A Lesson Learned

This week I came out of a lesson thinking "AHH!!! I don't know anything!"


I was briefly discouraged and stressed and felt like such an immature Christian, but then I found a new motivation to study the scriptures. It was a very humbling experience for me.


I'm continuing to pray that I become more humble and motivated to become a stronger Christian...and not be discouraged with the "level" that I am, but be more excited to build on it.


This blog's purpose is to encourage others and I hope that my own experiences can do exactly that.


Thanks for reading!

not everything is what it seems

 Washington, DC Metro Station on a cold January morning in 2007.

The man with a violin played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time approx. 2 thousand people went through the station, most of them on their way to work. After 3 minutes a middle aged man noticed there was a musician playing. He slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds and then hurried to meet his schedule. A child stopped to listen but was pushed along by his mother, in a hurry. Several children that came by stopped, but were all hurried along by their parents. Some people dropped money into his case without stopping or looking. He made $32 in total.

He finished playing and silence took over. No one noticed. No one applauded, nor was there any recognition.


No one knew this, but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the greatest musicians in the world. He played one of the most intricate pieces ever written, with a violin worth $3.5 million dollars. Two days before Joshua Bell sold out a theater in Boston where the seats averaged $100.


This is a true story. Joshua Bell playing incognito in the metro station was organized by the Washington Post as part of a social experiment about perception, taste and people's priorities.


How much are we really missing? Is everything we know the way it really is? Do we ever really think about the things we believe or have been taught?


The two thousand people walking past Joshua Bell probably felt that a man playing at a metro station was nothing to think about....he must be a nobody, right? 


People are too comfortable with their beliefs and how they were raised to think for even a moment that they could be missing something. Unfortunately, though, most are wrong about what they believe and will never look for or accept THE truth. Religious people carry their bible to church, put it on the dashboard, or place it on the bookshelf without ever searching through it to see if what they believe or have been taught is really true. Religious people believe that Christianity is the right religion without having any proof of it. 


DON'T trust that your preachers, parents, bible teachers, or friends are teaching truth. They may not even know that they are teaching falsely...but we CAN know if we search the scriptures. 

How many times have you been to church or bible study and left with no intention on checking those teachings out? We all need to do this with other teachings that we hear, as well as our own....even in the church. I've heard false teachings come from the mouths of some members of the Lord's body, and they will be accountable for that. 

People in the religious world fail to see that there is such a thing as false teaching. The bible talks about false teachers, which implies that some teachings are false. That's not only in the religious world as a whole, but also in the "christian" belief.

Don't know how to understand the bible? Look at some rules for bible reading/understanding here.

Here's your challenge: Search the scriptures daily!! (Acts 17:11) Go to church on Sunday and Wednesday and take notes on what you hear, whether you agree with them or not. Go home and look it up!

Proverbs 14:12 "There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death."

5 rules for interpreting the bible

I've heard it said (many times) that what I believe is just "my interpretation" of the bible.
We know that the bible says that scripture is of NO PRIVATE INTERPRETATION.


"Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation." -2 Peter 1:20


The bible only teaches ONE truth, not many (Eph 4:5). A door can't be both open and closed at the same time. There is one belief that is right and that makes all other beliefs wrong. How do we know what is truth? We study the scriptures OURSELVES. We don't ask our parents, preachers, friends, etc.
WE LOOK AT THE BIBLE OURSELVES.


There are a few "rules" to observe when we study the bible


1. Do not read into the bible what ISN'T there.
     -This is called eisegesis (the interpretation of a text, esp a biblical text, using one's own ideas)
     -Don't go searching through the scriptures trying to justify your own ideas. You need to look at it from unbiased point of view. Pretend you are a clean slate and have never learned anything about it when searching for truth.


2. Context is key!
     Consider:
     -who is talking?
     -who is being spoken to?
     -what is the purpose of the passage?


     If we don't put something in it's context, the meaning will completely change! This is dangerous! We don't want to have false beliefs---that would mean spending eternity in Hell.


3. All that the bible says on the subject must be considered.


4. If one scripture contradicts another, it has been misinterpreted.


     -If you read verses that contradict what you think...but you believe a certain piece of scripture backs up what you think, then something is wrong. We have plenty of proof that the bible is the inerrant word of God. There are no contradictions. Apply all 5 rules to figure out what is truth.


5. What side of the cross is it on?


   I could write a completely different blog post on this point, but I'll just sum it up as simply as I can.
     We are all familiar with the fact that there is an old testament and a new testament in the bible. The old testament was the law for the Jews. Jesus came to bring the new law (new testament). Once Jesus died, the old law was abolished and the new law came into effect. (Eph 2:15, Col 2:14, Heb 9:17...basically the whole book of hebrews and the whole book of romans)
So which law are we under today?? Jesus died before we were ever born, so we are under the new law. This means we follow the rules that the new testament sets forth.


This one rule will help get rid of LOTS of confusion when it comes to the scriptures.


Here's your challenge: Give me some good examples of each of these rules. (For instance, #5 we use when talking about the thief on the cross/baptism debate.) I want to know what scriptures you use particular rules for most often. Leave them in a comment or message me.


Thanks a bunch!

be careful, little hands, what you do

There is a song that we sing with the children called "O Be Careful, Little Eyes"


This song makes me think of Exodus 2:11-14 when Moses murders an Egyptian.


Verse 12 says "he looked this way and that way, and when he saw that there was no man, he slew the Egyptian, and hid him in the sand."


Moses thought that no one would see him kill the Egyptian and it would be a secret. The next day, he discovered that his sin had been made public (v. 14). It appears that someone had seen this!


Secret sins are the hardest to stop doing...because we think no one knows about them. 
We must be aware that SOMEONE is ALWAYS watching. Not only does God see our actions, but others might see, also.


We must pray that we'll be cleansed of our secret sins and that we will discontinue them. (Psalm 19:12)




We also have to be aware of our public actions. We may think something is okay, but we could be sinning or be a stumbling block to others. 


Be careful what you do, where you go, and who you go with!


Here's your challenge: confess secret sins to your congregation, or a trusted, CHRISTIAN friend. It's easier to abstain from sin if a friend holds us accountable. When someone knows specifically what we struggle with, they will know how to help us!

O be careful little eyes what you see

O be careful little eyes what you see

There's a Father up above

And He's looking down in love

So, be careful little eyes what you see

O be careful little ears what you hear

O be careful little ears what you hear

There's a Father up above

And He's looking down in love

So, be careful little ears what you hear

O be careful little hands what you do

O be careful little hands what you do

There's a Father up above

And He's looking down in love

So, be careful little hands what you do

O be careful little feet where you go

O be careful little feet where you go

There's a Father up above

And He's looking down in love

So, be careful little feet where you go

O be careful little mouth what you say

O be careful little mouth what you say

There's a Father up above

And He's looking down in love

So, be careful little mouth what you say