When I was about nine or ten years old, I decided I wanted to be a “trash-truck man” when I grew up.
Most young boys in 1975 would say they wanted to be a policeman, fireman, doctor, maybe even a cowboy…  There were (and still are) lots of choices.
Did I have a passion for garbage?
No, I did not.
Why was such a profession my first choice?
I had noticed that the trash pick-up guys only worked one day a week.  While I recognized it was a dirty job and cold in the winter, I wanted a job where I could take care of myself and my family while only working one day a week, even if the work wasn’t very appealing.
While my logic seemed pretty solid at the time, I soon learned that these guys worked all week long, not just one day, and their pay wasn’t all that great. I went on to learn about education and wages and how providing for yourself and a family actually works.  I learned of other opportunities.  No disrespect for trash pick-up guys, but I ended up choosing other things to do…

When I was in kindergarten, there was a bright blue bus that came through our neighborhood on Sunday mornings.  I would get on that bus, and travel to a local Baptist Church in our area.  They fed us breakfast and we played games.  We also had a bible lesson, where a teacher would tell us a story from the bible.
In middle school, I occasionally attended church with a friend.  There were still some games and fun, but the bible lessons were a little more serious. Again, one individual would teach us something about the bible.
During high school, I attended church as well, more regularly than I did in middle school.  The games were pretty much over, and I would sit in church and listen to the sermon.  Again, one man, week after week, would teach us about the bible.
Over the next thirty plus years, I continued in this same church model.  As an adult, I would go to church and listen to an expert tell me what the bible says.  Tracy and I even became the teachers, volunteering in children’s ministry for many years.
Sometimes, I would feel especially motivated, and I would read some scripture for myself.  While I would find some nuggets of inspiration, I mostly became confused.  I didn’t understand scripture much of the time, so I would just stop. For over three decades of my life, I based my Christian doctrine on whatever I was told by others.

In the same way that I didn’t have all the information when I wanted to be a trash pick-up man, I recently learned that I have not had all the information I’ve needed to be a Christian. I discovered this passage in James 1:5-8
If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. ⁶ But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. ⁷ For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; ⁸ he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.

Really?  No one ever told me I could just pray, and God would give me His understanding. Is it really that simple?  Pretty much, so long as I do not doubt, as we are warned against in the second half of that passage.

And so, I began to do just this…
I prayed for God’s understanding and wisdom as I studied scripture. And just as He promised, He gave me His understanding.
This is a good thing, yes?
Absolutely.
Except for one thing…
The things I had been taught my whole life did not agree with the understanding that God was giving me.

What to do next??
Obviously, I should reject what I thought I was understanding, and continue to believe what experts had taught me my entire life.

Uuummmm, no…
I put my trust and my faith in what God was revealing to me. And the more I trusted and believed, the more He revealed.

Matthew 25:29
‘For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away.

I now find myself in a place of sharing what I understand to be true.
Practically no one agrees with me.
Most of my friends have been very respectful, even though they disagree with me. We’ve had much debate. Iron sharpens iron.

But, I have been called a heretic, and have been told that my ideas are dangerous and offensive.
One pastor offered to teach me how to use my bible the right way. I believe I’ll stick with God’s way of doing things, instead of relying on Seminary teachings.
1 Corinthians 3:18-19
Let no one deceive himself. If anyone among you seems to be wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may become wise. 19 For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God.

You can also check out Matthew 23 to see what Jesus thought of educated religious leaders in His day. Ecclesiastes says this:
Ecclesiastes 1:9-10
That which has been is what will be,
That which is done is what will be done,
And there is nothing new under the sun.
¹⁰ Is there anything of which it may be said,
“See, this is new”?
It has already been in ancient times before us.

One pastor sarcastically asked how it is possible that millions upon millions have been “wrong” for 2000 years, while I somehow managed to stumble upon “real truth.”
Jesus told us this:
Matthew 7:13-14
 “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it.¹⁴ Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.

Jesus followed that up with this:
 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. ²² Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ ²³ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’

And Jesus told us this:
“Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. ¹⁸ For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled. ¹⁹ Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.”

At first, I was fearful and confused. 
Choosing to believe ideas that go against the mainstream is difficult.  And yet, God’s word has hints like 1Corinthians 3 and Matthew 7 (and many more) to encourage me.  God’s word has the warning in James 1 to not doubt what He reveals.  My confidence, trust, faith, and belief are grounded in God’s word and God’s promises. I’m ok being the fool in mans’ eyes.

If you choose to read my mini-teachings in this blog, I challenge you to do this:
Don’t believe a word I say. (When is the last time a church leader told you that??)
Pray in accordance with James 1:5-8, and study for yourselves the things I’m writing about.

Consider this very basic premise:
1.  God gave us His instructions (the law) in Torah, and told us it is forever, never ending, for all generations, a perpetual covenant.
2.  When the people strayed from God’s instructions, the prophets warned them to turn back to the instructions.
3.  The poetic/wisdom writings (Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, etc) tell us all about God’s instructions and how to follow them.
4.  Jesus taught us to follow God’s instructions, and lived them out perfectly as our example.
5.  The apostles teach what Jesus taught.
6.  Prophecy for the future tells us God’s instructions, the law, will be fully implemented again when Jesus returns.

We’ve been taught all our lives that we are NOT to follow the law, based upon the writings of Paul.  We are warned against making this mistake in 2Peter 3:14-18, and yet the masses travel this path.

I will continue to share scripture here, and write about the truths that God reveals to me through study and prayer.
Please pray and study these things for yourselves, because not everything is as it seems…

Do so as 1Corinthians 3:18 tells us:
Let no one deceive himself. If anyone among you seems to be wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may become wise.
Study these things with a clean slate. Forget what you think you know, and pray on these matters.