let us reason together

i'm so thankful for shepherds (a.k.a. pastors) who are willing to take time out of their busy schedules to help me with spiritual matters.

In a Bible study recently, the group began discussing a controversial topic and everyone was agreeing...except for me. Did i pipe up and say, "That's not what i believe?" No. Especially when i realized that i was the only one in the room who believed differently. And i realized that while i held my beliefs to be true, i couldn't back them up with Scripture (which is dangerous and not a place i recommend being for any length of time). So i sat quietly, listening, waiting for another subject to arise. i talked to my dad that night, but wanted every piece of advice i could get.

So i called up Pastor Rob and had a nice chat with him today. He told me that i would never be able to defend what i believe if i didn't understand it in the first place. He said a discussion strategy or a huge list of Scripture references wouldn't help if i didn't understand it myself. So...he gave me a book (duh!). He helped me see that it's not my job to win in an argument/discussion. My job is know what i believe and why i believe it.

i'm also thankful that when Pastor Rob doesn't know something, he's not afraid to admit it. When i had a question he couldn't answer, he differed me to Pastor Dan...who differed me to Pastor Jonny, who helped me figure it out. So now instead of just me getting the answer to my question, four people learned something new.

So today has been a win-win kind of day. And now i feel better equipped to handle myself when my beliefs are called into question. And i learned that Nineveh was a part of Assyria (even though that probably doesn't help you in any way).




Thank You, God. Thank You for giving me understanding and for strengthening my faith today.