No Other Source

Where do you get your truth from? For many years, Christians, church going people have been getting their truth from a second-hand source. This kind of practice is our AI response to the Word of God. You may say how? The study of God's word for one's life has been replaced with a third-party practice that involves just reading the Word and not applying the Word. The Word of God is alive, and its truths are perfect, but falling short of taking the next vital step will rob us of what God is saying TO us through that word. All the scripture memorization in the world will still fall short of God's "helps" for living the abundant life. The question is this: Do you worship the Word of God, or do you worship the God of the Word? A person could say "both" and still be correct, but would be lacking in the way God's Word leads us into His truth. As is normal for visionless people, we sometimes use other sources of information and other people as a crutch for not really studying and understanding the Word of God, and those crutches have become our AI, or artificial intelligence.

Here are some examples of the AI having too much power in our thinking, and some of you will possibly be offended by the list, but here goes. 1. I will make this Number 1 since it applies to me. Friends who are Christians' opinions that stick as permanent root-level teaching in your life. I am not infallible, but the Word of God is, and God has a message for you that is perfect for your life. If you read my blogs, you are reading my impression of what the Word of God is saying to me, and I share that with you. Don't get me wrong. I am very serious about not letting anything come out in these blogs that will lead you astray, but will turn your heart more toward God. But I have and will fail, either by what circumstances I am in at the time or what I am dealing with as an imperfect resource. God's Word must be read and studied by YOU, and He will show you more than I ever could. This is why I sign my blog "The Pilgrimage Continues." I am on the journey with God, and hopefully He has something to share with others from my personal study. Part of the pilgrimage is my imperfect observations of scripture. My desire is to lead you to study more and get deeper in the Word because it is the perfect source. 2 Timothy 3: ¹⁶ All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. ¹⁷ God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work.

2. Strong personality writers who write "helps" books with their strong doctrinal opinions that are bent toward a group of people's thinking or theology. Example: I believe more toward Southern Baptist Theology than other denominations, but I am not a Southern Baptist by identity. In Paul's letters, we see the term Jewish Christians used again and again, and those were some of the worst people to work with and disciple. I am not a Southern Baptist Christian!! I was for a time in my life, and then after I deepened my study of the Word of God, He changed me at my core. I like the writings of John Eldredge, but John Eldredge doesn't control the way I interpret the Bible. I love to hear Greg Laurie preach, but He is a distant second to what God's Word tells me in my personal study. Some women fell in love with an author of a certain way to parent your kids and love your husband a few years ago, which is a "help" to consider, but that lady fell from the faith, and now where are all those disciples who based their life direction on who this lady was and taught? Drifting.

3. Preachers who try to get you to just come on Sunday or Wednesday to hear a sermon and lead you along to worship them and not Jesus. Sorry, but only Jesus deserves our praise and our life calling. After I hear a message on a Sunday morning, I go home and study to see if I agree or not, and then go from there. When I was 11 years old, our pastor was a great man by the name of Jim Hylton. God used Jim in a mighty way because He pointed me to Jesus and not himself. After being in the ministry for over 40 years, I contacted Jim and told Him what His effect was on my life, to which he said, "David. That was the Holy Spirit, and He blessed me to be a small part of your journey. Cling to the Word of God!!" It would be easy for me to say, "Jim is MY pastor." I will instead say, "Jesus is MY Savior, and MY Teacher." No one else compares!!

In a world where we are striving to find more answers and many times even from Artificial Intelligence, don't accept ANYTHING second hand without clearing it through our perfect source, THE WORD OF GOD!! If you feel like you are drowning in your faith walk today, then you may have too many AI responses you are trusting, and you just need some pure wisdom from God. So did the Psalmist. Psalms 18: ²⁸ You light a lamp for me. The Lord, my God, lights up my darkness.²⁹ In your strength I can crush an army; with my God I can scale any wall. ³⁰ God’s way is perfect. All the Lord’s promises prove true. He is a shield for all who look to him for protection. The keyword again and again is God, so learn from the Psalmist and continue to SEEK! Read the following verse and see what it means to you.

2 Timothy 2:¹⁵ Work hard so you can present yourself to God and receive his approval. Be a good worker, one who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly explains the word of truth.

The Pilgrimage Continues,

David Warren