Fact or Fiction

Well… it looks like the thermometer is beginning to swing the other way!  When I opened up the drapes to the sliding window that looks out on our deck and backyard this morning, I was amazed to see that the temperature on the thermometer on our deck was about four degrees higher than when we went to bed last night.  It had risen from 2 degrees to a balmy 6 degrees by 7:30 AM!

Now, that may not seem like much, but when you’re out there you can actually feel the difference!  I even put on my jeans this morning… can you believe that!  (Well, I actually started with my shorts but quickly made the change as the house was quite chilly when I first got up!)

This is the first time in the three winters that we have been in our home here in North Carolina that I have been looking forward to the cold weather.  I think that my change of attitude has actually helped me to enjoy the dramatic drops in temperature this season.  I can tell you without a doubt that this is definitely different from the northern California weather patterns that we luxuriated in for 50 some years previous to our relocating… But you know?  The longer we’re out here, the more I am enjoying the four distinct seasons.

I’m finding that once you’ve experienced the changes a few times that you learn to live with them, expect them and then enjoy them!  Now I know what’s coming every three or four months, what to expect and like I said, enjoy each season to the fullest with all the unique pleasures they bring, while playing down the potentially negative sides of each weather change.

It is kind of like my relationship with Papa God and His Word that I find within the pages of my Bible(s).  My personal relationship and associated experiences with God the Father, Jesus the Son and the Holy Spirit have solidified the fact that I believe God’s Word to be THE truth on any subject as well as His infallible will for my life.  In my heart and mind there is NO QUESTION about it.  To me, God and His Word are FACT.

But I read a very disturbing article in the news last week.  In it the author was making a pointed attack on the beliefs of what he (or she – not sure if it was written by a male or female) called “Evangelical White Christians in America today.”  Once again, I am not sure where this reporter did their research, but he/she claimed that we (and I would proudly include myself as an Evangelical White Christian) wrongly believe the Word of God to be the inspired Word of God and that the writings within the pages of our Bibles are the truth.

The article went on to declare the writer’s perspective that most Christians don’t really believe the Bible to be the inspired Word of God nor true, and that most biblical scholars would agree.  Now, I realize that there are some liberal Christian Colleges in our country that espouse these ideas and personally know some Christians that would agree with this synopsis, but to say that this is the prevailing thought in Christianity today is quite the OVERSTATEMENT… wouldn’t you agree?

Having lived in three different states and been very active in the Christian scene where we lived, I can say without a doubt, that the vast majority of Christian Churches state in their “Tenets of Faith” that they believe the Word to be the Holy Ghost inspired, infallible and true Word of God.  Without that basic understanding and foundation for one’s faith, you could never trust in the Lord or be able to be in faith for any the promises in God’s Word from salvation, to healing to physical and financial needs being met!

Remember, Faith begins where the will of God is known!  If you doubt its truth and reliability then faith can have no beginning.  We would always find ourselves in hope and not in positive and strong faith in Papa God and His loving and caring promises to us His children.

To me it is becoming very evident that “That ancient snake, named Devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world…” (Revelation 12:9 – God’s Word©) is becoming more and more open at casting his deception upon the world today.  And what this and other forms of his deception do is to attempt to put doubt in the heart and mind of anyone who reads such deceptive articles… and believe me, the main target (I think) is to the faith-filled believers in the church… to you and me!

But you know… IT’S NOT GOING TO WORK!  Because you and I are PREPARING TO BE AMAZED “by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.” (Matthew 4:4 – KJV)  By EVERY Word that we read, study and meditate on, EVERY time we sit down and open up our Bibles!

Just like I know that winter here in North Carolina brings some (very) cold weather and I have the clothes and equipment to handle and enjoy it, I know that EVERY time I open the Word of God that I am going to be AMAZED at the truth that I take into my brain, allow to soak into my heart and then express through the things I say and do in my daily life!

What about you? 

Articles like the one I read might get me a little upset, but they also tend to fire up my determination to be continually AMAZED by the love, peace, excitement and power that I receive when I study His Word.  It also makes me more determined to be a continually better LIGHT and power-source in my world for Him!  Our AMAZEMENT in Him makes us to be a stronger and more efficient witness for Him.

I hope you are having a GREAT first week of 2018 and as you take each step that you keep asking yourself… “How AMAZED am I expecting to be each day for Him in my world?”