Ok I'm about a quarter of the way through Frieson's book. It's still pretty good, and he's clarifying some things that he spoke of in the earlier part of the book.
One thing I always look for when getting into reading Christian books and making sure everything is backed up by the Word. I mean people can always write books but the number one source over all of them are the bible. Well in this book, everything is backed up by the Word and just emphasizes what I was thinking before.
Right now I'm at a part where he's dealing with "inner impressions". This is common and crucial among the church today in finding God's will for the believer. These inner impressions often hold the same weight as using guidance from the Word of God, but are inner impressions as a way of finding God's will found anywhere in the word?
There was a point in the book where he talked about how if many of us relied on our feelings or inner impressions, most of us would've quit serving in the ministry a long time ago.
There were a number of stories about believers who relied on inner impressions too heavily and missed out.
I think a lot of danger comes into play when we start thinking of our inner leadings or impressions as direct instructions from God. Do you know how many "inner leadings" I got concerning certain calls into he ministry or (I know a lot of brothers in the faith can relate to this) I just feel this inner leading in my spirit that she's the one I'm supposed to marry!!
And also if I say that God told me to do something, who are you to say that I didn't hear from God!! (an example)
I'm not saying God can't speak directly to our spirit. For example, my mom was driving back home from work one day and took a short cut. She came to an intersection which when you make a right turn, it is hard to see who's coming from the left. She had planned on making a right turn (this was a green light), but something in her spirit (I know this was the holy spirit) said "Be still". Now who sits there at a green light?? Sure enough, seconds later, a car came speeding down at over 60 MPH
, clearly running the red light.
I think one of the main ways God speaks to us is by bringing his Word back to our minds.
"Your word I have hidden in my heart, That I might not sin against you."--Psalm 119:11
Our inner impressions can come from God, ourselves (trying to weed out our own desires), or even the Devil.
This can also translate into thinking that everything that we like or desire is against God's will. Oh we definitely have bad desires that can go directly against God's will, but where does the thinking come from that if I have two decisions (such as where to go to school) that the one in which I don't desire MUST be God's will. In making decisions, especially ones directly related to service in ministry, we should always set our desires aside so we can be directly led by God. If there's service needed to be done at church, and you're available, you can't say "Well I don't feel led to do that. Moving tables is just not my thing and I don't feel any peace about it."
Using the parable of talents, God has given us many desires and abilities to use for his glory. If you like baseball, and have the aspiration to play professionally, and you have the God given talent to do so, you shouldn't feel guilty that you're not servicing God in a great way. The recent story of Josh Hamilton is proof of that. Just think about his testimony and how many people he has touched. God used his baseball talent and his story of coming to Christ and overcoming drug addiction, and God is glorified in the process.
In the end, there must be a balance. We can't cling to experiences we have (which can happen) without lining them up with the Word. On the other side, we can't just cling to what is written in the bible without expecting God to speak to us and fellowship with us.
Anyways, I've really been fascinated by this subject lately because I'm at a point in my life where I'm just trying to figure out where God is leading me. You know what I got? Although this subject is fascinating and as I continue to talk about it, seek HIM and know HIM above all things. Everything else will pretty much take care of itself, including God's will. Don't worry about it ;)
Well I'm out for the day. I'll be back again Lord willing ;) I probably won't touch back on this subject for awhile. Any thoughts?
God bless.
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1 comment:
Hi Laidback,
Glad to hear you're reading Dr. Friesen's book. So many Christians I have talked to about the issues that he writes on talk about the "flet led" view of God's will as bondage. The Church has taught this unfortunate view for so long now that we have difficulty even talking about these issues in a non "felt led" way.
Hang in there with the book, it's absolutely worth the read, but it's easy to get bogged down in the scriptural exegesis section. Unfortunately, that section is so necessary, but slow going.
Enjoy!
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