Two things that I think are very important , in life in general but especially when it comes to our relationship with God
Number one : it is extremely important , essential in fact , to keep an open mind and heart when reading the Bible . Why ? Because , once you decide that something is a certain way , a phrase or scripture means a certain thing , then you close your mind to every other possibility , including the possibility that you have made a mistake and interpreted it wrongly . Considering that the Bible is the Living Word of God , it's a big mistake to be entrenched in a belief before you have read and studied the Bible extensively and for a long time . Deciding that something is irrefutably a certain way may , block you from learning other things , as the Bible is a whole and consistent , if something is one way ,an individual scripture means one thing , then that may change and influence the way you interpret all other scriptures , it may have a knock on effect on how you perceive everything . And you may have got that first thing wrong .
Number two : do not just follow on with what others have told you without studying the Bible for yourself . This is strongly conected to my first point . You must read it for yourself with an open heart and mind and you must be convinced of yourself . You must get that personal connection to God and by reading His Word for yourself , very regularly for the rest of your life . God bless us all in our efforts .
Hi Jaz: I agree with all that you're saying but I'd like to take it a little bit further. Once we are of the mind set we are studying the bible with a heart and mind to know the truth of what God says only, we need to have faith and believe that that IS what He said. We need to be sure we are not of an unsound mind going from one belief then another thinking we have studied wrong.
I wonder how many Christians go home after church and don't even think anymore on what was preached (like I used to) instead of studying the scriptures the pastor used sometime before next Sunday and see if it is truly of God.
I appreciate your comment and I hope it goes into the heart and mind of many. God Bless :)
I agree with you and with what S Spencer said, it is like Paul said we are fed milk before we are fed meat and we must pray and let the Holy Spirit show us the truth. The love for each other and the love of the truth should be the basis of all discussions. I love it when truth outshines the understanding I may have of something, I would rather be shown the truth than be wrong, we are to be humble.
Our minds and preconceived ideas are one of our enemies from within we must do our best to block them out when we study and approach Scripture like we know nothing. We function probably 90 percent with our subconscious mind with little to no thought at all. Our subconscious mind can override our conscious mind when we are reading. We have preconceived ideas imprinted in our minds, and when we read or study the preconceptions override our understanding of what we are reading.
Regardless of how many times we have read the Scriptures, something as simple as the animals that went into the ark, you can ask that question and some will say two of each, male and female but Scripture says something different. Is that very important? Not really, but it shows how easy it is to read and study something far more important and not see the truth.
If we rely on our mind and do not open our eyes and ears to the Holy Spirit we are as Mark 8:18 Having eyes, see ye not? and having ears, hear ye not? and do ye not remember.
I agree we cannot count on what we have been taught, if we have access to the Scriptures we are responsible.
Yes Ronald , some very simple psychological experiments have been done to prove just how easy it is to manipulate us human beings into thinking / feeling and behaving in certain ways . We are all much more easily influenced than we could ever imagine . The prince of this world knows this and he preys on us through the things of this world , the sight of our eyes , our worldly desires and weaknesses . He uses this world against us , especially when he senses our weakness .
We all have weaknesses and it's good for us to recognise and admit them , to ourselves and each other . Not necessarily the usual things that plague this world , worldly lusts , alcohol , drugs , gambling , promiscuity , violence etc . Here is mine . I have a problem with suffering . When I know someone or even an animal is suffering , and especially if I am powerless to help , I get very down and distressed and it can take me a long time to get past it . In this world , pretty much every day , I see suffering and some days it's harder than others for me to bear . If I haven't been getting enough sleep , if I've been overworking or not eating healthy , these sufferings that I see weigh even heavier on me than usual . It is important for us to take care of our bodies as best as we can because physical exhaustion and weakness can affect our mental and emotional state . When these things happen to me , which they frequently do , I resort to scripture . Psalm 23 , the Lord's Prayer or Jesus's own words , repeated in my mind , help enormously . Get thee behind me satan is a good one !
It's important to recognise that our physical state can affect our mental and emotional state . Now we as Christians know for sure that all flesh is grass and useless in the end , but we need to know that we must look after our bodies because they can affect our hearts and minds . We must look after ourselves as best we can so we can be fit to fight the temptations of this world and the prince of it .
Hi Jaz: Amen and I believe you are wise with the spirit of the Lord in how we should deal with our weaknesses and I appreciate you not calling them sins. God Bless :)
Number one : it is extremely important , essential in fact , to keep an open mind and heart when reading the Bible . Why ? Because , once you decide that something is a certain way , a phrase or scripture means a certain thing , then you close your mind to every other possibility , including the possibility that you have made a mistake and interpreted it wrongly . Considering that the Bible is the Living Word of God , it's a big mistake to be entrenched in a belief before you have read and studied the Bible extensively and for a long time . Deciding that something is irrefutably a certain way may , block you from learning other things , as the Bible is a whole and consistent , if something is one way ,an individual scripture means one thing , then that may change and influence the way you interpret all other scriptures , it may have a knock on effect on how you perceive everything . And you may have got that first thing wrong .
Number two : do not just follow on with what others have told you without studying the Bible for yourself . This is strongly conected to my first point . You must read it for yourself with an open heart and mind and you must be convinced of yourself . You must get that personal connection to God and by reading His Word for yourself , very regularly for the rest of your life . God bless us all in our efforts .
I wonder how many Christians go home after church and don't even think anymore on what was preached (like I used to) instead of studying the scriptures the pastor used sometime before next Sunday and see if it is truly of God.
I appreciate your comment and I hope it goes into the heart and mind of many. God Bless :)
I agree with you and with what S Spencer said, it is like Paul said we are fed milk before we are fed meat and we must pray and let the Holy Spirit show us the truth. The love for each other and the love of the truth should be the basis of all discussions. I love it when truth outshines the understanding I may have of something, I would rather be shown the truth than be wrong, we are to be humble.
Our minds and preconceived ideas are one of our enemies from within we must do our best to block them out when we study and approach Scripture like we know nothing. We function probably 90 percent with our subconscious mind with little to no thought at all. Our subconscious mind can override our conscious mind when we are reading. We have preconceived ideas imprinted in our minds, and when we read or study the preconceptions override our understanding of what we are reading.
Regardless of how many times we have read the Scriptures, something as simple as the animals that went into the ark, you can ask that question and some will say two of each, male and female but Scripture says something different. Is that very important? Not really, but it shows how easy it is to read and study something far more important and not see the truth.
If we rely on our mind and do not open our eyes and ears to the Holy Spirit we are as Mark 8:18 Having eyes, see ye not? and having ears, hear ye not? and do ye not remember.
I agree we cannot count on what we have been taught, if we have access to the Scriptures we are responsible.
God bless,
RLW
We all have weaknesses and it's good for us to recognise and admit them , to ourselves and each other . Not necessarily the usual things that plague this world , worldly lusts , alcohol , drugs , gambling , promiscuity , violence etc . Here is mine . I have a problem with suffering . When I know someone or even an animal is suffering , and especially if I am powerless to help , I get very down and distressed and it can take me a long time to get past it . In this world , pretty much every day , I see suffering and some days it's harder than others for me to bear . If I haven't been getting enough sleep , if I've been overworking or not eating healthy , these sufferings that I see weigh even heavier on me than usual . It is important for us to take care of our bodies as best as we can because physical exhaustion and weakness can affect our mental and emotional state . When these things happen to me , which they frequently do , I resort to scripture . Psalm 23 , the Lord's Prayer or Jesus's own words , repeated in my mind , help enormously . Get thee behind me satan is a good one !
It's important to recognise that our physical state can affect our mental and emotional state . Now we as Christians know for sure that all flesh is grass and useless in the end , but we need to know that we must look after our bodies because they can affect our hearts and minds . We must look after ourselves as best we can so we can be fit to fight the temptations of this world and the prince of it .
The only barrier to the truth is to think you already have it.
Also we must use proper hermeneutics when studying. Let the Bible explain itself.
Be truthful in our studies and trust what the scripture says.
If one scripture seems to contradict another then there's an opportunity to treasure hunt and you must not let it bog you down.
Move on to something else, Perhaps there is more feeding and growth required.
There's some things that is above us at the moment.
One way or another these issues in disagreements doesn't cause hatred between true believers.
Hatred comes from those on the outside who has a different spirit.
There is false doctrine that the believer hates but one shouldn't hate the person that holds it.
God bless.
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