two extremes to avoid...

now in dealing with impressions there are two extremes you need to avoid: one is the rationalist, the other is the mystic.

the rationalist denies that GOD ever speaks to us through the mind. HE says GOD only speaks through the bible and never gives you any impressions. the mystic thinks that every impression they get is from GOD. that's obviously wrong too.

i feel sorry for both of these extremes. the rationalist, who thinks "GOD never gives me an idea" misses out on GOD's counsel, GOD's comfort, GOD's care, GOD's concern, GOD's challenges and GOD's guidance in the ways of life. they miss it all.

on the other hand, the mystic who thinks that every impression they get is from GOD tends to make a lot of stupid mistakes and they embarrass themselves. they say, "GOD told me to do this," and then they go bankrupt. what happened? you missed GOD. both extremes are wrong.

so it is important to know when the impressions are from GOD? how do i know i'm not just talking to myself?

now i have found it very easy to confuse my desires with GOD's will. you see the bible says satan can talk to us. we can read things and they get put into our minds and we think that it's GOD, but it's just time magazine or the usa today.

so how do you know when it's really GOD? this may not be a big issue if you're just trying to decide on what restaurant to go to but if you're talking about who to marry or a major career change, this is a major issue.

1 john 4.1 (lb), don't always believe everything you hear just because someone says it is a message from GOD; test it first to see if it really is.

we must test it. the bible says we must learn to distinguish GOD's voice. we've got to figure out if it's really GOD or not.

just a thought from the front porch…