Tuesday, September 1, 2015

JUST ENOUGH for The Journey - Don't use "Your" doctrine to trump The Bible!

What I mean is that the Bible trumps man’s authority, church tradition, and our own opinions. What I mean is that we must not allow anything that opposes God’s Word to dictate our actions or control our thinking.

There are many translations but the same Word of God. There are many versions, colors, print sizes and covers but it is the same Word of God. However, it is truly our own interpretation that gets us in trouble. We are quick to internalize scriptures without first understanding the foundational truths of scripture. We look for the "Get out of jail free card" that seems to fit our situations. We miss or simply skip over the parts of Scripture where God let's us suffer the consequences of sin. We don't talk much about the correction and admonition of The Lord. We stay away from teaching holiness yet some of us stress "only mess"...Praise your way out...Tell 3 people next to you...Give a handclap of praise...Get ready, get ready, get ready...

We must understand that when we study, comprehend and live by God's Word, then we praise because we come to realize who God is; how God loves us; what God has done and is doing; and we learn that God can do anything but fail. We shout, we praise and we worship because of what we have come to learn is the truth of God’s Word by faith...meaning, we may not know what our blessing will look like and we may not know what favor has in store for us. Faith means that we don't quite know when deliverance is coming but we do know that we have hope in God and His goodness, mercy and faithfulness.

I know that I can be lengthy and very simple-minded when I post my thoughts, but I do search the scriptures so that I can have confidence in who I am, for the scriptures truly speak of who God created me to be. I minister these truths to all who take the time to read them, even if it is only one person.  My prayer is that by something that I've shared, someone would come to love The Lord and begin to search His Word for their life for themselves...just one!

I minister in every way that God allows me to share His Word and I do it to edify, equip and to make known to God's people both inside and outside of the church walls, His Truth for anyone who believes.

Hense, the task of various ministers, which I am but one, to the body is not only to equip others for ministry, but also to help the body come to unity on doctrine and experience and knowledge of Christ with the goal of spiritual growth and maturity.

I do want for you "to tell 3 people...to give a handclap of praise...to praise your way out...Praise your way in...to worship in spirit and in truth"! What I don't want is for you to have zeal without knowledge. I don't want for you to just follow the crowd and do what they do. Don't become a spectacle with no foundation. Don't be a professional praiser but be authentic in your praise.

Get to know God through His Word, prayer and Holy Spirit.

As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming; but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ (Ephesians 4:14-15 NASB)

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