Freeing Truths: A Blessing

Monday, February 9, 2009

A Blessing

May you believe who God says He is
Not what people say He’s not

May you base your faith on what God says He’ll do
Not on what your experience seems to show

May you place your confidence and pride in the Lord and who He’s made you to be
Knowing full well you can’t draw a breath without Him

May you be assured that Jesus’ atonement covers every one of your sins
And the sins of those who wrong you

May you remember that Jesus’ main desire is that we love

May you throw yourself wholly into trusting Him
Never leaving yourself a back door out

May you live as though the Kingdom of God is “the real world”

May you realize that you are no longer “only human” but filled with the same Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead
And that you are empowered to answer His call

Joan C. Thomson
(c)December 2001

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About Me

I’m Joan C. Thomson, a writer, artist, and speaker but most of all, I’m a follower of Jesus and all that I am flows from there. I used to parrot what I heard in church and the American culture but the more I read the Bible, the more questions I had. I saw that a lot of what I heard didn’t add up with what I read (though some did). Somewhere along the way, God gave me the gift of knowing when something doesn’t add up—or when it does, along with a drive to find out what the Truth is. I’ve been studying the Bible personally and in many classes for over forty years but my understanding jumped into a higher gear when I took a Bible institute introductory Hebrew and Greek class. There I learned to use Biblical reference books to see what the Bible truly says.

I invest a lot of time and Biblical research into everything I believe, write—even in many of my art pieces. I put everything that comes my way through the filter of Jesus’ teachings (the New Testament of the Bible). Like an archaeologist, I dig into the Word and report what‘s there and sooner or later, I’ll probably step on everyone’s pet teaching. Why go to all that trouble? First, it’s what I do, it’s who I am as a follower of Jesus and I am utterly convinced that it’s crucial to believe the right thing (Biblically) and then live it. It can be a matter of life and death—spiritual or physical. And freedom from the unnecessary heavy weight of false teachings—well-meaning though they may be, gives freedom to take up Jesus’ teachings.

Though I’ve participated in quite a few denominations over the years I don’t identify with any denomination, nor with “conservatives” or “liberals”—I’m simply a follower of Jesus.

My hope for this blog is that you too, will want to know what the Bible truly says on a given subject and that you will read what I have written as a prompt to dig more deeply yourself, as a signpost of where to look. I encourage you to be like the Bereans, who “examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.” (Acts 17:11) Don’t take my word for it, look it up! Paul wasn’t threatened, nor am I—preachers shouldn’t be either. And talk to me about it if you still can’t agree—don’t just get mad and/or write me off. Come join me in the quest to follow Jesus more closely.