A Contentious Faith?

I have been doing some reading on the differences between Armenianism, Calvinism and Free Grace; when are we going to stop trying to put God's Holy Word into a neat little definition or box?  Each time I have read an article each of these seems to be defined differently with many variations of each and while I fully appreciate and encourage the personal study and conclusions which come from such study we really mess up Christian Fellowship by putting labels on ourselves, others and our doctrinal position.  I am at the point of refusing to label myself by a denomination or doctrinal position because these are so easily misunderstood and perverted.

I would like to post some information on what the Bible says about grace salvation, lordship living and God's purpose for the believer because these issues flavor how we view His discipline in our lives but I fear using any label will derail the whole conversation. 

Can we agree to let the Bible and the Holy Spirit speak to and teach us?  We may just find that each of these doctrinal positions are right and wrong at the same time, but God is always right if we will lay aside our prejudices and let Him teach.

I have updated the page on personal deliverance during divine discipline.  The main point is to be clear about the affects of sin on your fellowship with God, not that this sin destroys your relationship with God.  Sin for the believer creates a temporary block between you and God which is removed by confessing your sin as 1 John 1:9 indicates.  Don't let your theology get in the way of reading God's Word and letting it teach you.

I am working on a comparison of different theologies (Armenianism and Calvinism) which should help clear this up.

Why does everything Tim Tebow do seem to be contentious?  It is not because he is trying to be, he is praising God and being thankful, but people just get upset and start choosing sides and arguing over the guy and his choices.  Whether or not he wins another playoff game this season or even plays next year at all doesn't seem to matter to him, just look at the results from the Broncos victory over the Steelers.

Check this one from Yahoo to see how scripture takes a prominent role in the article or this one from CBS Sports or this one from the local CBS affiliate, the last two both quote John 3:16 in the story. Who is glorified here?  Not Tim Tebow, ultimately God is glorified as His Word is held up and read by millions, many of whom would never have bothered with the verse otherwise.  

I have just added content on the topic of Church discipline and how encouragement for the individual believer.

This quote from Phil Vischer is so powerful to me, what a great reminder of our purpose in life, to Glorify and Serve Him and Him alone.  I pray He is more important to me than this site.

“If God gives you a dream, and the dream comes to life and God shows up in it, and then the dream dies, it may be that God wants to see what is more important to you – the dream or Him. And once He’s seen that, you may get your dream back. Or you may not, and you may live the rest of your life without it. But that will be okay, because you’ll have God.”  Phil Vischer, quoting C.S. Lewis’ “He who has God and many things has nothing more than he who has God alone.”

Yesterday I posted new material on divine discipline, what it's purpose is and hope for the believer.  This topic has been on my mind for several months now, it is the culmination of reading the daily news and meditating on the books of Jeremiah and Ezekiel.  I would love to think God will deliver my nation and the church in some fantastic and wonderful way, but the more I consider the situation the more I am convinced the likely answer is national discipline with deliverance for the believer looking more like the captivity of Israel in Babylon than the victory of Israel over Ammon and Moab in 2 Chronicles 20.  Please consider what God may be speaking to you and not what I propose, honor God by being a Berean (Acts 17:11).

Tim Tebow has been in the news here lately catching some flack for his frequent praise of and prayer to God.  I really appreciate how he responded to the criticism by comparing it to telling your spouse you love them, not just once but as often as you get the chance.  His response demonstrates what I am trying to get at on the page 'Praise Him for our success!'  Good job Tim, keep praising the Creator!

If you are interested in receiving information on new topics or other updates you can follow me on Twitter @A_Jude3_Faith or subscribe to the RSS Feed below.  I will post links and information on new material in both areas.

I must admit publishing this site was a rather nervous event.  I don't know how well I have expressed myself or taught the material.  I have no idea if my words have made anyone think or been just brushed off.  (Right now I doubt they have even been read.)  It was a lot more humbling to put myself out there for all to consider and critique than I anticipated.

My only hope and expectation is that God would use this as He sees fit.  This may mean no one ever visits the site or that I never know how it impacts people if they do read the material.  I hope I am ready for whatever comes.

I am working a new category about Deliverance During Discipline, I hope to have it out in a few weeks and that it is useful to you.

Sitting down to create this site.  It is taking a lot more brainpower to organize it and get the tone right than I think it should.  I know that the tone is so important, I could easily turn you off because words can't capture what my emotions are, I can barely speak what I am feeling.  I am going to need to work so hard to clearly state what I believe and do so with empathy.  If the articles and videos here offend you, that is not my intention, please be patient with me and try to understand.  I will work hard to express thoughts without being condemning, let us not judge each other too hastily.