"Theology" is the word I used to describe my attempts to understand God's will. Do you have a better word I could use for that?
Are you back to wrangling about words???
So you are saying that "Theology" is your seeking God not your understanding of God, but that is not what it is generally understood to be the meaning of the word, and is certainly not the definition I provided to kick of this thread!!
I picked this up off the internet, the first thing I found on it:
NOUN
the study of the nature of God and religious belief:
"a theology degree"
religious beliefs and theory when systematically developed:
Now theology is certainly requiring a study but is results in religious beliefs and theory. Yet a relationship with God requires seeking Him and listening to Him. So being a disciple of God is not a 'study of the nature of God', or your "Theology" if you want to wrangle about words and change the definition provided for in the OP, it is learning directly from the Lord. Both result in religious belief and theory. So either way your Theology, or leaning on your Theology is wrong!! But result in you thinking you can study about God and know Him!! That is wrong!! He is a person who you talking with and get to know Him!!
That does not mean He won't ask you to study, like a Teacher in a classroom, but it does mean that understanding Him does not come from a book but through His explaining things (Him and other things also) to you!!
And you are just wrangling about words - which we are told not to, right?? I mean you have actually heard Him personally talk to you about this and cover the whys and why nots of this, right? If not you at least read about this in the Bible, did you not? So maybe you need to seek Him so you will get an understanding why not?
2 Tim 2:14 Remind them of these things, and solemnly charge them in the presence of God not to wrangle about words, which is useless and leads to the ruin of the hearers.
So I am "reminding" you and in the presence of God, to not wrangel about the words!!! It is the meaning and understanding that is important and understanding come from His mouth, right?
Prov 2:6 For the LORD gives wisdom;
From His mouth come knowledge and understanding.
Indeed. it is for this reason (that understanding comes from His mouth) that the OP was written!!!
Look - you sometime write something that sound good, like writing about prayer is a conversation with God, but our you indeed having those conversations, back and forth with Him?? Frankly, I don't see it in most of what you write. But by saying "I don't see it" it does not mean that you don't ever converse with Him. Maybe you are just writing about things you haven't talked over with Him yet? I mean we all know in part. But to help you let me give you a few things He actually talked to me about this hearing and getting understanding from Him! Maybe they can be of some use to you, if you actually decide to read them, and take them to Him?
He told me:
UNDERSTANDING IS UNDERSTANDING I AM UNDERSTANDING! UNDERSTAND?
and: A MAN THAT LISTENS TO GOD IS AS RARE AS DIAMONDS IN THE ROCK.
and: WE DON’T USE THE LORD TO PREACH THE SCRIPTURES; WE USE THE SCRIPTURES TO PREACH THE LORD!!
and THE BEST LISTENERS MAKE THE BEST TEACHERS.
and: WE DON’T HAVE UNDERSTANDING BECAUSE WE DON’T READ THE BIBLE WITH UNDERSTANDING, BUT OUR UNDERSTANDING…. UNDERSTAND???
and: SO, ARE YOU TRYING TO DO GOOD, OR ARE YOU TRYING TO BE GREAT?
WHAT DO YOU HEAR BEFORE YOU SPEAK?
and: AS INSTRUCTIONS ARE GIVEN TO A SERVANT, AND WISDOM AND PARABLES TO A SON, AND AS JOKES ARE GIVEN TO A FRIEND, SO I LOVE YOU IS SAID TO A BRIDE.
and: WHEN WE TALK TO GOD, GOD TALKS TO US……. WHEN WE LISTEN TO GOD, GOD LISTENS TO US!
and: THE BEST LISTENERS MAKE THE BEST TEACHERS.
and: THESE BITS OF WISDOM ARE LIKE DROPS OF WATER. I WILL SURELY GIVE YOU A POND FULL.
So again, my message is the He is the Word of God what we preach, and He has given me a pond full of these bits of wisdom. I have lots more of them from Him, and we talk often (everyday call Today). So that is what I tell people to do, but most won't have it!!
Never-the-less, He told me that there was a specific person posting on this thread that this thread was for. Of course, He cares about all posting here, but there was a person, which He did not tell me, that He felt this thread would actually turn them to Him and get them listening to Him. Is it you - I don't know because He didn't tell me that, but it is someone, and it could be anyone. You at least once wrote that prayer is a conversation with Him, and I wrote back explaining that if you really understand that you would understand all that I am trying to get through.
So if you understood that, do you not also have a pond full of these little bits of wisdom? King Solomon did, so we should also, right? If not, seek Him and listen to Him in prayer that is indeed a conversation with Him. That is how I got all of them, and more, like:
AS INSTRUCTIONS ARE GIVEN TO A SERVANT, AND WISDOM AND PARABLES TO A SON, AND AS JOKES ARE GIVEN TO A FRIEND, SO I LOVE YOU IS SAID TO A BRIDE.
So if you get instructions, you are a servant of His, If those bits of wisdom and parables, you are also like a son of His, and if you get Jokes from Him, they you are like a friend of His, and there is nothing better to me than to just hear Him say to me, "Karl, I love you." He says it sooo often, and it always gets me. So I got a joke from Him for you:
There are 3 chickens in the barnyard; a big fat chicken, a medium sized chicken, and a little bitty baby chicken. Which one does the fox go for?
The one farthest from the Dog, of course!
It doesn't matter if you are big fat Christian, or a medium sized Christian, or a little bitty baby Christian, that old fox is always going for the Christian farthest from God!
