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About
About Me
My name is Jason and I grew up in a normal, non-denominational Christian church in San Diego, California. But in my teenage years I began to attend a Charismatic church, and there I actually experienced God through what the Bible calls “the gifts of the Holy Spirit”. I experienced God’s presence, received “prophetic words” and saw numerous other supernatural displays of God’s power that completely turned my world upside down.
I’m not a biblical scholar, nor do I have any formal training, but I have a passion for the Word of God and I know how to study Scripture, and have learned the basics of good “exegesis”. My background in Software Engineering gave me some good research skills, and how to filter good biblical data from bad biblical data. I’m a voracious reader, and I have the unique experience of living purposefully for God in the Middle East.
My Heart Behind this Blog
Over the years of being in the Charismatic Christian movement, however, I’ve witnessed some practices, teachings, and organizational norms that damage the witness of the Church and slow it down from moving forward to advance God’s kingdom. These areas are often not critically engaged, especially in Charismatic circles, where the gift of “teaching” may not be given its proper place.
Everything we do must be done out of obedience to Christ. Charismatics will often frame obedience in terms of “following the Holy Spirit” at the expense of critical engagement with Scripture. Non-Charismatics may frame obedience in terms of “obeying Scripture” at the expense of the Spirit’s divine empowerment.
The Word of God cannot be separated from the Spirit of God in both cases.
The Word commands us to seek God’s supernatural gifts through the Spirit, and the Spirit through the Word of God has commanded us to love God with all our minds, which involves knowing Scripture intimately. My heart is to help people understand the Scriptures as they were meant to be understood. We currently have more access to the ancient world of the biblical authors now than any previous generation, even the Church Fathers who lived within hundreds of years of Jesus.
Sometimes, long-standing traditional interpretations of Scripture can erect barriers that can block obedience to God, and actually “nullify the word of God” (Mark 7:13), even in the Evangelical world. My aim is to help Christians live with the right balance of both the Word of God and the fullness of the Spirit, letting Scripture be heard on its own terms.
This blog aims to demystify Scripture so that clarified understanding and “renewal of the mind” can lead to inner transformation. You’ll find resources that will (a) empower you to hear the voice of God through Scripture, (b) simplify complex biblical topics, and (c) will provide practical application to our walk with the Lord. You will find articles that don’t just inform, but also provide strategic insight to catalyze our mission to disciple nations.
How are we supposed to understand dragons, beasts, and prophecy? How did the ancient readers of Scripture understand what was written to them? Scripture was not primarily written to us, but to ancient people who lived in a radically different culture. We cannot claim to be hearing the Lord’s words unless we understand the time, culture, and people Scripture was written to. The result is a lot of misinformation and misunderstanding of Scripture, and therefore misunderstanding about the heart of God. A lot of this is because our 21st century minds are not acquainted with the ancient world. The truth is, we have more access to the ancient world of the biblical authors now than any previous generation, even the Church Fathers who lived within hundreds of years of Jesus.
There are often many conceptual “gaps” in our understanding of Scripture that, when filled, can connect a lot of dots and make Scripture easier to understand and apply. Those “gaps” go unnoticed by many, and the more gaps we have, the more we will not be hearing the voice of God. This blog fills in as many of those gaps as possible.