Living in the Last Hour

Like other believers, I’ve read my way through the Scriptures to learn about God, His Son, the Holy Spirit and everything from truth to hope, peace, confirmation and revelation and more. Reading the Scriptures is my daily bread.

I have been under various pastors, listened to TV preachers, and read through some earlier writings from men across the centuries. I can’t say any Christian musician impacted my walk with their music, except for Rich Mullins. I think he was a man after God’s own heart, but he struggled. I could totally relate to his lyrics. Every word had a purpose. As for the various writers, mostly men, present plausible interpretations of the Scriptures. Only recently, was my spirit quickened to learn more about these men and their theologies. In all the years I have listened to these various men, I had no idea they had doctrinal differences. I mean, I never had a pastor claim to be a Calvinist or a dispensationalist. Only because sometime in the 90s, I had heard about the Pentecostal revival in Florida, did I know some believers to be Pentecostal. I can’t say I truly understood that doctrine either. The idea of swaying, rocking and falling over lifeless, made for some scary moments more than spiritual awakening.

Either way, I was clueless that some of the Bible teachers, and preachers were dispensationalists, some Calvinists, others leaned more to a Prosperity theology, and Pentecostal theology and still others more Arminian. And then there’s the fundamentalist. And these are the more influential theologies. I was raised in the Catholic tradition. And my favorite teacher, Andrew Murray, was highly criticized by B. B. Warfield, a.k.a. the Lion of Princeton.  Apparently, he was devoted to the so-called “Keswick” theology which stressed the “inner” or “higher life.”  He also endorsed faith healing and believed in the continuation of the apostolic gifts.  He was a significant forerunner of the Pentecostal movement–a remarkable accomplishment for any Dutch Reformed minister (I am being facetious, of course).

I enjoyed reading St. Augustine’s City of God. St Augustine is one of the most influential theologian.  Although, I found it a bit out there. The City of God is an interesting read.

Jean Cadier’s 1960 work, The Man God Mastered, shed light on John Calvin’s life. There is so much that we don’t know and cannot know about the men who created the various theologies that now influence the minds of many. When someone writes about anything it is from one perspective, theirs.

I read Orthodoxy by G.K. Chesterton. Another very interesting read. In every read, it’s all about debate. Words. Can you defend what you believe and your interpretation of the Scriptures? What percentage of your interpretation is biased, opinion and divine revelation? The Scriptures speak loudly to the type of people believers should be, but also to the difficulty in living a godly life. No one needs to tell you that. It is written in the Scriptures. And is that not the truth. Today especially when the religious and evangelical community is divided over social political issues. Everyone holding to one doctrine or another. The Scriptures speak to many things. Do I need to grasp it all? Do I need to know what to expect in heaven, or do I need to speak in tongues? Do I need to understand the various prophesies? At this point in my Christian walk, I can see how interpretation of Scripture would be subjective.

As a Christian woman, the one thing that I struggled with most of my life was the lack of outward manifestations of blessings. Want and need are not part of a positive Christian experience. I never heard anyone say to me, the Lord said to be content in all things. No. I heard otherwise. If the Lord is not blessing me, there must be sin keeping Him from blessing me. I needed to examine myself. Well, that was a lesson learned.

Since the first day I heard about Jesus Christ and all He had done for me, I have taken the teachings of others at face value. The newborn, the babes in Christ, as infants take in all the nutrients fed to them. That was me. I was not compelled to or had any reason to question anyone’s teachings. My life, up to the point of salvation, was going nowhere. Finding Jesus, finding salvation, for the first time in my life I was in a euphoric high. I felt alive. I felt accepted. I felt loved, if only by the God who created me. Sadly, except for the unconditional love of God, the high did not last long.

Most of us know that newborns start life out feeding on breast milk, or formula. Babies can thrive on one or the other. This is not an argument about which is best. It’s about nutrients. Breast milk is said to be healthier, but that is not always the case. A small percentage of newborns will be allergic to breast milk. With formula, the typical child may tolerate the popular brand with no problems, but there too a percentage will be plagued with allergies. And it is a painful experience. The thing here is…the infant needs good nutrients for a healthy development. The infant will thrive, but poor nutrition can lead to problems. If we are taught a false gospel, it is bound to affect our walk with Christ. Will a partial truth feed us sufficiently? Will it lead us to a relationship with the living God? The good thing is that even a small amount of good nutrition does an infant well. As the it says in Isaiah 55:11 (NKJV) “So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; it shall not return to Me void, but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.”

The one truth I have come to accept, is written in Matthew 7:13-14 (NKJV) “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.

If understand this correctly there are few people on the narrow path. I can only conclude that most of us are on the wide path that leads to destruction.

2 Timothy 3:16-17

All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.

2 Corinthians 13:5

Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you? —unless indeed you are disqualified.

When are we fully persuaded that God is who He says He is? More later.