Personality Types

It is interesting how personality types influence our walk with God.  I am reading a book right now about God's favor.  In the book the author gives examples of how he prays.  He goes into great detail and is continually saying things like I claim this based on this promise that you made.

I just find that an odd way to talk to God.  Now bear in mind that I am coming at this from my personality type.  I love brevity.  The fewer the words the better.  I also don't like to bug people.  So to begin with, God has a better memory than me so I don't need to keep reminding Him.  He got it the first time.  Move on. 

The thing is, I can point you to Scripture where God says ask and keep asking, so apparently He doesn't mind.  It's just that it bugs me. 

Weird!

Revelation Knowledge can sometimes be like a kick to the head.

I love that throughout life God lays revelation knowledge on us.  I call those the Ah ha moments.  Those times when all of  a sudden seemingly random things click into place.  Unfortunately sometimes revelation knowledge can be like a kick to the head. 

Imagine my surprise recently when God revealed to me that the struggles I face today are a result of me, in my arrogance, rejecting God's favor without realizing it.  I'm not going to share the details right now other than to say that when God showed me how He saw things from His point of view I was surprised.  I had never thought of it that way. 

Now the great thing with God is that we always get a new chance as long as we are still above ground.  Moving forward I have a better understanding of God's favor, how to recognize it, how to sow it, how to receive it, how to enjoy it, and most importantly how to recognize that it is from God!

Another reason not to believe that Christians and Muslims worship the same God.

1 Corinthians 14:33(NKJV)

For God is not the author of confusion but of peace, as in all the churches of the saints.

God is not the author of confusions.  The Bible teaches that Jesus is the Son of God.  The Koran teaches that Jesus was just a prophet.  If we worshipped the same God it would be a God of confusions; telling the two sides a different story. 

Scripture tells us definitively that God is not the God of confusion.  Therefore can't be the "same God". 

Again I find myself comparing what Paul said to what Jesus said.

Matthew 9:10-13(NKJV)

Now it happened, as Jesus sat at the table in the house, that behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and sat down with Him and His disciples. 

And when the Pharisees saw it, they said to His disciples, “Why does your Teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”

When Jesus heard that, He said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. 

But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice.’  For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.”

Compare that to what Paul says.

2 Corinthians 6:14-17(NKJV)

Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? 

And what accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever? 

And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God. As God has said:      “I will dwell in them     And walk among them.     I will be their God,     And they shall be My people.” 

Therefore      “Come out from among them     And be separate, says the Lord.     Do not touch what is unclean,     And I will receive you.” 

Is Paul telling us to shun those who don't believe?  It sure could be interpreted that way.  I think there is a distinction here that Paul fails to make.

In the case of Jesus I think he is demonstrating that you have to go to where the unsaved are in order to have a chance of saving them.

In the case of Paul I think he is referring more to who you spend your time with when you aren't trying to save people.  I think he is saying don't hang out with unbelievers in your everyday life because what do you have in common with them.

Notice that Paul refers to the unsaved as the unclean.  Isn't that judgmental?  :)

"…be reconciled to God."

2 Corinthians 5:20-21(NKJV)

Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God. 

For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

What does that mean exactly?  Be reconciled to god.  Well let's look at the word reconciled.

reconcile

verb (used with object), rec·on·ciled, rec·on·cil·ing.

to cause (a person) to accept or be resigned to something not desired: He was reconciled to his fate.

to win over to friendliness; cause to become amicable: to reconcile hostile persons.

to compose or settle (a quarrel, dispute, etc.).

to bring into agreement or harmony; make compatible or consistent: to reconcile differing statements; to reconcile accounts.

to reconsecrate (a desecrated church, cemetery, etc.).

to restore (an excommunicate or penitent) to communion in a church.

From <https://www.dictionary.com/browse/reconcile>

I think for our purposes "to bring into agreement or harmony" is the best choice.  So being reconciled to God means being in agreement or harmony with God.  Now do you think that means God aligning His views with us or is it us aligning our views with God? 

Obvious answer isn't it.  And yet many today think that they get to dictate the terms of the relationship with God.  We'll see how well that works out!  :)

"If anyone does not love the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be accursed." How do you square this with love your enemies?

Paul said the following.  My question is how is this loving your enemies?  I'll give you my take in a second.

1 Corinthians 16:22(NKJV)

If anyone does not love the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be accursed. O Lord, come!

I don't see any problem here.  I believe we should follow God's example.  God wants our enemies to accept Jesus and have eternal life.  That is loving His enemies.  God doesn't want it so bad that He becomes an unjust God and gives those people eternal life without them believing in Jesus.  In other words God finds them accursed as well when they don't believe.  Want proof?  They have chosen to go to hell and God will honor their choice.  But right up until the end He is wishing that they would change their mind. 

So while God loves His enemies, he continues to treat them as enemies as long as they choose to remain his enemy. 

What the heck is the "third Heaven"?

I had to do a little research to answer this one.

2 Corinthians 12:2(NKJV)

I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago—whether in the body I do not know, or whether out of the body I do not know, God knows—such a one was caught up to the third heaven. 

In Genesis 1:1 it says "God created the heavens".  I had never noticed that it was plural.  According the info I found, Genesis 7:11 explains the first heaven.  It is the sky that we see every day.  Then Exodus 32:13 is one example of the second heaven.  That is outer space. 

And lastly, the third Heaven is the Heaven we think about most.  It is the Heaven where God lives.

Here is a link to the two article I read.

https://www.ucg.org/bible-study-tools/bible-questions-and-answers/what-does-the-bible-mean-by-the-third-heaven

https://fbccov.org/what-is-the-third-heaven/

Jesus is the only way!

So saith the book of Acts!

Acts 4:12(NKJV)

Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”

I would disagree with Paul on this one.

1 Corinthians 13:13(NKJV)

And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

I would disagree that the greatest of the three is love.  Love won't get you into Heaven.  Only faith in Jesus gets you into Heaven.  Therefore I believe the greatest of these is faith.

Diversity of Gifts

I love these verses.  I used to feel bad that I didn't have certain gifts.  These verses helped me understand that none of us have all of the gifts.  God chooses which gifts to bless each of us with.  Pretty cool!

1 Corinthians 12:1-11(NKJV)

Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I do not want you to be ignorant: 

You know that you were Gentiles, carried away to these dumb idols, however you were led. 

Therefore I make known to you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God calls Jesus accursed, and no one can say that Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit.

There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. 

There are differences of ministries, but the same Lord. 

And there are diversities of activities, but it is the same God who works all in all. 

But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all: 

for to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit, 

to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healings by the same Spirit, 

to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another different kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. 

But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills.