What I Believe

This is who I am. What I believe. My Statement of Faith. My Vision Statement. Call it whatever you'd like to call it. If you really want to understand why I feel the way I do, read this. I'm no theologian, but I know how to pick up a Bible and study. So, here it is.

1. Who
Me. I have spent my whole life as a Christian. I grew up in church, I don't have a miracle story of salvation. But I haven't been the best witness, the best example, or even a loving Christian. I've been so concerned with the here and now, when what matters is the there and after. I've been praying that I would begin to care about the lost. More and more everyday, I want to share with others what Jesus is REALLY all about. It is our job as a Christian to share the Good News with others. (1 Corinthians 9:16) If we aren't going to share it, who will? What will the consequences be? I want to be a fisher of men, not of money or power or things. (Matthew 4:19)

You. Yes - that goes for You too.

2. What
These are the fundamentals of salvation: There is only one God. (Acts 4:12) The ONLY way to God the Father is through His Son, Jesus Christ. (John 14:6) We are born sinners, deserving to die - and Jesus died in our place. (Psalms 5:15, Job 25:4, Matthew 20:28,
1 Timothy 2:6) All we have to do is believe in Him, accept Him as our Savior, and we are redeemed. (Rom 1:16) Refuse to accept this gift, and you pay the price of spending eternity in hell. (Matthew 7:13, 1 John 5:13, John 3:16, Matthew 10:33) Jesus is coming back a second time to take the believers into Heaven for eternity. (Luke 21:27, Acts 1:11)

Now - for the stuff that I believe is important, but not essential for salvation.
I firmly believe that the Apostolic Age has ended. The Prophets and Apostles were given to us to prove the message that the Messiah was coming, and that Jesus is the Messiah. (Ephesians 2:19-20, 1 Corinthians 3:11, 2 Timothy 8-11, Isaiah 42:1) I believe that the Holy Spirit comes to us when we accept the gift of salvation, not afterwards in a "second blessing". (Ephesians 1:12-14, 1 Thessalonians 1:6) I believe we are saved by grace, but our fruits are the proof of that salvation. (James 3:17, Philippians 1:9-11) I believe that miracles, healings, signs and wonders exist and happen often - But that we aren't supposed to be searching for them. (Matthew 12:38-41) I believe in "Thy Will Be Done". (1 Corinthians 12:11, 1 John 5:14)
That's the basics. Since this blog is for the purpose of giving my view on most of this, I feel no need to go into any depth here. So, whether you agree or disagree, there it is.

3. When

Now. Not tomorrow, not when you feel better, not when you learn more. Now. Do you know when Jesus is coming back? No, I don't either. (Mark 13:32) So if He comes back tomorrow, I want to be able to say that I've done all that I can. Not just by talking about it, but by living it. (1 Peter 2:12, Luke 6:31)

4. Where

Umm...anywhere? I used to be embarrassed to pray in a resteraunt, let alone say the name of Jesus out loud. Then I found out That He will be ashamed of us if we are ashamed of Him. (Mark 8:38, Romans 1:16) The Bible also talks about being glad for persecution! (Matthew 5:11-12, Luke 6:22-23, Hebrews 10:34) I changed my perspective. Now I understand what freedom in Christ is.....it's nice not worrying about what others think. I try to live my witness, instead of just talking about it, since words mean very little anymore. Didn't your mother ever tell you "Actions speak louder than words"? And now - when someone asks me why I'm so different (read:weird!) - I get to tell them why.

5. Why
...Which brings me to number 5, why? Because I don't want people missing out on what being a Christian is really all about. In this day and age, words are careless, and no one wants to live how Christ truly intended us to live. I don't want to be the girl that helps to harden someone's heart. I want to live the best I can, as much as I can, as well as I can, for Jesus. I want to do His will, and share when I can, where I can. It's my job to be a fisher of men. It's my job to warn others of evil, of satan's traps and temptations. It's my job, and my pleasure, ...to live for Jesus.

Let Me Clarify

I'll probably have to update this post quite often! I just want to make sure that everyone understands where I come from, and what I mean on some subjects.


1. Prophecy - God gives people knowledge today. If I were to tell you that this world will perish, I would be prophesying. It hasn't happened yet, but I know for a fact that it will. I have the Bible to back me up on that. New revelations, however, are a thing of the past. Ecclesiastes 1:9 tells us that there is nothing new under the sun. (emphasis mine) And since we agree that the Bible is the inerrant word of God, that seems like a pretty clear idea of what God thinks about our "new revelations" today. Revelations itself says that there is nothing to be added to scripture - and that includes the "thus saith the Lord" stuff of today. He already said it, it's a done deal.

God speaks to us constantly, through the Holy Spirit, but as guidance to us - not as a magic 8 ball. I've heard Him myself - that voice in the back of my head that has very clearly spoken to me, guided me, instructed me. He gives me what I need to know-at that moment. I will never poke fun at that. But you will never find me on stage "manifesting" His presence by violently whipping my head back and forth. And you won't find me in a TV studio, bending in half from the "presence" of the Lord - saying "woah" , "bam" or any such other nonsense. And you won't find me on youtube - giving vague "words of knowledge" about a pregnant lady, or someone with headaches or arthritis. Those things are parlor tricks of the worst kind.

Let me also quickly say, that the prophets of the Bible - were 100% correct! There is no margin of error, Mr. Bob Jones. So some "prophets" out there need to be very careful, there is a consequence to pay for falsely prophesying.

2. Healing - Healing happens all the time, all around us. God miraculously heals, in the Bible and in the present. But no one has magic healing hands. If you lay hands on someone, pray, and you find out they have been healed from cancer - it' not because of your hands, or even your prayers. It happens because that's what God decided to do in that particular situation. But to have the audacity to have people come to you to be healed......it's sick and cruel. God will do as He wills, not what you want Him to do. If you want someone healed - get on your knees and begin praying for earnest. Knocking them over with your coat doesn't count.

3. Slain in the Spirit - The Spirit doesn't slay people, at least not the Holy Spirit. What a silly term, for a supposedly spiritual thing. This falling over backwards, especially in large numbers, is fake, psychosomatic, or it's not God. And if by some strange chance God does decide to knock you flat on your back, you need to be scared. Only unbelievers fell backwards in the presence of the Lord. Everyone else fell on their faces - out of fear and holy reverence. I've been down that slippery slope. I've been pushed, poked, prodded, and thumped on the forehead. I went down almost every time - so they would stop. There was only one time I didn't fall, and that was because I was actually, truly praying. the last time I got "slain" - I fell to my knees and wept, because God was finally speaking to my heart about something. Not because the Holy Ghost knocked the wind out of me.

4. Speaking in Tongues - Who here has watched The Princess Bride? There's a quote I like, it goes "this word you keep saying - I do not think it means what you think it means." That applies here. This is really a whole post topic (which I will eventually get to.) but the short version is; "tongues" is not some super special secret club language. It is what it says it is - tongues, other languages that we already know. If you believe in tongues; I'm not going to rip you apart for it. It's not an issue that determines salvation. But if you are pushing tongues off on people, making them think they have to have it in order to be a "truly fulfilled" Christian - you are giving people burdens they don't need. Having "tongues" is not the only evidence that you are filled with the Spirit. It's not mandatory.

5. Signs and Wonders - If I hear one more story about gold teeth, angel feathers, or gold dust - I'm going to scream. I promise I will scream "ARGH!" for an entire post. It won't be pretty. Not only are these "signs" unbiblical - they're absolutely dense. No one could come up with anything more clever than glitter? If God is going to give me sign, it's not going to be something I can buy at my local AC Moore. And it certainly wouldn't appear in mass doses, just so the crowd could get "blessed". Here's your sign - Jesus died for you. I've got wonders up my sleeve too; He rose again. You have anything better than that?

6. Angels - Angels exist, I can agree with that. I'm not to clear on what they do, besides bring messages from the Lord. I know some believe they give us gold dust, heal and drop gemstones in the yard. Hey, they sit on clouds, wear halos, and play harps too! Get real. If I ever saw an angel I would be terrified. Not because of raw fear, but because either I've done something wrong, or something life changing is about to happen. They rejoice when someone gets saved, they do what God needs them to do. They certainly don't need to be worshipped. I don't think they're happy about that either.

7. Visions - I don't doubt that people have visions. The day I met my fiance, I had a vision of walking down the aisle. I have visions of my son going to college, and having grandchildren someday. I don't have any mystical, revealing visions of me and Jesus rolling around in a field. And I've never been to a third heaven, never had a chat with an angel, never seen pillars of fire. If I want to smell vanilla, I'll light a candle. This subject, and the perversion of it is so bizarre, it speaks for itself. (I just had a vision of some angry comments)

That's it for now. I know a lot of what I say will be misinterpreted, I'll be branded a legalist, and people will be angry with me for being blunt. I'm ok with that - better safe than sorry.