![[toj.cc]WildBillKickoff](/forums/data/avatars/m/1/1206.jpg?1442680067){kind=avatar}
[toj.cc]WildBillKickoff
New Member
I heard an interesting analogy and wanted to share some things. (After hitting "preview" I realize just how long this is. Please bear with me as it will explain quite a bit.)
The US Secret Service's primary job is not to protect the President and other dignitaries, but to prevent the creation, distribution, and use of counterfeit money. Surprisingly, in their training, they are never once exposed to any counterfeit money-- instead, the trainees simply study the real dollars to the minutest detail. They are immersed with dollars-- they become experts in the feel, the sight, the smell, even the taste of real dollars so that they can instantly tell the counterfeit.
After hearing that story, I came to the realization that unless I know the feel, sight, sound, smell and taste of God, I will not be easily able to tell the truth from the lies about Him. In short, I know the Lord well enough to get into Heaven, and well enough to somewhat defend my stances, but not as well as I should. A forum for religious disscussion is not the place for me to learn about God when I still have some trouble discerning the falsehoods.
So, I am actually going to take a modified Free Thought approach to Christianity. Why? I'm convinced that the way the modern U.S. church, be it Evangelical, Charismatic, Catholic, Protestant, Baptist, Presbyterian, Pentecostal, Episcopal, Non-Denominational, whatever label you put on it-- I believe there is a fundamental flaw. The flaw is that people have mixed standards.
Our standards are mixed because of our religious backgrounds and the influence they have on our thought patterns, our life experience and the lessons we've learned, our carnal nature and our desire to sin, and the influence of elders who justify a church's position based on tradition and not the Bible. Our standards are mixed, but God's are not. I want to find out what God's true standards are and live by those-- not to have to be dependant on my pastor's interpretation of Scripture, or to hear something on the radio.
The modified Free Thought approach I spoke of-- strip away all religious dogma and dictates, throw away everything I think I know about God, keep what I know I know, about God, and start from scratch with just God's Word as handed down through the ages. The versions of the Bible that we have are not 100% perfect, but the message contained is.
I will be using a few preconceived notions though. One, I am certain of the Salvation plan and how it is outlined in the Bible, and will not forsake that. Two, I will trust that the Bible is the inspired Word of God. Third, should I run across anything that doesn't make sense, I will call upon the great Christian writers who came before me, like Matthew Henry. Four, I will continue to behave as I am currently until I run across a passage of Scripture that tells me otherwise-- I'm just rethinking right now, and Bill is not a horrible guy by my current mixed standards, so no reason to say, become a recluse or cut off all contact with humanity.
You may be wondering why, if I'm chucking almost everything else, why I'm not chucking those first three things? The reason is that I've received actual, physical proof, enough for me, that I have made these decisions correctly (explanation below).
About 7 years ago, I had just gotten engaged to my wife, and I was in spiritual crisis. I wasn't sure whether God was real or not, whether my salvation was real, and whether I could trust the Bible. I eventually reached the point where it was consuming me, and the doubts circled in my mind, ready to move in for the kill. Out of the blue one day (I found out later it was the exact moment that my future wife was praying for me) I shouted to God, "Put these doubts out of my head! I choose, BY FAITH, to believe in You, to trust in Your salvation, and to trust Your word!"
At that point I heard a voice in my head, as clear as day, telling me to grab my guitar, get in my car and start driving. I drove north for about 30 miles, until I came across this small, rural church outside of Wesley Chapel, FL. I figured taht the reason I was supposed to bring my guitar was to worship God, so I grabbed it and sat on a rock in the field behind this church, and started playing. The first song I sang was entitled "Sweet Wind."
The first verse of the song paints a picture of God as the wind that sweeps across all the land, and as I started singing, a breeze swept across the field, just enough to cool me down a bit. The second verse paints the picture of God as the cooling rain, pouring over our spirit, and the cloud above me opened up a little bit and I was in a mist-like rain. At this point, I became a bit worried, because the third verse talked about God's holy fire!
Sure enough, as I started playing the third verse, the rain stopped, and the cloud that was covering the sun moved just enough to where I was covered in immensely bright sunlight. As I finished the song, a cloud rolled back in front of the sun. (To show God's sense of humor, after about 30 seconds of contemplating how amazing God is, He dumped about 6 inches of rain on me in about the time it took me to grab my guitar and run to my car.)
I don't know why God doesn't give everyone who earnestly seeks Him that kind of experience. I only know that God was so pleased by my decision to step out in faith for Him, that He provided me with the truth I so desperately sought.
So, to make a long story short, my journey on this board has ended for now, and a new phase in my spiritual journey has begun. This doesn't mean I'm ruling out a return at some point, and I will continue to lead the ToJ GW chapter to the best of my ability, but for now, vaya con Dios.
The US Secret Service's primary job is not to protect the President and other dignitaries, but to prevent the creation, distribution, and use of counterfeit money. Surprisingly, in their training, they are never once exposed to any counterfeit money-- instead, the trainees simply study the real dollars to the minutest detail. They are immersed with dollars-- they become experts in the feel, the sight, the smell, even the taste of real dollars so that they can instantly tell the counterfeit.
After hearing that story, I came to the realization that unless I know the feel, sight, sound, smell and taste of God, I will not be easily able to tell the truth from the lies about Him. In short, I know the Lord well enough to get into Heaven, and well enough to somewhat defend my stances, but not as well as I should. A forum for religious disscussion is not the place for me to learn about God when I still have some trouble discerning the falsehoods.
So, I am actually going to take a modified Free Thought approach to Christianity. Why? I'm convinced that the way the modern U.S. church, be it Evangelical, Charismatic, Catholic, Protestant, Baptist, Presbyterian, Pentecostal, Episcopal, Non-Denominational, whatever label you put on it-- I believe there is a fundamental flaw. The flaw is that people have mixed standards.
Our standards are mixed because of our religious backgrounds and the influence they have on our thought patterns, our life experience and the lessons we've learned, our carnal nature and our desire to sin, and the influence of elders who justify a church's position based on tradition and not the Bible. Our standards are mixed, but God's are not. I want to find out what God's true standards are and live by those-- not to have to be dependant on my pastor's interpretation of Scripture, or to hear something on the radio.
The modified Free Thought approach I spoke of-- strip away all religious dogma and dictates, throw away everything I think I know about God, keep what I know I know, about God, and start from scratch with just God's Word as handed down through the ages. The versions of the Bible that we have are not 100% perfect, but the message contained is.
I will be using a few preconceived notions though. One, I am certain of the Salvation plan and how it is outlined in the Bible, and will not forsake that. Two, I will trust that the Bible is the inspired Word of God. Third, should I run across anything that doesn't make sense, I will call upon the great Christian writers who came before me, like Matthew Henry. Four, I will continue to behave as I am currently until I run across a passage of Scripture that tells me otherwise-- I'm just rethinking right now, and Bill is not a horrible guy by my current mixed standards, so no reason to say, become a recluse or cut off all contact with humanity.
You may be wondering why, if I'm chucking almost everything else, why I'm not chucking those first three things? The reason is that I've received actual, physical proof, enough for me, that I have made these decisions correctly (explanation below).
About 7 years ago, I had just gotten engaged to my wife, and I was in spiritual crisis. I wasn't sure whether God was real or not, whether my salvation was real, and whether I could trust the Bible. I eventually reached the point where it was consuming me, and the doubts circled in my mind, ready to move in for the kill. Out of the blue one day (I found out later it was the exact moment that my future wife was praying for me) I shouted to God, "Put these doubts out of my head! I choose, BY FAITH, to believe in You, to trust in Your salvation, and to trust Your word!"
At that point I heard a voice in my head, as clear as day, telling me to grab my guitar, get in my car and start driving. I drove north for about 30 miles, until I came across this small, rural church outside of Wesley Chapel, FL. I figured taht the reason I was supposed to bring my guitar was to worship God, so I grabbed it and sat on a rock in the field behind this church, and started playing. The first song I sang was entitled "Sweet Wind."
The first verse of the song paints a picture of God as the wind that sweeps across all the land, and as I started singing, a breeze swept across the field, just enough to cool me down a bit. The second verse paints the picture of God as the cooling rain, pouring over our spirit, and the cloud above me opened up a little bit and I was in a mist-like rain. At this point, I became a bit worried, because the third verse talked about God's holy fire!
Sure enough, as I started playing the third verse, the rain stopped, and the cloud that was covering the sun moved just enough to where I was covered in immensely bright sunlight. As I finished the song, a cloud rolled back in front of the sun. (To show God's sense of humor, after about 30 seconds of contemplating how amazing God is, He dumped about 6 inches of rain on me in about the time it took me to grab my guitar and run to my car.)
I don't know why God doesn't give everyone who earnestly seeks Him that kind of experience. I only know that God was so pleased by my decision to step out in faith for Him, that He provided me with the truth I so desperately sought.
So, to make a long story short, my journey on this board has ended for now, and a new phase in my spiritual journey has begun. This doesn't mean I'm ruling out a return at some point, and I will continue to lead the ToJ GW chapter to the best of my ability, but for now, vaya con Dios.
