Tag Archives: knowledge

Light — Bekkie

Posted on by Standard 19

I’m all about the lesson. In a way, I’m grateful for the past year. Lessons abound.

For instance, I learned that the worse things get, the closer God is. “Draw nigh to God and he will draw nigh to you.” James 4:8. At the bottom there’s no where turn to but up.

I learned that Satan well deserves his name, which means adversary. He is truly against God. When my dad turned away, handing the reigns of his life to his enemy, I learned about the nature of evil. In the same way that faith is like a mustard seed, the smallest of the seeds, that grows to be the largest tree, evil begins small as well. It starts with fleeting thoughts and compromise. It turns into secrets and justification. Satan, that wily devil, whispers sweetly that you certainly deserve whatever happiness you might glean from this fleeting life. He says there is no God, no judgement, no evil, no soul, when all of creation contradicts that notion.

Usually, when you think of pride, you think of someone who wants to take credit. I’m sure we all have moments when we feel proud of being Christians, of serving the one true God. Of course, we soon realize it was his mercy, his kindness, that drew us. “For whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.” Romans 8:30. So beginning to end, all God. No room for credit.

The desire is there, though. The desire to take credit. But Satan’s pride has gone further. In The Usual Suspects, Keyser Soze says, “The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn’t exist.” What kind of pride is this? A pride so advanced it needs no credit. He’s willing to share credit, to give it over completely, as long as his aim is accomplished.

I’ve also learned that even an average man, of average intelligence, can become very, very devious. It’s as if Satan’s thousands of years of experience and knowledge shine through his followers. There are now two Christians, both of whom have engaged in lengthy discussions of God with me, who have told me, “You don’t know the whole story.” Not to mention others, who I am less upset about. Always that exact phrase. You don’t know the whole story.

Consider this with me. I have grown up with this family. Each of these people. I know their habits, their preferences, their past. I was personally present for several of the ‘big incidents.’ Anyone considering this situation logically would never assume they know better than I what has happened.

Yet I don’t know the whole story.

“My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge:’ Hosea 4:6. I’ve seen people who aren’t saved be deceived. It’s a very sad situation. There’s some compassion that should be given, some mercy. The only sin they can be convicted of in that state is the sin of not believing in Jesus as the Savior, the Lamb of God, sacrificed to save us. Their defection is understandable. Their mind and spirit are clouded, they have no shield.

Of all the friends we’ve lost, the Christians are the hardest for me. The girl my dad is seeing is a Christian. We were friends before all of this. I’ve mentioned Emily, my friend, on here. She recently accepted Jesus as her savior. That was an awesome day by the way. Her boyfriend defected as well. In his way, he did as much damage as the girl. Ironically, the only two Christians in the bunch are the only two who have actively interfered in meaningful ways. I might yet lose Emily, which would be the greatest loss so far.

Their involvement hurts badly. Everyone else, my dad included, I can forgive easily. I remember my mind before the Holy Spirit took over. I know how easily deception is accepted, desired even.

So I’ve learned that it’s important for every Christian to move past the milk. “But strong meat belongs to them that are full of age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exersized to discern both good and evil.” Hebrews 5:14. They couldn’t have been deceived so easily had they been exersizing.

“A new commandment I give unto you, That you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this shall all men know that you are my disciples, if you have love one to another.” (Jesus) John 15:34-35. I don’t know that the world sees much of the love Jesus was talking about from us. I don’t really see it myself. That’s why I don’t blame people for not liking Christians a lot of the time. They have often had similar problems. If I didn’t know God-apart from his people-I might be tempted to ascribe to God the characteristics of his people.

“You are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his flavour wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden underfoot of men. You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid.” (Jesus) Matthew 5:13-14. The world looks to us as examples of the God we serve. Please keep that in mind.

– Bekkie

Even A Blind Squirrel Finds A Nut Once In Awhile

Posted on by Standard 108

My daughter Rebekkah recently wrote a post entitled An Answer For Everybody which was her response to all the differing opinions offered up to my post An Answer For Arkenaten. Since she has graciously allowed me to borrow her laptop since mine died a truly horrible death, I have been reading the comments to her post to her over the phone.

The battle of comments rages on even now over these two posts, and tonight Arkenaten wrote the following:

“Reborn Christians are some of the most uneducated of the Christians sects, having little or no true understanding of the history of their faith or the bible, and are even less inclined to ask pertinent questions.”

Now, on the one hand, I find this statement to be merely an opinion thrown out to insult the person he was debating with. But, when I read what Ark had written to Rebekkah, her response was, ” That’s true.” I was very taken aback when she said that, chastising her a bit for her seeming callousness. But when she explained why she felt this was a fair statement, I had to reluctantly admit that she was right. But not before I snarked back a little. I hate all-encompassing stereotypes. I really do. I did mention I am the Queen of the Knee-Jerk Reaction, remember?

I don’t agree that Arkenaten has thrown out this tidbit out of any real knowledge or wisdom, but like we Southerners like to say, even a blind squirrel finds a nut once in a while. So at last, he finally gave me something to think about.

One of Rebekkah’s points that I couldn’t argue with is the severe lack of knowledge of what the Bible says and where it says it. A few years ago, Chef was working at a restaurant in a corporate park, and some of the people who would frequent this place were students of the Rhema Bible College, located here in Tulsa.

Now, I absolutely do not want to insult any Christians. I merely want to get people to ask themselves if they truthfully know why they believe what they believe. If this message doesn’t pertain to you, please disregard it. Not everyone falls into this category. I speak only to those who tend to rely on other people — teachers, preachers, friends, parents, books.. — but have not studied the Word of God for themselves. With so much in print, both in books and on-line, added to televised media, we are inundated by information. But all of that information needs to be secondary…The Bible needs to be the First and Last Word on everything.

I had numerous conversations with people in that restaurant, and many of them were with people attending the Bible school. And while they seemed ready to hit me with some form of “Shock and Awe” theories designed to impress with dry quotes of philosophers and some real twisting of random verses, they seemed woefully lacking in the basics of the Bible. For instance, I have been instructed in detail how we were already living in Jesus’s 1000 year reign, but that same person couldn’t tell me why he believed this. He quoted professors, and offered up some random bible-sounding stuff, but when I inquired about where these verses were in the Bible, he said he would get back with me. I never saw him again. One woman tried to tell me that Mary was not a virgin, and went into a long diatribe about her theories on that little tidbit. That one made me sad, because you simply can’t cherry-pick what you want from the Bible and then throw the rest out. There seems to be a real wave of Cherry-Picking theologians coming out of Tulsa right now, and I find this really, really disturbing. But doesn’t the Word say in Hosea 4:6:

“My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge…”

Knowledge of what that Bible says is paramount to our walk with the Lord. A person who truly knows why they believe the way they do is not easily shaken from their beliefs. And satan is a worthy enemy. He knows how to attack us in our weakest points. By knowing the Word of God, we close down a lot of his abilities to attack us using our own minds; hence, the Word of the Lord is how we are able to carry our Sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. Ephesians 6:17.

Over the years, I’ve had many, many conversations with many, many Christians, and I would have to say that it is only a small amount of them that seem to have a firm grasp on what they believe and why they believe it, with scriptural references to back their beliefs up.

There are many excellent teachers of the scripture, both in the real world and here in Blogosphere. But as Romans 9 instructs us to do, we should study to show ourselves approved. An unbeliever should never know more about that Bible than a Christian does, unless a Christian is just starting out. But for those of us who have been followers for years, the Bible should be written on our hearts, a quiver of spiritual arrows, ready for any surprise attack satan would launch at us.

I don’t necessarily agree that Christians are the most uneducated, or that we don’t as a whole, ask pertinent questions, or know our faith’s history. But I do believe that there is always room for improvement, and seeing that the days of the end are getting near, I would encourage all of us, me included, to brush up on our Biblical knowledge, or if necessary, begin anew to commit God’s words to your heart. I don’t mean to randomly memorize verses, but instead, read the Word of God as a whole, so that the Holy Spirit will be able to bring to remembrance His instructions to us when we are really in need of it.

Tonight, when I read 2 Timothy 2, I also found these verses, and they seemed a clear instruction to me on how to handle the many, many debates raging on those two posts on my site:

14 Remind them of these things, and solemnly charge them in the presence of God not to wrangle about words, which is useless and leads to the ruin of the hearers.

15 Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth.

16 But avoid worldly and empty chatter, for it will lead to further ungodliness,

17 and their talk will spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus,

18 men who have gone astray from the truth saying that the resurrection has already taken place, and they upset the faith of some.

19 Nevertheless, the firm foundation of God stands, having this seal, “The Lord knows those who are His,” and, “Everyone who names the name of the Lord is to abstain from wickedness.”

That tells me that these sorts of conversations are not useful for me, and I am fine with leaving them to other people.

I hope you all have a peaceful evening!

– Bird

 

Sometimes, The Message Isn’t For Me

Posted on by Standard 51

I have only been blogging for a couple of months, and yet I have watched, normally from the sidelines, as people with varying perceptions have “disagreed” with one another to the point that things have gotten somewhat heated. Some have quickly made amends, and others have parted ways completely. And it seems to me that it is unfortunate that this happens so often, because to me, it is only a matter of looking at things from an earthly standpoint instead of a heavenly one.

I tend to avoid such scrapes as much as I can, only being involved personally with my one throw-down on an atheist that I felt was disrespectful to an amazing degree. But, overall, I enjoy being at peace with my fellow man…or, in these cases, my fellow bloggers.

Yesterday, I had pretty much taken the day off from my computer, and when I logged on in the evening, I came across this post written by Sara, Universal Truths in answer to a post written by Anne, titled Personal Responsibility. I’ll let you catch up on the specifics, but the part that I want to address is perception.

As a young woman, I was under the mistaken impression that everything about a person could be summed up and categorized easily and efficiently, like cataloging some kind of vegetable or fruit. For example, I thought that if a person came from a home with an alcoholic parent, that person would either love or hate addictive substances. No middle ground. If a person grew up with normal, supportive parents, that person would in turn, be a normal, supportive parent. In my mind, I tended to over-simplify everything, including people. To me, the key to understanding a fellow person was in finding the correct formula that they fit in, like an algebra problem.

But, as I grew more mature, both spiritually and emotionally, and I began to deal with my own trauma from childhood, I was forced to admit that no one is truly uncomplicated. There are just too many factors that go into the sum total of a person, and with each layer I would peel off of my own self-consciousness, I would then learn to appreciate the same complexity in other human beings. Now, as I look back over my life, and the road of healing I’ve traveled, I am very slow in assuming that any other person on the planet can truly, truly understand completely why people are the way they are. And with this developing understanding of just how much we are not equipped to judge one another has come a mercy for people as I am beginning to see them from God’s perspective instead of my own. I learned to err always on the side of compassion, empathy, and mercy….all the things that I would have wanted people to give me when I was a lost, confused, angry girl.

The only universal truths I have found are in the Bible, but even in there, we don’t all fall in all of the categories. For instance, we all have varying degrees of spiritual gifts, or we struggle with different kinds of sins, etc. The one universal truth is that Jesus died for all of us, and His sacrifice was enough for anyone. But from there on, we each are approaching this life with our own sets of ideals, understandings, perceptions, mis-perceptions, and other lenses that color how we interact and react to one another.

I don’t think for even one minute that Anne was telling me, or Sara, to just get over our pasts. There is truth in her article about taking responsibility at some point in your life for your decisions. But, I guess what sparked the wariness in me is the somewhat generality of the post…Thrown out there like some random net, and not specific in its parameters.

I am not all bent out of shape about her perceptions, because taken in the context of what I believe she was aiming at, she is correct in her opinion. It is good to remember that the body of Christ is made up of many different kinds of people who vary in their gifts. The gifts of the Holy Spirit are so different, and if one takes a minute to think about the personality types that would excel at each of these different gifts, you’d find, like I did, that they would be really different.

We need the warriors in the body of Christ, but we also need the spiritual paramedics. We need people like me, who dismiss all the varying sins and shortcomings a person struggles with, and seek to see a person the way the Lord sees them, but we also need those evangelists and teachers that bring about conviction of sins, or there would be no addressing and purging of sins in any of our lives, either.

All of our gifts were given to us in order to work together in order to bring people into the Kingdom of God; to encourage each other to stay in the fight; to point the confused or lost in the right direction; to help each other in the ways that we each individually need at that moment. It would be counter-productive to be angry or resentful or dismissive of varying perceptions from our sisters and brothers in Christ just because they don’t fit our limited scope of what we think is important. Instead, by widening our viewpoint, it is rather easy to see how each of our differences, our strong points and our weak ones, work together beautifully in the big picture of the Christian Church.

Anne’s post may have hit home for someone else, even though it might not have been necessary for me, or Sara. And as such, it is important for each of us to weigh the importance of a message for our own lives, and if it is not relevant to our own circumstances at that moment, dismiss it and move on. It doesn’t say anything at all if a message simply isn’t pertinent to an individual at that moment. It might still be important for someone else.

– Bird

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Making Knowledge Acceptable

Posted on by Standard 6

The tongue of the wise makes knowledge acceptable, but the mouth of fools spouts folly. — Proverbs 15:2

When my kids were teenagers, they were just as rotten as anyone else’s. While they almost were never disrespectful to their parents, they did tend to get in trouble in other ways. And because of their ages, spankings had pretty much been replaced with groundings and writing lines….and lectures. Lots and lots of lectures. My husband gets wound up, and depending on the level of danger in the infraction, he can lecture for hours.

I remember one evening telling him that when he sees the “doe in the headlights” look on their faces, they’ve

This kid looks intense!! I think he's more of a lecturer..

basically checked out. Long lectures are wasted on them. It didn’t matter, though. He couldn’t help himself.

After the lectures, when a little bit of time had passed, I would collect the little rule-breaker, and we’d sit and talk about the incident. Instead of a lecture, we’d have a conversation. And 9 times out of 10, the child would take our talks to heart, and behaviors would change, even if only fractionally.

As they were getting older, I instituted an “Off the Record” rule. This was something my own Mom did for me that encouraged openness and honesty. No matter what I told her I did, there could be no punishment. The conversation was off the record. I believe I only used the rule once growing up, but my own kids used it quite a bit more when they were growing up. You see, I wasn’t sure I could really trust Mom to actually not kill me for some of the dumb things I did.

But my children trusted that if something was off the record, it would stay off the record. Because of open and honest communication, empathy on both sides, compassion, and gentleness, the bonds that my children and I have are stronger than any other I’ve ever had, with the exception of my husband. (That relationship is based on the same things…:-)).

How you approach people and how you handle your words are very important. I don’t respond to people talking at me instead of to me. Lately, I’ve been approached by a few Christians who want to lead me to the Lord. Even when I tell them I am saved, it seems they didn’t hear me at all, and continue with the lecture as if I hadn’t spoke at all. I don’t think too much of it, and I always tend to let them finish….it’s good practice, I guess. But I worry that if you are approaching an un-saved person with this lecture, it could potentially drive them away.

A person who is good at evangelizing is probably a good listener as well. You can’t make a connection with another person unless you hear what they are saying and respond accordingly. You aren’t going to lead people to the Lord by shoving a tract in their face and talking over them. Humans are individuals, and we like to be treated as such. Compassion, mercy, respect and empathy…these are all needed in order to forge a foundation for a conversation about God. What we need here is more conversations, and less lectures.

– Cathie