Fan or Follower?

I heard a teacher on the radio years ago who spoke about the ‘add on Jesus’. What he meant by this was that many people were saying they had Jesus in their life but they weren’t acting like he was anything more than just another ‘thing’ that they had going on. In other words, you may be a sports fan, a fan of some movie star, you are a fan of Facebook, a fan of some singer, a fan of Jesus: you may go to church, go to work, go shopping, go to a movie or go out to eat. In all of these things, Jesus just becomes another ‘thing’ in your life. You say you are a Christian, you may go to church as long as there isn’t something better to do and the music is ‘your kind’ of music; the preaching is ‘your kind’ of preaching and the people are ‘your kind’ of people. You see, as long as Jesus ‘fits’ into your life, he’s welcome. You may even know some of the catchy verses in the Bible and once in a while if you need an answer to something you open the Bible and read it like you would a fortune cookie so you can find the magical answer that you need. You will even give him some credit for the things in your life that you don’t need or want the credit for; you may pray to him when there is a ‘need’ that you can’t handle. This is the ‘add’ on’ Jesus that many are ‘fans’ of today.

There is a difference between being a fan and being a follower of Jesus. You see, being a follower of Jesus means that Jesus becomes not just a part of your life along with everything else, but he ‘is’ your life. You don’t go to Jesus only when you need an answer or are at the end of your rope; you go to him every day for everything: it is all his, all in his control and you know it. Your prayers aren’t about ‘getting something’ they are about bringing everything in your life to him; about talking to the only one who is in control of all things; about thanking him for all things- good and bad. Going to church isn’t about doing something because it makes you feel good, or to meet your weekly obligation, it’s about obeying him and his word; it’s about being part of a ‘body’ and letting him place you in that body where you will function to bring glory to him. You will read the bible, his word, because you know this is where he has spoken and revealed his will for us; because you want to obey him; because it brings you more in line with him not because you want him to come in line with you. We follow him to bring him glory, to obey him, to love him, good or bad not only when it is convenient for us.

I hope you understand the difference between being a fan and a follower of Jesus; what it means to have him in control of your life. It just seems that in most lives this just isn’t the case. You see people who are going to church and living in sin, seemingly without seeing the conflict. People are justifying lifestyles and language that Jesus’ word specifically says are wrong, yet they won’t let go of these things because they have their own ‘belief’ about the things they think Jesus ‘really’ cares about even though he has already told them in his word what their belief should be. But, they don’t want ‘that’ Jesus they want their ‘add on’ Jesus that follows them and not the other way around. They seem inclined to follow that old sage W.C. Fields: when asked why he was reading the bible, he said, “Just trying to find a loophole.” Most of the time they wouldn’t say loophole, they would say ‘that Jesus never said anything about it’ or ‘a loving Jesus loves everyone’, forgetting that a loving Jesus can’t let wrong go unpunished, “but is patient, not wanting any to perish, but all to come to repentance”, see 2 Peter 3:9, but you see, there is still that choice you must make to follow him or you will perish. Remember the excuse the Romans were using to justify living how they wanted even though it was contradictory to the message that Jesus and his followers were teaching: “What should we do then, should we go on sinning so that grace can abound?” Romans 6:1. You see, they liked the message of God’s grace and forgiveness so they started making up their own set of beliefs such as ‘if God’s grace is shown by his forgiveness then we shouldn’t worry about sinning or approving of those that do, because his grace will cover it’. But when they said this the apostle Paul had to correct them and say, “By no means! We are those who have died to sin, how can we live in it any longer?” Romans 6:2 NIV. If you need more evidence of what is meant by follower of Jesus, go back to Romans 1 and just read it starting at verse 18. People tried to justify everything from worshipping things and people; homosexuality (Gay and Lesbian), all the way to greed and envy! Paul ends the chapter by giving this conclusion in verse 32, “Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do those very things but also approve of those who practice them.” Fans. People were just living how they chose, approving of others that did the same, and justifying it all to themselves: but not to Jesus.  

So, what are you? A fan or a follower. If you have made Jesus just a part of your life that you choose when and where he can ‘fit’ in, then you are a fan. If you are somehow ‘justifying’ things that you are doing in your life or believing even though you know ‘the righteous decrees’, then you are a fan. We all need to be honest with ourselves and decide if we are living as a fan or follower of Jesus. Today is the day,

Are you a fan or a follower?

Come to the Well of Living Water!

Have you heard the story from the Gospel of John where Jesus confronts a woman by a well? He actually doesn’t start the conversation off by confronting her, he simply asks her for a drink of water. He had been walking all day and the other men, his disciples, had gone down to the town to get some food. While he was waiting on a hill in the region of Samaria by a well of water, a woman comes in the early evening to draw some water. When Jesus sees her he simply asks her for a drink. Now in that culture and in those days it wasn’t like a Jewish man to ask anything from a Samaritan, since they were considered ‘unclean’, much less to ask a Samaritan Woman. But he did. Now she’s a little taken back by his request and asks him why he a Jew would ask her, a Samaritan woman, for a drink. This is when the conversation gets interesting. Jesus tells her that if she knew who he was and the gift of God, she could have asked and received ‘living water’. Living water? What was that? She didn’t even question it, she simply told this stranger, Jesus, that he didn’t have anything to draw the water with- she sure wasn’t going to loan him her bucket was she?- and the well was too deep to get it without something to draw it out with. She asks him how he thought he was going to get out the water since he surely wasn’t greater than her ancestor Jacob. I mean Jacob was one of the three, you know: Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. This stranger couldn’t be more powerful than Jacob, could he? Jesus lets the woman talk, he doesn’t just make water appear to show that, yes, he was more powerful than Jacob. When she finally finishes her ‘you can’t get out the water and Jacob is better than you’ rant, Jesus picks up where he left her and says, “Everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again; but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never thirst; but the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life.”N.A.S.B.  There it is again, that living water. This time the woman does pick up on the living water theme and asks Jesus for some of that living water so that she wouldn’t have to come up the hill anymore and get water! She’s thinking physical, He’s speaking spiritual. This happens a lot to Jesus, he speaks great spiritual truths and inevitably the people he is speaking to take it in physical terms. If you want to see a good example of this skip ahead to verses 31-33 of this same chapter and his own disciple’s fall into the same problem as the woman.

So, that’s the part of the story I want to look at. What is the Living Water that Jesus was talking about? And how can he give us something so that we never thirst? And thirst for what?

Have you ever had a problem, felt guilty, overwhelmed and didn’t know how to get rid of the feelings you were feeling. Sure, you can stuff them down and pretend that you’re okay- but you’re not. You’re not, and you know it; if you look deep within, you know you just can’t shake that feeling, that guilt, that shame, that anger- you fill in the blank. You see, this woman at the well had stuffed her guilt, her shame, her anger, and all those other things she was feeling deep down. They were there, but she didn’t want to deal with them, so she kept trying to get Jesus on to some subject that didn’t involve him and her and what he could do for her. I mean, let’s give the woman a little credit here: I’m sure because of her past and all those things that she has stuffed inside- see the next few verses- she is being cautious with this stranger, after all, she didn’t know this was the Jesus of the Bible, right? So, she keeps trying to shift this to some practical, logical type conversation, but this man at the well, this Jesus, just keeps pushing her back to face this ‘living water’ topic. Why? Because he knew she needed it. That’s what Jesus does, he just keeps on putting those same things in front of us so we have to face them before we can move on. Who knows, maybe right now some of you are saying, man this sounds just like… yep! You may be thinking, “Why does this Jesus stuff keep coming up? I don’t even believe in that stuff, can we just stop talking about it?” or, “Every time I pick up the Bible to see what it says, I keep on reading about…”  Yep. That’s him, Jesus, trying to give you some of that living water. The exact water you need.

You see, we all have some of that ‘woman’ inside of us don’t we? Some of us have more, some less, but we all have some. And Jesus is still offering that living water to anyone who will come to him and ask. Did you notice that Jesus said to ask and he would give it? He didn’t just start spewing it out did he? Why? Because Jesus wants the people that receive the healing, living water to want it. Do you ever notice that if you aren’t thirsty water doesn’t really taste that great, but when you’re thirsty, wow! Jesus wants the same thing with us, he wants us thirsty so that when the water is offered we will take it in deeply and let it do the work. Once again, it comes down to choosing Jesus: asking him for the living water.

Now, you may have noticed that last line in the last paragraph: ‘Jesus, the living water.’ Yes, Jesus is the living water. And what Jesus is saying is that if we ask, he will give us himself! And notice that he says that the water he gives will be inside whoever drinks of him and that water (Jesus) will become a well springing up inside of them to eternal life. He will fill you; he will give you life eternal. So when we drink in Jesus he is able to calm those storms inside, to give healing to those feeling that you never could do on your own, because now you see, you have Jesus “springing up” inside of you, never running dry, always enough.

Like I said, the offer is still there just like it was for the woman. “If you knew the gift of God, you would have asked and I would have given you living water.” There is one other thing we should get clear right here: notice the word “gift”. This living water, this Jesus, is a gift of God. Let’s get this straight, a gift isn’t a gift it you do something or try to pay part of it; it then becomes a reward or merit of some kind. This is not what Jesus said; it’s not what he is offering, he is offering us a gift. He didn’t tell the woman that she needed to do something to earn the water, or say some special words to merit it; he offered it freely as a gift. He does the same for you and for me. If you’re wanting to do something to earn the water you will need to see someone besides Jesus, the only problem is that He is the only one that has it to offer: there is no other way.

So, now that we know what the water is, how we get it and what it is for, we get back to those words that Jesus originally wanted from the woman, and now wants from you and me:

“Ask”.

Randy

THE BIBLE VERSE THAT DESTROYS THE MACRO-EVOLUTIONARY SCALE.

Inside the evolutionary camp there is an evolutionary view called macro-evolution. If you want a visualization just think of the scale popularized in the 1970's which you probably saw in elementary school, you know the one of the fish creeping onto land and becoming a bird then a beast an ape and finally a man. Now, this view can be summed up with the definition found on the website, biology online:
Macro-evolution: Definition : noun, plural: macro-evolutions: Evolution happening on a large scale, e.g. at or above the level of a species, over geologic time resulting in the divergence of taxonomic groups.
I have never held to the macro-evolution model, though I know many who do. In fact, if you hold to a type of evolutionary view that calls for any type of animal specie evolving from a lower animal specie, then you must by definition hold to the macro-evolutionary model. I am not surprised by those outside of bible teaching churches and bible believing Christian circles (I will use those definitions to describe 'Christian' in the rest of the article) who would grasp the macro-evolutionary model as a cornerstone of their belief; however, I am quite surprised when I come across a Christian that holds to this view. So, without getting into what many see as inconsistencies in the belief that some hold in the Christian church which recognizes either an 'old earth' or a 'young earth' view, I want to concentrate on one verse in the New Testament. The debate between old earth and new earth theories of creation are for a different time: neither view would conflict with this discussion since they both hold to the microevolution model of human origins and neither hold to the macro-evolutionary model. These are in contrast to the model that is in dispute here, namely Theistic Evolution which includes the belief in macro-evolution as a means of human origin.
You see, I believe that in this one verse that we are going to look at there is enough proof through the literal rendering of the verse to shut the door to any notion of a macro-evolutionary model for biological evolution for those who hold to Biblical creation. It will be a short study and hopefully by the time we are through, you will see that the belief of a Biblical creation cannot be held together with a macro-evolutionary model of hominid (human kind) origins.
So, let's jump into the study. Here is the verse:
“All flesh is not the same flesh, but there is one flesh of men, and another flesh of beasts, and another flesh of birds, and another of fish.” 1 Corinthians 15:39 NASB
That's it. One verse, and within that verse we will be concentrating mainly on three words: 'not', and then, 'one' and 'another', which are actually one word translated two ways.
Notice in the first part of the verse it says, “All flesh is not the same flesh,”. Now this may seem obvious upon casual reading but notice that it qualifies the statement by using the conjunction 'but', saying in the next part of the verse, “but there is one flesh of men, and another flesh of beast...birds...fish.” This conjunction that is translated 'but' is literally 'alla' in the Greek which means, 'but', 'nevertheless', 'notwithstanding', 'nay', etc. So, what is being said here is that there is without question, different kinds of flesh. This brings us to the first term we need to dig into, “is not”. In the Greek language there is a term called the 'absolute negative'; the word used here for 'not' is the Greek primary word, ou (pronounced oo) when translated becomes 'is not ever, never, absolutely not'. This can be contrasted to a similar passage in 1 Corinthians 14:39 where Paul has just finished giving instructions on the use of certain spiritual gifts in the assembly and he says, “Therefore, my brethren, desire earnestly to prophesy, and do not forbid to speak in tongues.” NASB italics inserted. The word used here for 'not' is the Greek word 'mē' which is referred to as a qualified negation- no, lest, etc. The reason this qualified negation was used here was due to the fact that there were certain rules that Paul had just pointed out that are to be followed in the assembly regarding the use of tongues, so instead of the absolute, “never, ever forbid to speak in tongues”, the qualified is used, “do not forbid to speak in tongues lest...” letting it be known to the Greek reader that there may be times that tongues would be forbidden. In the case of 15:39; however, the opposite is true, “all flesh is not and never has been or will be the same flesh,”; the absolute negative makes this certain. Now we move on to the words 'one' and 'another'. These are actually the same word in the Greek, 'allos' which means 'another' or 'different'. So, by implication, not only is the verse saying that there is absolutely, without question 'different kinds' of flesh, there is also a different kind of flesh between species and none are or ever have shared the others 'kind'.
So, what does this all mean? What it means is that man doesn't have and never has had the same flesh as the beast, the bird or the fish! Isn't it amazing that some time around 50-60 A.D. the evolutionary scale of fish-bird-beast-man was given a fatal blow in one verse? Especially amazing given the fact that Darwin's diagram of the evolutionary tree was not invented until the 1800's! Now, if there is a God (and I believe there is) that would be just the type of answer He would give: one verse, include the evolutionary scale and put it to death by the use of a couple of words. Amazing.
In conclusion I want to emphasize again that I am not arguing with those who are 'outside' of Christianity, only those who hold to the macro-evolutionary model of Theistic Evolution and profess to be Christian. And even then, I don't believe the argument is with me, it appears, at the very least, to be with this one verse tucked away in the New Testament book of 1 Corinthians.
Randy

Colossians 2:6-15

This week we come to one of the central teachings in the whole of the New Testament about what it looks like to 'walk as a Jesus follower'. If you will turn in your Bibles- does everyone have a Bible? If not, you can follow along as I read up on the screen, but I encourage everyone to get a Bible, get familiar with it and bring it with you to church. It can be a book, an app, a reader or a PC- however you or whatever will get you into the word of God is what I want you to have with you. So, if you'll turn about half way through the New Testament at the back of your Bible, you will find Colossians just after Philippians and just before 1 Thessalonians. So, be finding your way there, turn to Chapter 2 verse 6 and we will be there in a minute.

So, like I mentioned, this part of the New Testament, is going to tell us what being a follower of Jesus looks like; what kinds of things you can expect as one who has given their life over to the King- Jesus! What it looks like to accept Him; what it looks like to know him; what it looks like to die for him- now that got a few eyebrows to lift a little; and what it looks like to live for him. You see, following Jesus isn't a 'part time' job- it's not a part time relationship. Just think about that for a moment: what if you're parents (and some may have experienced something like this) what if your parents had decided when they had YOU to be just a part time parent. You know, there you were, diaper and all, just lying there waiting for someone to feed you, change you, hold you- but your parents were not 'on the clock'- you see it was Monday and your Mom and Dad didn't have to be at parent duty until Wednesday from 12-6! Now, that's ridiculous isn't it? Yes, and so is being a part time Jesus follower- but people do it all the time and I'm guessing, just guessing now, that right here in this church building, we have a few 'part timers'. Now don't be looking down the row or at the heads in front of you- that part timer may be a little closer than you think! Instead, let's go ahead and get our eyes on the scripture before us and dig in to see what it means to be a 'Full time Christian'.

Colossians 2 starting at verse 6:

Col 2:6  Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him,
Col 2:7  rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.

Let's stop right here for a moment and see the 'set up' that Paul is giving us here as we begin to dive into the scripture today:
"Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him,"
Anytime we have a 'Therefore' in the scripture what do we need to do?.. Yes, see what it is 'there for'. Now to find the 'there' in the therefore we need to go back into chapter 1 verses 13-14: you see, the therefore in scripture will always lead you back to a 'truth' established earlier that is being expounded on or 'clarified' at the present- "Therefore always leads me back to a Truth that I'm Here for!"

O.k. back to chapter 1 starting at verse 13:

Col 1:13  He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son,
Col 1:14  in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
And then to clarify it a little further he says in verses 19-22 of chapter 1:
Col 1:19  For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell,
Col 1:20  and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.
Col 1:21  And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds,
Col 1:22  he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him,

So, there it is- That is what we are Here for!
We are here today, here in church, here with all these others
that are here, here in Colossians 2 stopped at verse 6 to find
out what it means to 'be that person' that we just read about
in chapter 1. But before I ask you a very important question about this reason we are here let me explain to you a little more about what is going on in verse 6:

Col 2:6  Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him,

I think what is important for us to understand here in this statement that is made by Paul, is what he means by 'as you received Christ Jesus the Lord,' You see, that is no little statement no matter how insignificant it may seem! The way the readers of this letter in Colossae had 'received Christ Jesus the Lord' was not a simple raising of the hand, say a few words and then leave church, go about life as usual except now I have a little relief, a little something to go to when the times get rough 'spirituality' that I can 'rely' on. No, what these readers, what Paul himself, was going through to 'receive' Jesus as Lord was a time of persecution that didn't allow you to be 'part' Christian. If you accepted Christ at this time, under the Emperor Nero's reign, you could expect reviling, casting out by your family, being taken prisoner for this 'new' faith (like Paul), being beheaded (like Paul), fed to beasts, slaughtered as a 'gladiator' or maybe being a 'living candle' to light the road to Rome! Wow, what 'prosperity' was found in the gospel! So, what if that door opened up right now and soldiers walked in because this was an illegal assembly of a 'false religion' according to the state- a bigoted religion because of it's narrow views and exclusive claims of divine truth. What if they had the torches lit and the wood outside to hang you on...or even if they weren't right here, right now, but the chance, just the chance of it happening were real- would you? would you raise that hand, say that silent prayer, or would you boldly call on the name of Jesus- no matter what! THAT, is what the Colossian readers of this gospel were facing- that was reality to them. So, did they take it serious when they professed faith in Jesus as Lord- you bet, and I hope that we do too.

Moving on now, the last part of verse 6 and verse 7:

Col 2:6-7 ESV  Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him,  (7)  rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.

I was out in the back yard just the other day and I was trying to drive a wood post into the ground. Now a couple of the posts went in really easy but when I got close to the 'established' trees in the back I couldn't drive in the post. You see, the roots had grown so thick and so deep that no matter how hard I tried to pound in the post, it wouldn't do much more than scratch the surface. This is the type of deep rooted faith that we are to have in Jesus; the type of deep rooted faith that it is able to hold up a well established, well built life- a well built walk! So, be thankful 'if' you are there- abound with thanksgiving.

So, here is that hard question I told you was coming: Are you that kind of Jesus follower? If you haven't thought about it before or you know you aren't, the next question is, why? Why would you 'not' think about something as important as this? and, Why would you be in church if you aren't really serious about your walk with Jesus? I mean you could be out biking, boating, shopping, sleeping! If you are here, and you know about the kind of Jesus experience we are talking about, but you are choosing not to follow Him anyway? I just don't see why you would want to be here- but maybe today's scripture is exactly 'why' you're here...maybe.

This next section of chapter 2 we are getting ready to dig into is going to explain why it is important to know where you stand in relation to that all important question, so let's move on to see why it's important to know what kind of Jesus follower you are, and to realize that there is no such thing as a 'Part time Christian'.

Col 2:8  See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ.
Col 2:9  For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily,
Col 2:10  and you have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority.
Here, once again, Paul is expanding on something he has mentioned previously. Look at verse 4:
Col 2:4  I say this in order that no one may delude you with plausible arguments.

So, let's look at these together. He is saying that the arguments that we can be deluded or led off the right path by are not some out of this world crazy talk that you 'know isn't true'; rather, it will be something plausible, something that your mind can easily digest, can relate to! This is what is called in Ephesians 6:11, the wiles, schemes, or the tactics of the devil:

Eph 6:11  Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.

Schemes here is the Greek word 'methodia' and you can see what this word looks like in English: method or methods. If you break this word down to it's roots it comes to mean a 'well travelled path' or a 'a path gone over again and again'. So, this scheme of the devil, this 'plausible argument', this 'philosophy and empty deceit' that we are being warned against isn't normally, isn't most of the time, going to be some strange idea that we have heard for the first time. It will be something we have thought about, something we have mulled over, something that 'strikes a chord' in your mind. Notice also that it is, 'according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ.' So, this scheme, this plausible argument, this philosophy- which is called 'empty '- is according to human tradition, to worldly standards and not Godly standards. Do you understand what this is saying. You see, worldly standards can 'appear' godly. Jesus knew this, it's why he said in Mark:

Mar 7:6-8 ESV  And he said to them, "Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written, "'This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; (7)  in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.' (8)  You leave the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men."

Now, we may read this and be thinking, 'Yep, those Pharisees were really bad, they were sooo religious but didn't have a 'relationship' with God!' and you would be correct- but that isn't how the people saw it. The Pharisees were respected for their 'closeness' to God. I mean, if you wanted to go to heaven then you wanted to be 'as good as a Pharisee' right? Didn't Jesus even say in Matthew 5:20 that if you want to make it to heaven then 'your righteousness must exceed that of the Pharisees and scribes.' ? But down the road a bit He calls them out for their false 'piety' and 'false tradition'.
And really, don't we all get caught up in 'human tradition': order of worship- 'hey, we can't have communion first, it's always done at the end!' or, 'man, I can't believe those people sat where I 'always' sit'. So, what we are being warned about here is not letting 'human tradition' lead us astray. Don't let it lead you down a path of thinking that since you are saved by grace it doesn't matter how you live- thinking that it's OK to drink until you feel the buzz because 'I have freedom in Jesus', or to have sex outside of a marriage between a man and a woman because 'my god is a god of love, he wouldn't condemn people for loving each other', or, 'yeah, I'm a Christian but I don't think god would condemn someone who is a different religion if they are good people, there are a lot of roads to heaven'. Or even, 'the bible may contain the word of God, but it has a lot of places where science has shown it to be outdated, so it may be a good guide for life, and the stories are good teaching tools, but I can't just believe it is actually the 'inspired' word of God' And the beat goes on...!

People can also be pulled away to false religions and philosophies that meet some need within them to 'meet the demands of God'. In other words, we think we need to satisfy God's anger at our sin by doing good things or things that are decreed by our god. This may seem distant to your way of thinking until you realize that following rules for the sake of 'doing the right thing' or, 'because the bible tells me so..' can easily fall into this religious tradition, philosophy of the world, mind set. Our lives begin to be controlled by the thought of not missing that prayer, or part of prayer; by not missing church- no matter what!; not saying, doing or behaving certain ways begin to bring you into bondage instead of freedom. So, there is false and worldly deceit on both ends of the pendulum of everyday existence.
But as we look to the end of the warning in vs. 8 and move into 9 and 10 we see where the protection from being led astray comes from:
and not according to Christ.

Col 2:9  For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily,
Col 2:10  and you have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority.

Here once again we see Paul pointing us to Jesus, the Jesus that he has already pointed at in chapter 1:15-20; it is in those verses that verses 9 and 10 are built on:

Col 1:15-20 ESV  He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.  (16)  For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities--all things were created through him and for him.  (17)  And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.  (18)  And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent.  (19)  For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell,  (20)  and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.

What we need to notice in these verses is where Paul says that he (Jesus) created everything "whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities--all things were created through him and for him."
You see, this is the reason we can have confidence that Jesus is able to lead us in such a way that we do not have to fear being 'led astray' by these false teachings and philosophies even though they are empowered and receive their deceptiveness from hell itself! Jesus has the final word, he has the power to defeat the devil and his schemes because Jesus created the devil and he created all those enemies of darkness in the spiritual realm that our battle is against. There is no power on earth or in heaven that Jesus is not pre-eminent; where he is not 'head over every rule and authority'! You see, we are 'made complete in him.' You and I are not half, not partial, but we are complete in Jesus. It is the world and the schemes of the devil that are trying to make you feel that you need more than Jesus to be adequate or to be fulfilled- it's a lie from hell, there in completeness in Jesus: he is all you need, he is the only one who will be able to satisfy the longing of the your soul in it's search for God. When we come to this realization; that Jesus is our completeness, our wholeness and our adequacy- no power in heaven or on earth will be able to shake you or lead you away. Hollow and empty deception, or, false teaching will be made evident because you have the real thing.

I don't know if you have ever heard how they teach the federal agents that work with money how to tell between a real and a counterfeit piece of paper money. Well, the way to teach someone how to tell the real thing from the counterfeit isn't by having them study the counterfeit; it's by having them study and become so familiar with the real thing that the counterfeit is immediately obvious...this is how we are to be with Jesus. Once we come to know him and spend time with him in his word- this is where he reveals himself- once we immerse ourselves into his word and his ways, we won't be able to be led astray, we will know truth and error,  we will know what is hollow, empty and false. As a matter of fact, one of the way's to "learn" money is by  the “touch, tilt, look at, look through.”  test; maybe this would be a good way to look at Jesus! If we know how the 'real Jesus' 'feels' the way that Jesus is shown in the Word and the way he acts, responds, converses and handles situations. We need to know him so well, the 'touch' from all angles, from outside and inside, that no matter what is presented to us we will know if it is true or counterfeit- because we know the 'real Jesus'.

And now we move on to see not that we 'can' overcome the enemy, but the 'why' we can overcome the enemy and the deceptions of the world. In verses 11-14 we will put the magnifying glass on the inner workings of the faith that is able to overcome!

So, Col 2:11-14 ESV 

In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ,  (12)  having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead.  (13)  And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the un-circumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses,  (14)  by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross.

In these verses we see two 'types' of what our salvation 'is'. It 'is' circumcision and baptism; and in both cases it is not physical circumcision or baptism that is being spoken of. There is a passage in the book of Deuteronomy 30 verse 6 that says,

Deu 30:6 ESV  And the LORD your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your offspring, so that you will love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live.

And even though this is in the old testament, it is exactly what is being spoken of here. You see, even in the old covenant, people were saved by faith in the coming messiah, Jesus, and his death on the cross. It is this circumcision of the heart that saves us, this letting God cut away the flesh, the old sinful flesh, that cannot inherit eternal life- this is what gives us life and power to overcome. Without the cutting away, the rendering of the flesh over to death, we cannot and will not attain the victory that is spoken of here.

And baptism- now this one can become a little fuzzy to us if we don't realize that this is not- not- the dunking in water that is being spoken of here- this is speaking of the spiritual meaning of baptism. The death of our old self, the burial of this old self and the resurrection of a brand new, completely new life in Jesus. Notice, we are 'buried 'with' him and we are raised 'with' him through faith in the 'powerful working of God'. So, what we need to see here is that is only 'with' Jesus: only because we have died on the cross with Jesus- our sins have been nailed there 'with' him, the sinless son of God! Notice the words in verse 14,

 "by cancelling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross." 

Wow- do you see it there. Look at what this is saying. Back in the time when Jesus was nailed to the cross- his hands pierced through and his feet- one on the other- nailed through: when he was nailed to this cross they also nailed a statement above him that spoke of his crime- do you remember what it said? 'Jesus of Nazareth The King of The Jews'. That was it, the charge against him was actually the truth. But what I want to emphasize here in verse 14 is that it says that 'our' charges- you see, you and I were dead in our trespasses and sins- verse 13- so we had our charges nailed up on that cross of eternal death that we would experience if not for our accepting the free gift of life from Jesus. When we accepted him, God took those charges and nailed them on Jesus' cross! Amazing! He, Jesus, took all my sins- those charges against me- said- "those sins are now satisfied" and when he died on that cross, my sins and yours were done away with- we have now legally been set free from the charges of our sins and only by Jesus, his death alone, am I now able to be set free from the penalty of eternal separation from God and into the glorious hope of heaven and eternal life- only because of him! Our debt has been paid and satisfied in the death of Jesus.

And now, finally in verse 15 he says:

Col 2:15 ESV  He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.

Emphasizing, magnifying once again that the rulers of the spiritual realm, these authorities have been marched out in open shame just like captured enemies because of this death on the cross of Jesus. You and I are set free and have victory over the enemy because Jesus died on the cross, took our sins on the cross with him, then he rose from the grave and with him we have and can experience new life and victorious life over the enemy because and only by our death and resurrection- spiritually- with him!

So to go back and see where we have travelled today- we saw that we have been saved and that we will have in this new life, perils along the way that want to trip us, deceive us and trap us. But we have a sure victory over all these if or because we have experienced new life due to our new heart that is given by God in the circumcision or cutting away of the old sinful flesh and the new life that we have by our death and resurrection with Jesus which is figured in baptism and was actually fulfilled on the cross with Christ. And now, because of this we can have victory over the defeated enemy of our souls, since they have been defeated and disarmed by Jesus when he triumphed over them by his death on the cross and resurrection from the grave.
So, I want to end by going back to that first thing we talked about today, that 'part time Christian' question. You see, this victory is available to those who have accepted the gift that Jesus offers, but the offer isn't for Jesus to be Lord of your life along with any other or along with you! No, Jesus is to be Lord of your life period- no other Lords, no other Gods, no other in control. Is that you? Have you made him Lord, or are you just doing the part time Christian gig? This is the question today for you to answer, hopefully you can say that Jesus is the only Lord of your life and that you are a full time Jesus follower, but if not we are going to pray right now, and if you haven't given yourself fully to follow Jesus and you have decided today to do that, to give your life fully to him, then now is the time.

Let's pray....

"Don't Be Deceived"! The Way of Death and The Road to Life.

James 1:12-18

12 Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him. 13 When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; 14 but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. 15Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death. 16 Don’t be deceived, my dear brothers and sisters. 17 Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. 18 He chose to give us birth through the word of truth that we might be a kind of first fruits of all he created.

Have you ever been tempted to sin? You know, that choice where your conscience is telling you that you shouldn’t but your mind or your emotions are going there anyway. You see, many times we ‘numb’ our conscience to the point that we ‘know the right thing to do, but don’t do it’ – see Romans 7 for this. So, how does this happen? How do we find ourselves ‘in’ sin? Well, for most of us it doesn’t just happen in the instant that you are first tempted, it has been a progress of thoughts and emotions that you seem to have been ‘fighting with’ for a while. Take a look at the verse, “but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed.” Now that is pretty vivid isn’t it? We are fighting with our conscience about something that we know, or at least have a feeling that we shouldn’t be doing, saying, thinking, etc. But we are letting that ‘evil desire’ drag us down the road toward sin- we are being enticed! Notice that this ‘dragging’ and ‘enticing’ aren’t sin; this is ‘temptation’. This temptation doesn’t become sin until it is ‘conceived’.

Take a look at the next verse, “Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin;” So, this ‘temptation’ that you have been ‘fighting’ doesn’t become ‘sin’ until it is conceived; until you begin to experience the sin either physically, emotionally or mentally. Physically you engage in the desire that you have been thinking about or mentally and emotionally you begin to experience pleasure from the thought or feelings that the desire is giving you and instead of wanting it gone you begin to roll it over in your mind and ‘play’ with this evil desire: sin has been conceived! The problem with sin, however, is that it isn’t satisfied with just being conceived but just like a new born child is born to grow into adulthood, this ‘new born’ sin left unchecked will also continue to grow until it is full grown. See the last part of the verse, “and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.” And that is the problem: if we don’t stop sin in its tracks, either at the temptation when it is the easiest or after its conception which is much harder, we are heading for disaster. Death is the ultimate end for full grown sin, and it can be a sad physical death from the sin and its consequences, or it can be the spiritual death of the person and their conscience. Neither of these results are what the ‘desire’ promises in the beginning: it is a well disguised evil that is trying to kill you!

So, what’s the answer? How do we keep ourselves from being dragged away and enticed into sin? As the warning in the passage says, “Don’t be deceived”. God doesn’t change and he has given us our conscience to lead us away from being dragged down the road to sin. What are those “good and perfect” gifts that God has given to you? God has uniquely created you and he is fully aware of your God given desires, so, if these desires are becoming ‘evil’ and starting to drag you away, you need to be on your knees, into his word and talking to someone who is a true believer about what is going on with you. Remember, desires once turned ‘evil’ want to drag you away, to get you alone or with others who have already gone down the road of evil themselves. Don’t be deceived!  Look, God doesn’t change “like shifting shadows”, so your conscience won’t tell you something is ok when it is shown to be wrong in “the word of truth” or leave you alone when others who are true believers are warning you and speaking against the ‘temptation’. If we are making excuses or rationalizing that something may be ok for us even though it’s not for others, we are starting to conceive. If you don’t want to talk about your ‘fight’ with someone who is a true believer because you know they won’t condone it, you’re already being ‘dragged away’. Don’t be deceived! Get into the word, pray, talk to others who are true believers, listen to your conscience, and then run to God. I’m not saying that it is going to be easy; however, if you do this you will be able to “persevere” when the temptations come and instead of being dragged down a road toward death you will be on the road that leads to the “crown of life”.

Take a look at the following video where Tony Evans speaks about the 'armor' we need to have on every day to get away from the enemies deception:

Using "I was born that way" Opens up a Can of Worms!

Video Snippet From Voddie Baucham's Video, "Is Gay the New Black?"

See it at: Is Gay the New Black?

For some time now I’ve had problem with the idea that somehow, the gender, LGBT, argument that reaches into the realm of race, is a viable or even an honest argument (I’m using the word argument in the debate sense). For one, this argument doesn’t fit into a scientific argument since it is actuality comparing the ‘apple and orange’. Beyond this, it doesn’t fit into the realm of reality because my eyes and ears are seeing and hearing things that do not make any sense in reality unless our reality is totally based in emotion or feeling (subjective). Let me explain.

I don’t want to debate the ‘I was born this way’ biological argument because it is totally based on an illogical conclusion, that because one is born with a specific DNA or genetics, that they have no choice but to follow this into and act on the ‘sexual’ or ‘gender’ preference that they are born with. Let me mention three reasons that this argument doesn’t make any sense.

Have you ever heard of Apotemnophilia? It is a sexual disorder that is associated with ‘Body Integrity Identity Disorder’, or BIID. BIID displays itself in otherwise normal, healthy and sane individuals that express a specific and strong desire or need to have a body part removed. Statements by these individuals have been stated in terms such as, ‘I am a one legged man inside of a two legged body.’ So, Apotemnophilia is the sexual disorder of the individuals who feel that they would be more attractive sexually if they could have a body part amputated. There is still debate on whether or not this is a psychological or neurological disorder, at any rate, there is a definite difference in the mapping of the right parietal lobe of those with this condition. I believe this would fall into the category of ‘I was born this way.’ By the way, this condition also falls into a category called paraphilia; if you do some research on paraphilia you will find that what we now consider ‘gay’ or ‘homosexual’ were at one time classified as paraphilia. Genetics?

Now, how about Pedophilia? I’m sure you know what a pedophile is: someone over 16 years old that is sexually attracted to a child under the age of 11. But did you know that pedophilia is also a psychological condition with a biological and more specifically a neurological basis. Studies on pedophiles that have been done during the last decade and a half have shown through brain scans and testing that the pedophiles brain is essentially ‘wired backwards’ from birth. This was discovered as studies were done where noticeable differences were found in the pedophiles white matter, I.Q., right lobe brain function (making an exceptional difference in left handedness than the general populace), etc. When most of us think of pedophiles we think of child molesters and those who have made the news because of their monstrous behavior toward and with children. What many of us are unaware of is the number of pedophiles that are in society that never act on their pedophilia. They have the attraction, and yet they know that it is wrong so they don’t act upon it. Amazing isn’t it? To not act on something that you cannot control because “you are born that way”, isn’t looked at as being unfair to the pedophile, but it is encouraged because what they feel is not ‘right’ and to act on it would be ‘wrong’. This condition was also in the category of paraphilia, but is now mostly referred to on its own terms as a sexual disorder. Genetics?

Lastly let’s look at a condition that is not sexual in nature, but nevertheless has been shown to be a neurological/genetic malady that has repercussions in society when acted upon: Alcoholism. For most individuals a choice is presented to consume alcohol and for many if not most the choice results in having a few drinks or more and once the ‘party’ is over they are free to live life until the next time they choose to consume. For some it isn’t that simple. From the first time they consume alcohol, genetics come into play and the thought of consuming alcohol and actual consumption of alcohol totally consume their life. They become addicted to alcohol so much so that it begins to affect their schooling, jobs, family, marriages and life in general. For some it leads to job loss, homelessness, jail, prison, and in some of the most devastating cases it leads to death of themselves or worse, the death of an innocent victim. Genetics, when discussing alcoholism, has been shown in studies of brain waves and genetic markers (especially in the P3 area, Parietal lobe) to be the contributing factors that lead one to becoming an alcoholic. These genetic influences and how neurotransmitters effectively carry signals to release dopamine and other chemicals at rates that the general population do not produce when consuming the same amounts of alcohol is the reason your friend John can go to the party and have a few drinks and be fine, whereas your uncle Joe starts the party at 10 in the morning and doesn’t stop until he passes out that next morning at 2 a.m.! And this happens to people whether they are on the streets or dressed in their best business suits in the ivory towers. Genetics?

The question is raised in each of the above conditions, ‘is it genetic?’ The answer in each of the above could be said, based on the evidence that has been produced by research, to be yes. However, I don’t believe that those who are pushing for equality of the Gay and Lesbian rights to marry have the same graciousness, that they want from those ‘radical Christian Right Wingers’, towards a pedophile wanting to marry a 12 year old because they love her/him. “That’s ridiculous” is the accusation, “Your talking about a pedophile! We are two consenting adults.” That’s correct, however, if both are consenting in the pedophile ‘couple’, and it’s genetic, how can we deny them? Since they are born that way should we be so fast to throw stones? Or, what about the alcoholic? If they are genetically predisposed to consuming alcohol, shouldn’t we be gracious and tell them to go ahead and consume to their hearts content since that is what they were ‘born to do?”

Ridiculous isn’t it? Yes it is and here is why: just because we are born with genetic bents toward alcohol, pedophilia, or homosexuality (along with many other neurological and biological tendencies), it doesn’t mean that it is in ours or society’s best interest to act upon them. As a matter of fact, it is to the detriment of our society to encourage or promote the acting upon these ‘genetic’, neurological and psychological maladies. And if one is honest with themselves and they are involved in any one of the above mentioned conditions, they will admit that they have felt at one time or the other, shame, guilt, remorse, indecisiveness and the like. If you haven’t, most have.

This isn’t the case with Race. A person does not feel those emotions when it comes to race because that is who they are biologically. The neurological and psychological do not determine the ethnicity of the person, the biology does. In contrast, the above mentioned conditions are all shown by brain scans and sometimes confirmed by genetic markers that show the differences between ‘normal’ and ‘abnormal’. The brains between different ethnicities show no differences in these types of areas. You see, Race, is neither psychological nor neurological; there is no differences in body mapping of the brain from a person of any race. To see any difference genetically in individual’s race, you have to find the DNA markers that point to a specific ethnicity. My eyes can see differences but beyond the visual the differences are so minute that in the scientific world it isn’t even a consideration any longer.

So, why does a person feel shame, guilt, remorse, indecision etc. when it comes to the ‘conditions’ as compared to race? Because the conditions are at variance with ones conscience and to act upon it (to choose) puts oneself in the precarious position of needing to justify their ‘choice’ to ease their own conscience. Now, I know that there are many of you that are wanting to fight with this argument because of the terms used such as, normal, abnormal, right, wrong, and choice. If you are wanting to argue and reason with this, take a moment and put yourself in one of the other ‘conditions’ and see if your reasoning’s hold up. If you don’t want the pedophile to marry the 12 year old; or the alcoholic to drink to his heart’s content; or the kleptomaniac to steal; or the sociopath to murder; then maybe you need to re-think your reasoning. But to say that it is normal for Gays and Lesbians to act upon their sexuality because they were born that way is certainly opening a can of worms that I don’t think we want to. And to push the LGBT agenda into the ‘Civil Rights’ arena by comparing it to racial actions in the past is also going down a road that isn’t based in logic. It is apples and oranges.

And it can’t be emotion or feelings that you are basing your argument on can it. If that is the case then we are dealing with a purely subjective rational for making your decision and that is another road that I don’t think most of us want to go down. “But”, you say, “I have always felt an attraction to the same sex, how can that be wrong?” Dare I mention again the pedophile who has ‘always felt the attraction’ or the person with BIID who says, “I have always felt like a one legged person trapped inside this two legged body.” Are their feelings any less feelings than yours? What about the person who feels that they ‘love all 8 of these woman and they love me and we want to be married”? Should they be allowed to marry because they ‘feel love’ for each other? What about the person who wants to marry their pet because they ‘feel’ attracted to them? (zoophelia). You see, feelings as a rationale for love, relationship, sex, etc. are not a solid and secure footing to base your life decisions on.

So, getting back to the original problem that I set out to address. I have had a problem with the LGBT agenda when it comes to comparing their plight with what happened during the era in our nation when the black Americans (I won’t say African American due to the fact that I have a black friend that said he is not African American, he is American and his ancestors came from Jamaica!) were struggling, demonstrating and fighting for Civil Rights. As shown above, Race and the LGBT condition are not the same and they should not be discussed as being the same sort of struggle. Race and ethnicity is not a choice, sexuality is. The ploy to move the sexual choices (remember, this does not mean you were not born with inherent tendencies, it means you have a choice to act or not act upon them) is a deceptive and selfish act on the part of those pushing this forward in an effort to ‘justify’ their choice to act upon their condition.

This brings me to the issues we are seeing across America at present where citizens have voted in some type of a  ‘Religious Protection’ act that is intended to let people of faith- Protestant, Catholic, Muslim, Mormon, Hindu, etc. – choose to give their services to someone who is in direct violation of their religious convictions. This is not a civil rights issue, this is a moral and religious issue. If your religion opposes serving a wedding cake or delivering pizza to a LGBT wedding then you have the right to decline the business due to the violation of your religious beliefs. If a Christian goes into a Muslim bakery and asks for an Easter cake with Jesus and the Empty tomb on it with the inscription, ‘Jesus is the only Hope of Salvation’, that Muslim bakery has the right to decline. It is OK, it’s not discriminatory, there are other bakeries that will make the cake; however, the LGBT community want everyone in society to accept their beliefs even if those beliefs contradict one’s own religious beliefs. You see, tolerance in the LGBT community is a one way road- their way or the highway. They have changed a ‘choice’ into a ‘civil right’ and now they want everyone to accept their choice as law.

No one has a right to discriminate, but everyone in this nation has a right to the free exercise of religion. Civil rights are not what is in question here, choice is. It is whether a person with religious conviction has a choice to withhold service from a person who is choosing to do something that cannot be overlooked by the others religious beliefs. It is Choice against Choice. Don’t let anyone tell you anything different.

Technical Information came from:

Dr. James Cantor, “The Agenda With Steve Paikin”.

Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5^th edition. American Psychiatric Publishing 2013

Odin Van Der Stelt DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/alcalc/34.3.267 267-282 First published online: 1 May 1999

http://alcalc.oxfordjournals.org/content/34/3/267.full

Apotemnophilia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apotemnophilia 2014

And other sources gathered over the years.

Putting Some Sense Into Your Bible Study

I don't know about you, but I love reading Psalms: I especially love Psalm 119. For those who may not be as familiar with Psalm 119 it is not only the longest Psalm but is also the longest chapter in the Bible; it is arranged as an 'acrostic' where the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet are the heading of sections of 8 verses each where each line begins with that letter; it has 176 verses of which 172 are about the Word of God! And that is why I love this Psalm: it gives glory to God by lifting up his word.

Doesn't it seem that this says something to the importance of God's word? If the longest chapter in the Bible is based on the importance of God's word and how it leads us into a deeper walk with Him, how can we neglect it or read it without digesting it like 'food for the soul'? We shouldn't! And it was with this in mind that I was reading this morning from Psalm 119 and came across a verse that I had read many times before, I'm sure, but had never 'digested' it as I did today. Here it is:

You made me; you created me.

Now give me the sense to follow your commands.

PSALM 119:73  NLT

So, why did it all of a sudden have more meaning? It could have been the version I was reading- most of the versions say 'understanding' and not 'sense'. So I looked up the meaning of the word Hebrew word for 'sense' and here is what I found out: it can very definitely be translated sense or even 'common sense'! The Hebrew here is the word as defined in Strong's:

bene: A primitive root; to separate mentally (or distinguish), that is, (generally) understand: - attend, consider, be cunning, diligently, direct, discern, eloquent, feel, inform, instruct, have intelligence, know, look well to, mark, perceive, be prudent,..

Now, it may be my pre-disposition to like the word 'common sense'; however, when I read the definition of the word 'bene' it sounds like common sense! Notice that the word encompasses many different aspects of meaning including, be cunning; direct; discern; feel; have intelligence; look well into; be prudent. So, doesn't this sound like someone who isn't just an, "It says it so I believe it" kind of person? I mean, we should believe the Bible; however, we need to be careful to not believe what we want the Bible to say, or what someone else says about the Bible without checking into it, right? We need to use 'common sense' when it comes to the word of God. And that leads me to my main thoughts of the verse while I was reading it today.

You see, as I was reading this today I began to think about how people seem to have lost 'common sense'. I don't know why, but it just seems that people are willing to 'believe someone' about the Bible than to actually read and study the Bible for themselves. I think that maybe, just maybe this is why the 'Study Bible' has become so popular. When someone reads a study Bible they don't have to actually study the Bible for themselves they can just read the notes at the bottom of the page and there it is! They have found the truth...or have they? Now, don't get me wrong, I think study material- Bibles, commentaries, dictionaries, etc. - all have there place but they should in no way take the place of actually digging into the scripture ourselves and seeing what the Bible is teaching us. Remember, God wrote the Bible without study notes! When you read the Bible use your sense, your common sense. See if it is teaching you something new, but not out of line with the rest of His word- He wouldn't do that, it isn't common sense that I would tell you the truth here but change it there. You see, if you bring your common sense to Bible study, you can read and study the Bible without fearing that you will get into some 'strange doctrine', because if it is a 'strange doctrine' then common sense would tell you it must be false. God gave you, created, a mind and the capacity to know him.

There is a verse in the New Testament book of 1John that speaks to this as well:

But you have received the Holy Spirit, and he lives within you, so you don't need anyone to teach you what is true. For the Spirit teaches you everything you need to know, and what he teaches is true--it is not a lie. So just as he has taught you, remain in fellowship with Christ.

1Jn 2:27 NLT

You see, there it is: the Holy Spirit is our teacher- he lives within us and teaches us what is true. It even emphasizes the fact that what he is teaching us "is not a lie"! This was being taught by John to those he was writing to because there were a lot of false teachers beginning to bring in all kinds of false doctrine to the church towards the end of John's life about 50 or 60 years after the death of Jesus. John was telling these believers that they didn't need to fear being led astray because they had the Holy Spirit living in them to let them know what the truth was- in a sense, the Holy Spirit within us is who gives us our 'common sense' when it comes to the things concerning the spirit and the Word of God. Now don't overlook the last part of the verse where he says 'remain in fellowship with Christ." This is an important aspect of our common sense approach to Bible study: stay in fellowship with Christ, don't go out on your own thinking that you have a 'new' truth or some 'new' doctrine that is special to you and not in keeping with the rest of His Word- stay in fellowship with Christ!

Hopefully this 'common sense' approach to studying the Bible will take hold in a few of us and then begin to spread. God's Word is powerful, He didn't dedicate the longest chapter in the Bible to his word only to have it ignored, or taught to us by another. Take a look though Psalm 119 and see if the learning of God's Word is something we are to passively learn or something to actively do and I think you will see that we (you and I) are to actively be studying and learning God's Word. May God begin to give us this 'common sense' today as we read His Word!

Randy