Thursday January 12, 2017
“Mind and Heart”
22 let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith,
having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with
pure water. 23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope
without wavering, for He who promised is faithful (Hebrews 10:22-23)
I. Knowing is for Living
We are wrapping up the introductory portion of our topic, “Knowing is for Living” (if you were not
aware…in the box up top..). As we have discussed, the focus of this devotional
study will be “doctrinal” (teaching). I hope we have an understanding that “doctrine” doesn’t have to be scary or
cold. It is what makes up the foundation of the church; the “Teachings” of
Jesus Christ about Himself (God) and His Kingdom and Kingdom living.
I also want to make clear the fact, that just because we will be covering
doctrinal matters, it doesn’t mean that we ignore the experience. On the
contrary,
as we find our minds expanded by
the grace of God, our hearts
should be correspondingly enlarged with
love to him for all that he has done for us in Christ. This in turn should
lead us to a richer experience of his
love for us. … We ultimately benefit from experiences only when we trace
the great doctrinal principles which they illustrate.
The relationship between doctrine
(truth) and experience (spirit) is
what Jesus discussed with the Samaritan woman at the well. We touched on the concept
of “intelligent worship” when we looked
at J.B. Phillip’s rendering of Romans 12:1-2. Intelligent worship has to do with
our “understanding” (intellect) of what, why and who of worship. Intelligence involves
information about ourselves and the object of our worship. Blind worship would
be the emphasis of “emotion” (experience) over knowledge. I always remind
people that emotion is a “responder” not a “leader”. The leader, in this case,
would be the “knowledge” (Word). When we allow God’s Word to lead (inform) the
worship (as in singing etc) then we have a reliable guide.
The phrase that JB Phillips uses is, with “eyes wide open.” The
Bible does not teach “blind faith.” We go in, knowing what we are getting into.
This is like the old couple arguing about their looks after years of marriage…”he na’a ke kuikui koe he taimi na’e alea’i ai
e mali?” Each other’s “business” was discussed before hand. No mysteries.
No surprises. Unless of course it was an arranged marriage…and that would be a
topic for another time…
Challenge: find a copy
(hymnal or praise song book) of a few of your favorite songs and look carefully
at the lyrics to see whether it has “teaching” that informs or just “fluff” to
stir up emotions with little content. Hopefully this exercise will cause you to
consider more carefully the songs you sing to test the integrity of the content
in order that “intelligent worship” takes place (at least be more aware).
This Day in Christian History:
Jan 12, 1604 – conference of church leaders at
the Hampton Court Estate to hammer
out disputes between the Anglican church and the Puritans. One issue both sides
agreed to was the commissioning of a new Bible translation which later became
known as the King James version of 1611.
Memory Verse: (Sun Jan 8)
Hold fast the pattern of sound words which you have heard from me, in
faith and love which are in Christ Jesus. – 2 Timothy 1:13
Ko e anga ē ‘o e ngaahi lea mo‘ui
na‘a ke fanongo ai meiate au, ‘i he tui mo e ‘ofa ‘oku ‘ia Kalaisi Sīsū. – 2 Timote 1:13
Puke ke ma‘u ‘a e sino ‘o e ngaahi lea haohaoa, ‘a ia na‘a ke fanongo ai
‘iate au, ‘io he tui mo e ‘ofa ‘a ia ‘oku ‘ia Kalaisi Sisu (Paaki ‘a Uesi)
Bible Reading Plan: (52 weeks; 5 days a week)
Week 2 – Genesis 26-27; Mark
10
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