FROM CHAPTER 14

We must become increasingly discerning in knowing those things which dishonor the Kingdom of God vs. those things which don’t and realize that life experience, doctrinal beliefs and world paradigms all have a profound affect on our practices and what we deem appropriate in society and spirituality. Therefore, differences in walking out this faith, that is supposed to have action behind it, are to be expected. The key in these differences is to understand them only so as to make sure the seed planted (action taken) was done as unto the Lord and the fruit born out of them is of God. Ask the question, am I placing God on top of a practice that I want to do/have always done or is God leading me to engage in this practice for His sake? Essentially, who is the foundation of the action? Self? Tradition? Friends? God? If the answer is anything but God, the action is not and cannot be right. Yet, we cannot even infallibly answer that question for all of our own actions (Jeremiah 17:5-10), and our hearts are the only ones we can even attempt to examine. At the point of that realization, what the action is becomes irrelevant and we do the most honor to the Kingdom in respecting and celebrating a different way to bring glory to our Father through Christ and submission to the Holy Spirit rather than criticize or try to correct an action that we ourselves have judged unworthy because of our perception of the action. Remember, judge the fruit of the tree, not the action (the tree itself).