Have you ever heard it said, “For every Bible question, there is a Bible answer”? The Bible is my Absolute. Anything I believe I can trace right back to the scriptures. This was not always true.
I was once asked, “Is the Bible your Absolute?”
When I was presented with the challenge of taking my beliefs back to the scripture, I was shocked to learn most of what I had been taught was extra-biblical. I was raised under the teachings of William Branham, known as “the message of the hour”. Over the past year I have spent countless hours praying and studying, searching for truth.
Jesus said, “My sheep know my voice, and a stranger they will not follow.” Separating true Biblical teaching from “special revelations” is one of the hardest tasks I have ever faced. The more I read and studied, the more I realized how heavily indoctrinated I was.
I cannot tell you the fear that haunted me. I was so frightened I would be found rejecting “THE truth for my day”, afraid of being blind and not having enough revelation.
I held on to my teachings tightly. As I compared them to scripture, they began to slip through my fingers like grains of sand. In the end I was holding tight to thin air.
I now realize the greatest revelation is Salvation. There is nothing greater than the redemption of God’s people through the blood of Jesus Christ.
I feel like I am climbing a mountain. I have slipped and fallen along the way. I have grown tired and weary. There were days I climbed in darkness, days when rocks blocked my path. I am still climbing.
I am told the view is spectacular.
I thought I was climbing alone. The path has cleared and I can see others climbing too. They have helped me and encouraged me along the way. I have seen the top of my mountain, I know there are others already there beckoning me to keep going.
There are some mountains God will move. This was not one of them. This mountain was to be climbed.
“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. “For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.” -Matthew 7:7
“Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. But shun profane and vain babblings: for they will increase unto more ungodliness.” -2 Timothy 2:15
“Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world” – 1 John 4:1
“Now these were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so.” – Acts 17:11
“For nothing is hidden that will not become evident, nor anything secret that will not be known and come to light.” – Luke 8:17
“Teach me Your way, O LORD; I will walk in Your truth;” -Psalm 86
“Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” – John 8:32
Do not be discouraged. Do not be afraid to ask questions. God will honor your search for Truth.
I was once told there can be a little truth in a lie, but there can be no lie in the truth, There can be a little light in the darkness, but there can be no darkness in light.
Jesus said, “I am the TRUTH, the life and THE WAY.”
The Bitter Belly 