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| Shoulda thought about that first. . . |
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I heard a cute story today. It's one of those "Little Johnny" jokes. This one, however makes a statement in addition to being funny.
Johnny's mother looked out the window and noticed him "playing church" with their three kittens. He had the kittens sitting in a row, and he was preaching to them.
She smiled and went about her work. A while later she heard loud meowing and hissing and ran back to the open window to see Johnny baptizing the kittens in a tub of water. She called out, "Johnny, stop that! Those kittens are afraid of water!"
Johnny looked at her and said . . . "They should have thought about that before they joined my church."
How often does this happen "in the real world?"
And no, this is not a commentary on baptism.
People should be very careful about what they are buying into when joining a particular church or denomination. Not everything that appears to be right and rosy is exactly as it seems. I am not one to be in a position to provide the "right" answer. I don't think that anyone here is. But a word can be offered about the "wrong" answer.
The Apostle John wrote a letter of warnings. In the fourth chapter of his first letter he writes:
1Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. 2This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, 3but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world.
Let me make this clear.
THERE ARE WRONG CHOICES.
There are many choices that are right. But there are wrong ones as well.
The only way we can determine what the right answers are is by study. First and foremost we must study the Book of the collections of books - the Bible. This is the inspired Word God has given. We need first and foremost to know what it says - not what people tell us it says.
Second, we must study books about the history of the Christian existence. Only by knowing where we've been as a church can we avoid the mistakes of the past and know that we are embracing the church as it was founded. There are many riches in Christian tradition. There's an expression about the baby and bath water - don't simply dismiss it because it was done for some tradition. After all God has given traditions to his people through the Bible and some of the Christian traditions are interpretations of these very things.
Third, we need to study books about the Bible. This is third on the list behind the stories. When we read the stories, we understand the experiences that took place - and Christianity is a very "experience oriented" existence. We are to experience Christian living - not read about it. And by reading what other say (this third path) we are reading what other people think about the Bible. there are many great things in there but it is opinion and only as good as the worth of the author.
Fourth, we need to witness the practice of these things in the lives our ourselves and others. Do people do as they say? True there are hypocrites in every crowd and we are all struggling to follow the life as we believe Christ set out for us; but, are there special "loop-holes" for special people? Why and how do certain individuals or groups get special "privileges" either human or spiritual? Observe. That is how we test the spirits.
And cover it all in prayer. Prayer is our desire to hear God and have God hear us. If we do these things, we can avoid that drowning sensation. |
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Cheryl |
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June 01, 2008 at 11:42am |
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| Amen brother! |
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Joey |
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June 01, 2008 at 11:47am |
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| I've been working on just this, Gene. |
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| Holy Spirit Guidance..I'm a work still in PROGRESS! |
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These are good things to do and all, I will not dispute that, but there's ppl like revivalist Smith Wigglesworth who walked in power like Christ, and he constantly read the Word---and no other books. My husband is the same. Me? I read Christian stuff like biographies and stuff in other areas, but honestly, never felt led to read this history stuff and whatnot. Our biggest mistake as a church body is disunity. Letting small things divide us...that and we aren't walking in love. I'm not against head knowledge, but I guess it's just allowing God to have dominion over your time and tell you what to do with it. I know what I believe from knowing what the Bible says. Not someone else's interpretation, but what Holy Spirit has shown me. That's why I am not crazy about reading some stuff by other ppl, who try to get you to see it their way. yes, lol...call me stubborn! lol You know I can be, Gene! Thanks for the blog. Good to see you on here a little more again. |
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Deb |
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June 01, 2008 at 2:45pm |
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| Our preacher started a series today on the lies of satan. One thing he brought up is all of the different types of belief...the latest craze with Oprah is one example of what this world has to offer. The bible is our book, our guide, and it is what we should go by. If it isn't in there, don't believe it. There is only one way to God and that is through Jesus Christ. |
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stu |
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June 01, 2008 at 3:10pm |
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| I agree Deb ONE WAY I think Gene was saying this too! great blog Gene, love the Kittens! |
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Hi Gino This is a great story-joke. After laughing hard, I realised that this is also very true today! |
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| Fantastic blog Gene. Can't say anything more, can't say anything less. |
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Gene |
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June 02, 2008 at 4:59pm |
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Thanks everyone.
Lara, I have to disagree to a small, small point. The head knowledge is critical to being able to read the Bible correctly. There are so many words that are translated in so many ways, it's important to know what's intended and what context those words are being used. There are everyday expressions that we use all the time to mean something and everyone understands it because they get used in the same manner. There are similar expressions used in the Bible but without having that explained there is much that is lost in simply reading.
(Ironic though, how you know about Smith Wigglesworth without claiming to know about church history or what other ppl say - lol)
Deb/Stew, there's lots of stuff that's not in the Bible that we need to evaluate and determine what to do about. Consider the Amish who refuse to accept zippers, Velcro, power engine and the like because they're not in the Bible. I believe that their faith is genuine but what's in the Bible is more than what it says - it's what it means.
That's often how ppl get deceived though - by looking to those outside things and using the Bible to justify them. That's why it's important to be aware of more than what is written. People twist what's written. And knowing about church history allows us not to make the same mistakes over and over again (i.e. "Coptic"). |
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Glenn |
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June 03, 2008 at 10:50am |
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Well said Gene, we need to read the Word, yet know that we all bring assumptions and different experiences to that reading. We need to understand where we (Christians) have come from, and understand the experiences that shape our current church structures. Reading the Word and then trying to live the Acts 2, church in our current world order may or may not be appropriate. Understanding God's plan for me individually is important, but to see how that fits into His plan for the world is another thing altogether. Thanks for helping to sharpen our search for God's truth here on MyChurch.
peace |
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| Gene, lol...are you surprised I am back? lol The Holy Sprit leads us into ALL understanding. I know what you're saying, but there weren't always Strong's Concordances and Bible Gateway waaaaay back when. There are theologians who have, I am sure, missed the mark. I do look up what the words mean in the Greek or Hebrew when studying, but aside from that, not interested in someone else's interpretation of the Word. |
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| Oh, Gene? Yeah, the Smith Wigglesworth thing...that's different! lol I love reading faith-building stuff, and his life was one big faith builder! :D |
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Gene |
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June 03, 2008 at 4:44pm |
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Oh Lara, I'm so glad you came back! :)
You are absolutely right that there weren't concordances way back when. By back when I'm presuming you're talking about the first century church - right? But they did have additional books - just not concordances. The Jews had the Talmud and the Greeks and Romans had Aristotle. And they used those mindsets to form the thinking of the church in their area (see, this is one thing you learn when you DO read those other books. . . lol).
And the 4th century Christians in Rome had Marcus Aurelius and Constantine. . . and so it went. each reading about the one before and building on it - rightly or wrongly.
And I want to temper what you said that "The Holy Spirit leads us into all understanding." You can read into that expression a number of things. Without the Holy Spirit we cannot understand correctly - agreed. However, we can think that we're hearing from the Holy Spirit and only making it up. How else can you explain so many well meaning people who became deceived by a few good sounding teachers? They had Bible studies at the Jim Jones compound too.
And that's my point, by knowing what THEY did wrong, we can avoid it. Glenn is right. Knowing our own faith is sufficient for us for salvation. But if we are to be the Church and reach out into the world we need to work together and know what is good and proper in God's Kingdom. We're not lone riders of the faith. We are the Church. and before be become a part of one, we need to have the knowledge necessary to know what we're a part of. the Bible is replete with such passages: Proverbs 18:15; Proverbs 19:2; Romans 10:2; 2 Peter 1: 5-7.
I love faith-building books too. I love the energy that exists in corporate worship (of many different styles). I also love to hear about the early family of the church - what they did right and what they did wrong - as fellow voyagers in this passage on earth. And I love to find out what THEY thought about what God was saying. After all, isn't that part of what we do here on MyChurch when we visit all these blogs? |
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| lol What I mean is the Holy Spirit will open the eyes of our understanding towards what the Scriptures say. I still am not in total agreement, cuz all I feel led to do is press more into God and save lost souls. But that's cool. :) Love you anyways, cuz I do get what you are saying. |
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Rob |
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June 04, 2008 at 3:06pm |
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Good blog Gene-o!
There are a couple guys on MyChurch who would disagree with you, however. They hold an ecumenical view that ignores any and all differences in favor of our similarities. They think that just because every denomination has certain similarities that they are all teaching the Way.
All streams and rivers contain water but just because a polluted stream contains water doesn't make it any less polluted. People can die from drinking out of polluted streams and rivers. I died once believing a lie that was backed up using the bible itself. It makes me mad!
Test every spirit by the word of God. If it doesn't fit, it's not of God. And if it does fit, you have to give it the old "gut check" because the devil can use scripture as well as (if not better than) we can.
Good blog, Gene.
Rob |
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Gene |
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June 04, 2008 at 4:18pm |
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Thanks, Lara - LYL.
Hi Rob, Oh, I think we can agree on that fact that all the streams have water and that in many of them you can't tell the difference except by the scenery. But, you're absolutely right in that there are some polluted streams and that we need perspective in order to determine which they are. The Word or God comes first but the rest is needed to put it in perspective - like knowing that the KJV is probably not the best translation and even contains some errors (fixed in the RKJV). Thanks for your comments. |
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| Gene, you have proven once again that you are the second smartest blogger on MyChurch!! (lol, the first is not me!) Really, great read. I appreciated your ordering of the sources of truth in study. |
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Gene |
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June 11, 2008 at 10:22am |
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I won't EVEN ask who #1 may be - in case that person is reading this blog
lol
Thanks, Mike. |
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