Pride, Posture, Pain and Purpose

The Reasons for Heresy

We have the freedom to give any meaning to God's Word that we choose. Our response to what we read depends on several things. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. Many people have opened their hearts to God because God's Word never comes back void. I'll give you scripture references/bible verses in mt next blog.

When our hearts are open we can find the true meaning of God's Word as it speaks to our personal circumstances. We experience who God is and we discover how much God loves us. We find God's gifts of mercy, grace, and forgiveness and we have the opportunity to recieve them.

Jesus often shared "Those who have hears let them hear and those who have eyes let them see." God is willing to open our eyes and ears so that we can see who God is and so that he can speak to us and allow the Truth to set us free.
God has chosen to give us free will, and allows to decide if we want to see and hear.

I learned early in my life that we can't make anyone see or hear God. Four things often get in our way: our pride, our posture, our pain, and our pupose

Pride has to do with how we see ourselves. Some people believe that they are intelligent enough to discover all they need to know on theor own. Others believe that they have wealth, power, and success because of their own efforts and don't need anyone's help. Life for them is the survival of the the strongest, the smartest and the best. Pride prevents them from asking anyone for help. They see God as a security blanket for the weak, for the losers, for those who don't have what it takes to make it, to succeed. The Word of God is unimportant to most of them Some rewrite it to justify what they want to do or how they live their lives. Some preachers have turned the bible into a instruction manual for those who wish to be rich, famous, and powerful. The bible says "Pride comes before a fall."

Posture has to do with how we treat others. Satan fell because he believed that he could be a god. New age religion offers that opportunity, and it appears that there are many levels that may be achieved. Scientists believe that they what they have discovered is the truth, that we have evolved from lower life forms. Science seems to be their god and the bible is a book filled with myths. In our country success has become a god, along with wealth, power, fame and a higher standard of living. Those who have more, win more, are more popular, tougher, and so on, are better than others. Those who have less deserve less. Our heroes are those who win and winning is everything. It matters who wins or loses. Winning is what life is all about. There is even a label for this. "the best of the best." Jesus challenged the posture of the scribes ans pharisees and said, "If you want to be first in the kingdom of God you must be the servant of others." Many preachers measure their success by their salaries and the size of their churches. Some of Jesus' disciples argued/fought over their position and rank in Jesus' group of twelve. His response was to wash their feet.

Pain is a common reason for rejecting God. A young man shared with me that he was raised by his mom. She asked the pastor for some help and he said he would send some one over. No one came. When she asked her pastor about that, he had nothing to say. A woman lost everything because her husband decided to divorce her and marry a younger woman. Her friends at church stopped having lunch with her, and she lost her position/volunteer job in her church. Her church rejected her and abandoned her. Victims of rape, incest, physical abuse, and a variety of painfull trajedies often blame God and ask, "How could a loving God allow this to happen to me.

Purpose is our plan, goal, or lack of both. What we choose to do becomes our destiny, our future and our tomorrow. That is the essence of the most important decision of our lives. If we choose Christ we must surrender our will and serve him. That requires sacrifice and it may include pain and suffering. We can choose what the world has to offer: wealth, power, fame, and a opporinity obtain success.
That requires another kind of sacrifice, our souls, our salvation, and our intimate relationship with God. The phrase, "To thine own self be true," can create a selfish attitude. It an also embrace the life of a humble servant of God.

Heresy is born in the womb of four mothers: pride, posture, pain, and purpose. They often determine how people experience God's word, by making them blind and deaf. They prevent us from seeing God and hearing his Word for our personal circumtances and God's offer of grace, mercy, love and salvation.

My son, Tom drew a picture of Apollos for my book. You are free to find your own meaning for my son's creation. God has given us free will. Each of us must choose how we will use it.