“In posting this idea, I am sharing my experiences with everyone. Not every spiritual gift fits every occasion. They have a place and a purpose and should not be used inappropriately.”
This is what I said a few days ago.. That thought has been preying on my mind ever since I wrote them.
Taming the Tongue
Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness.
I admit I am not a teacher and acknowledging that means I need to be careful about what I say. The experiences I have are going to be similar to what some others are going through but not everyone. I have a responsibility to my God to help and not hurt His newborn believers. What I say could be taken as judging and I do not want to come off as being judgmental but that is exactly what I do. I see everything in black and white with no grey areas. That is harsh and newborns in Christ need a gentle hand.
What can I say to help someone who has just raised their hand at an altar call? I do not know what is going on in their lives. I do not know their thoughts. I do not know their needs. God does and that is who they need. All I can say is what I experienced.
I had just been handed a miracle by a God I did not know. I had prayed for the first time about the anger in me and God touched me and removed that anger. How could I not acknowledge Him when He had that kind of power over me?
No one came along beside me to ask what was happening. No one asked why I raised my hand at the altar call. No one asked if I knew what I was doing. If they had then things might have gone differently. What that might have looked like I do not know.
As a teenager I attended an American Baptist church. Their main focus was on being sheep dippers. Once they got them baptized they were God’s responsibility. That was true from their point of view, but that wasn’t what I needed at that moment. I needed someone to come along beside me to help figure out what was happening. Decades later it feels like being born and not having a mother to nurture me. I wasn’t getting the milk of the Word.
If anyone out there has just decided to change their life and become a disciple of Jesus this is my most sincere advice. Find someone you trust that has years of experience in their walk with Jesus. Talk to them about what is going on and why you have decided to follow Jesus.