Subject: How should we take the Bible? |
Bible Note: Hey Mark, Granted, there is much self that must die within us. But I find it hard to believe that any of us can speak to how much that is for each individual Christian. At what level do you assign persecution and loss? Look around and it doesn't take long to see Christians are persecuted daily and it's for the very Gospel they suffer. Does it only count if we are beheaded, imprisoned, or suffer some horrible death at the hands of the unbeliever? I agree, the state of the church seems lacking. But so did the state of Israel to Elijah in 1Kings 19. But what did God see that Elijah didn't? What does God see in the Church today that we don't? I only wanted to respond to the statements and raise these questions because just recently I was struggling with the questions "why did I not see the passion in others that I feel inside of me"? "Why does my experience seem to be so different then what I see from others"? I didn't understand why and I wanted to see the same passion in others that I feel in my spirit. I wanted others to have what I had been given. It was only through prayer and discussions with a wise YOUNG man I know and spending time with God one on one seeking the answers to this that I have only begin to realize that maybe, just maybe it's that many are already at the place I long to be and have already found the place I am seeking. What God has given me is not mine to give to others. Only God has the ability to give it to them. So mine is to be concerned with my relationship with God and share what is given to me with others. If it is God's will that they are given what I am given then God will give it to them. It's beyond me to give and therefore, not mine to question. Maybe there are some of us that fit in the "we" category and maybe there are some that are far past that place and the "we" can't see it because they have not reached it yet. I just don't think we can base others relationships with God on our own standards of what we perceive it to be or what we think it should be. We know from scripture what our objectives are, but we don't know the heart of every Christian and what they have been through and/or how they live their life. What each Christian has, was given to them by God. The relationship is between them and God and is not ours to question. May God truly bless you all! |