This page is here in case you read something in one of my blog posts that makes you wonder what my beliefs are.
WHAT I BELIEVE
I am not a theologian. I’m not even a very good Bible study girl. But I’ve been a Jesus follower since I was 11 years old (I am now 39). I don’t have answers for everything and I’m sure I’m wrong about some things I believe strongly but these are a few things I know for sure:
Jesus is Lord
He loves me and you more than we can comprehend
He loves it when we talk with him
The Bible is true
Jesus said to “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all you soul and with all your mind.” And “Love your neighbor as yourself.” (Matthew 22: 37 & 39) This is pretty simple. Not easy, mind you. But simple. I think we complicate things when we don’t need to. So my goal is to continually be learning how to better love God and my neighbor. (Incidentally…my neighbor is not just the person that lives next door…it’s anyone I come in contact with.)
GOD SPEAKS
From the very first blog post I’ve casually mentioned my conversations with God. I don’t consider this strange because I talk to God all the time. But it’s been brought to my attention that some may find it a little odd. So I would like to explain a little bit. I believe God speaks to his children. In my understanding there are three main ways he does so: The Bible, an internal voice and other believers. (I’m sure there are other ways, i.e.: burning bush, etc. but these are the three that seem to be most common these days.) For a great message from my pastor on hearing from God click here.
1. The Bible. God wrote it. Read it! I promise you God will speak to you through it. (for an excellent resource as to the veracity of the Bible, check out Josh McDowell’s books, Evidence that Demands a Verdict or More Than a Carpenter.)
2. An internal voice. This is the one that I’m usually referring to in my blog. It’s not an audible voice. God has never given me stone tablets with instructions written on them. But there are times when I’ve been praying when I’ve had a thought in my head that seems really loud. Often it’s a thought that doesn’t sound like something I would say. For example, “Write a blog.” That thought came through my head and I was pretty sure it was God. Why? Because I didn’t want to write one! Why would I think it when I already knew I didn’t want to do it? Based on context and the fact that the thought was repeated at different times, I believe that was God. When I get a strange thought that I know isn’t mine, there are really only a few options: Either God is telling me something, Satan is telling me something, or I’m crazy. (some of you will think I’m crazy because I said Satan could be telling me something so that could narrow it to two options…God or Crazy.)
Well, my family would probably disagree for a few days each month, but in general…I am not crazy. I can offer you no proof of this. You’ll just have to take my word for it. So, that leaves God or Satan. Pretty much, if the thought lines up with God’s Word, I think it’s His thought. If it goes against His Word…it’s the Enemy.
I once had a friend tell me that she believed God was telling her to have an affair because she’d met the man that she was falling for at church. Say what? Uh-uh. God doesn’t tell us to do things that contradict His Word. Period.
3. Other believers. When a person becomes a follower of Christ, the Holy Spirit takes up residence in that persons spirit. (I believe that’s how God speaks in that internal voice…His Spirit speaks to my spirit/soul) Because of that, sometimes the Holy Spirit will cause someone to say something to me that confirms something I’ve read in His Word just that day or something He’s said in that still voice. Or vice versa, He has prompted me to say things before that turn out to completely confirm something another believer was hearing from God.
So to sum up, when I say God told me something, it usually means I heard a thought that wasn’t my own that lines up with the Word of God and it’s often confirmed by something another believer says to me.