PREFACE
In late 2007 my wife
Kathleen and I moved in with her parents on the heels of the real estate market
crash. We watched as my income plummeted from a comfortable six figures down to
nothing. I desperately tried to find work in another field and like many
Americans during that time found myself enrolling in College in January of
2009. At some point in 2008-2009 I really began desiring to read the Bible and
pressed in as our situation had deteriorated.
Very late one night as I
prayed I sought the Father more earnestly than I ever had in my life. I pleaded
with Him to help me to understand His word. I was honest and declared that I
didn't love His word as deeply as I should; but wanted to. I admitted that I
didn't know His word as well as I should; but wanted to. I begged Him to help
me to see His truth even if it looked different than what I had already been
taught or learned. I asked Him to direct me in His paths and to help me to
reject man's teaching which would cause me to fall into a snare. I prayed for
him to empty me out like an old flat can of soda and to fill me up with His
Holy Spirit. I pleaded for Him to make me hungry and thirsty for righteousness
and for His word and He would help me to not be satisfied except by the reading
of His word.
When you dial the right
telephone number someone picks up on the other end of the line. The Father
heard my prayer and as a result He gave me a gift called insomnia. It took me
about nine months to read through the entire text. Many nights I stayed up late
reading scouring and searching His word. As I read I began to notice that the
message coming from the pulpit didn't exactly convey what the Bible was saying.
I stepped back and for about a year didn't attend a congregation anywhere. I
used this time to listen to the Father and to let His word speak to me
directly. I engaged in learning how to study the Bible with word studies,
examining each passage in the underlying Greek and Hebrew manuscripts and
invested in bible study software, concordances, and lexicons. I read everything
I could get my hands on about the Early Church to include Eusebius and the
Nicene and Anti Nicene Fathers of Christianity. Later I found myself studying
Rabbinic literature as well for a better grasp on the Jewish background that
engulfed Messiah; and, the Apostles during the first century.
Because of my intense study of the word of God; my
perspective on how we are to respond to (יהוה) has changed. My cry to you for obedience
is born out of great love for what He has done for us through the sacrifice of
His only begotten Son. Before I believed we were strictly under grace; and, that
all I needed to do was to "have faith." I have learned that a man who
has "faith" actually responds with ACTION. There is a
definitive change in your lifestyle if you actually believe. Once cannot remain
the same as they always were and truly be a follower of Messiah. To follow Him
causes a change within us that is radical, profound and significantly trans-formative
in a positive way. I hope that as you read this book you will see that we are
called as believers to "judge with righteous judgment" and that we
must begin with ourselves. Do not be fooled by those who would seek to instruct
you "not to judge" because if you do not, how then will you be able
to correct those headed towards death? Our "judgment" of others
should not be rooted in a desire to condemn them to eternal damnation, but
rather to discern which path they are currently on. Our discernment between those
who are righteous, and those who are wicked will allow us to witness to; and, correct
those who are on the wrong path. The Father chooses whom will be saved and the
Holy Spirit is the one that calls them, however the way you live and the words
you speak may be the megaphone the Father chooses to use in that process.
Seek what the Bible calls "truth," discover
what the Bible calls "the way" find and walk in what the Bible calls
"light." As you do we shall become more and more like Messiah until
he sees His reflection in us.
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