A place to review and discuss the deeper things of God through Scriptural review and discussion.
Welcome to the Theology Corner
Hello everyone, and welcome!
My name is Donté and I am happy to share this space with any and everyone who cares to listen.
My motivation is simple, I would like to open discussions about theology ranging from the most basic precepts to the most advanced concepts.
One thing is for sure, my language and verbiage will be simple. I wish to put everything in Layman's terms making the Bible easy to digest.
No, I'm not a scholar or theologian. Nor am I a pastor or clergyman; however I am a regular guy with a knack for comprehension and understanding as related to the Holy Scriptures.
I however do digress and refuse to boast because it is my belief and creed that this can be accredited to the Holy Spirit of God which I have not been shy about shouting His praises.
It is said in Scripture:
“These things we also speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual.”
I Corinthians 2:13 NKJV
https://bible.com/bible/114/1co.2.13.NKJV
I'm a witness to this truth as I by myself lack enough wit to decipher and divide scripture properly on my own accord.
My mission and goal is to make this part of my ministry to the Lord considering my status as a “Born Again” Christian. I take it to heart when Jesus instructed His disciples to preach the Gospel.
“Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and preach the kingdom of God.””
Luke 9:60 NKJV
https://bible.com/bible/114/luk.9.60.NKJV
“And as you go, preach, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’”
Matthew 10:7 NKJV
https://bible.com/bible/114/mat.10.7.NKJV
Although I am passionate about the Good News of the Gospel and Christ’s Commands, this Theology Corner will examine the Scriptures in depth covering both the New and Old Testament writings.
I believe that the whole Bible is the truth and is the Inspired Word of God.
“Every word of God is pure; He is a shield to those who put their trust in Him.”
Proverbs 30:5 NKJV
https://bible.com/bible/114/pro.30.5.NKJV
“All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness,”
II Timothy 3:16 NKJV
https://bible.com/bible/114/2ti.3.16.NKJV
Inspire me as I aim to inspire you!
It is my aim to engage in conversation and discussion, and yes even debate with my readers.
Please feel more than welcomed to email me with questions ABOUT ANYTHING here at donte@dontemcbride.com
Or else if it makes things more simple use any one of the contact buttons on any page throughout the site to interact.
I am more than welcoming to all feedback and ready to established new connections and have my thinking challenged and stretched.
I look forward to hearing from you soon and again
WELCOME TO THE THEOLOGY CORNER!
“Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.” Psalms 37:4 NIV https://bible.com/bible/111/psa.37.4.NIV
The topic of this discussion has me reminiscing about the revelation that my pursuit of holiness is the key to my happiness. What I mean by that is according to Psalm 37:4 to ‘take delight’ in the Lord is how you receive everything you want. THIS IS NOT A PROSPERITY GOSPEL! Stick around and I’ll explain…
What does it mean to ‘take delight in the Lord’? This question could spark an arbitrary debate but the question remains valid if left up to our interpretations, thoughts, and feelings. This is why when reading the Bible I like to keep things in perspective and in the context of the book I got it from.
Here is a possible example of what it means to delight in the Lord:
“but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night.” Psalms 1:2 NIV https://bible.com/bible/111/psa.1.2.NIV
Psalms 1:2 tells us that meditating on God’s law (in the Bible) is an example of taking delight in the Lord.
The Holy Spirit leads me to believe that the key to taking delight in the Lord is to learn and love God’s word.
So then what happened once I started to read the Bible?
I found out what God is like! Not only what He is like but also what He likes, in terms of preferences and rules, summed up as laws (the Law of God), or even the Law of Moses (the Ten Commandments).
And so I began to read and meditate on the Bible as the scripture suggests. I then started to realize what it is exactly that God wants from us. Here are verses that stood out:
“ ‘Consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am the Lord your God.” Leviticus 20:7 NIV https://bible.com/bible/111/lev.20.7.NIV
“because it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy.” I Peter 1:16 NKJV https://bible.com/bible/114/1pe.1.16.NKJV
Both Leviticus 20:7 and 1 Peter 1:16 are very clear about what it is the Lord wants from His people. God calls us to be holy because He is Holy.
And so I started to investigate what holiness may look like and the more I looked into it by searching the Bible, the more I started to realize the benefits that a holy lifestyle brings about. I started to be confronted and convicted by the Holy Spirit to change what my flesh was seeking. By doing this I noticed that my desires began to change. Things that I used to want to indulge in suddenly became less interesting, if not outright appalling. I started to enjoy the things of God more than my once evil desires, which were masked as ‘natural’ desires.
So when Psalms says: “Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.”
This became shockingly true as I started to live out and realize what the scripture meant.
This verse to me now means that if the desires of your heart are aligned with delighting in the Lord, THEN you will receive your heart's desires. I think this is important to highlight and clarify regarding my experience because if you have more evil desires than holy ones, it is likely evidence that you are not delighting in the Lord, but rather you are delighting in your flesh and carnal desires. Whichever desire you put more energy and intention towards is the desire that'll manifest.
God is sovereign so He very much will do what He wants however, humor me by doing a logical exercise of critical thinking:
For this exercise, I will ask that you be honest with yourself for the best understanding of the reasoning behind the questioning.
Do you think that God would provide blessings and provisions for the following desires?
-The desire to be rich
(answer yes or no)
-The desire to serve the Lord with humility (answer yes or no)
-The desire to have sinful fun (answer yes or no)
-The desire to seek the Lord (answer yes or no)
-The desire to have power and influence (answer yes or no)
-The desire to acquire wisdom
(answer yes or no)
The more I did this exercise for myself the more I began to realize the truth in Psalm 37:4. Basically, God blesses what God sanctions which is in alignment with His will. Not to say that God doesn't still bless people as they are in the heat of wrongdoing! I feel the need to constantly remind people that God is sovereign and has His individual and personal agenda and works in ways that are mysterious and can't be completely fathomed considering His omniscient property and superior perception. However, it is not promised that one may be blessed for exceptional reasons according to God’s plans, what is promised is that if one complies with the condition that one delights in the Lord that person will be given the desires of their heart.
I'm someone who clings to God’s promises because I know they do not fail. So when I discovered that God wants humans to delight in Him I realized that God gave us the answer as to what to do about being blessed with the desires of our hearts.
With that being said, I think it is important to make a distinction between our own will and God’s will. This is to refute the world’s ideology of “follow your heart” :
“The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it? I, the Lord, search the heart, I test the mind, Even to give every man according to his ways, According to the fruit of his doings.” Jeremiah 17:9-10 NKJV https://bible.com/bible/114/jer.17.9-10.NKJV
This verse from Jerry is super duper clear about the nature of our hearts and desires as they are naturally wicked. This also explains how humans are unable to cloak our intentions from God.
As for me, I'm going to continue to seek God and delight in the Lord. This does not mean I will not sin at times due to being a flawed imperfect human, but it does mean that my desire to be holy exceeds my desire to be worldly; therefore I am patient as I trust God’s timing while being blessed and awaiting more and even greater blessings. ~ Donté McBride
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