Chasing the Wind…
I have become increasingly frustrated because I merely want to discuss things with people, but then they tell me how wrong I am. I try to explain things, but then they tell me I am criticize them the very way I accuse them of doing. It makes me feel very small and without a leg to stand on. Like no matter what I say, I will have a distorted theology and wrong views. Maybe this is not what these people are saying, I am really trying to give them the benefit of the doubt, it is so hard to tell in writing letters. Either way I am frustrated because I just want to talk and not hurl insults or views back and forth. Why can’t someone show me what they want to say in scriptures? I try to do that, and of course, if I don’t use the write translation I get bashed… Mainly using the message, yes, the message is a paraphrase, everybody knows that, so go look up the same verses in another Bible if it is troublesome to you.
I do not want to criticize anyone, and I am not interested in condemning peope because their theology is a little off. I have met a number of people in my day that have theology that is way off, but who am I to say they are going to hell? If we are attacking someone’s theology and saying they are going to hell, is that not attacking their character? Because God looks t the heart and not the outward appearance.
Samuel 16:1-13 “1 Now the LORD said to Samuel, “How long will you mourn for Saul, seeing I have rejected him from reigning over Israel? Fill your horn with oil, and go; I am sending you to Jesse the Bethlehemite. For I have provided Myself a king among his sons.”
2 And Samuel said, “How can I go? If Saul hears it, he will kill me.”
But the LORD said, “Take a heifer with you, and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the LORD.’ 3 Then invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what you shall do; you shall anoint for Me the one I name to you.”
4 So Samuel did what the LORD said, and went to Bethlehem. And the elders of the town trembled at his coming, and said, “Do you come peaceably?”
5 And he said, “Peaceably; I have come to sacrifice to the LORD. Sanctify yourselves, and come with me to the sacrifice.” Then he consecrated Jesse and his sons, and invited them to the sacrifice.
6 So it was, when they came, that he looked at Eliab and said, “Surely the LORD’s anointed is before Him!”
7 But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature, because I have refused him. For the LORD does not see as man sees;[a] for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”
8 So Jesse called Abinadab, and made him pass before Samuel. And he said, “Neither has the LORD chosen this one.” 9 Then Jesse made Shammah pass by. And he said, “Neither has the LORD chosen this one.” 10 Thus Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel. And Samuel said to Jesse, “The LORD has not chosen these.” 11 And Samuel said to Jesse, “Are all the young men here?” Then he said, “There remains yet the youngest, and there he is, keeping the sheep.”
And Samuel said to Jesse, “Send and bring him. For we will not sit down[b] till he comes here.” 12 So he sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, with bright eyes, and good-looking. And the LORD said, “Arise, anoint him; for this is the one!” 13 Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers; and the Spirit of the LORD came upon David from that day forward. So Samuel arose and went to Ramah.”
In the end if we are pitting Christian against Christian telling eachother how wrong the other is, are we living the greatest commandment?
Luke 10:25-37 “25On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
26“What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?”
27He answered: ” ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’[c]; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’[d]“
28“You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.”
29But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
30In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. 31A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. 32So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. 34He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, took him to an inn and took care of him. 35The next day he took out two silver coins[e] and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’
36“Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”
37The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.”
Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”
So, in order to inherit eternal life we must love God and our neighbors just as we love the Lord. An interesting concept about love, in regards to God is seen in John 14:15-31
“ 15“If you love me, you will obey what I command. 16And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever— 17the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be[c] in you. 18I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. 19Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. 20On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. 21Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him.”
22Then Judas (not Judas Iscariot) said, “But, Lord, why do you intend to show yourself to us and not to the world?”
23Jesus replied, “If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. 24He who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me.
25“All this I have spoken while still with you. 26But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. 27Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.
28“You heard me say, ‘I am going away and I am coming back to you.’ If you loved me, you would be glad that I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I. 29I have told you now before it happens, so that when it does happen you will believe. 30I will not speak with you much longer, for the prince of this world is coming. He has no hold on me, 31but the world must learn that I love the Father and that I do exactly what my Father has commanded me.
”Come now; let us leave.”
So, if we love God we do obey Him and one of those commandments is to “Love Your neighrbor as Yourself.”
I have been accused of lacking an understanding of what love is. But as in an earlier post, I have shown that love sometimes means that God allows us to suffer because he is our father and suffering produces the fruit of righteousness (Hebrews 12:1-13). However, there is also Jesus our brother, and the Holy spirit our friend. So, while we are suffering, we are still comforted, we are not abandoned, and we are not condemned.
I do not believe that many of the people, including myself, can convey the love they feel over the internet for their Christian brethren. To me, as long as you believe that Jesus is the only way to God, and you are pursuing God wholeheartedly by reading the Bible everyday and seeking his will as defined in the word, than I do not think I can question your salvation, that is between you and God. If you honestly tell me that you believe that the trinity is not the trinity in the way it is described in the Bible, meaning the father, son, and spirit, separate, but the same, but are still seeking God whole-heartedly, wil you not come to the conclusion eventually? I may try to correct you, but if you believe you are equally right to me, believe that the Fath, Son, and Spirit are one but three, we will just end up in a circular argument. My best bet, if I am certain you don’t line up with scripture, is to pray for you.
I suppose when I die, and I am at the judgement seat of Christ, we will see if I am as f-ed up as some believe I am.
I know what the Bible says fairly well, and I do my best to not take it out of context. If there is one place or even ten places I am wrong out of the entire Bible, is it really that bad in the grand scheme of things? God will correct me in time, if I am really off because I do not seek my will, but His will. I have done enough arguing about whether or not tongues is real, and been called demon-posessed for believing in it, to know that when two people with differing views try to convince the other they are wrong, NOTHING gets done. I am so done with that.
If we just seek what the whole word of God says, and do not take it and use it merely for our own agenda to prove our own right or wrongness, than we will be doing a lot better than most of the world.
God Bless ~Amy
