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Wednesday, September 28, 2005

Time Passes

Wow! I almost forgot I had a blog, let alone do anything about it. The big things in life right now are work, babysitting my favorite little girl - Ashley - and studying the book of Acts.

I love studying the Bible. It appeals to my increasing appreciation for history, for one thing. I imagine myself living during that time, and in fact, we are all descended from *someone* during that time period! Amazing, huh?

From the time I put my trust in God through Jesus and the truth of His Word, I have been a staunch advocate for studying in truth - not tradition, not personal interpretation - but the truth of the Word of God. So, for example, when I hear someone say that "speaking in tongues" is required as proof of being filled with the Holy Spirit, I say, read your Bible! That is not what it says, and the use of the word "tongues" is misused.

In Acts, we see that the Holy Spirit was given to explode the church at a certain time. The apostles there were GIVEN THE ABILITY TO SPEAK IN KNOWN LANGUAGES ACCORDING TO WHO WAS LISTENING. There were people from all over the known world in Jerusalem for the festival of Pentecost (Harvest!) and God allowed them all to hear the Good News in their native language. Wow! This was not some esoteric language, nor was it a "requirement" for believers who received the Holy Spirit. Each believer received the Spirit, and we are all given gifts to increase the Kingdom.

So, what is my gift? Not "talent" but "gift." Talents are for the physical man, gifts are for the spiritual. Not that the two can't be intertwined, but gifts are specifically for building up the body of Christ and evangelism.

Perhaps I'll find one of those online tests... Blog to you later!