Always Learning!

The more I study the Bible, the more questions I have which makes me dig in deeper, read more, study more, and pray more. One thing I am definitely learning is that we must be willing to expand our reality paradigm to continue to grow spiritually.

What I thought about God and the bible when I was 20 has changed over the past 38 years! It continues to change! To me, that is very healthy! I have continued to ask, seek, pray, and study, and have added my many life experiences to the mix. Now don't misunderstand what I am saying. I did not say that God is changing, I am saying that I continue to change because of new understandings and revelations that I have while I continue to try and grasp and understand what God's message is to me and to humanity.

I think one of the worst enemies of Christianity has been what I call "Denominational Thinking!" Now before somebody gets their nighty in a knot let me explain what I mean. Denominational thinking  is when a church, a denomination, even a family, say,"This is the way it is and that is final, no more discussion!" and everyone just buys in goes along with that doctrine.

An extreme example of this type of lack of thinking Christianity was Jim Jones and The Peoples Temple. The followers of Jim Jones "bought in" Hook line and sinker of what was being taught to the point of drinking the poison cool aid and dying……. for what?  Over 900 men women and children lost their lives because they "bought in" to someone else's interpretation and doctrine instead of doing their own search for God and His meaning.

I have studied and continue to study "many" sources and ideas as I continue my journey. I read many books from different philosophies. I have known people who refuse to investigate other ideas outside of their core beliefs. To this I have to ask why?  Why would anyone want to put a wall around their reality paradigm? Unless perhaps they might be afraid of moving closer to the truth and sometimes moving closer to the truth can be very scary. Why? Because it requires people to think differently, which put another way means, CHANGE!

In Romans 12:2 the apostle Paul writes: "And do not be conformed to this world, but by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God."
Paul is telling us we must "renew our mind" and that requires us to think differently. And we cannot think differently if we keep hearing the same thing over and over!

The God we worship is Mysterious, Great, Wonderful, Magnificent and beyond what we can even imagine. But too often I think we put Him in a very small box because we feel safe with a God like that. The God that I am learning about does not fit in a box. The God I worship is so big, it is hard for me to even begin to try and grasp Him except through His son Jesus.

Final point. God is way, way bigger than any denomination, or definition, or doctrine that any of us could possibly come up with! Keep Seeking. Keep Asking. Keep Knocking. Keep Praying, and Studying because there is so much more than what we think we know!

Love, pastor kent