Okay here goes! I am not going to be walking on egg shells here, because I just have to get some questions out of my head so that I can hopefully focus on what is more important, to love! I have been constantly mindfully preoccupied by all these questions, and I am going to just get them down, and if you want, take a stab and them. Any comments are welcome and are wanted to help me sort some things out…. Ohh, and please bare with me, I am going through a process of re-developing… I really want to be found with grace on my lips and love in my heart for all people, including those I question! I am in no way trying to defile or point the figure at any one person or people, I too have been there and find myself revisiting places in which I used to find myself; but by help from God, I am no longer captive from that which used to hold me down… Amen!
Who was Paul? Was he the leader of the apostles? Or was he just a man. Was he better than all the rest of the men in his day? Was it because of his great transformation and ‘testimony’ that he lived through that makes him so special? I don’t want to be disrespectful, but, it seems out of the entire bible and people in this day and age always have held him in HIGH esteem almost seems to be up there with Jesus.
Doesn’t it seem odd that people who have ‘testimonies’ seem to be put up on pedestals? Like they have a story to tell like Paul did, and the rest who are just normal Christian folk who don’t have a ‘testimony’ that has rocked their faith, don’t seem to get noticed. At least this is seen frequently in the IC, but this kind of stuff I have always questioned and have had problems with. When a friend was telling me about her ‘testimony’ it was like she was proud of her wrong doing just because she now had a story to tell. It is quite weird.
Why does it seem like people who think they understand grace, the meaning and the good news of the gospel, but yet live as though they live by law? Here is something I found from Rich, on his blog! (Hope you don’t mind), it fits in here perfectly! “Performance (law) based living does what it does best, filling our inner being with something we were never designed for, angst, fear, anxiety, self-analysis, comparing and competing with the constant shifting and changing of the rules by the rule making gurus.” I just can’t understand why we preach with graced filled words, but it seems that we turn our backs on it, by living in accordance to human made laws and rules. I sense that I do this on occasion, and I am in no way pointing the figure and anyone in particular, but it never ceases to amaze me how much this happens!
Why is it that there are so many people who interpret scripture differently? This I believe is the #1 problem that arises in Christian relating. People who interpret things a certain way will always think that they are right, regardless of what the other person thinks. This reminds me of a conversation I was having with Kent, and he said a long time ago he and Julie went to a Marriage class or something , and the person who was leading their session, put a mug in the center of the table as him and his wife were sitting face to face away from each other, and they were asked to give their perception of what they viewed on the mug, one said that they saw a picture of a rose or flower, and the other said that they didn’t see anything, but from their point of view, the mug was blank. I thought what Kent shared with me was fascinating because we all have different perceptions of things and may never see eye to eye on everything. It was a great analogy of how different we are all, even if we believe in the same God. At least we have that in common, but it seems that the problem lies in and among the fine print of what we believe. I never really understood why it was important to be right, or to debate our doctrine’s, dogma, agenda’s, things that have to do with Father! Where is the love in that?
Is it our ‘Christian’ right to point out evil in people’s lives, even those who proclaim to be righteous? I know there are scriptures that talks about the process in which we go to our brother to confront his sin, and that seems to be the rhetoric of how things are done in the IC these days, but, hasn’t that seem to be overplayed by many who think it is their job to convict people of their wrong doing? I thought that was the Holy Spirit’s job? I think there are ways to go about doing this that are not as harsh or as negative, but correcting anyone to me seems like it wouldn’t be my place to do, to anyone, believers or not. Maybe I just hate correction so that is why I asked… God help me with this one!
Why do our motives and biases more often than not reflect on ourselves more than on God? Is this the fruit of our selfish tendencies? To proclaim who we support and what we like based on who we are? Is this really selfishness? Man, I bet that one was confusing! Sorry!
Just more questions than I have answers!
Would LOVE to hear feedback! Anyone welcome!
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5 comments:
try to look at the big picture, less about yourself and your problems, a new revelation of the confusing messages in the bible may unfold.
at the end of the day,scriptural interpretation must make sense in the real world you are living in.
if it(interpretation) does not make sense to the common man, and not WIDELY accepted, chances are, you have been duped to be "uncommon"
for denying your humanity,some may even libel you fanatic or crazy
Nicole,
Wonderful the security of the Father’s love is, freeing us to be able to do just what you’re doing, asking questions, rather than settling for the pat answers others have feed us all our lives.
To quote myself in a few thoughts I put together today, I’m wondering if they might have any relevance to some of what you are pondering?
It is of my understanding from the scriptures; we are to speak the truth in love, the out come being a steady and continued maturation, or being perfected in the spirit of love contained within the truth.
As long as we are in a cemented static fixed heart condition of looking at things, especially what the truth is within the scriptures, we might have gleaned something that we see as being ‘good’ but it will prevent us from seeing the much more readily available, to those wanting to stay fluid in heart and mind.
Reading into the Scriptures what is NOT there is one primary way we inject worldly practice into Christianity. When we interpret verses, we put our own fleshly stamp on what God is saying. It is my conviction that the only way to use the Scriptures is to let the Holy Spirit speak to us from them. This is not interpretation, but revelation.
This does not require interpretation, but rather taking what is written and letting God reveal its meaning to us.
Hey Nicole. Questions need to be asked. There's an old saying that the only stupid question is the one not asked and I think that it has just as much value when seeking spiritual guidance as it does in seeking secular guidance. I feel like God wants us to ask questions. Let me give you my take.
1. Paul was just a guy. He was not the leader of the apostles or better or more holy than any one else who has ever followed Christ. The reason that Paul is held so highly respected is it is HIS writings that make up the bulk of the New Testament...and there's a reason for that as well. Remember that it was humans that commissioned this book of short stories called The Bible and nobody can say with any certainty that as such, someone didn't have an agenda. How many writings are there that didn't make it into "The Bible"?
2. I can't say that I agree with you that people with testimonies are put on a pedestal because I have not experienced that. It's also not a bad thing that people have testimonies. People need to know that they're not alone in their experiences; either good or bad and testimony is how this is discovered. "Praise be to the Bod and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God" 2 Corinthians 1:3-4. Testimonies are important in that the enemy will be (and for that matter is) overcome by the power of them. (Revelation 12:11)
3. I don't know why people feel that they have to live under "the law". I never understood it and I never will. There is one thing that is inescapable, we all do it in one way, shape or form; if not at church, then somewhere else.
4. The word of God is a living entity in my opinion. There is no other explanation for why one can look at a verse one day and not understand it but the next day, they will have absolute clarity. Like Rich said, it is about letting the Spirit speak to us through the scriptures. Meaning is going to be different for every different person based on circumstances and the state of mind of the reader. Differences in interpretation come when "the experts" have these experiences and then sell it wholesale as the "right meaning". As you know, people will buy anything and when enough people buy into an interpretation, eventually it becomes the "only correct meaning".
5. It is our job to assist in keeping our brothers and sisters on the narrow path. The problem arises in how this is done, not that it is being done. What is worse is that only them most "blatant" are known. There are a lot of "corrections" made everyday that most people will never know about. Like you, I believe so much that there is so much about me that needs fixing, I have absolutely no business telling others how to fix themselves.
6. This is a very simple answer. Humans are selfish. I won't say all and I won't say most.....but there is a lot of worship out there that is all about "what's in it for me?" Take a look at the books by authors such as Creflo Dollar for example.
Keep asking the good questions and keep searching for the answers
Thank you for your feedback on these questions! I find that I have learned so much through asking and seeking, than actually 'knowing'.... I would rather ask questions like this instead of insisting that I actually knew the 'correct' answer to these questions! I find that many who try to 'defend' their turf in God, that they have to 'know' the right answer to everything, and I am so not there. Nor do I want to be!
Thanks for your inputs here, they really helped me work things out and think more upon what Father thinks!
Blessings to you all!
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