Freeing Truths: February 2011

Friday, February 25, 2011

Peace

Peace doesn’t come from denying or disconnecting from feelings but from taking anxieties to Jesus in prayer, who then exchanges them for peace. (see Philippians 4:6)

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.