, but I asked for one more sign. I asked that God have a specific idea preached that I disagree with. I also asked God to show me a general acceptance for the idea from others around me and that I must do what He told me. The pastor told the congregation to turn to Hebrews 11. I had a bit of relief as that was the faith chapter and did not concern the topic I had prayed would be preached. I felt that I could relax that God was not telling me to do something or even give me permission to do it. That relief began to go away as the pastor announced that he would not be preaching about what we thought. He began preaching on the very topic that I had asked to be preached about, and it was being accepted. I feel that God’s patience has to be stretched thin as it has taken me years to listen. I guess the curse from Isaiah 6 that says God placed that made the eyes of the people to where they could see but not perceive and their ears hear but not understand seems to have found its way even to me.
My hope and prayer is that I will listen when God speaks. I hope that I will be a useful instrument in His service. I hope that God continues to lead and show me where He wants me.
It has been an interesting past few weeks to say the least. I have learned a few things over the past few weeks and had some things confirmed. I spent Labor Day weekend in Knoxville with my brother-in-law. We went to a church that I must say I was not sure about. It is a huge church. I have never been one to think that all large churches are bad, but I have never been one that wanted to attend one either. A youth pastor preached the service. He spoke of a fictional character who lived on a deserted island. He took his text from Romans. He spoke of how “Dut” was without excuse for not knowing about God as he quoted a verse from Romans that confirmed this. He also spoke of how Dut is without excuse, so even we are without excuse. If we partake and accept what is wrong, we are just as wrong.
Sometimes your faith is tested. The devil opens interpretation to the point that Scripture can mean whatever you want it to mean. This is wrong and completely of Satan. Scripture means what is says. God allows us to learn from examples, but those examples are true. We cannot spiritualize things that happened and that God said was true. When you begin to do that, you open the floodgates to allow heresy to flood in.
One heresy that has crept in is “Replacement Theology.” Israel was not put in place just for the purpose of the coming church. Israel is not a type of church. The church and Israel are different and separate entities. Israel did not forfeit any promises by not accepting Christ. Israel’s purpose was not finished with the coming of the Messiah. Israel still very much has a place in God’s future as He describes it in His word. When the Bible says “Israel” you cannot insert the church and hope that it keeps its meaning. If God can simply do away with any eternal promise, we have no hope in the eternal promise that He made to us. A god that does this is not my God. My God keeps all His promises. If any of His promises have not come true, they will in His own time.
When the Bible says “all,” it means all. You cannot say that ”all” means “all” in some areas, but not in others. Once again, the Bible says what it means and means what it says. It doesn’t mean what we want it to.
The Bible comes from Hebrew, Aramaic, and Latin. The Bible has been translated into many languages. Languages don’t always have words that mean exactly what a word means in another language. For example, we have the word love. We don’t have different words describing the type of love as the Greek does. There are different types of love that cannot be translated appropriately to English. Languages that do not use the Latin alphabet do not necessarily use capital letters so deciding whether something is a common noun or a proper name is not always easily able to be distinguished. Some languages use the definite article the in front of most all nouns while some rarely use it. When translating you cannot always tell just from looking what it means. Going with that thought, just because the King James Version of the Bible says something or translates it a certain way does not mean that it is the best way to translate or word something. The KJV is also 400 years old. The English language has even changed during that time. That does not mean that the KJV is or isn’t a good version. I believe it is, but you have to understand the language of 400 years ago when using it. The KJV is not the end all and be all.
I have also come to understand that God set standards for everyone. Christians are supposed to strive to meet certain standards. We can only do it through God’s grace. God also sets standards for leaders. We can try to interpret them all the ways we want, but they mean what God said they mean. Jesus spoke on certain situations and told us the standards. When we try to interpret how we want, we are ignoring Christ’s words. God is so great, however, that He can and does use vessels that do not meet His standard. That does not mean that we accept what God said is wrong.
I have also become more aware that God told us how to deal with brothers and sisters who committ wrongs. Matthew 18 describes that we talk with them personally, then with a few, and then openly. We don’t call out individuals for what they have done wrong openly. We can state that sin is sin and what is wrong is wrong, but we don’t draw attention that an individual is wrong without going through the process God has layed. Finding another path to the goal is not an option. When we do what is right in our own eyes and not God’s we mess things up. Other people get hurt.
In summary, I guess the biggest thing I have learned is that if you stick to what God has said and believe His promises, you cannot go wrong. You just have to make sure you are listening for that small, still voice. Don’t always depend on that loud, booming voice.
