426
Enjoy these fascinating, thought-provoking articles by Roger Schank about our current educational system:
“Somehow we accept school as a painful experience of no real relevance to our lives and we talk about what we liked when we mean what we disliked least. And we talk about school’s relevance by assuming it provided “the basics” when we really do not know what the basics are.”
Conversations about learning: Part 1: how should school be different?
Conversations about Learning Part 2: real life learning
53 comments
thank you for sharing these links. They sound so good. 🙂
Do you believe that no school, not matter the level, has any value?
Hmmmm, no, I just think we go about learning the wrong way and that greatly decreases its value.
Thank you for sharing these links. They are great conversation (and hence learning) starters!
I have shared the articles with my student who is an AVID talker. It reminded me of what her father may have said to me (or did I read or hear it?): ‘nothing seems real until I tell you about it’. I hope to practice conversing with her – for her learning benefit – on a regualr basis now.
Personally, as well,I have a lot to think about. The future probably holds a ‘parent teacher’ conference (conversing with myself) in the next few days, in addition to a staff meeting (discussing these with my husband) for our school.
Thanks for giving us something new to learn and explore! 🙂
Hi I been waiting to see if you can email me (pandabwear3@gmail.com )
I really need advice on how to school. I’m scared and I need to learn the way you do it I feel God leading me in his direction but I don’t know how to begin not to explain to my husband I’m 23 with a 3 old and pregnant with my 2 child.
please help me..
Danni,
Can you email me through the contact form?
He had this conversation at a bar? Wow!…lol. Seriously? Is there not a better article?
I met my (then future) husband at a bar, lol! One of the best things that ever happened to me. 🙂
BTW, there is nothing wrong with drinking, at home, at a bar, wherever, if not done to excess. Furthermore, Keri, whatever your opinion on alcohol is, or having conversations in bars, or whatever your beef is, to use the author’s reference to conversing with someone at a bar as a reason to not take seriously what he says in the article is a non sequitur.
I learned a lot of valuable things that night I met my husband. 🙂 Perhaps you might see the value of these articles Kelly posted if you would look past the venue in which the author gleaned his observations, instead of using that as an excuse to say, “Is there not a better article?”
Just sayin’. 🙂
Hear, Hear, good woman.
Is Kelly unable to defend herself? Is 6 Arrows really Kelly? It seems like every time someone raises a valid point, 6 Arrows rushes in to Kelly’s defense.
Psalm 1 is a really good verse to answer that. Also, I met my husband at a bar. Not something I’m really proud of to be honest. My life changed quite a bit when I started walking with the Lord. Not that I’m perfect or anything..lol.
I disagree with you about the drinking issue also. It really makes me scratch my head when Christians become so defensive about the drinking issue.
I honestly don’t Ever think that anyone who starts out drinking says to themselves…” I’m not going to do this in excess”.
Maybe you could check out what the Bible says about alcohol and drinking. I’m pretty much tired of Christians who want to say they are at “Liberty” to drink.
Also, I went back and reread the entire first article again before I commented. I didn’t see One Single thing mentioned from scripture or anything about God. He had some points I think we can all agree on when he talks about the way people are educated now but honestly what I meant is that there are probably much better articles to share then some guy who starts out with saying he was at a bar and had this conversation. I mean really?
I’m not honestly sure we can “glean” anything from someone who’s boasting about being at a bar having this conversation about education. Psalm 1…remember.
Oh, I didn’t, want to have to go here. Keri, there is no “proof text” from Scripture that condemns drinking alcohol unless it condemn Jesus himself. I tire of Christians raising standards that are not biblical, imagining themselves to be more holy than Christ himself. They called him a drunkard in his day, and he still didn’t waver on this issue, even for the sake of “protecting his testimony.” We do so much damage when we perpetuate a man-made rule and try to pass it off as biblical.
If by any chance you are insinuating by saying ” I tire of Christians raising standards that are not biblical, imagining themselves to be more holy than Christ himself.” That I would ever imagine myself to be more holy than Christ…Because in all honesty that is what it sounds like!
Have you Not read the scriptures that talk about the dangers of alcohol? They are clearly there my friend!! I am the last one in this world who would ever try think that I’m better then someone else on this issue!
Talk about getting defensive. It’s your blog and you can put up what ever you want Kelly, but why on earth would you get so defensive about this? I don’t understand what you were trying to say in your last paragraph about “protecting his testimony”. Do you have a scripture?
Oh..There is also plenty “proof text” if you really want to look it up.
Kelly,
Since I also have you on Facebook-I just shared probably one of the best articles I’ve read on this. It’s pretty much exactly where I stand and it also has verses. I hope you will take a couple of minutes to read it. Thanks!
Keri,
I have read that article before and it is full of flaws and inconsistent theology. (I was raised a tee-totaler, by the way, and there are alcoholics in our family history.)
There is no article, position or argument I haven’t heard and refuted from Scripture. Scripture. The whole of it. That’s my standard. I have an article too about what a travesty it is when Christians perpetuate things that aren’t biblical like this issue. And that’s why I may seem a bit defensive, much like Jesus did when man exalted his rules above God’s.
(And also maybe, because I think it’s silly to blast an article I linked to, ignoring its intellectual merit, based on a reference to alcohol.) That’s the primary discussion we should be having.
It isn’t personal,Keri, understand that.
This is an article that better explains my position: What Does the Bible really say about alcohol.
If alcoholism was just as much an issue in Jesus’ day as it is for us (and we know it was a problem or there wouldn’t be so many warnings against alcohol abuse), but it wasn’t forbidden, why should Christians today raise a standard that’s higher than God’s? If the fear of losing one’s testimony is a reason for Christians to abstain from alcohol today, why wasn’t it then? (That’s the reference i made earlier…when the “righteous people” were calling Jesus a drunkard, that would have been the perfect time for him to show us how to avoid ruining our testimony over alcohol. But He didn’t stop drinking it.)
And if warning against drunkenness is grounds for our abstaining, then why did God command His people to spend a portion of their tithe buying strong drink and celebrating His goodness with it? Why are godly women and men commanded to “not be consumed with wine?” Why doesn’t it just say “don’t drink it?” Why does Ecclesiastes say “wine makes life happy” if it’s a sin?
And if alcohol is something we shouldn’t be drinking, why didn’t Jesus just purify the water at the wedding feast? Or make lemonade or some carbonated beverage?
It goes back to what I believe and have said many times here: our thinking must be consistent and according to Scripture. If the existence of alcohol abuse is a reason to create an extra-biblical rule of abstaining, then the abuse of sex, money and power would have to radically change the way we live. (More families are destroyed by pornography than by alcohol, but most of us still have easy access to it in our homes. It’s not the computer that’s evil; it’s the abuse of it.)
I do believe there are some who shouldn’t drink alcohol, just like there are some who shouldn’t have private access to a computer, or stay alone in a hotel with HBO, etc. And I respect other’s choice to abstain personally. But I cannot respect a position that calls something sin where the Bible has clearly allowed it.
What the heck? Whatever Kelly! Maybe I’m just tired because it’s late and my guys are still watching football, but I am honestly trying to make sense out of what you just wrote!!
Well I have to go to bed now, but let me know what confuses you and I’ll try to say it differently tomorrow. I thought it was fairly clear.
Okay, lets be realistic here. One of the First things the man says in the first article is that he met someone at a bar and chatted about various things.
That was a turn off to me honestly because….We are Christian Mom’s here who are raising our kids for God’s Glory..right? You mostly write about topics that relate to motherhood and you encourage other moms and talk to them about How to do this from a Godly Biblical Perspective.
So, you would wonder honestly why I would Blast an article that would start out talking about Education at a bar. Heaven knows how many drinks he and the other guy had while they were having this conversation.
I really didn’t mean for this entire thing to turn into such a discussion on the woe’s of alcohol but after 6 arrows wrote what she wrote, In all honesty I’m thinking to myself that she has really got to be kidding with some of what she said.
If this is a blog that is meant to encourage other moms in their walk and their homeschool journey,I don’t find what the man said in the first article edifying at all. Why? Obvious. He’s at a Bar!
We are Christians here. Looking for Christian edification. I’ve read it here before from you. You’ve written some really good encouraging posts. The second article actually was a little easier to see where he was going with all this. I looked the man up. He’s a professor and he does write some interesting things about education.
Do you understand what I’m saying. Honestly, it’s not about me being right, it’s just that in all honesty I think most of us would rather read the articles that you write to encourage moms and the real life ways that help. Not that there isn’t something to glean from the man’s experience at teaching and how he has seen it work.
As Christians though, God does call us to live better and to avoid even the appearance of evil. Hence, going into a bar. I’m not sure about you but when I’m in a situation where I am even close to the bar (lets face it-most places you go out to eat have them) I’m uncomfortable because of the atmosphere.
That was my grievance with the article and the reasons for it. As far as the alcohol issue, that will have to wait for a later time. I have read the links you and 6 arrows have shared but haven’t changed my mind.
Keri,
I am saddened to hear that, despite reading Kelly’s and my links on the alcohol issue, you have not changed your mind.
If you think the drinking of alcohol, even if not to drunkenness, is sinful, and it appears from your comments that you do, then you have either come to that erroneous conclusion on your own, or, more likely, have been sitting under wrong teaching on the subject.
It’s not your fault if false teachers come your way — that can happen to anyone — but it IS your responsibility, as is all of ours who claim the Name of Christ, to search the Scriptures, as did the Bereans in Acts 17:11, to “[examine] the Scriptures daily to see if these things [which they were taught] were so.”
The Scriptures are clear: alcohol is a gift from God, a blessing when used as it was divinely intended. And Jesus Himself partook of that blessing.
If you are going to label the consumption of alcohol sin, then you are calling the sinless Son of God sinful.
That is heresy.
And for those who try to explain away the reference to Jesus’ drinking of the fruit of the vine as meaning He drank grape juice, there is NOTHING in the Scriptures to indicate that “fruit of the vine”, or “wine” means grape juice.
There are strict warnings at the end of Revelation to neither add to nor take from the Word of God. We must not bend, twist, add on or dismiss Scripture to make it say what we want it to, to fit it to our pre-conceived notions or to try to make it match the teachings of man.
Jesus drank wine. He is sinless. (Hebrews 4:15) That is the immutable truth. And we as His followers also have the freedom to partake of alcohol if we so choose. To say that we don’t have that liberty is to put a blot on the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ, Who died to set us free from the bondage of sin, of legalism, of adherence to the rules and regulations of man contrary to the will of God.
I hope you understand the seriousness of pronouncing something a sin that God does not so declare.
If you, personally, Keri, wish to abstain from alcohol, that is your prerogative. I respect that. At least one of my living relatives, a descendant of another (now deceased) relative who was an alcoholic, has chosen to abstain from alcohol consumption. I understand why she does not want to partake, and we have mutual respect for each other, though our personal decisions on whether to drink moderately, or to not drink at all, obviously were different from each other.
But to call it sin, when the Bible does not, is a grave error. You are responsible to reject false teachings instead of using them to color your interpretation of the plain words of Scripture. To fail to do so has grave consequences.
I will say one more thing, to try to bring this discussion back on topic. You didn’t like that the author made reference to his presence at a bar. You presume that he was drinking, a reasonable assumption, I’ll admit, though not a given.
But you have dismissed the full merit of his words because he was at a place you find detestable, presumably doing something you find offensive.
JESUS HIMSELF drank alcohol. Would you be so eager to dismiss as lacking merit the words Jesus spoke after He consumed alcohol?
Taken to its logical conclusion, you would have to, in all honesty, say yes. If another’s consumption of an unspecified amount of alcohol gives you the right to judge his words as lacking merit, than you are judging the Lord of the universe, Who also drank alcohol, and often hung out with sinners.
Your hard-headedness on this subject is to your grave peril, Keri.
6 Arrows,
You may want to go back and Reread what I wrote. Thank you for that rather unbelievable response!..good grief..
OK, Keri, I reread what you wrote.
And…?
Also, about this:
“In all honesty I’m thinking to myself that she has really got to be kidding with some of what she said.”
I wasn’t kidding about anything I said. Do you have examples of what you think I’m kidding about?
Do you really think it’s okay to go to bars and hang out and drink?
Are you really comfortable in a bar? You learned a lot the night you met your husband in a bar? I met my husband in one too and the most important thing I personally learned was not to go back!..lol.
Thank you for clarifying. Here are my answers.
“Do you really think it’s okay to go to bars and hang out and drink?”
Yes. I believe, as I stated previously, that I have the liberty to drink alcohol.
I also believe I have freedom to go to any establishment that serves alcohol. A bar is a thing. It is not immoral to gather in a building with alcohol on the premises, no matter what the building.
“Are you really comfortable in a bar?”
Well, I haven’t been in a bar in something like, maybe, 25 years? LOL! But I never was, and likely will never be in the future, uncomfortable in one. I do not drink in excess, so there is nothing to be ashamed of. It’s not wrong to go to an establishment where alcohol is served — if it is, then forget about going to wedding receptions where one can drink, or any other venue serving alcohol.
Please note that Jesus, in His first miracle, turned water into wine at a wedding. There were sinners gathered there. Was it wrong for Him to be in a place with sinners and alcohol? Obviously not. He wasn’t uncomfortable, and neither am I.
“You learned a lot the night you met your husband in a bar?”
I learned that God can and, in my case, did, bring a Godly man into the life of a Christian young woman in a place others see as a location in which a Christian should apparently not be comfortable. 🙂
http://www.crossroadschristian.org/blogs/blog/12806077-can-a-christian-drink-alcohol
Keri,
I’ll respond to that link later. I’m about to head out the door, driving my daughter to a ministry opportunity.
I suppose I should make her walk the 15 miles or so, though, because sometimes when I’m driving the 55 mph highway back to our house after being on the 65 mph highway, before I know it, I tend to get up to speeds in excess of the limit, despite my good intentions not to. 😛
This is also a very good one. http://logosresourcepages.org/Believers/drinking.htm
Keri, what is your purpose in providing links to these articles after I have stated where I stand? If it is to shame me for exercising my Biblical freedom to partake of alcohol within Biblical bounds, then you are behaving deplorably. Like a Pharisee.
However, Jesus was reviled for many things, including this issue, and as a follower of Christ, I can expect the same.
It’s just sad when it’s another Christian who wags her finger at me for violating her own convictions.
I will ask you two questions:
Was Jesus a bad example when He allowed alcohol to cross His blood/brain barrier? Why or why not?
Keri, I submit this article to you for your prayerful consideration. Lengthy, but very important reading.
http://www.godandscience.org/doctrine/wine.html
If nothing else, Keri, read the Scriptures at the link (and their Biblical contexts), and pray for the Holy Spirit’s guidance. Throw out the words of man, if you have to, and go straight to the heart of Scripture. There are many applicable verses at that link.
Keri,
I added to my last comment instead of writing a new one.
I loved the article “How Should School Be Different?” I believe God created us with the desire and drive to learn. Unfortunately, the education system pours water on the fire. I know there are good teachers, however it seems they are not able to teach the way that they know is effective. As a homeschooling mom I am so thankful to have the freedom to teach in the way each of my children needs. It is an encouragement to be reminded that my unconventional approach really is okay. Thanks Kelly!
6 Arrows,
I’m done. You obviously love wine more than truth.
Keri,
It certainly has turned into “who’s right” over the alcohol issue. Which is why I’ve never brought it up here before.
Your statement is unfair. 6 arrows is communicating truth. Wine and truth are not mutually exclusive. Being steeped in traditional (albeit incorrect) beliefs is only temporary; one day, we will see all things as they are, and we will rejoice at the wedding feast of Christ WITH WINE!!!
You haven’t answered one of her questions. You have elevated your opinion of alcohol (as well as the authors you’ve quoted) above Christ’s own opinion. That is dangerous grounds. We simply can’t. Your opinion doesn’t change the truth from Scripture. Alcohol, like many things, is to be handled carefully, with self-control. Just as Jesus left his example. But it is, like many things, a gift, when used rightly. Nothing you say and no link you leave here can change that fact. God’s word is, as she said, immutable.
Thank you, Kelly.
Keri, I know the Truth, and the Truth has set me free. I am sorry you are in bondage to man-made rules and regulations. I pray the Holy Spirit will remove the blinders from your eyes on this issue.
Kelly, I shared the last link in an effort to show her exactly what I believed and why. She has basically called me a heretic in an earlier post and compared me to a Pharisee. You never even took the time yourself to answer me after I explained to you exactly why I wrote the very first comment that started this whole thing.
If you are going to put things like that up, you might expect people to challenge sometimes the way it’s done as in regards to the mans comments about having his discussion in the bar. Have you even read what I wrote? Probably not.
You know what honestly makes me sad. There are So Many More Important things in this life that we can be talking about. Instead, neither one of you have addressed some of the Very real issues in the links I put up. Instead you want to turn it around and turn it me. In all honesty, I don’t understand the mentality of someone who would actually say things like I have elevated my opinion of alcohol over Christ’s own opinion.
This is why I’m done. I believe also that God’s word is completely true. Who are both of you to honestly tell me That I’m on dangerous grounds. Both of you have said it. I wish you the best in life with your families. I actually feel sorry for both of you for treating people who disagree with you this way.
Keri,
This is what I said about heresy:
If you are going to label the consumption of alcohol sin, then you are calling the sinless Son of God sinful.
That is heresy.
Notice the word “If.” If you believe it is sinful for humans to consume alcohol (and it appears that you do, but please correct me if I’m wrong), then that would be saying that Jesus sinned, because He did indeed, as true God and true man, consume alcohol (despite what any non-Scriptural sources say about the beverages of Jesus’ time lacking alcohol content).
So I will ask you to please provide answers for all of the following questions, most of which I have already asked:
1. Do you believe it is sinful for Christians to consume alcohol?
2. JESUS HIMSELF drank alcohol. Would you be so eager to dismiss as lacking merit the words Jesus spoke after He consumed alcohol?
3. Was it wrong for Him [Jesus] to be in a place with sinners and alcohol? (For example, at the wedding where he turned water into wine?)
4 and 5. Was Jesus a bad example when He allowed alcohol to cross His blood/brain barrier? Why or why not?
Thank you.
P.S. This statement, directed at Kelly: “You never even took the time yourself to answer me after I explained to you exactly why I wrote the very first comment that started this whole thing.”
Kelly is not obligated to answer on your timetable. She is a busy mother. In fact, she didn’t have to respond at all — this is a rabbit trail she had no part in starting.
Let her be.
She actually asked. On Feb 1st.
Keri,
I didn’t answer your last comment because I have already answered. (I’m not sure which answer you’re looking for? Frankly, your comments have always quite confused me. You’re a difficult person with which to have a conversation. You don’t answer, but you demand answers. And it’s always just confusing.)
So the bar comment threw you off. I get that. The image of people sitting in a bar is not exactly the conservative, Christian image you prefer. That is the original point which should have been settled: we are able to glean good information, even from people who aren’t Christians (as you perceive because of the bar scene, which doesn’t actually prove anything). Nevertheless, I’ve never known Roger Schank to be a Christian but I still acknowledge he has some excellent insight about education and I wanted to share that insight. We are mature enough (so I thought) to be able to appreciate said insight without freaking out that he was at a bar one time. I overestimated.
Nevertheless, you pointed out your aversion to the drinking reference, and I tried to correct your wrong assumption that drinking alcohol is a sin. Because it’s not. I don’t know of anything else to discuss on the matter.
I’m truly sorry you feel angst about this thread and I never intended for that to be. This is not a personal issue, this is an issue about the authority of Scripture, and where you suggest that something our Lord approved is somehow a sin for present day Christians is something by which I cannot abide in good conscience.
Keri,
While your comments are far afield in terms of the intent of the original post, I gave what you wrote a cursory look. I was raised that drinking is sinful. I no longer believe that. The Bible is clear about drunkenness, but as has been pointed out, Jesus turned water into wine…and it wasn’t grape juice that the people were drinking in the several days of celebrating a wedding. As an aside, I still have never drunk a drop of alcohol…but not because I believe it to be sin (my husband drinks beer, however).
But, what I find interesting is that you don’t address the arguments about the Bible not forbidding alcohol consumption, or exactly what Jesus did @ the wedding @ Cana. Why not?
If you believe that drinking is sin, then don’t drink. But, be careful about being like the Pharisees, and burdening others with your personal world view. People who love Jesus as much, or even more than you do, drink alcohol.
caveat: I haven’t yet read the article. On the topic of alcohol I’m with Kelly. If I know a brother has an alcohol problem (he probably has emotional issues that need addressing) then I would abstain for his sake. I do believe it not to be a sin to drink a little wine for thy stomach’s sake (in moderation.) Now someone who does not have a problem with alcohol is usually able to exercise self-control (esp. Christians who develop that fruit by God’s grace.) Now I don’t personally drink alcohol; sometimes my husband does (maybe like once a year.) When I was younger and I went to nightclubs (I do not condone being in such a place…it’s just a real bad environment) I would have one drink; then I would stick to water and dance. So Keri it is possible to drink just a little and exercise self-control. An active component in red wine (needs to have aged) is resveratrol and it has been found to be very good for the stomach. The Temperance Society started out as a Masonic women’s rite. Many well meaning Christians (usually with abusive alcoholics in their families) got on board and became tee-totlers (sp?) The elite families (Rockerfeller’s, Rothschilds et al; became rich from bootlegging because of it (they planned it well.) Incidentally, these same people have just sold a lot of their shares and invested in green stocks 😉 They set up movements to make money out of fooling the masses. Anyway I digress. I must read the article. Thank you for your tireless commitment to what you discover/uncover about how to live a Godly life Kelly. And no I’m not a troll ;-D Haha.
We knew a man who worked at a Southern Baptist church who was fired for being seen drinking a beer with pizza at a local restaurant. People who don’t believe in drinking are very passionate about it.when I worked at a restaurant, we had a certain church group that would sometimes come in. They insisted we remove the wine menus from the tables before they are seated. My point being, I understand why this issue creates arguments among Christians.
Phenomenal. And so sad that the church has taken up this new, extra-biblical stance. It has not been so, historically, for most of the church’s history. I shudder to put myself in the same camp with those who called Jesus and his followers “drunkards and gluttons.”
I was actually kidding when I made the comment about not going down the alcohol isle.
Oh my goodness Laura! That comment absolutely made me laugh out loud. Thanks..really! Yes, and I don’t walk down the alcohol isle in the grocery store either.
Since I have a history with drug/alcohol abuse before I knew Christ, I choose to abstain from alcohol. It is a boundary I put in place to guard my heart from the temptation to abuse this freedom, I feel vulnerable in this area.
However, I do not judge/look down on Christians who choose to drink w/in God’s boundaries. Just as gluttony is a sin, while eating is not :).
I do think that we must be wise in how we exercise this freedom. We do not want to give the appearance of evil. For example, I have heard Christian friends joking about overindulging and flirting with drunkenness…I do not find this amusing.
From the outside perspective…it seems that both sides of the debate have the motive of God’s glory. I feel like I know enough of Kelly and 6 arrows “hearts” to believe that they are only seeking to stand for truth, and I believe that they are attempting to do this in love. I pray the Lord would use this disagreement for good in all of our lives.
Thank you for your kind, wise, peacemaking words, Natalie. I appreciate that you see that I do desire to stand for truth.
Blessings to you.
Keri, from your participation on this thread, especially at #14 (February 22 at 7:46 pm), I can understand how you wish to discuss issues related to alcohol consumption and the effects it can have. I think we can all agree that the ramifications of over-indulgence are serious, and I’m sure many of us reading here have seen firsthand, in the lives of family, friends, acquaintances or in ourselves, some of the consequences of alcohol abuse, and may be just as concerned about the issue as you are.
I would encourage you to find a forum that deals directly with these very real issues, and engage in discussion there, as it may provide an excellent outlet for expression on a topic on which you seem to have a compelling need to dialogue. Talking these things out at a venue designed for that purpose can be very helpful.
Perhaps you could start by leaving a comment at the websites to which you linked, if possible?
As I likely wrap up my discussion on this thread, I want to give you some hope from the Scriptures, Keri.
You are concerned about the abuses that can occur with alcohol consumption.
Yes, we may be tempted to overindulge if we drink alcohol, and some will choose to abstain from drinking to avoid that temptation. That can be a wise, God-honoring decision with the proper motivation (heart attitude) behind it.
For those who desire to partake of alcohol in moderation, knowing that the possibility of temptation to overindulge is possible, we can find comfort in looking at Hebrews 4:15. I mentioned this verse before, making reference to the part about Jesus being without sin, but look at the whole verse:
For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.
Jesus, referred to as the high priest in that verse, has been tempted in every way we are. He knows what we’re facing when we deal with temptation. He understands the temptation to go beyond the moderate use of a substance of which God approves, to the point of excess, abuse.
But God, in His sovereignty, still gave us alcohol (and called it good in many instances), despite its potential for abuse.
I find it very comforting that not only does Jesus understand and sympathize with our temptations to abuse the gifts He’s given us, but He has also provided a way to endure the temptation without sinning.
1 Corinthians 10:13 — No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.
Isn’t that wonderful?! “[H]e will not let you be tempted beyond your ability…” He is faithful! In all the temptations we face in this world, we are never left alone to deal with them. He’s by our side, knowing everything we’re going through, and promises to “never leave [us] nor forsake [us].” (Hebrews 13:5)
Our hope lies in Jesus and His promises, not in the rudiments of this world.
Colossians 2 is also an excellent chapter on which to meditate, reminding us that the regulations of this world (“Do not handle, Do not taste, Do not touch”) have no ability to stop the indulgence of the flesh, but that our security is in Christ, and Christ alone.
We believers have been filled with Christ, in Whom “the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily.” (verses 9 & 10) His power is made perfect in our weakness. (2 Corinthians 12:9)
Will the Holy Spirit lead some believers to abstain from alcohol? Absolutely! There are very good reasons He may call us to periods of (or permanent) abstinence.
Whatever the Lord’s calling for each of us, we can be certain that, as believers, we have the loving guidance of the indwelling Spirit. If we abide in the Word, we will know the truth, and the truth will set us free.
Praise God!
6 Arrows,
I find it completely condescending and hypocritical that you would share these scriptures after the way you have spoken to me in earlier posts. It just doesn’t cut it. Go counsel someone else but you may want to try to be kinder to them. I find your comments completely hypocritical.
I also find it completely unbelievable that you would use 1 Corinthians 10:13 that way. It honestly comes across from what you have written that you are saying it’s okay to drink alcohol because this verse tells us we won’t be tempted beyond what we are able to handle.
I have Never in all my Christian life heard of a verse used like this.
Keri,
You are a fool. You have no use for the Word of God when it doesn’t fit the erroneous teachings to which you willfully continue to cling.
In the spirit of Proverbs 26:4, I will no longer engage in discussion with you on this issue.
Oh..My..Gracious!! You don’t even know me! I’m so sorry for you.