Opinion & Tradition vs The Word of Our Tesitmony & the Blood of the Lamb

I may just start a little fire-storm here at Marmee's Pantry O:-) ~~

Generally, this blog is a place of peace, devotion of the Lord, and helping families take better care of themselves and live strong for the Lord. There's a little bit of Conservative politics here and there, but I usually save those topics for my Facebook. 

Having said that ~ and in the attitude of still hoping to draw readers closer to the Lord ~ I saw something this morning on my Facebook. It was posted by the pastor of a local church, The 1st Heavy Metal Church of Christ, which has a fantastic ministry. They reach out to what many in our culture deem as "undesirable." It's a blessed, holy mix of what many would see as the normal and the fringe. They actually meet in a bar ~ that bar is literally TRANSFORMED every Sunday into a sanctuary filled with worship and the preaching of the Word. They are actually at standing-room-only capacity and are looking for another building! PRAISE GOD! 

We do not attend this church, but the pastor shops in the store I work at and news of the glorious work they are doing for the Kingdom of God is getting around.

Here's where the controversy of what I'm about to share comes in . . . this morning, the pastor posted what I think is a great picture (below) and it sparked the thoughts for my Facebook that I am re-posting below. 

I hope these thoughts make you think and bless your heart . . . . . . . . 

I know some very well meaning Christians have strong opinions about singing hymns only & that Christian contemporary or rock music is "bad." Well, what if contemporary Christian or rock music saved ONE person? And what if that person were ME? B/c THAT is how I was saved ~ GOD used contemporary Christian music to draw me in, win me & then He saved my soul. And I know that I'm not the only one.

To me, these very well meaning, sincere Christians need to take into consideration that if God can use a talking donkey to do His will, he can use WHATEVER HE WANTS to save a donkey of a person, like me. And He did. It's the same argument as those who think that only the KJV is the Word of God ~ well, the original writings are in Greek & Hebrew, are they not God's written Word? What about Christians in other countries who read God's Word translated in their own language? Are they not reading God's Word? I think they would argue with you that they are. When I was assnt manager of a Christian bookstore, we had to read a book that told about how each English version was translated so that we could talk to our customers about them & we found that the NIV & the NASV are the only English versions that are translated directly from the Greek & Hebrew, others are translations of translations or paraphrases. And while we're at it, some people think it's a sin to write in your Bible ~ well, I'm a sinner saved by grace & my Bible is underlined, highlighted & the margins are full of praises & notes. I don't think God minds, I think He rejoices in my love for His Word. You may not agree w/me, but that's OK ~ when we get to Heaven & stand before God's precious throne, the translation of our Bibles, the music we listened to & worshipped Him with, the color of the hymnals or the carpet in our church, the instruments we played or didn't play, whether we wear make-up, jeans or skirts, suits & ties . . . NONE of that will matter ~ OPINION will mean nothing ~ compared to the condition of our heart as we express our love toward our Savior; NONE of that will matter except the word of our testimony & the precious blood of the LAMB!

Blessings from Ohio . . . Kim<><