Many times I have shown direct Scriptural texts to people in discussions, and I often get this response: "But you see, what about when this happened to me?" The argument is one that comes from an experience a person had in their life where they felt close and connected to Yahweh.

Although it is difficult to swallow, any experience we have (or emotion) that is not in line with the inspired Scriptures is not from Yahweh. The Holy Spirit that people claim to have encountered is the Spirit that inspired the Scriptures. The Scriptures are our sole authority for what to believe and not to believe. We must come to a point in our life where we are resolved to "lose" any experience we may have had that was not in harmony with Yah's word.

In John 4:24 Yeshua informs us that "Elohim is Spirit," and that those who worship Him MUST worship Him in spirit and in truth. This short blog is not meant to be an exposition on this verse, but in short let's focus in on the word "truth." We cannot separate our worship of Yahweh from the truth. We cannot say that it does not matter what the Scripture says because we know that we felt the presence of Yah worshiping this way. No, our experiences need to be sacrificed on the altar of sacred Scripture. We then repent of doing things our own way and only go by what the Scriptures teach in every area of our life.

Matthew Janzen

I am convinced that one of the tests of true Christian faith in a person is by how they interact with those who treat them wrongly. Our "human intuition" is to wrong those or shun those that do us wrong. What should be our response to others who speak evil of us, or treat us unfairly, or just plain and simply do not like us? It should be to love them, treat them kindly, do good to them, pray for them, and not seek to "get back" at them. I see this teaching very, very strongly in the words of our elder brother Yeshua the Messiah. His teachings are recorded in Matthew 5:38-48, and yes, they are extremely radical. That being said, a heart that has been changed by the supernatural power of an omnipotent Yahweh, has the ability to humiliate themselves before others and seek for the spiritual well being of even those who may be called their enemies. Yahweh help us to follow the example of your Son.

Matthew Janzen