Different Doctrine

If anyone advocates a different doctrine and does not agree with sound words, those of our Lord Jesus Christ, and with the doctrine conforming to godliness, he is conceited and understands nothing; but he has a morbid interest in controversial questions and disputes about words, out of which arise envy, strife, abusive language, evil suspicions, and constant friction between men of depraved mind and deprived of the truth, who suppose that godliness is a means of gain. But godliness actually is a means of great gain when accompanied by contentment. (1 Timothy 6:3-6)

These verses really bring up a lot of emotional memories for me. Not that this specific passage was used necessarily to support a specific theory, but that the sentiments revealed in these verses are so descriptive of much of what happened around me for so many years. They also remind me of the very strong reaction that people like those described here typically have if they are confronted with a passage like this.

I can remember many times when the term “strange doctrine” was used as a quick label slapped on any idea that was different from what we already considered as settled truth. Never mind that it might not fit too well with the clear teachings of Jesus about love, compassion, or other heart-oriented issues that we never understood very well; if something sounded different from what we had always assumed or made us feel uncomfortable then it was quickly labeled as strange and dangerous doctrine that needed to be avoided and not even considered. The only way that discussion was allowed about such topics was in the context of coming up with strong statements in opposition to such heretical notions.

Unfortunately, I realize now that many fundamental truths of the gospel ended up in this box labeled “strange doctrines”. Thus it became very difficult at best for me to make sense out of many religious terms and concepts. I could easily make a quick list of such things that tended to seem mystical for most of my life simply because they were off-limits for serious consideration with an open mind and heart. Included in this list would be things like grace, joy, unconditional love, the gospel as really good news, a Christian experience based primarily on a personal relationship with God. All of these things were either viewed at best with a sense of strong suspicion or sometimes openly labeled as heresies that were trying to infiltrate and dilute the “truth once delivered to the saints”, attempts to undermine the foundations of truth.

I have grown much over the past few years in my spiritual perceptions. I have been convicted by God to let go of more and more of the lies that the enemy planted into my heart through the misunderstandings of my forefathers, ideas that crippled their own abilities to understand the truth about the gospel and inhibited their capacities to grow deeper in a true knowledge of the truth. I have let go of many of my fears about open mindedness while still maintaining caution about ignoring warnings from a more educated conscience. I still want to stay within the safety of obedience to convictions from the Spirit of God, but I am learning that the condition of our spirit is of far more importance than the accuracy of our facts and doctrines as good as that may be.

As I have touched on at other times, it is extremely easy for nearly anyone to label ideas that are different from theirs as strange doctrines. To even begin to fairly understand a text such as this takes a desire for true discernment and even more, a willingness to be synchronized with the true spirit of Jesus. If a person has a seriously damaged or distorted concept of God – and all of us are damaged in this arena to some extent or another, to the extent of that damage will be our vulnerability to misuse and misapply the words of this passage. It is always far easier to apply these warnings to other people who disagree with our viewpoints and opinions than it is to honestly ask God to show us our own blind spots and humble ourselves in the light of the example of Jesus.

I find myself very frustrated as to how to even relate to the spirit of people described here. I say that because I was carefully trained for so long to be one of them myself and thus I am all too aware of how thoroughly deluded such a person can become. But I also observed the long-term deleterious effects of such entrenched thinking and stubbornness in the lives of people very close to me. Again, I am coming to realize that the only way to properly receive this passage is to keep it in the context of guarding the condition of my spirit even more than trying to come up with a formula for proving that I'm right and those who disagree with me are wrong.

As I looked this over yet again this morning after thinking about it yesterday off and on, it became even more clear to me that this is exactly what Paul is trying to get across here. He starts off by describing people who are promoting doctrines and ideas that are “different”, but ends up describing the end fruit of harboring a spirit of bitterness and stubbornness. Different is simply a word to describe anything that is not what we already believe or assume. If everything that is different is wrong, then it will be completely impossible for anyone to arrive at truth – everyone cannot be correct, but truth is not discovered by coming up with the most potent arguments or the most forceful coercion.

I am coming to believe that real truth is not based on facts nearly as much as it is rooted in the sense of what a person is like – and that person is best seen in the one perfect example, Jesus our Savior. Paul did not have to explain all of this right here and was able to assume that he would be understood because of his close relationship and long history of sharing the real spirit of truth with Timothy, the one this letter was addressed to. Whenever we talk to people we always have to operate on a certain level of making assumptions about shared concepts or else communication becomes impossible to start with. On the other hand, the closer the shared views are between people the more freely they can say things without fear of being misunderstood or needing to elaborately explain what they are trying to express.

However, that same ease and clearness of speech based on shared experience and assumptions becomes the very point of greatest vulnerability when others not sharing in those same assumed perceptions come to read those same words. Thus “different” for Paul and Timothy will be something radically opposite of what different would mean to the people that he is describing here. So just to assume that anything different than our particular entrenched beliefs will be wrong is a very dangerous assumption at best. The same warning has to be applied to many other words and phrases in this passage as well and for the same reasons.

As I look over these verses I see a number of key words and phrases that are turning points that need to be examined in the light of Paul's shared assumptions with those he believes will understand what he is really trying to get across here. Let me take a stab at making a quick list.

• Different doctrine

• Sound words

• Conforming to godliness

• Controversial questions

• Disputes about words

• The truth

One's definitions for each of these items is going to be seriously slanted based on their own preconceived ideas and assumptions about what is important and what should be emphasized. But it is not necessary to throw up our hands and give up trying to understand what Paul really intended to convey or what he had in mind in reference to the warnings given here. There is also nothing wrong with spending some time exploring history a little bit to find the context of the culture that he was living in or was addressing where Timothy was living. While we have to be careful of teachers using such information to insinuate their own biases on others, it can be very enlightening to discover that Paul may not have been referring at all to the hot-button issues that we might want to bring into the discussion and enforce with such passages as this.

What I do feel is even more important to note, even much more critical than knowing what issues he may have had in mind with Timothy, is what shows up in the later part of these verses. Notice the increasing emphasis that Paul makes in pointing out the results of the activities of such kind of people in the church. Again, I am coming to realize that God is far more concerned with the condition of our spirit and how that affects our relationship to His body than whether or not we are perfectly aligned on every point of doctrine. I am not knocking sound doctrine at all, but I believe strongly that there will be millions in the kingdom of heaven who are very mixed up about all sorts of facts but who have responded in their spirit to the drawing of God's Spirit on their heart. And what is described in these verse is definitely not the fruit of God's Spirit.

Note the various attitude references, descriptors of the results of the spirit of people that Paul is warning Timothy to watch out against, as well as the progressive nature of these descriptions.

• Advocates

• Does not agree (with the words of Jesus)

• Does not agree (with doctrine conforming to godliness)

• Conceited

• Understands nothing

• Morbid interest in controversy...

• Disputes

• Envy

• Strife

• Abusive language

• Evil suspicions

• Constant friction

• Depraved mind

• Deprived of the truth

• Suppose that godliness is a means of gain (crass greed)

I have to admit that not only have I seen all of these fruits in the lives of people such as are described here, but I am also guilty at times of probably producing some of these terrible fruits myself. Much could be said about each item on this list, but I question how edifying that would really be when the real issue lies in the condition of my spirit more than in trying to avoid these various symptoms.

Jesus, I ask you to live in my heart, to transform my spirit to be reflective of that which You demonstrated while here on earth. I give you complete permission to reveal the infections, roots of bitterness that still remain in my heart that can produce these terrible symptoms of disharmony among Your children. You know the history I have of generational critical attitudes that has spoiled so many lives in my clan. I ask for Your freedom from this divisive spirit and to be filled with the glory of Your humble, joyful spirit of grace. Place in me the spirit of free and willing service as described in the first two verses of this chapter. Reveal in my life what true godliness really looks like, the kind of godliness that reflects the real truth about You and that is a means of great gain as You said in verse six.

Father, I praise You and thank You for Your word to me this day. Remind me of Your thoughts, Your feelings toward me, Your passionate love for me all through this day and each day to come. Draw me deeper into intimacy with Your perfect heart of unrelenting love for everyone that has been created by You. Cause me to share in Your passion to draw hearts into a saving truth of how You really feel about them. Use me in any way possible to attract everyone possible to fall in love with You and to let go of their misconceptions about how You feel about them. I trust You and give myself to You for this purpose today.

Attractive Judgment

The sins of some people are conspicuous and precede them to judgment, while the sins of others follow them there. So also good works are conspicuous; and even when they are not, they cannot remain hidden. (1 Timothy 5:24-25 NRSV)

I found myself in a discussion last week in church about judgment and I was racking my brain to figure out where to find a text I wanted to share to help explain a point. I had no idea where it was located so I simply had to try to paraphrase it as best I could since I didn't have my computer with me to look it up. I have obviously become quite dependent on my computer to help me locate what I am looking for in the Bible most of the time.

I realize that it would be better to have all the texts memorized so that I could refer to them any time I need to, but there are at least a couple reasons why I haven't done that. One is that my mind is struggling to just remember even what I did a few minutes ago. I am very suspicious that the amalgam used in most of my teeth many years ago are having their effect poisoning my system and causing recall problems on a grand scale now. I wish that I could have all of these fillings replaced but at present do not have the funds to do so. The second reason is that in my mind I have always associated having many texts memorized with people who tend to have done so in order to bombard others with proof texts during arguments in attempts to force them into believing certain doctrines. This is highly offensive to me – the forcing part that is – and I believe it reflects a very wrong spirit that is unlike the Spirit of Jesus.

I realize that having texts committed to memory is not a bad thing in the least and is actually a very good safeguard against temptation. I have grappled with this issue for most of my life and still don't have a definitive answer for it. But I do feel that it is very important to have the mind filled with the Word of God to overflowing whether or not one can instantly spit out the exact chapter and verse where it is located. I am even now experiencing the effects of increased exposure to the Word of God. The Spirit often brings to my mind things that I have read and pondered and struggled to understand more clearly. But somehow I believe it is much more important to have the content and value of a passage firmly rooted in the mind and heart than it is to be able to outdo everyone else around you in being able to know exactly where it is found, though that can certainly be helpful at times.

Well, that is not what I set out to share initially this morning. What I started out wanting to say is that just a couple days later after not being able to remember where the text was that I wanted to use, that while reading ahead in 1 Timothy where I have been studying for awhile now, I suddenly came across the very verse that I was looking for. As I read the verse and the following one I couldn't help but feel more urging to really understand these verses more clearly.

These are verses that in some translations particularly are not exactly real clear as to their meaning. So when that is the case I find it helpful to check out a number of other translations to see what insight I can get from that method. Then I also went to the Greek and looked at each word to see what sense I might detect from the original words that might shed light or give insights that are sometimes not so clear in the English versions.

What I concluded, at least so far, is that the NRSV seems to have the most obvious wording that helps me on the way to unpacking these verses initially. But I also want to pray and listen to anything God might have to further enhance my awareness of the real truth in these verses as well as to discover any related texts that might help me understand it better. This verse has been constant in my mind for several days now and because of that I feel that God is wanting me to pursue a deeper revelation about truth and about Him through this window of Scripture.

Yesterday I wrote for about three hours on this very issue as it relates to judgment. Once I started I felt compelled to keep writing until most of what was coming to me was captured. I really don't know what plans God has for some of these writings, whether they will turn into public talks of some sort or will be resources for someone else who is much better at verbalizing insights than I am. But one of the first complementing texts that came to my attention was this one.

He who conceals his transgressions will not prosper, But he who confesses and forsakes them will find compassion. (Proverbs 28:13)

As I have become more keenly aware over the past few years of the real meaning and significance behind many religious terms and words that have long been obscured by tradition, I have suddenly seen very different but clearer truths as I go back and read things that I have read many times but could not perceive before. I am realizing that religion has hijacked so many words and given them subtly different meanings that there is quite literally a parallel language developed that is now almost universally embraced while the deeper, clearer message of the gospel has been nearly obscured in the process.

As I have taken time to explore and dig up the buried or forgotten meanings of each word and then put them back together the way the Bible presents them, I am amazed at the beauty, the clarity and the radical difference there is between the philosophies of religion that I grew up being taught and that is still all around me, and the real power in the Word of God as it was originally intended to be. This is an ongoing process and I continue to try to keep my mind open to further clarification of words, phrases and concepts that are still confusing or that still insinuate subtle lies about God promoted by the enemy of our souls.

These verses may be a classic example of typically misunderstood passages due to lack of careful examination and meditation. Also, if one has in their mind the typical ideas about judgment as being an event in the future where God is going to make forceful determinations about everyone's fate as they are singled out for interrogation and sentencing, then this verse and a great many others are going to be somewhat confusing at best. Because we have generally associated judgment with feelings of condemnation and shame, we have been unable to discern the much deeper and exciting truths that are all over the place but remain hidden from our awareness.

But it is becoming more and more clear to me that the true meaning of judgment in the context of the Word of God (I am not talking about the counterfeit judicial systems here on earth) is much more along the order of natural consequences and is about the public exposure through specific circumstances that will allow everyone to see clearly what is really going on in a person's heart. Judgment is the revealing of the real motives that we have attempted to hide, the real feelings that we have harbored in secret, the deep cravings and thoughts that we believed were known only to us. This comes about, not due to God suddenly forcing people to come out into the open or arbitrarily declaring the secret things of their hearts against their will; but God is so wise and skilled in guiding circumstances and events that these secret things will be able to be seen by all due to the full maturation and outgrowth from the process of the thoughts themselves.

I don't know if I was able to explain that very well or not. But I am sure that many people will vehemently disagree with my viewpoint on this concerning the nature of the judgment. But that is O.K. I am personally accountable to God first and foremost in my search for real truth as is each person around me. This is what is becoming very clear to me and it is enabling me to open many other doors in the Bible and discover amazing insights that were hidden from me all my life because of my confusion and fear about the true nature of judgment.

When I came to realize that God is not in the business of condemnation – ever – then my views of judgment were forced to be reexamined and redefined if I was to maintain personal integrity of belief. I have spent years meditating and studying and praying about this subject, and the more I have learned and been impressed by God's Spirit the more excited I get about how good and perfect and wise God really is in the way He does things and relates to us.

What I am coming to realize, sometimes with the help of other resources and teachings that I have received, is that this process called judgment – the exposure of the secrets of the heart – is actually something very important that we need to be experiencing right now. It can be a fatal mistake to believe that the judgment is only something that is going to be imposed on us at some point in time far off in the distant future. There is an enormous amount of false teachings about judgment that elicits much fear and that are used to enforce control-oriented religions based on condemnation and intimidation. That is very convenient and useful for those who desire to maintain control over the minds of others and manipulate them through the use of abusive religious practices. But this is not the ways of the God of heaven as revealed in the Bible when it is properly understood. This is the result of massive errors and false assumptions about God accumulating over centuries through spiritual abuse of the Scriptures.

But over the past few years I have become much more aware of the very important aspect of internal healing of damaged emotions, of our great need for repair and replacement of many lies deeply embedded in painful memories from our past or locked in through trauma that has been hidden away from our consciousness but still strongly effects our relationships and perceptions. It is becoming much more obvious to me how much our religious experience and our relationship with God and those around us is nearly totally dominated and manipulated by our deep beliefs about reality formed during traumatic events in our past but often mostly forgotten by our conscious minds today. Those beliefs embedded deep in our hearts actually dictate to a very great extent how we really feel about life, about reality and about our identity and value far more than our conscious, intellectual beliefs that are stored in our more familiar left-brain libraries.

It is the much deeper and more powerful negative beliefs in our hearts rooted in various memories from our past that define how we perceive reality and truth to a large extent. And it is into these very places of pain and embedded lies that Jesus wants to bring the most radical healing and truth, in the emotional, right-brain part of our make-up. This is precisely what He addressed in His mission statement when He first began His earthly ministry.

"The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor." (Luke 4:18-19 NRSV)

Over the past few years I have become more and more convinced that it is in the heart where all real religion, true spirituality has to take place primarily. The facts we learn, the doctrines we believe, the rules we subscribe to are all secondary and are only important as they help or hinder the condition of our heart and our spirit before God. Now when I read a text like this one in 1 Timothy, I have a very different perspective on what it may be trying to tell me about the judgment. It also correlates with some other things that Jesus talked about when it comes to the positive things that may be seen in our life as well.

Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven. (Matthew 5:16)

Beware of practicing your righteousness before men to be noticed by them; otherwise you have no reward with your Father who is in heaven. So when you give to the poor, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be honored by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. But when you give to the poor, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving will be in secret; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you. (Matthew 6:1-4)

Hijacked Prayers

I desire, then, that in every place the men should pray, lifting up holy hands without anger or argument; (1 Timothy 2:8 NRSV)

It has not been my practice to go looking around for other people's opinions from commentaries or writings on the passages that I am considering. But for some reason I decided (with some reservation) to take a look on the internet to see if I could find some helpful ideas regarding these words at the end of this verse. I want to find out more about Paul's possible intentions for referring to the emotions of a person while they lift up holy hands in prayer.

Well, as I was afraid, I did come across some very biased deliberations on this verse that I didn't spend much time reading because of the obvious agenda and the spirit displayed. I could tell almost right away after starting to read their comments that they intended to discount even the plainest statements of Scriptures in order to defend their church's stance on this issue of raising hands. I am not interested in debating this issue though I am quite interested in learning more of God's original design for this practice. I am very open myself to coming much more into alignment with the privileges that I might be enjoying if I wasn't so fearful of what others would think about me. But again, that is a completely different topic than what I want to think about today.

Yesterday I stumbled across an excellent resource, a wealth of very helpful background information that is helping me understand much better many of the things I am reading here in this larger context of 1 Timothy 1 and 2. It explains much of the cultural context and the practices of the pagans that surrounded the Christians that Paul was addressing. Given some of the details and beliefs of the pagans and the practices surrounding some of the various specific deities in the very cities where they lived, I found it very compelling to realize that a number of references in this passage address directly those issues and beliefs that posed a danger for those Christians specifically. If you would like to check out that resource you can find it here.

But so far, and I have not even read all of what was on that resource yet and I haven't come across much of anything addressing this subject of wrath and doubting or arguing. However, I did find a commentator this morning that seemed to have a balanced presentation that did not have an obvious ax to grind which helped me perceive that this is really closer to what it appears at face value. While there are certainly a number of other interesting issues in these verses that swirl around the periphery, it seems more clear to me now that it is quite important that when we pray – however we do that – that we need to not do so in a spirit of anger against others or to entertain a spirit of disputation.

You must understand this, my beloved: let everyone be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger; for your anger does not produce God's righteousness. (James 1:19-20 NRSV)

Now that I have considered this for a little while it does remind me of the many times when I have found myself squirming with increasing discomfort as some person or preacher has hijacked their opportunity to lead out in public prayer and turned it into a lecture or even a diatribe about their favorite issue. Something about public prayer seems to cause people to think that if they present their unique views in public in the context of a prayer that somehow it gives their views more credibility since others listening are somewhat caught defenseless and remain helpless waiting for the person to finish up his prayer.

What is it about public prayer that makes us subconsciously think it will give more weight or supposed credibility to a person's words more than when just presented in a sermon or talk? Is what we say in prayer somehow supposed to carry more weight of truth from God than just the opinions of the person themself? That seems to be the unspoken implication even though I have never heard it discussed before. But I do know that inside I feel some disgust whenever I sense that someone is using a public prayer as an opportunity to further their own personal agenda against the unspoken objections of their listeners instead of valuing that opportunity to simply open their heart to God on behalf of their hearers.

Even when the subject is not a controversial one, I am still a bit frustrated when I hear a person using public prayer begin to transition from speaking to God to preaching to the listeners. It is sometimes amusing to observe how even the language modulates back and forth from a first person addressing of God to second person or even third person speech talking about God or about some other subject that they want to impose on their hearers. What becomes rather clear if the listener is thinking about it is that the one praying is no longer really talking to God at all but is trying to extend the length of their own sermon while in a different mode. Or, if that person is usually not allowed to have a chance to speak publicly, then they are using their time to pray publicly as an opportunity to get in their two cents worth of opinion under the protection of their invitation to lead public prayer.

All of these situations and more might well be addressed in these words of Paul in this verse. While many people may differ widely in their opinions and arguments about whether men should lift up their literal hands or not in public prayer, I think far more people might be in agreement about their frustration with those who abuse their leading out in public prayer to further their own agenda instead of expressing the deeper issues of the heart to God.

What is becoming more clear to me the longer I think about this is that prayer, whether public or private but particularly public prayer, should not be allowed to be hijacked with agendas tied to issues that are motivated with anger or that involve hot-button issues that induce arguments. For someone to abuse their privilege of leading others in public prayer by injecting their own strongly biased opinions upon their hearers instead of trying to pray in behalf of the hearts of the worshipers is an affront to God and a contamination of the very spirit of worship that should permeate our assemblies. It seems clear to me anyway from this passage that this is a warning against abusing the practice of public prayer to gain advantage over others about some particular issue of strong disagreement in the church.

Another closely related issue that could be further explored in connection with this is – What is the real meaning of “leading out” in public prayer? Just what does leading mean anyway? Without going further down that path right now, I would simply say that I believe it should have much more to do with issues of the heart than with intellectual issues of debate or doctrine. The person praying in public should consider that they are being trusted to represent others collectively before God much like a priest did in the Old Testament. This is not an opportunity to be exploited to instruct the listeners but is a time to bring before God the entreaties, petitions and thanksgivings that are mentioned here in verse 1. And all of this is in the context of a realization and awareness that the God we are talking to is a God who intensely desires everyone to be saved and to come to a saving knowledge of the truth. (v. 4)

As I look more at the context of this passage I can also see clearly that this is one half of a pair of issues that Paul is addressing. This is the part where he addresses a problem of men in particular in the church and immediately in the next verses he addresses a companion issue that is more commonly seen with women in the church. I am not going to tackle that right now, but I find it very helpful to notice this contrast for understanding the true purpose and meaning of this passage. Evidently males in the body of Christ are likely to have more tendency toward a problem in this area than females and Paul is targeting that issue directly in the first part of this pair of instructions/warnings.

While there is plenty of material for very heated debate in these verses about other issues, I not only want to see the danger that Paul is warning against here but I would even more like to know, or better yet experience within the body, the flip side of this issue. I would like to see modeled and to participate in a body of worshipers where this was being done in a healthy way that would promote real worship, that would be inspiring and uplifting, that would bring glory and honor to God's reputation and that would lift the hearts of all who were present much closer to the presence and the heart of the Father. I am eager to not just avoid the problems that Paul has to point out here, but even more I desire to experience the true way of worship that might be experienced when these things are not present.

Real Prophets

This command I entrust to you, Timothy, my son, in accordance with the prophecies previously made concerning you, that by them you fight the good fight, keeping faith and a good conscience.... (1 Timothy 1:18-19)

There is something in this verse that catches my attention and compels me to think and pray about it more. It gets my attention partly because it is so foreign to the culture in which I grew up and still live. It is the whole idea of living around and recognizing what the Bible refers to as prophets that can have an impact on the life of the church and individuals personally.

In my church the idea of prophets operating in today's world is almost non-existent. The idea of prophets speaking truths and inspiring people with a vision for their future in the present sounds not only strange but even suspicious. We have no problem believing that prophets operated in previous generations and have an intellectual belief that someday in the future it may happen again. But there is a subtle but very strong resistance to embracing the idea that there may be people gifted with the ability to prophecy living among us today.

Much of this resistance is due to a serious misunderstanding and interpretation of the whole concept of the role of a prophet. Most people that I know think that a prophet is just someone who has visions from God foretelling compelling events of the future. There is so much intense emotion and prejudice associated with the very word that even discussions of what a real prophet should look or act like can become a minefield in itself. But in the past few years I have become acquainted with some other religious cultures that feel quite comfortable with the idea of prophets operating in their midst. Over time I have been interested to learn whatever God wishes to teach me about this subject through observing and listening to what they believe while remaining cautious and alert to the guidance of the Spirit in my heart.

As soon as I say something like this I am aware that there will be many in my religious tradition that would immediately throw up a red flag of warning and might assume that I am already on a slippery slope into being entrapped by deceptions of false religion. I am aware that I need to keep that warning in mind, but at the same time I have been learning, like Peter struggled to learn with the vision of the animal sheet, that my religion has a great deal of prejudice that prevents me from seeing others the way God views them. I have been coming to embrace the truth for many years that I need to relate to others through the glasses of heaven instead of the filters of my particular church's prejudice and that most of God's true children are not presently part of my denomination.

In addition, the total lack of real awareness of the presence of prophets in the church by “my people” alerts me that this is very likely a blind spot for us that we have been unwilling to face for a long time. We have usually reacted to this subject with standard, homogenized arguments that quickly suppress and shuts down any real exploration of the subject. But that does not mean that what we have long insisted is necessarily truth as heaven sees things.

As is often the case, it is much easier for me to discuss the problems associated with a subject than to dwell on the positive aspects of it. This is particularly true of this subject partly because of my almost total lack of any real knowledge or experience in this area. If I am to believe that there are indeed prophets among us gifted by God for the upbuilding of the church, I would like to be more aware of their presence and how to relate to them. But I personally do not have any such experience from which to draw from so it is foolish for me to speculate very much on something I know almost nothing about.

However, I do not want to remain in this ignorance any longer. While I am not willing to simply endorse everything taught by others as blanket truth on this subject, I am keenly aware that there will always be a glorious truth to be found anywhere there is seen a strong counterfeit. And since there is obviously a lot of counterfeit prophet activity going on in this world then it is important for me to seek God's perspective and guidance to learn how to discern what He is doing in this aspect of the Bible's teachings.

It seems unavoidable from this text that Paul is speaking of something that was prophesied for Timothy personally, not just some general application of Bible verses from the writings of the ancient prophets. It is also clear from other references in the New Testament that the idea of active prophets in the early church was considered something of a norm, not just something that happened in the past. So if we today want to experience the dynamics of that early group of believers that challenged the paradigms of the whole world, then it only seems logical that present-day prophets would need to be a very important part of the mix of gifts that God would have in our midst.

There are very clearly other places in the New Testament that spell out the various roles and gifts that God intends for the church to have in order to grow and thrive. The problem seems to be that we are only willing to focus on the ones that seem comfortable with us and that fit our current list of church offices while avoiding the ones that don't seem so obvious in our community. And this issue of present-day prophets is certainly one that doesn't seem to fit into our current paradigms. But that does not mean that they are not present in our midst, it simply means that we may be overlooking them, ignoring them or even worse yet, suppressing or opposing their ministries to the body of Christ.

A few years ago I learned a great deal about the need for generational blessing. It was a concept that I had never heard of before and was something I learned from teachers outside of my own denomination. But as they explained from the Bible the supporting information for their beliefs, I had to agree that this was a very important truth that I had never been aware of before. This teaching involves a number of peripheral ideas that are all related to it including the idea of present-day prophets that speak words of destiny over others, particularly children and youth, as they are inspired by the Spirit of God.

All of this has greatly enhanced my awareness of the issue of true identity and our perception of who we really are. I have also become aware that many, if not most of our problems in living the Christian life are rooted in our false assumptions about our true identity. What I am also sensing through much of what I have been learning about this is that one of the important roles of true prophets in the church is to speak to our hearts and relay insights from God to us about our true identity and our destiny as God wants us to perceive it.

Moving into this arena of thought about this subject is like opening the door into a very large hall that will take far more time than I have right now to explore. But I do not intend to close the door but to ask the Holy Spirit to be my guide to take me through the various insights and aspects of this subject so I will not be too confused or misled. I want to know the real truth about prophets and their role in my life personally. But just as importantly I want to begin to experience the transforming effects of the work of true prophets both in my own life and in the lives of my family and those around me. I want to live in the power of the blessing personally and to be used by God to introduce blessing into the lives and hearts of others. For I am coming to see that this is the main purpose of every true prophet.