Revealed Knowledge

I’m going to try something a little different in this post. In the past year or so, I’ve made a strong stance on a lot of major issues in the world. And I know many people don’t agree with some of what I’ve said. I want to take the opportunity to try and explain where I’m coming from. So I hope you give me a chance and read through this.

To understand where I’m coming from you need to know about Christianity. Based on my experience, many of the people I know may have a church background or attend church but still may not understand what it fully means to be a Christian (probably b/c the world and too many hypocrites out there have given them a very skewed view of what Christianity is).

There is a very important aspect of Christianity that many people do not fully understand. I will do my best to explain it.

It begins with a verse from Ephesians 5:9-12:

“… as believers walk in the light of the truth, the knowledge of the Lord’s will becomes clear.

As well as Romans 12:1-2 (from the Amplified Bible):

1 I APPEAL to you therefore, brethren, and beg of you in view of [all] the mercies of God, to make a decisive dedication of your bodies [presenting all your members and faculties] as a living sacrifice, holy (devoted, consecrated) and well pleasing to God, which is your reasonable (rational, intelligent) service and spiritual worship.

2 Do not be conformed to this world (this age), [fashioned after and adapted to its external, superficial customs], but be transformed (changed) by the [entire] renewal of your mind [by its new ideals and its new attitude], so that you may prove [for yourselves] what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God, even the thing which is good and acceptable and perfect [in His sight for you].”

-The closer we get to God in our daily walk with Him, the further we want to be from things of this world. We begin to see things in a different light- and it is difficult to explain it to people (mostly b/c many are still caught up in the world’s perspective that they don’t want to acknowledge certain things or they have been lied to/deceived and are so far from God that they truly don’t see what is wrong with their lives or in this world- they basically have a type of blinders on).

-I see this in my own life. A big example- as most of you pretty much know- I love music, I especially like Rock music. I’ve been to over 200 concerts and liked many hard bands (stuff like Metallica, Judas Priest, The Offspring, Linkin Park, etc). But when you find true peace in your heart, the loud, hard (even angry) rock just doesn’t appeal to you so much anymore (I can’t really listen to bands like Staind or Disturbed anymore). Honestly, I haven’t even listened to a Metallica album in over a year, and they were one of my all-time favorite bands. I just don’t have that anger that relates anymore, and I just don’t feel a need or desire to listen to that kind of music. And I used to rail against anyone who would tell me that metal or rock music was “devil music” and that I shouldn’t listen to it. I would say “I’m not dumb/I’m not going to let music affect the way I think and act. I can still be a good Christian and listen to whatever I wanted, as long as I didn’t fall into that kind of lifestyle.”

-But looking back on it- it did affect me, even if it was just in minor ways. It could amplify my mood- and if I was upset or sad, that wasn’t a very good thing. It can even affect your outward appearance/style of dress. (So while I was trying to act and LOOK like a Christian- I didn’t really succeed b/c I looked like everyone else in the world, and we are called as Christians to stand apart).

We always hear the saying “you are what you eat.” Well we’re more than just what we eat- we are (everything) that we consume- whether that be music, TV, books, etc (so we need to be careful about what we take in).

-We may deny that or even if we see some truth to it, we may say “but I’m not hurting myself or anyone else! There’s “technically” nothing wrong with what I’m consuming and/or what I’m becoming.”

-But that’s not true. Because even if you are a “good person” and what you consume doesn’t have any (what you may consider) ill effects on you or those around you- it’s still separating you from God- who is supposed to be the #1 thing in your life (it’s the 1st Commandment).

-So in my journey, I struggled with a few things. I kept fighting, wanting to listen to my music. So changes didn’t really happen overnight. Actually, I kind of gave up with the whole back and forth and figured I could listen to whatever I wanted as long as I continued in my Christian walk and tried to grow closer to God.

-And that’s when God hit me with an unexpected curveball. I started to pray more, read the Bible more, pay closer attention when I was in church (lol). I became closer in my walk with the Lord and my mind started to become more open and aware of the things around me.

-I began to decrease listening to my harder music, not so much as a conscious decision at first. My desire to do so just began to fade b/c I was filling my life with more meaningful and important things. (I think Romans 8:9 says it best: “But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you…”). I still went to some concerts though, and that’s where it really began to hit me. I would look around at the people around me, and I could almost tangibly feel the sadness in the air. I could sense the emptiness and the longing for love and peace. I was able to read it on people’s faces and sense it in their body language- it just felt like a heavy spirit in the room.

This happened a few times too. I kind of shook it off and ignored it at first. But as I sensed it each consecutive time, I tried to rationalize and explain it and wonder why I could sense this, but others around me seemed to be oblivious to it.

But then I began to put together the pieces of the puzzle- God was revealing himself and his knowledge to me. Not only was I growing closer to him and beginning to do things better for myself, but I was able to sense when other people were hurting and longing/searching for something (God) and even figure out why (in some cases). I also began to link things- how one issue that may even seemingly be stand-alone can affect other areas in a person’s life and really change them or their circumstances in a dramatic way.

-Now I don’t know if this is necessarily “the knowledge” that we receive from God that they talk about in the Bible, but I believe it’s definitely part of it. And I don’t know if I’ve fully explained myself well. But one of the main points I wanted to convey is that you do get something out of giving yourself to God. You don’t do it for yourself, the main point is to glorify God, but this is one of the “side-effects.”

This is also why people need to be mindful when they criticize some Christians in the media. Granted, I don’t know where these people each really are with their walk w/God (ex. Pat Robertson, Bill Keller). People see them as fanatics or “out of touch” or bigots or other worse things. But they might not be. Hatred and bigotry come from some other place in a person’s heart/soul. Even if you don’t agree with what a Christian may preach, you need to look at where they are coming from. If it’s coming from their belief system and personal convictions according to what God has shown them, it’s not necessarily “hate.” Now I’m not saying there isn’t hate out there and people say and do many inappropriate things in the name of “God,” but if you read my last post about tolerance (http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=10150097411023753), as I mentioned there, if you really look at a person’s life and their heart and ACTIONS, you can tell where their true feelings and convictions are coming from when they express a certain belief or criticism. This is not the same as other examples of racists or bigots, like Nazi’s that may have grown up believing one thing b/c they didn’t know any better. People need to make logical progressions for their actions- what people like that did can never be justified b/c it wasn’t done out of love- it was done for power, control or just overall selfishness (the underlying cause of many issues).

-In the end, you may be skeptical about what I’m telling you now and it may sound like I’m telling you to give up aspects of your life that are important to you. That’s not necessarily what I’m telling you.

-Just because I have stopped listening to a lot of secular music and am not watching certain movies or TV shows anymore doesn’t mean I’m going to think badly of anyone who does. I’m not even going to get on anyone’s case about whether they should stop or not. Like I said earlier, I’ve been on the other side. I’ve had people tell me “you shouldn’t listen to/watch that.” And it can be aggravating, and honestly, it doesn’t really work (it didn’t for me). I had to realize it all on my own, and you would have to also. I’m just trying to give my testimony and what can happen in your life if you were to make that decision to grow closer to God. Your priorities and desires begin to change and reflect God’s influence in your life.

-One of the main points I want to make is that there IS a revelation of knowledge when you grow closer to God and become more like Christ. And it could take time, this won’t happen overnight or in a week or a month or possibly even a year. But it will make your life better- I guarantee it. It may not be easy b/c you will begin to realize you may need to make some sacrifices or changes in your lives. I understand how it can totally seem unfair to you to have someone tell you that you’re either living in sin or not living the right way (or the best way you can) and telling you to change without really explaining what you are giving these things up for. It makes it seem like you have to give and give and give (while feeling guilt and shame on top of it). No one wants to hear that.

-But there is something in it for you- there is a peace and joy and knowledge. So next time someone tries witnessing to you, rather than ignoring, or worse, getting mad or offended, I encourage you to give them the opportunity to share where they are coming from and why. Better yet, pick up a Bible and find out for yourself, especially if you are at a point in your life that you feel broken or your life isn’t going as planned, you don’t know what else to do, you’re tired of being in the same vicious cycle… What do you have to lose in giving God a chance? It’s good to take a thorough evaluation of where your life is at and what you’ve done up to this point. You may realize that nothing else you’ve tried has worked. You will be surprised at what truths you will begin to find.

I’ll close this with sharing one more verse:

“Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”- John 14:27