Previous Challenge Entry (Level 2 – Intermediate)
Topic: Search Engine (10/06/11)
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TITLE: Where Our Answers Come From | Previous Challenge Entry
By Doug Laird
10/12/11 -
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Hardware, software, firewalls, downloads, email, and electronic viruses are just a few of the terms that are used everyday that were virtually unheard of in the not too distant past.
The Internet has given us the ability to access large quantities of information at incredible speed, as well as the ability to instantaneously communicate it to others around the world. While relatively “new” to us, such things were the subject of ancient Biblical prophecies (Daniel 12:4).
One of these phrases of this new language is “search engines”.
By entering a word, a phrase, or a general topic into a “search” box on our computers, we can immediately access a host of information in an organized manner that would have taken months of tedious labor to research in former times.
In the post salvation life of a born again believer, we too, have a “search engine” with lightening speed in which we can have immediate access to answers of a spiritual nature.
This process is documented in Scripture in such passages as John 14:26, and is speaking of one of the functions of the post salvation ministry of God the Holy Spirit.
During the Church Age, God the Holy Spirit, speaking through the pastor teacher that God has in mind for each individual believer, will teach him/her all things, and that God the Holy Spirit will bring to his/her conscious mind the doctrine that he/she has already stored in his/her edified soul structure when the need arises.
For those who are faithful to the intake of God’s Word, God will always provide the answers that you will need before you need them.
It is a matter of choosing to apply, under the enabling power (John 15:5) of the God, the doctrine that the believer already has to the present need.
In the midst of the storms of life is NOT the time to be looking for answers (Matthew 7: 24-27). One of the reasons that God sends or allows storms to come is to reveal to us that we have been neglecting either the intake or the application of doctrine.
Although this data base of doctrine, aka as an edified soul structure in theological terminology, is available to all born again believers, it is NOT automatically downloaded at salvation.
It takes a lifetime of dedication to build its database from which spiritual information can be later recalled at the moment of need. Having the right answers and having the wisdom to apply them, however, are two very different issues.
Our souls are bombarded with information every day.
Every piece of information that we are exposed to is filtered and is either rejected or is accepted and then directed to a “file” in the data bank of our soul structure.
Scripture warns us to be aware of what information we entertain. You cannot play in the mud without getting dirty.
Just as God the Holy Spirit will bring to mind the doctrine that we have stored in our soul structure, so will the Ephesians 6:12 forces of evil, with the help of our own fallen nature, bring to mind all of the evil there as well.
Our souls are presented with thoughts and information that come from the fallen nature within us, the mouths of others, in the lyrics of music, art, entertainment, and reading material on a daily basis.
Much of what we hear coming from the average news broadcast is straight from the “Fear Factory” and offers little, if any, constructive information. Names and locations are different, but for the most part, it is history repeating itself over and over again.
Every soul has a database containing all the accumulated knowledge and information that the individual has acquired over the course of his/her lifetime. When we do a “search”, our mind produces ALL of these files at one time.
Doing what “feels” right or seems to be a good thing at the moment can lead to serious consequences as many factors influence how we feel.
It is only when a believer has developed spiritual discernment that he/she can recognize what information is coming from God when we “search” our souls for answers.
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Consider woking on #2 (unique, fresh, memorable). This is the sort of message that many Christians have heard before, and livening it up with personal anecdotes or appealing examples would make us want to read on.
Another strength is #1 (on topic)--quite commendable.