Hey Pastor! I was reading something online the other day and did you know that…
Probably every week I hear some version of this. I don’t think it is going to stop. The fact is, we live in an information saturated world where anyone and seemingly everyone has something to say. So, how do I know what is reliable?
Even as it relates to media that has generally been held to be reliable in the past, how can we be cautious and discerning Bible Studies, Preacher’s Sermons, Commentaries, Books and other resources?
The truth is, the “old ways” of vetting information are no longer reliable. You once could look at a store, or a publisher, or a video broadcast as somewhat reliable or at least you could identify a stream of thought by who they were. Certain stores avoided the sale of some material; certain publishers only focused on a particular set of guiding principles etc. The very public nature of a church’s ministry spoke into the credibility of the speaker because of the attention given to it by others.
Today, with the rise of self-publishing, the ubiquitous access to platforms like YouTube and other social media sites (including the one you are viewing this article on), and with the affordability of recording and publishing equipment, nearly anyone can have a broadcast, publish a book, or gather a following. A relatively unknown person somewhere in small-town America may never have been heard of before, but today can reach thousands in an essentially limitless number of places.
To further complicate the process, messages can easily be clipped and shared by millions of people that in years past, would have been inherently more difficult. So, how can we have confidence in what we are reading, and what cautions should we consider in our diet of information in the present era? Great questions and the answers are more based in principle and the wisdom of practice than in some concrete formula.
Principle #1- Just because you read it first, does not make it authoritative.
The first to speak in court sounds right— until the cross-examination begins.
Proverbs 18:17 (NLT)
There is almost always a passionate opposing view to whatever you read, so take time to listen to contrary voices.
Principle #2- Hold claims lightly until you verify them.
And the people of Berea were more open-minded than those in Thessalonica, and they listened eagerly to Paul’s message. They searched the Scriptures day after day to see if Paul and Silas were teaching the truth.
Acts 17:11 (NLT)
Of course, the weightiness of the subject determines the amount of homework you put into the fact-checking. You likely would not just start a new and emerging medical treatment without a little research. How much more important is it to vet the information we put into our minds?
So, here are a few practices I use when vetting information.
Read the Introduction. Authors often tell you what they plan to say and why they think it is important in their introduction. When I know where they are coming from, I can prepare myself for the information.
Research the author on the Internet. I’m skeptical about medical advice from professional athletes, relationship advice from people too young to marry, financial guidance from people who do not work for a living, and theological advice from people who have not demonstrated some level of mastery of the subject. A quick google search can often give you a resume or a CV from a potential source.
Take time to assess doctrine. Our spiritual beliefs affect everything. Everything. Everything. So, I like to know where someone is coming from. Who are you reading? Where did you study? Where do you attend church? What does your church believe…both confessionally and practically?
Hold what you hear loosely until you verify it. This doesn’t mean you interrogate every person and react skeptically about every fact; however, if you don’t know the author well or are not well-versed in the subject, it is important to double check what was said before you adjust your life to it. (See Deuteronomy 17:6 and 2 Corinthians 13:1)
Pray. God wants you to get it right too. So ask Him. (James 1:5)
Listen to the little voice inside. This is not in itself authoritative, but if you have questions in your mind, don’t discount them. Listen and look more diligently.
Look for outcomes when discerning motives. Ask: “If the author is right, does his assertion lead me to a better understanding and reliance on orthodox beliefs? Does the thesis or outcome strengthen faith in and reliance on orthodoxy?
Consider how this affects God’s glory. Does this assertion glorify God as He is revealed?
Consider claims in light of Scripture. Does the claim conflict with the Scriptures? If you’re reading something that clearly conflicts with the Scripture or seems to explain away the Scriptures by some theological gymnastics, you should probably just move on to some other source.
Two other practices that prove helpful to others in light of your own sharing of information.
Beware of lending your credibility to an unknown entity. (I’ve been embarrassed or burned many times in recommending resources (Books, Podcasts, forwarded internet article) without thoroughly vetting them. Just know that you will be painted with the brush that others paint the source with.
Take responsibility for teaching your tribe to do this as well. Teaching and modeling for our families how to discern is important. Helping those we influence develop a filter to examine information is even more essential that filling their heads with right information. After all, if we wrestle with discernment, given our age and wisdom, how will our children and grandchildren navigate the world they are experiencing and will lie ahead?
Hope it is useful in some ways as we navigate the forest of information together.
22The Lord’s lovingkindnesses indeed never cease, For His compassions never fail. 23They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness.
Lamentations 3:22–23 (NASB95)
I have been thinking on this word translated lovingkindness for several days. It is translated elsewhere as God’s great love, or faithful love and speaks of the immovable commitment of God to His own promises toward us as His people. Whereas compassions (mercies) is responsive and forgiving in nature, His lovingkindnessesare assertive. He asserts His great and faithful love toward us.
The Hebrew word (transliterated he-sed) appears in its various forms 286 times in the Hebrew scriptures. A constant reminder that our standing, our relationship, our benefit of relationship to God results from His unceasing and great love, not our faithfulness to it.
Now, here is where my heart was stirred in my morning quiet time and it connected uncoincidentally with this last line from a Puritan Prayer entitled “Caring Love” from The Valley of Vision: “May thy goodness always lead me to repentance, and thy longsuffering prove my salvation.”
God’s loyal love toward us is a gift, not a right or entitlement. It should provoke wonder, not apathy. It fosters confidence but not arrogance. It promotes harmony rather than haughtiness.
As with the Puritans, we ought to consider the he-sed of God and be moved—not to some libertine expression of life without restraint, but with a commitment to holiness…to a life of ongoing, intentional, willful repentance before God as He (Holy Spirit) exposes with the gracious floodlights of God’s vision, the rebellion of our hearts. May we not ever take for granted the loyal love, the he-sed of God and treat it as less than it is. May it provoke us toward greater affection, more intentional service, and more grounded confidence in God…to His glory.
…also we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will,
Ephesians 1:11 (NASB95)
How big and how in control is God? Is there anything that occurs apart from His knowledge? His wisdom? His purpose?
The very thought causes my heart to race. The implications of the obvious answer cause my mind to race to the four corners of the earth! After all, God certainly causes the good things in life to happen (James 1:17). But His disciples were amazed that He even controlled the wind which ceased at His command (Mark 4:41). In these twin truths of God’s sovereignty over both good and bad we find security. God works everything according to His plan. But does He?
God works all things according to plan…His plan…for His glory.
True rest and genuine security are faithfully grounded in the firm reliance on the truth that God is never surprised. He is never overwhelmed. Not even an earthquake, or a pop-up storm, or cancer, or tragic incident of civil unrest exceeds His knowledge or ability. In fact, the Scripture says that each of these things are part of the all things that God uses to bring about His predetermined end of our Salvation and Sanctification according to the counsel of His own will/purpose.
So, what will you face today that God is not Lord over?
What will you face that He is unaware of or overwhelmed by?
What will you face that exceeds his purpose and that He will not use to bring about your inheritance?
Nothing! He works all things according to His purpose.
The position of faith and the foundation of peace is driving our anchor of faith deeply into the ground of this truth and then lashing our lives to it as we praise God for working the all things of this day in such a way that He brings about His good purpose which includes our inheritance in Him…having conformed us to the image of His Son so that His Son would be preeminent in all creation (Romans 8:29; Colossians 1:18).
Father, train my wandering heart to trust in your providence and rest in You today…not in circumstance, comfort, or condition, but You. Amen.
21“She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”
Matthew 1:21 (NASB95)
In my morning reading, I was drawn into this verse and how this prophetic announcement to Joseph must have sounded. Here is a guy who just discovered that His fiancée is pregnant and he knows that it is not his. Everything about that seemed wrong and costly. If he dismissed her, everyone would still know that he was the guy that “Mary stepped out on.” If he moved forward with the marriage, everyone would think him a fool who Mary cheated on. What a choice for him!
But then the angel appeared and gave a good word. It would never be believed by others but for Joseph it was compelling (something we know since he changed the course of his decision about ending the engagement and chose to not only marry Mary but to keep her a virgin until Jesus was born.)
As amazing as these facts are, I want us to see the substance of the prophetic word regarding Jesus’ purpose… “He will save His people from their sins.” Yes, Jesus came to save. The Scriptures are unambiguous about this…but notice the cost (to us) of Salvation. Possession. He saves His people.
Growing up in the church culture that I did, salvation was often spoken of in terms of asking Jesus into my heart. He will be your Savior! He will forgive you. He will give you new life. He will start you over. All of this is true…but who does He save? Those who are His. Now, while some see this verse and others like it and discern that God capriciously (they might say sovereignly and according to His own wisdom and counsel) picks winners and losers, I see something different. Christ came to save those who would yield their lives to His total possession. [NOTE: Time and space won’t allow me to unpack all the theological implications here but let me affirm that from God’s perspective, there are no unknowns. He is not waiting to see who will act a certain way to determine how He will act. After all, He knows tomorrow, so today cannot be a surprise to Him in any regard. And, at the same time, Jesus invites people to follow Him, and they either choose to accept or reject that invitation. The Scriptures consistently record experiences of people choosing to follow Him…yielding control of their lives to Christ as their Lord! They are His, and He saves them.]
There is no salvation apart from Christ’s absolute possession of those He saves. And therein lies what I called the “stumbling block” of the Gospel. The loss of autonomy for the Christian. We may have agency (the ability to act according to our own will) but not autonomy (ownership and authority over our own lives).
20For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body.
1 Corinthians 6:20 (NASB95)
1And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him.
Romans 12:1 (NLT)
14who gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed, and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds.
Titus 2:14 (NASB95)
18“The Lord has today declared you to be His people, a treasured possession, as He promised you, and that you should keep all His commandments;
Deuteronomy 26:18 (NASB95)
Lord, today remind me and teach me to live as one who does not belong to myself but You. Amen.
I want to acknowledge up front that this thought on my heart today would not and will not make sense apart from a relationship with Jesus. For a person who denies the presence and providence of a Sovereign King, or a person with only religious practice to lean on, this will sound like a fairy tale (at worse) or some pop-motivational psychology (at best). For me, it is neither. It is, I believe, a precious gift of God’s grace.
41So they went on their way from the presence of the Council, rejoicing that they had been considered worthy to suffer shame for His name.
Acts 5:41 (NASB95)
This verse was on my heart today. It is part of the resolution of an act of injustice where Peter and John were arrested on orders of the ruling religious council and the high priest for the terrible crime of healing sickness and preaching Jesus (Acts 5:16-21). Peter’s popularity among the people was increasing at an alarming and exponential rate. The religious establishment, now only months after the crucifixion of Jesus at their order, is dealing with His followers the best way they know how.
When found in the Temple once again (rather than in the jail where they were supposed to be held), they were brought before their persecutors. Peter and John respond to their threats and beating (Acts 5:40) by rejoicing and praising the Lord that they (too) had been considered worthy by God to suffer shame for the Name of Jesus (Acts 5:41).
They are experiencing injustice.
For doing good and merciful acts.
For preaching hope in Jesus.
If this had taken place in modern times, I wonder if they would have praised God for counting them worthy to suffer injustice and shame. Why was their focus there?
I believe that this early band of followers who, like every follower of Jesus today, had been sovereignly saved by the work of Christ, were indwelt by the Person of the Holy Spirit Himself, and who wrestled with the same limits of human flesh in body and mind, CHOSE to focus on Jesus.
They saw their lives in light of Jesus. His work. His love. His Grace.
They considered their suffering in light of Jesus. His beating, mocking, and ultimate crucifixion.
They considered their honor in light of His honor.
They considered their life purpose in light of God’s ultimate purpose.
They considered their hope in light of His hope.
And they praised the Lord that they were considered worthy to suffer injustice for His name.
I wonder if our focus on our sufferings can veil God’s intent for our focus on His sovereignty. When we turn our gaze upon our trials, we lose sight of His triumph.
Jesus was being faithful. In Acts 4:29-31, God granted their request for boldness and courage. Now in the light of another beating, rather than focus on how hard it was, they gazed intently on an emblazoned image in their mind of their Messiah hanging on a cross suspended between heaven and earth and while writing in pain, praying for God’s mercy toward those who had nailed Him there. Then they praised God that they were considered worthy to suffer for His name.
Father, free us from the endless pursuit of our flesh for comfort and kindness among a world who lives in enmity with You. Attune our gaze to the suffering Savior that we might see our trials in light of His gracious gift of substitution. Graciously remind us that it is an honor to serve the Living God and those who would suffer for doing good according to your providence are blessed indeed. Amen.
54When His disciples James and John saw this, they said, “Lord, do You want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?” 55But He turned and rebuked them, and said, “You do not know what kind of spirit you are of; 56for the Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them.” And they went on to another village.
Luke 9:54–56 (NASB95)
I’ve recently found myself on the receiving end of criticism. Not personally, but the church I serve. Perhaps that’s worse. The criticism is baseless and erupted into some false allegations being thrown around. It would be easy to become angry and want to set the record straight.
That’s where I found myself. As I listened to friends being maligned and the Church (big C) being slandered, there was something ugly that kept rising within me. I could try to rename it as “righteous indignation” or some “weak moment of human passion;” however, it was strong and did not just go away like a “weak moment. Truth be known, I wanted to act out. This is where the lesson from the Lord began.
I think it was important for the Lord to show me that my heart is a broken place. Sure, as a pastor, I would love to say that I just glide across the sea regardless of the tempest or the turbulence of the sea. But it simply is not true and that is important to see. The same anger and desire to “fix” injustice that provoked the critics resided in my heart as well.
Apparently, I am not alone. In the passage above, the “sons of thunder” as they were nicknamed…two of Jesus’ closest disciples saw the rejection of the Lord as an act of terrible dishonor. And to add insult to injury…by a bunch of “Samaritans” no less! How dare they? So, the disciples asked, “Should we call on God to destroy them with fire from heaven?”
When “the world” maligned Jesus…the disciples wanted to fight. They wanted to answer swiftly and strongly…in such a way that everyone would know that God had chosen against the Samaritans…but Jesus said He came to save rather than destroy.
Furthermore, Jesus said the very spirit that informed the disciple’s desires was not righteous indignation but ungodly and evil. Up from their heart rose the wickedness of sin…no matter how you dress it up. They were the embodiment of that which they purported to hate!
And that is the point. Jesus used the criticism to reveal the brokenness of my heart. The difference being…I have Jesus to lovingly do that and to graciously forgive. Many others…in fact most people…do not.
Lord, forgive my wickedness and soften my heart to reflect more of You. Thank you for graciously reminding me that compassion begins with an awareness that “but for the grace of God, there go I.” Amen.
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