Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path. Ps 119:105 KJVGod's word will show us where we are (a lamp unto our feet) and where we are going (a light unto our path.)
STAYING ON THE PATH
When approached prayerfully and in concert with the Holy Spirit, God's word will open our eyes to what is really going on in our current circumstances; we'll see truths we may have missed on our own. We will receive wisdom and insight that make difficulties "doable." We'll receive vision for the future that will keep us on the path of our destiny, even when darkness surrounds us.
Spirit can only be known by spirit--God's Spirit and our spirits in open communion. Spiritually alive, we have access to everything God's Spirit is doing . . . 1 Cor 2:15 TMB
COMING OUT OF CONFUSION
Making a habit of reading his word with the help of the Holy Spirit will bring us out of confusion by bringing clarity to our understanding of who He is and who we are in Him and to Him. As to our destination: He doesn't show us the entire path, but he does give us enough to keep us going in the right direction, even in the dark of night.
Photo by Claudia West, Creative Commons License 2.0
==========
Technorati Tags: Peace , Guidance , Hope , Religion , Spirituality , Faith , Inspiration , Encouragement , Church , Jesus , Christ , Biblical Christianity
2 comments:
I used to believe in everything I was taught about Jesus and the Bible in church and in school. I don't know what changed, but I began to realize that the Bible, religion and the church are flawed - it seems so easy to explain things away by saying they are a mystery, which is the only answer I ever received for my hard-to-answer questions.
All I do know is that Jesus doesn't change my kids diapers. I do.
Jesus doesn't get up at 2am to cuddle them back to sleep. I do.
God cannot take credit for what the people do right, if he will not take credit for what the people do wrong. How can we give God the glory only when it's good, and when it's bad, that's free will/the devil/turning away from God?
Again, so convenient.
I DO believe in a higher power, but I do not think it is the higher power being preached about by the war-mongers and the bible-thumpers and the 'born-again' judgement-passers.
If only others believed in the value of humanity, we would stop trying for a prize that may or may not exist *someday*, and make the world better *here and now*.
Hi, Gabrielle,
Thanks for visiting my blog and taking the time to make a comment. You have raised some good points. I agree with you that religion and the church are flawed. And I once got so mad and frustrated with the Bible that I threw it across the room, screaming something at God like, “How do you expect me to understand this? It’s too hard.”
And yet now one of my greatest joys is reading the Bible and writing about it. What changed? One day Jesus had mercy on me and iniated a relationship with me. Just because he wanted to. That’s the only reason I know. It certainly wasn’t because I deserved his attention. When he knocked on the door of my heart, I said, “Yes.” That’s how it began. He wasn’t put off by my anger or my questions and he’s not put off by yours either. I didn’t quit asking hard questions or telling God how I really felt. In Psalm 142:2 he invites us to pour out our complaints to him and tell him our troubles. (For more on this, go to the March archives and read the article "Opening our Hearts to God.")
God loves us, not because we try to be good, but because it is his nature to love (1 John 4:16). He loves all humanity and he asks us to love one another (1 John 4:7). But without his help we are not very good at it. He is not sin-conscious, He is love-conscious. When we look at the life of Jesus, we see him saying to the woman caught in adultery: “Neither do I condemn you.” (John 8:3-11) The only people he was harsh with were the religious people of his day who made life difficult for those who were subject to them.
I hope you will give Jesus another chance. I have found him to be a wonderful companion, full of grace and mercy.
Post a Comment