I asked my pastor about my revelation..

I wrote my pastor an email, and here’re some of her answers to me:

(Words in italics are mine)

I CAN seek answers to EVERYTHING? Is this it?

Of cos you can but you may not have all the answers while you are on earth. Read Eccles 1: 16-18 even the wisest man of that time consider wisdom as grasping for the wind. Hence finding out and enquiring knowledge is not the answer to your life.

Many are called, and few are chosen. (what does this mean really?)

(In Matt 20:16 the complete sentence reads this way...so the last will be the first and the fast will be the last. For many are called but few chosen. Jesus shared this in the context of his second coming and He illustrated with the parable of the workers in the vineyard, he then talked about the greatness is serving. One way to understand a verse is to read the whole context. Over here, the context here gives us an urgency to live as a servant and one who is ever willing...cos Jesus will call everyone but not everyone will heed his voice, only those who heeds his voice is chosen).

I learnt this:
"Many Christians consider it their duty to deprecate logic and rational thinking, but do not realize that they are seeking to destroy our only hope of believing the gospel. John exalts rationality by beginning his gospel with the words that are traditionally translated as, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God". The word translated Word is logos; it can mean word, sentence, doctrine, ratio, wisdom and other such similar terms. What is clear is that the term means something like "rational order", and this verse is enough to prove that rationality is not something to be despised by Christians."

The origin of the Word (Logos) In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2) He was with God in the beginning. Contrary to the teaching of most cults, Jesus was not the first Created Being. He was already present in the beginning. He has always existed. The word was Jesus!

The Word is the source of all life (Zoë, the life principle, not bios, mere biological life) and light (speaking of spiritual light as well as natural light). Without Jesus, we are dead and in darkness; interestingly, man has an inborne aversion (fear) to both death and darkness.

So did John exalts rationality? More so..he exalts God..cos the word was God and he wanted to relate with his times and be relevant to them..

But I do agree with you, as Christians we are not to throw away our rationality and common senses. God uses them all!

A common claim among Christians is that they do not want to analyse the scripture with a questioning mind because they want to 'live by faith'.

Define questioning? If you question cos you are doubtful, your approach and attitude is different from someone who wants to is a learner of the word. So it depends on your motives. We have to be careful cos the devil can darken our minds further if we are not walking in the light, if we allow doubts and confusions to crowd our thinking.

They make it sound like it is a biblical principle they are applying to their lives. The problem with this is that when they say that, what they really mean is that they want to 'live by BLIND faith'. I suspect that the real root of the problem is that they have unanswered questions which they feel, if brought to the surface will make a mockery of their faith. So in saying that they want to live my blind faith, they are actually sweeping the problem under the carpet, where like acid, it slowly erodes away their faith subconsciously. True Christian faith is not blind, but logical and based on truth – the word of God. John 8:32 - 32 Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." We have to know the truth first before you can exercise reasoned faith. That is the key, reasoned faith – not blind faith.

The biblical kind of faith has an element of reason and risk too. For example when Peter walked on water, he has reasonable faith cos he knew that Jesus was there but he risked by stepping out of the boat to step out of the boat is beyond reason.

You have to know the truth before the truth can set you free.

When you know the truth, it means that you must have understanding in the word how things operate and work based on the word cos truth is God’s word, not based on our human analysis... Humanly you cannot understand why we can reap what we sow. The world teaches us with her understanding to store up wealth but God taught us otherwise. Is it blind faith to give and keep giving and be expecting a return? Humanly it seems illogical but is real faith! Real faith is the ability to understand His word and take his word as it is and that will set you FREE.

Real Faith is based on truth; on logic… not a blind faith based on ignorance. Blind faith in action is really just another word for 'presumption'.

Presumption is assuming that the thing that you do is initiated by God. Blind faith is when you're just blindly following something out of peer presure or other stuffs without convictions! Faith is conviction and so it is not blind. It is a knowing inside of you and inside your spirit, your soul, your mind...it has an evidence inside your spirit being...

The last I remembered, Matt 22:37 says - And he said to him, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. Has the bible been changed? Or was there a sign at the entrance of the church that says, "Leave your brains on this shelf".

God loves those who are hungry and He will give knowledge, wisdom and understanding to those who ask. Just like Daniel who was continually seeking the truth, a vision, a revelation, and he even fasted for 21 days from sweetmeat.. and God gave him an answer.

Daniel fasted cos he was consecrating Himself...and he received vision from the Lord and it's interpretation ( Daniel 10:4) His fasting was not because he wanted the truth and he was asking for the truth. Rather at that time, Daniel was a prophet to the people and the king and He was fasting to be set apart for His use.

I truly pray that God can bring me to the place of annointing and I also pray that the Holy Spirit will convict the hearts of those unsaved. Because, if I believe that God gives free will, then He won't force Himself upon those who do not yet know Him, hence I will have to pray for the Holy Spirit to convict the unsaved hearts to turn towards God.

Am I correct here, pastor?

Yap..first build your foundation in God first and great no. 1 commandment love Him with all your heart. You need to love him with all that is within you. Love can be rational but sometimes beyond your understanding. read Proverbs 3:5-6

My revelation is that, it is ok to keep seeking, to continually ask, to clear the doubts I have, to refute the challenges presented, because I want to love God with all of my mind, so that I do not live with doubts about God.

The story here is this:
I never thought I'd fall in love with intelligence till I met my lecturer. Anyways, he opened my world to fresh new perspectives, his world is beyond what I thought I knew.
From then on, knowledge became of prime importance to me.

I think that you can seek knowledge however read Eccles and you will find that much knowledge is also vanity upon vanity. Your professor may be highly intelligent in his intellect but he cannot heal his own sorrow and broken heart. If he is so wise upon himself, he can be so full of himself which is actually not good...I pity those who think that they know it all and are always self-sufficient and self- made. We are all CREATed beings, not the creator.. How can we know it all???? How can we know everything? A chair is never more superior than the one who made the chair. The chair 's job is to fulfil its purpose, ie to serve as many people as possible to sit on the chair..his portion is not to know how to make another chair..understand girl?

Enjoy! love, pastor