Lots of sincere people will tell you quite candidly about ‘personal experiences’ that have had when it comes to spiritual matters in God’s kingdom. I’ve had a few myself.

Personal experiences are wonderful and can offer great encouragement, confirmation, and inspiration to our faith in so many ways; but it’s important to be reminded that personal experiences are just that: ‘personal’.

Where we get into trouble is when we start wanting to build or establish ‘doctrine’ around those ‘experiences’…and then that experience you had begins to supersede what God’s word has already made clear. In other words, it becomes a problem when the experience conflicts with the word…and then we choose that experience over what God’s word says. This is usually when the ‘train comes off the tracks’ and all bets are off as new ‘denominations’ and doctrines begin to take root, and we start building structures around those new doctrines or experiences.

God has a way of ‘revealing’ truths to us in order that we might ‘walk in those truths’. But He doesn’t reveal it all to us at one time; it’s a progression of ‘layers’. Then, as we begin to faithfully walk in those truths…He tends to give us more…and more…and more. Our problem seems to be that tendency we have to want to stop and then rush to ‘build something’… and then gather around it and let it become our focus, instead of following the One who leads us into all truth. Do you remember what Peter’s knee-jerk reaction was on the Mount of Transfiguration? He wanted to build three tabernacles for Jesus, Moses, and Elijah (Matt. 17:1-4)

When our hearts began to gather around our ‘structures’, or our ‘denominational labels’… then more problems arise when God wants to reveal more truth to us…because that ‘new truth’ might not ‘fit’ with our structure. See the dilemma? Have you ever shared something from God’s word to another professing believer and heard them say in response: “I’m a Baptist…and we don’t believe that.” Or… “I come from a Methodist upbringing and we believe this way.” We then develop an allegiance to our structure and end up laying aside the word of God because…”certainly our parents would not have taught us wrong!” This is what Jesus was alluding to in Mark 7:5-16, talking about how easily we ‘hold to our traditions’ at the expense of laying aside the word of God.

Anyone ever hear of Joseph Smith? He claimed to have had a ‘personal experience’ as a teenager back in 1820 in some wooded area in New York. That ‘experience’ led to a whole new religious movement, and while not totally denouncing the Bible…he came up with a whole new book called the ‘Book of Mormons’.

So as genuine and impactful that any personal experience may be for any one person, especially when they are ‘spiritual’ in nature, it’s good to have God’s word to ‘compare’ it with to see if what one experienced is ‘of God’…or something (or someone) else. How many folks over the years who claimed to be a devoted follower and believer in God…announced to their current spouse at the time that ‘God had told them to leave them and marry someone else!”? It happens…far more than you dare to want to believe. And that list of tragic examples is not a short one either.

Now while I have shared with you in recent years… numerous ‘experiences’ (or learning lessons) that I have had personally, I’m always quick to point out that is all they were- personal in nature. When the apostle Paul began to hit the preaching circuit after his dramatic conversion(Acts 9), he oftentimes began his talks by sharing what happened to him, personally (Acts 22,26). He then would launch from there and began expounding on and teaching the word of God. He also was good about cautioning believers everywhere to beware of ‘false gospels’ that would arise and spread (2 Cor. 11:3-4; Gal. 1:6-9; Acts 20:25-32; 2 Tim. 4:1-4).

When I sat down to write this morning, I ‘thought’ I was going to begin with resharing a personal experience I had many years ago, after I first ‘came to Jesus’; but apparently the Holy Spirit wanted me to lay some more groundwork here before doing that. It’s a story, or incident that I experienced that has become an important part of my personal testimony; and God often times will remind me of that experience, for a host of reasons. It fits in conveniently with what I have been teaching on here recently, and not only does it ‘fit’, but it reinforces and serves as a valuable reminder to me to continue on addressing certain matters in my daily writings.

Perhaps I will dive off into it tomorrow, Lord willing. But for today, let me just challenge you with this: Is your heart totally devoted to following Jesus…regardless of the costs? Do you love and hunger for His word, that you ‘may grow thereby’? (1 Peter 2:2). When you come across various passage in your Bible that don’t always ‘jive’ or ‘fit’ with how you always believed,(or were taught to believe) is your first instinct to shun what you read…or to draw in closer and ask God for more understanding…because you can clearly see what His word says?

Let us never forget that the very people Jesus first came to just over 2000 years ago…were well versed in scripture….yet they ‘received Him not’ (John 1:11). They didn’t even recognize Him because they loved their traditions more than they loved God. If it’s ‘truth’ you want and seek after…I can assure you He will lead you there (John 16:13). You may not always like…what you see and learn, but then comes decision time as to what you will do with that truth. We know what the rich young ruler did in his encounter with truth (Matt. 19)

We also know that not everyone will ‘come to the light’ (truth)…because they love the darkness more (John 3:19-21). That too….’is a thing’. But to those who hunger for truth...and then when they discover it... they begin to walk in it...that is when they begin to experience the freedom that truth always brings. (John 8:32,36).

Join me tomorrow?