I hate very little, but one thing that really gets under my skin is being misunderstood. So here I am throwing my thoughts out there for everyone to read, and I am trying to figure out a way to help you all see where I am coming figuring that if you know my perspective, it will help you understand what I am trying to get at in this blog. Some of my content may seem way out there, or not out far enough, and you may ask, “what is this guy thinking.” Some even may begin to gnash their teeth and immediately cry HERESY! If this is your reaction, then you are not getting my point. What I have picked up on my journey of discipleship has helped me, and I simply want to share it with others so it can help them as well. In no way do I have it all figured out and I AM NOT TRYING TO COME ACROSS THAT WAY! So if I say something that doesn’t jive with you, lets talk. I want to hear your perspective. We may not agree with, but we can still learn from, each other. Simply said, when you read my post, keep in mind that you are hopefully getting the idea of The Way Jim Sees It!.
My journey with Jesus began in April of 1991, 3 days before my 18th birthday. I was “saved” in a little Independent Baptist church in the backwoods of West Georgia. We were very small and very legalistic. Women wore dresses and did not speak in any church meeting. Shorts were forbidden for everyone. The KJV was the only bible acceptable, and it was made known on every Sunday and Wednesday that someone was going to Hell. After about a year, I moved on to a good ole Southern Baptist Church where things were more laid back, but after a couple of years I began to feel empty. For some reason, my spiritual life, which revolved around church, was not fulfilling at all. I thought the problem was me. I thought that I was not good enough and that God was not pleased with the way I was living. I was basically taught that God saved by grace, but apparently He expected me to work my tail off to stay in good standing with Him. This was a time of guilt and misery for me. The harder I tried to please God, the harder I failed in doing so. I eventually became numb and complacent on the inside while on the out I simply went through the motions. One evening in 1998, while flipping channels on the radio, I came across Charles Stanly’s broadcast and decided to listen. I don’t remember what his teaching was on, but he made a statement that completely got my attention which was: If you are not in love with God’s Word, there is something very wrong inside of you. He was right. I knew that God has rescued me, and that I was a born again believer, and I also knew I could not keep going on the way I was going. Change did not come immediately, but eventually I found Chuck Swindoll’s radio broadcast. From that I learned about grace. Grace is what I did not understand. Good teaching about grace had not been taught to me, I suffered because of that. Swindoll’s book The Grace Awakening set me straight and introduced God’s love to me , so that I’ve not been the same since. While there was good that came out of the places I had been, the bondage that stifled my relationship with God sometimes causes me to resent anything that resembles that mislead and ignorant way of thinking. This isn’t healthy, I’m just being honest.
Now, I can say that my relationship with my Father has grown in ways I can’t, but will attempt, to describe. You may not agree with how I see Him or His Word, but you have to understand that the path I am on is taking me closer to Him. I believe that I am healthier spiritually than I’ve ever experienced before. Now, I genuinely don’t want to do wrong because it gets in the way of my releationship with God. Of course I still mess up, but now I understand that his forgiveness is my strenght to turn back to Him, and He is always there with open arms to take me back. Now, His Word fascinates me motivating me to learn in more, and more importantly, to take it in. I want everyone to experience and have the intimacy with Abba that is available. And that is why I am here, doing and sharing what I have learned and have been given. The Scripture, especially in Proverbs, speaks alot about the relation of knowledge and wisdom and being/growing closer to God.
I have gone on and found others who have taught me much about God. I have learned things that make much more sense concerning who God is and what HE wants. May you seek Him so that you will learn to love Him with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength. God Bless.
Jim
