I grew up in churches that emphasized emotional experiences over the truth of God's word. I usually heard that theology and doctrine were divisive and all that mattered was how we loved God with our heart. Don't get me wrong, I do believe that the Holy Spirit operates within people and has gifted them according to his will. I believe we must love God with ALL our heart, as well. I do feel that I was somewhat misguided by this understanding as I always longed for a move of God that made me feel a certain way. I would often read the Bible out of context and try to place scripture into my personal thoughts on God and my emotional experiences. Obviously, I did it wrongly! You see, God wants us to not only love Him with our heart, but also with our mind! It's very difficult to love someone you do not know. I would have never fell in love with my wife if I didn't get to "know" her. I got to know what she liked, how she thought, what she wanted from me. It's the knowledge of her and who she is that gave me a deeper love and understanding for my wife. God is no person, however, he does desire his creation do be in relationship with him. So, he wants us to know Him with our minds! He has given us His Word to teach us about Himself. To be properly grounded in our relationship with God, we need to know Him with our mind. We need to know who He really is, what he desires, what He hates, who we are in light of Him, and what He has done for us. That's really what theology is! My desire is for the students that I teach to love God with their heart, but in order to do so, they must have a right understanding of who he is. I want students (and myself!) to continually love God with their minds, as well. That means, we must open scripture and read diligently to find out who God really is and what he is saying to us! We continually pursue true knowledge and understanding, which is only found in scripture. That is why we study God's word and from our understanding of who God is, we can begin to understand his Word and our world more. I want students to LOVE theology! With my blog-otionals, I want you to think rightly and grow deeper in your understanding of the truth of God, which is found in His Word! So take some time and read through the following passages. Think about how God has called us to love theology (a proper knowledge of Him!).
-Romans 12:1-4 - Hosea 4 -2 Peter 3:18 - Phillippians 3:8-10 As we continue to look at Theology, I'll write more in a few days on the nature and character of God. Until then, keep studying' the word!!!
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AuthorJoe Burrows Archives
May 2017
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