Isaiah 30:13, And the LORD said, "Because this people draw near with their mouth and honor Me with their lips, while their hearts are far from Me, and their fear of Me is a commandment taught by men."



The journey of the spirit towards GOD is not something that can be taught, at least not for me. As I've stated previously, I was raised in a somewhat relaxed Christian household. Having said that, in my younger years, I was forced to go to Church, Sunday school and even Friday night Bible study sessions at times. As far as the words of the Bible were concerned, they were no stranger to me. I was even presented with the argument that if I believed in GOD and Jesus, I would go to heaven but If I didn't, I would go to hell. In essence, the reasoning was that if the Bible was right, I stood to gain everything but if It was wrong, all I would lose was some time spent in Church and the like. As an impressionable child, this was a strong enough fear tactic to cause me to proclaim myself as a Christian. I feared the words of men and not the true presence of GOD.



As the years went by, reasoning crept into my mindset and the fear tactic of words presented by men became less influential and doubt melted away my belief. I really do believe that seeking GOD and belief in Christ must come from within if it is to be genuine. Don't get me wrong, we can be enlightened and inspired by the preachings of men but the true acceptance comes from our own hearts. After all, even in church we are presented with interpretations and opinions about the meanings of the wisdoms we read in the Scriptures and we can agree with them or not. I feel it is important to study the Bible for yourself and really try to glean ones own understanding of the meanings. Although the messages in the Bible are universal, It's effects on each one of us individually is unique. I believe thats how GOD wants it to be as HE created us all and has given each one of us a unique code or DNA and unique brains in which we decipher information.



Congregation and unity of multiple souls in Christ is important to honor our LORD and to share each of our unique interpretations with each other but our belief and faith must come from within. We can learn from our peers but the change can only come from one place, GOD.