Difficulty in communicating

It's been awhile since I've posted. I want to keep up with my Sunday thotz but I will admit, as time goes on it gets harder and harder to do so. I find communication with others is becoming more and more difficult.

Think about where our culture has led us too.
(everything leads to something, more later on that)
It's led to us thinking talk radio is communication or information.
It's led to so called reality shows.
It's led to judges & doctors practicing on TV.
Or sound bites as people's opinions.
Or social media  as a way for us to stay "connected."
Or round the clock news when there is no news.
We have developed a "let someone else do the work" and we'll just listen to what we like.

And that mindset has made its way into christian thinking.
That's where all this "leadership" talk comes from. Let someone else do the work.
Placing titles on man. Just because we change a word from pastor to leader doesn't change the fact that our idea of those words do not exist anywhere in scripture.
Problem is, when genuine men of God do come along, it's tough to see them.
Men who are genuine communicate in the context of what they were called by God to do.

But today everyone needs to be led. By some leader. I have been known to say that if sheep need to be led , they are stubborn sheep. Sheep willingly follow.
If you need to be told the difference in that chances are your being led.

Todays "leaders" say they are led by God but try question them on their visions and stand back and watch what happens. You see, to question a vision (from a man) is to question God because they say they got this vision from God, and folks, that's shaky ground. Not to be allowed to test this to scripture is the key indicator it is not from God. And when I say scripture I mean the entire council of God. Not random verses. Men who rely on random verses need extra caution.

There are ways to test these things but few know what they are and the ones who do know what they are , are passed off as trouble makers.
So you can see why communication gets difficult.

People do not think in context. We don't research our opinions. We either focus on the present or live in the past. The center of our thinking is "me."

So just how deceived are we?

-Entire books can be written and the opening sentence can say clearly "its not about you" and then proceed for the remainder of the book discussing "you" and the reader is never aware. When multiple translations of the Bible are needed to state your view, chances are good your being deceived.
-Movies can have a character playing God and this character offers his throne to mankind saying something like if you think you can do better , you sit in my throne. This statement is designed to make us consider how difficult it is , being God. But the TRUTH of it is, this is what is truly in the heart of every man. They do want to sit on Gods throne and we do think we can do a better job at running this world than God. How many times have ya heard someone say its a good thing I'm not God. 
 Believers who endorse such things are extremely difficult to communicate with. It's best to not even try. They did not come to this acceptance over night. It takes years to get here. I'll post this clip to illustrate the magnitude of  what those, who love God's Word are up against.

So, how do seemingly reasonable believers accept this trash? It's a long slow process.


-Then we have popular translations of the Bible which  can be read from pulpits where the one who writes it openly denies the Bible and openly puts new age phrases in our Lords mouth , and those listening to this never sense it.
-We sing songs  that  can be sung by believers when no mention of specially who is the subject of their "praise."  Anyone of any faith can sing most of todays music found on Christian stations.
-People think they can receive direct new revelation from God. Key word is "new." Ever hear someone say "God is doing something new?" News flash : no He isn't. Read that Bible, you'll eventually see. Men who talk "new" things from God have an agenda. Beware.
-People think we need to have a vision , and then write it down. Might want to read that passage in Habakkuk again. Has nothing to do with you.
-People think the Bible promotes unity. We erase borders, we erase denominational lines. We even erase gender lines, all in the name of 'unity.' Somehow we've forgotten, God established those lines and borders.
-People think in terms of servant leaders. This is a leaders attempt to remind us they're humble. The necessity for such distinctions is good evidence it's questionable.
-People think these servant leaders have visions we must follow. The fancy term for that is 'vision casting.' Kinda like fishing. Both use hooks.
- people think that if we enact just the right laws we can create a fair society.
-people think that more laws and technology that people will never get hurt or sick again.
-People think the Bible is all about church growth. True Church growth is the result of something but today we have made this (church growth) a cause or mission.
-People think experiences are evidences of Gods involvement.
Testimonies of people dying and coming back from heaven or hell are more and more popular.
I think at this point I must specify, this is American life.
These beliefs (or thinking) do not fit in believers in other parts of the world. Emergent thinking is indeed global. It just has other names for it to keep people off balance and forever guessing.
Christians have ways of smoothing things though. We wrap human thinking in emotional packaging and by doing so can get away with many things. Words lose meaning.
This is why communicating is so difficult.

*****

So why would I include a video of a stage being built?
All those negative sounding things I mentioned (above) is in reality God setting up His stage for something and we need to be telling others what that is when they ask us and the only way to know what it is , is to read the Bible in its context. When our kids and grandkids ask us we need to give them real answers.
Actually we need to be sharing the gospel but besides that we need to be reading our Bibles and telling others. (or warning) of the times to come.
But mankind sets up their own stages. And just like in real life , the people who attend (whatever is on stage) they are not aware of any of the stage preparations. All they know , when they get there , is that the stage is there, How it got there is not their concern.
But folks, in life we need to be able to recognize what's coming based on the setting of the stage.
The fact that the visible church is abandoning the whole Bible as well as doctrine fits nicely on Gods stage. The reason that is true because many in the visible church are unaware. This would be that strong delusion the Bible speaks of. We trade the reading of the whole Bible along with doctrine for seeking unity and church growth.
While the visible church encourages you to have your best life now , events are occurring in many places . When trouble does come to America , these people will be needing answers to what's happening.
When the time comes , those who read their Bibles as intended can give these people answers  from places in the Bible they probably know little of. Places like Jeremiah and Zechariah and Ezekiel , 2 Peter , Jude  (when you share this with them try not to have too big a grin on your face when they ask "why have I never heard this before?. Its not their fault they never read those books thru)
I said something wrong there. I'm sorry but it is their fault.
If people don't research what they read and hear and if all they do is read the Bible like most  a news paper (headlines) then we deserve what we get.
And what we get is a clueless generation.
So all this confusion , as foretold , is setting a stage for Christ's return .
But just as the Jews back in the days of the crucifixion , they thought of Christ's return as one riding in on a military leader (instead of a Savior)  - and today we think of Christ's return riding in on a peaceful wave (instead of persecution)
Its not easy telling people the truth. People think what they think and believe what they believe. People will follow whatever looks good. Fooling people is not that tough. They do not want to be confused with the facts and communication is difficult.

Out of 100 people who ask questions , we would be blessed if one person truly wanted truthful answers. Most people , when they ask questions, don't really want to know the answer. But when and if you ever run into that person who wants answers , a person who knows it will take a long time in Gods Word and prayer to get the answers, that makes up for so much frustration.
Communication takes time to develop. It takes having a relationship with whomever we are communicating with
I don't think I need to say that relationships these days has taken on the same status as of the dinosaur. Or close to it.

Although, when communicating with those daily that we don't have a relationships with, and probably never will, context is still important. But in these situations it's nearly impossible to explain all that's needed to properly get to the point that's trying to be made.
I envy that believer with the gift of boldness when sharing the gospel. This person does not need context. He is gifted if he can just walk up to anyone and in 5 minutes be praying with them . I have a brother like this and I envy that (in a good way)
Conversations with those we will never have a relationship with consumes most of our every day. Everyone from co workers to the waitress at the diner.
I don't blame people in these situations when they rush off. . Everyone is in a hurry and our time is valuable. People don't have time for explanations. Besides, explanations sounds like excuses to most people. And most times they are. Frustration occurs when they (explanations) aren't excuses.
This is why i go out of my way to show much appreciation to those I randomly run into, who gives enough time for me to explain details.
That doesn't happen much today. Not even amongst family. Especially family.

Today people think that if we know what the other is doing daily , that constitutes a relationship. People tell me Facebook  is a good way to stay in touch.
I cant help but to ask ,why do we so easily settle into a something is better than nothing mindset?

I need to be ever mindful of this when it comes to my reading of Gods Word.
What I mean is, if I were to compare social media to verse by verse Bible teaching (something I love) the similarities would be :
      Just because someone does a status update on their FB as to where they are going or what the are doing (giving me info) does not mean I have a relationship with them.
      Nor does having a better understanding from preachers (giving me info) of a passage of scripture or an entire book of scripture mean I have a relationship with Jesus.
Those places I go too for Bible understanding are meant to lead me somewhere.
Getting to know someone takes time. It takes asking questions of the other. Having an understanding of someone's entire life goes a long way .
A relationship means having an understanding of a person along with endurance. We stay with this person, no matter what.
That is true with Jesus also.
Patience and forgiveness also are needed in true relationships.
The point is,knowledge alone does not strengthen  relationship although it's  a key step that leads to a relationship.
People often say "knowledge is power" but the truth is applying daily the knowledge we are given is power. (key word : applying)
Knowledge is definitely vital.

But we need to be mindful of where this knowledge comes from.
What are we reading?
What are we watching or listening too?
What influences us?
We need to be ever mindful of those influences. They shape us.

Many influences from the past  anger us or confuse us.
 To compensate for this, we look for things that seem to make sense to us,to explain those things of the past that either bothered us or things we simply didn't understand.
People try so hard to squeeze in their understanding,  to fit or explain God's ideas.

It's no secret, I favor having discussions in there perspective contexts.
Line by line, verse by verse reading of the Bible is the greatest influence of this but I am  becoming more aware every day that I need to be aware that even this has its negative consequences.
The main one being difficulty in communicating with others.
When I began seeing that what the visible church says isn't actually in the Bible, this had a profound effect on me.
Oh sure, many single verses read by themselves can say anything anyone wants them to say. But so much that's said in christian circles is not anywhere in Scripture. But it takes time to see that.

So I ask myself , after years of asking questions (something else people find annoying).. is my relationship with Jesus stronger.
The only way I can answer yes to that is if I know where to draw the line with verse by verse preachers. That takes time as well.

Our views and upbringings and past influences, along with how we interpret those influences (later in life) will lead us to many troubling areas if not kept in check.

For instance , I was raised in a home where talking was not encouraged. So over time I developed a need to explain myself to those I knew. I suppose this was my early idea of adding context to things, forgetting the fact that people don't want context.
This thinking  would not serve me well as I grew older. Because at about the same time I was wanting to explain myself , the culture around me stopped caring. Not a good combination for conversing with others. ( someone who wants to explain + talking to those who don't care)
Before I had a chance to figure this all out along comes social media. Here people can talk all they want and it didn't matter if people cared or not. All that mattered was that the one talking (on social media) "thought" that others cared.

Fast forward to today.

 Now I understand the value of context. I understand when to apply it and when not too. It's a tricky balance, one I'm still working on.
Unfortunately though, by the time I'd figure this out, a reputation has stuck too me. That's ok though. In this culture, it's easier to build reputation than it is to build relationships.

So how do we fix this? The short answer is, we don't. I suppose, until we sense that something just isn't right 
about the way we've been doing things, life will go merrily on.

(this explains it nicely)

 But for me it's a matter of getting my priorities straight.
 Loving God.
 loving my wife.
 Pretty good combo.
By getting back to the real meaning of relationships, this is a good place to start. I have many friends I can count on to be there when I need them but I only have one friend who defines true relationship. My next post will center on that..

Till then, grab that Bible & tryreadnit!