Monday Feb 10, 2014

Coming Up Sonday February 16:

I Don’t Have To Believe the Whole Bible

 Read 2 Tim 3:16, Matthew 20:28

I remember as a young believer hearing the story of a Christian man who claimed to his minister that God had told him that he should divorce his Christian wife and re-marry his secretary. That man put a supposed word from God above and beyond Scripture.

While it may seem clear that this man was acting inappropriately, what about the employer who claims that she gave the job position to a particular person because God told her to. She have placed ultimate authority in a supposed direction or command given from the Lord Himself.

When we consider the issue of authority we find that believers put their ultimate authority in many things. Some take the creeds (eg the Apostles Creed) or historical confessions (such as the Westminster Confession of Faith) as their ultimate level of authority. Some take experience as their ultimate experience. When the Toronto blessing was rampant, people wanted to experience it regardless of what the Word of God said. Experience was put higher than the Word of God! Others will put Christian reason or logic as their ultimate authority, rejecting everything that doesn’t work in their own way of thinking and reasoning. Still others will put science and modern day knowledge as their ultimate authority. We can all relate to the church, even just in the last century, dismissing and explaining away all miracles because science had ‘proven’ that miracles could not happen.

Biblically speaking God has all knowledge and has revealed that knowledge to us in His Word. Thus our knowledge of God and His standards and His requirements of us come from the Word He has given us. Knowing God’s word and God’s standard/requirements is pivotal and vital if we are to worship in spirit and truth.

Each believer has to ask him or herself the hard questions: Is the Word of God MY ultimate authority? Do I believe the Word as MY ultimate authority? Have I placed something, someone or some institution above the Word of God in terms of authority?

Prayer: Write down your prayer points in the space provided. Use today’s reading to help you get ideas.

Adoration:

Confession:

Thanks:

Supplication:

ª Pray for the Youth Leaders in your congregation. Pray that these men and women will be living lives that reflect the glory and holiness of Christ Jesus. Pray that their lives are so attractive that more and more youth come to Christ through them.

ª Pray for the children’s workers in your congregation. Ask God to give each one an understanding of the importance of their work. Pray that each of the workers will be able to communicate biblical truths clearly and that they will be able to relate to the kids in a way that encourages them to follow Jesus passionately.

Worship Moment – Knowledge and worship go hand in hand. You can’t worship without knowledge. If you don’t know what God is like, you can’t worship properly. Mindless repetition or self-produced worship is not worship at all. Only God can tell us what is and what is not acceptable in worship.

Discussion Questions For Families and Groups

1. If you were applying for a job in a Christian firm and the boss said to you that God told him to give the job to someone else, how would you respond?

How would you respond to the statement, I don’t believe the OT. I only read and meditate on the NT