[Faith-talk] A Guiding Principle by Sheridan Voysey
Paul Smith
paulsmith at samobile.net
Wed Sep 14 16:55:04 UTC 2016
Hello and greetings to you all out there. Hope your day is doing well
today, by God's matchless grace and His providential care.
How many of you have ever heard of Sheridan Voysey? I must admit that I
haven't, although what he wrote below makes a lot of sense in my
opinion. Read more to find out.
Some years ago I had a sobering moment about my Christian life. After
fifteen years of believing and serving, I realized I didn't know God
very well. Of course I knew God was good and holy and that Jesus died
for my sins. God had changed my life profoundly, but did I really know
His character well--His personality?
I was working in a church and was desperately seeking direction on how
to lead and serve people. I read the Bible looking for leadership
tips. The Bible is a good place to find them, and it has plenty to say
about Christian living. But in my pursuit of tips and topics I missed
something very important: I missed God.
The hypocritical religious leaders who Jesus warned about made the same
mistake but in a more serious way. They rigorously studied Scripture
for its principles and laws but made those laws more important than God
Himself (see John 5:39). Their study didn't produce love in their
hearts. They were so consumed with laws that they didn't recognize who
Jesus was (John 5:45-46).
Scripture is foundational for making wise choices. But we can
sometimes read into it what we want and miss what's really there. So
how do we best read it?
Jesus has given us a guiding principle by telling us _He is the
fulfillment of the Scriptures (Matt. 5:12). The Bible is a story, and
the story is all about Jesus.
I'm reading Scripture differently these days. I no longer ask first
what principles I can find, but rather what is tells me about God, the
story He's telling, and who I should become as a result. The Bible
isn't a self-help book but a guide to knowing God. First go deeper
into Him, then find all the principles you need.
The foregoing was adapted from a work entitled _Resilient, copyright
2015 by Sheridan Voysey.
And there you have today's reading. Tomorrow's reading will be posted
a little earlier than usual, as the undersigned is going to attend a
Calvary Chapel men's Bible conference from tomorrow evening until
Saturday afternoon at the Meadowkirk Retreat Center some six miles (10
km) north of the small town of Middleburg VA
(http://www.meadowkirk.org).
Please pray that God will have His way in our deliberations. On behalf
of all attendees, including the undersigned and Pastor Jason Meyerson
who will read this, thanks for your prayers, as I know they will be
appreciated.
And that will do for today. Until tomorrow when, Lord willing another
fruitful spiritual article will be posted, may the God of Abraham,
Isaac and Jacob just keep us safe, individually and collectively, in
these last days in which we live. Your Christian friend and brother, Paul
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