The Bible: Life's Instruction Book

Psalm 111:10 - The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow His instructions have good insight. His praise endures forever.

Once I helped a friend assemble a movie display at a theatre. This was not a simple display where he and I could just open the box and put the display on the wall. It was a complicated display that was nearly as tall as I am and twice as long. It had very complicated instructions.

We spent three hours inserting tab A into slot B while attaching strap C to holder D. It was obvious that whoever designed the display was a brilliant engineer with a flair for thinking of ways to make cardboard look like a whole city block. But they clearly did not know how to write instructions in plain English that non-engineers could understand. It took quite a while to figure out the difference between tab A and tab J and holder D and holder Z. But piece by piece we assembled the display. Following the directions exactly, one step at a time, we finally got the project done. It looked amazing when it was finished.

Life is a lot like building a complicated display. We do not just take life out of box and instantly have good marriages, healthy families, meaningful careers or vibrant spirituality. In order to make life work, there are a lot of things that have to be done in the correct order and at the right time. We need a set of directions for how to get through life. If we skip a step in those instructions, or try to take a short cut, life ends up lopsided.

Fortunately, there is a set of instructions for life. It is called the Bible. Many people think the Bible is out of date and no longer relevant to our post-modern culture. They clearly have not read the Bible carefully. The stories in the Bible reveal people dealing with many of the very same problems that we hear about in our modern era. In the Bible we can find stories of people facing financial issues, family problems, war, crime, and corrupt governments. We can find stories of believers making right choices, as well as believers making terrible choices. The Bible is full of stories about how people dealt with real life issues. It also contains a lot of helpful advice about how we can deal with our own issues in life. Though life is complicated, if we follow the instructions God gave us, like the movie display my friend and I assembled, life can end up looking pretty good when we get to the end.

Lord, help us to study the Bible more and follow Your directions life. Amen.

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This devotional is from the book “Heavenly Mundane” by Dr. Terry W. Dorsett. Dr. Dorsett has been a pastor, church planter, denominational leader and author in New England for more than 20 years. He is a happy husband, a proud father and adoring grandfather. He is a cancer survivor and believes that God works powerfully through times of suffering. He writes extensively and you can find all of his books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Dr.-Terry-W.-Dorsett/e/B00405U4NY

Dreams and Spirituality

Daniel 1:17 – As for these four youths, God gave them learning and skill in all literature and wisdom, and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams.

When I was a teenager I remember eating spicy food while watching a scary movie. The combination of the two gave me nightmares. I woke up the next morning exhausted from all the crazy dreams I had. After having this happen to me a couple of times, I learned not to combine those two things together before going to sleep.

Dreams are caused by a wide variety of things. Many theorize that dreams are our sub-conscious mind’s way of sorting out what is going on in our lives. But could dreams be more than that? We read stories in the Bible where dreams had specific meanings. Many of us have had unique dreams that made us wonder if God was trying to send us a message.

Kelley Bulkeley is a dream researcher and theologian who wrote Big Dreams: The Science of Dreaming and the Origins of Religion. Bulkeley reports in an April 4, 2016 article in Time magazine that modern neuroscience “says that dreams can prime us to be spiritual, in one form or another.” She goes on to explain that the Sleep and Dream Database includes extensive research that shows “that half of American adults say they’ve had at least one visitation dream” where someone came to them in a dream to give them a message. Some people focused on the people in their dreams, but most focused on the message itself. Could this message have meaning beyond just spicy food and scary movies?

This is a question many evangelical Christians are also asking.  Could God use dreams to communicate messages to His people? Some strands of evangelicalism widely accept dreams as messages from God. Other strands of evangelicalism are more skeptical. Most evangelicals who accept the possibility of God sending messages in dreams make it clear that God would never contradict Himself. That means that if a dream was in opposition to the Bible, then it could not be from God. Dreams that contradict the scripture are more likely the result of spicy food and scary movies. But what about the ones that seem to confirm what God has already declared in scripture? There is no real way to prove either side of that debate because dreams are too subjective for that. Therefore, scholars will keep debating that issue until the end of time. 

So what good is Bulkeley’s research if we can’t really prove that any particular dream is from God? Her research provides an interesting conversation starter with our non-believing friends about how dreams and faith might be connected. Bulkeley concludes that though “Science may not be able to prove the existence of God . . . it can prove that, for many people, dreams offer a way to expand their sense of reality and attain a higher level of being.” As our culture becomes post-Christian and fewer people know the Bible, discussing dreams might open the door for a larger conversation about spirituality. These discussions could be the means by which the Lord causes people to think about spirituality. It is good for evangelical Christians, even ones skeptical about spiritual messages through dreams, to know something about this topic so that we can use this issue as one of our tools for starting Gospel conversations with others.

Lord, help us take every opportunity You give us to talk to our friends about issues of faith. Amen.

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Dr. Terry W. Dorsett has been a pastor, church planter, denominational leader and author in New England for more than 20 years. He is a happy husband, a proud father and adoring grandfather. He is a cancer survivor and believes that God works powerfully through times of suffering. He writes extensively and you can find all of his books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Dr.-Terry-W.-Dorsett/e/B00405U4NY

Biblical Truth Matters

John 4:24 - God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.

We are living in a time when biblical literacy is at an all-time low. Very few people really know what the Bible teaches and many who claim to know are less knowledgeable than they realize. What is perhaps even more disturbing is that many leaders in evangelical churches do not seem interested in correcting biblical illiteracy in their own congregations.

This point was made clear to me at a worship service I attended a few months ago. It was at a well-known evangelical church. This church has a history of doing significant ministry, but in recent years has been sliding toward neo-evangelicalism in an effort to keep the crowds growing. At the service I attended the preacher addressed his lack of concern for biblical accuracy when he said “One hundred million people watched the Bible series on TV so it doesn't matter if it had a lot of theological errors in it." Those were his exact words. Since I only watched a portion of that particular TV show, I am not in a place to judge whether it was accurate or not. The point I want to make is that according to that preacher, if a large enough group of people watch something, it does not matter how theologically correct it is.  I was shocked to hear him say it. Truth is truth regardless of how many people believe it. If that particular depiction of the stories of the Bible were as inaccurate as that man made it seem, then one hundred million people now think they know something about the Bible when in fact they do not. And that preacher was okay with it! No wonder the American church is in trouble.

Biblical truth is important. Whether viewed, listened to or explained to a large number or only a few. If it is not accurate, then it is not biblical truth. Once we begin to accept that truth again, then our understanding of the Bible will begin to grow again.

Lord, help us understand the importance of biblical truth. Help us listen to Your Spirit’s voice when we hear error so that we recognize that it is false. Give pastors discernment as they preach, to only preach your Word. Amen.

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Dr. Terry W. Dorsett has served as a missionary, pastor and denominational leader in New England since 1993. He is happily married to his college sweetheart and enjoys spending time with his children and grandchildren. He is the author of numerous books including “The Heavenly Mundane: Daily Devotions from Ordinary Experiences.” You can find his complete list of books at: http://www.amazon.com/Dr.-Terry-W.-Dorsett/e/B00405U4NY/

What Every Church Needs

2 Timothy 2:15 - Study to show yourself approved unto God, a workman who does not need not to be ashamed, but rightly dividing (explaining) the word of truth.

Many churches across America are in trouble. There are many reasons why churches are struggling and ministry leaders are not in agreement about how to address the issue. Some say we need more effective marketing. Some say we need to make our churches more culturally relevant. Some say we need more efficient methodology that utilizes technology in a visual age. There is probably some truth in all of those observations. But I think what we need more than anything is Spirit-filled biblical preaching. So many sermons sound more like the advice one can get from a pop-psychologist on a talk radio or television show. What we need are biblically based sermons empowered by the Spirit and delivered with passion that comes from prayer, study and holiness.

Some time ago I visited what was once one of the larger evangelical churches in New England. Though it is still quite sizable, it is half of what it once was. I wanted to observe what they were doing and learn from their experience. The music was stirring but when it came time for the sermon, I quickly realized why attendance was half of what it once was. After a handful of poorly executed jokes, the speaker said "I spent all week preparing to speak and had about seven hours of stuff to talk about in this sermon. Then realized this morning at 3 am that I hadn't picked a scripture yet." In those two sentences the health of that congregation became crystal clear. I am not sure what the man had spent all week studying, but by his own admission it had not been the Bible. I cannot imagine how he collected what he thought was enough material for a seven hour sermon when he did not even know what scripture text he was speaking from.

Life changing sermons begin with the scripture. As the Holy Spirit illuminates what that scripture means, the pastor can make notes and study related passages and historical materials and find illustrations from modern culture that demonstrate the truth of those verses. Any sermon that begins with seven hours of random study and THEN looks for a scripture to hang it all on is not a sermon at all. It is just a man’s opinions that he is trying to pass off as God’s Word. Such sermons are not life changing.

To be fair, the speaker that I observed that day he did eventually get around to quoting a number of Bible verses during his speech. However, they were not related to his main text and were disconnected from each other. It sounded like he used a Bible concordance at the end of his preparation time to find verses that had certain phrases in them so he could prove a point instead of teaching points that had been drawn from the texts themselves. It left me feeling hollow and empty spiritually. I assume it left a lot of other people feeling that way too, which might be why attendance is half of what it once was.

The church might need more effective marketing. The church might need to speak to the culture in more relevant ways. The church might need efficient methodology that utilizes technology in a visual age. But what the church SURELY needs is Spirit-filled biblical preaching that communicates timeless truth to a culture that is adrift in the meaningless opinions of man.

Lord, help pastors begin their sermon preparation in the Word and help them draw the entire sermon from the Word. Help parishioners crave Bible based Spirit-filled preaching instead of the pop-psychology of our post-modern era. Amen.

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Dr. Terry W. Dorsett has served as a missionary, pastor and denominational leader in New England since 1993. He is happily married to his college sweetheart and enjoys spending time with his children and grandchildren. He is the author of numerous books including “The Heavenly Mundane: Daily Devotions from Ordinary Experiences.” You can find his complete list of books at: http://www.amazon.com/Dr.-Terry-W.-Dorsett/e/B00405U4NY/

How Reliable is the Bible?

We live in a culture that now questions everything, even things that have long been accepted as truth. One icon of American culture that is now being questioned repeatedly is the reliability of the Bible. Conservative Christians say we should trust the Bible because God told people what to write in it and that God has preserved that truth through the ages through the power of the Holy Spirit so that the Bible we read today teaches the same thing that the original manuscripts did. Many scholars refer to this as the “divine inspiration of scripture.” This concept held sway over American moral thought since the founding of the nation in 1776.

But today many people question just how reliable those ancient manuscripts of the Bible really are. After all, they reason, the Bible was written a long time ago in a different language and in a different cultural context. Surely it has been changed again and again in all those translations so that even if it was from God in the beginning, it cannot be close to the truth now. This has caused many people to question whether they can trust the Bible or not.

Here is some helpful information about the reliability of the ancient manuscripts that might help us understand how reliable those ancient texts are. There are over 24,000 ancient New Testament manuscripts that have been discovered so far. That is an incredible number of documents. Compare this with the second best-preserved literary work of all antiquity, Homer's Iliad, for which we have discovered only 643 preserved manuscripts. The printing press wasn't invented until the 1450's, but we have hand-written copies of the Old Testament dating back to the 200's BC. Remarkably, these ancient manuscripts are nearly identical to the Bible we read today.

Some people accept the reliability of the Old Testament, since it has been preserved by Jewish scholars as well as Christian ones, but doubt if the New Testament of today is the same as the written in the First Century. They reason that the New Testament we read today was completed so far after the time of Jesus that it could not possibly be an accurate reflection of what happened during that time period. But literary science shows otherwise. The Bodmer Papyrus II contains most of the Gospel of John and dates from around 150-200 AD. The Chester Beatty Papyri contains major portions of the New Testament and dates back to about 200 AD. The Codex Vaticanus, the oldest complete New Testament manuscript discovered so far, dates from 325-350 AD. The apostle John, who lived with Jesus and learned from Jesus, penned five New Testament books and died in 100 AD. We have fragments of John's Gospel that date from 110-130 AD, within 30 years of his death. When translated into English, these documents all give essentially the same New Testament that most modern translations give us today.  When compared to other ancient works such as Plato, Homer or Tacitus, that short time period between the original and the most recent copy is dramatic.

Clement of Rome was martyred in 100 AD. In his writings, he quoted from Matthew, Mark, Luke, Acts, 1 Corinthians, 1 Peter, Hebrews, and Titus. Clement's quotes correspond with the Bible we read today. In fact, even if we lost all of the 5,300 early Greek manuscripts, all of the 10,000 Latin vulgates, and all of the 9,300 other ancient manuscripts, we would be able to reconstruct all but 11 verses of the New Testament from the writings of the early Church leaders who quoted from them extensively. We have over 36,000 preserved quotes from the New Testament. The New Testament we read today is essentially the same as the one written in the First Century.

The Bible was completed in its entirety nearly 2,000 years ago and stands today as the best-preserved literary work of all antiquity. The Bible is unquestionably the world's all-time bestseller with an estimated 2 billion copies in print and we can trust that the Bible we read today is the same one the ancient believers of old read. Do not let doubt hollow out your faith. Let the Holy Spirit convince you and let science confirm what the Holy Spirit is saying and trust that the Bible is a reliable work.

(Some of this information was adapted from: http://www.allabouttruth.org/bible-truth.htm).

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Dr. Terry W. Dorsett has been a pastor, church planter, denominational leader and author in New England for more than 20 years. He is a happy husband, a proud father and adoring grandfather. He is a cancer survivor and believes that God works powerfully through times of suffering. He writes extensively and you can find all of his books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Dr.-Terry-W.-Dorsett/e/B00405U4NY

Playing the God Card

Over the years I have heard people justify many different behaviors by saying God told them to do it.  When someone says this, they are playing the God card. Once the God card is played, it is very difficult to have any meaningful conversation about the behavior because if we do not agree with whatever the other person claims God said, then we are going against God.

If someone says God told them to bake cookies for a next door neighbor as a way to demonstrate God's love to them, we need not be overly concerned if they have actually heard from God or not. After all, cookies are fairly harmless, so if it was only the person's emotions that wanted to make the cookies and not a real word from God, it may not make much of a difference.

But people often play the God card for much bigger things than just baking cookies for the neighbors. I will never forget the conversation I had with two men who attended a church I was once the pastor of. The first claimed God had told him to leave his wife and marry another woman. But he had a problem because that other woman was already in an adulterous relationship with a different man. And that other man also claimed God wanted him to leave his wife and marry the adulterous women. The two men were in conflict over which of them could get divorced first and win the hand of the adulterous women. Talk about a weird love triangle! 

Though I do not claim to speak for God, I highly doubt God wanted two marriages to break up so that two men would be free to argue over a third woman. I have always thought those men were led by lust, not by the Lord. But once they declared that "God told him" to do this, they no longer needed to listen to a mere pastor's advice. After all, who was I as their pastor to tell them something different than what God has said?

In situations like this I always remind people that God speaks by His Spirit through the Bible, circumstances, prayer and the church. Notice that the Bible is first, because it is the plumb line through which the other methods are measured. I do not know if there is a specific verse in the Bible that deals with baking cookies for a neighbor, but I do know several that talk about lusting after another man's wife. God will never lead us to contradict His Word.

God also speaks through circumstances. If we are having to kick a door open through deceit, manipulation or coercion, then it is clearly NOT a door God has opened. Since the Bible is our plumb line, God never opens a door that goes against what the Bible has already said.

God also speaks through prayer. As we pray through the scriptures and look at the circumstances God has put us in, proper behavior presents itself. God will not tell us in our prayers to do something contrary to His Word.

Rarely does God speak to only one person about things He plans to do. There is only one Spirit and that Spirit normally speaks to several of His children. If we think God wants us to do something, we should seek counsel from other mature Christians to see if God is telling them the same thing. That is why it is important to be active in a local church, so we can benefit from the godly wisdom of others in times of uncertainty. If we find that we are the only one God is speaking to about something, that most likely means that the timing is not yet right for us to proceed and we must wait until He also speaks to others about the same thing before moving forward.

In the end, if we do conclude that God has actually spoken to us about doing a certain thing, then we really must act upon that leading. However, we must remember that the prophets of old often paid a high price for obeying what God said. Why would we expect it to be any different for us? Far too often I hear people say that God told them to do a certain thing, but then when that thing gets hard, they bail. They apparently thought God only wanted them to obey when it was easy, though that goes against the whole narrative of scripture. We should be careful about playing the God card, but when we do, we should follow through with it, even if it costs us dearly.

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Dr. Terry W. Dorsett is a church planter and author who has lived in New England since 1993 starting churches and discipling new believers. He is a happy husband, proud father and grandfather, thankful cancer survivor, and more convinced than ever that New England is ripe for spiritual revival. Check out Dr. Dorsett's books at this link:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B00405U4NY

A Simple Process for Experiencing Revival

Psalm 119:15-16 “I will meditate on Your precepts and think about Your ways. I will delight in Your statutes; I will not forget Your word.”

When I was 13, my 8th grade Sunday School teacher taught our class how to have a daily quiet time with God. This included time for Bible reading, prayer and then reflection on what we read. She gave personal testimony of how her own daily quiet time gave her strength for the day and often helped her find answers for problems she was facing. She assured us that this was the normal way all Christians started their day.

It made sense to me so I decided to start having a daily quiet time as well. Like my 8th grade Sunday School teacher, I can testify that it has sustained me through many challenges in my life. I am thankful for a Sunday School teacher who taught me something so simple and yet so life changing.

The one thing that my Sunday School teacher taught us that turned out to be incorrect, was that this was the normal way all Christians started their day. I am sure she thought it was an accurate statement, but after nearly 25 years of ministry, it becomes clear to me that many Christians skip this important part of their day. This is reflected by the lack of biblical knowledge that even those who have been Christians for decades have. It is reflected by how we interact with each other as Christians in daily life. It is reflected in our conversations with each other, which are about so many things, but seldom about what the Lord is showing us in scripture. It is reflected in the lack of holy passion in our corporate worship, which can only come from a strong time of private worship.

If we want revival to come to America again, perhaps we might return to a simple lesson we learned in Sunday School so long ago, let us start each day with a daily quiet time. A few minutes of Bible reading, prayer and reflection can change our lives. If millions of lives are changed a little each day, that impacts the broader church, indeed, it impacts the broader culture.

Lord, call us back to simply spending time with You each day! Amen.

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Dr. Terry W. Dorsett has been a pastor, church planter, denominational leader and author in New England for more than 20 years. He is a happy husband, a proud father and adoring grandfather. He is a cancer survivor and believes that God works powerfully through times of suffering. He writes extensively and you can find all of his books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Dr.-Terry-W.-Dorsett/e/B00405U4NY

Objective Truth Exists

We are living in a time when people think they can create their own version of truth.  We may base our understanding of truth on things such as our own personal experiences, our feelings, the group-think that comes from social media or information we find on the Internet. While it makes sense to gather as much information as we can to understand our world, everything we read, hear, or watch is not true. Some of it is based on incorrect data. Some is purposely deceptive. Some is simply made up but gets repeated so often that it seems like it is true. So basing our understanding of truth on something we read, heard or watch, but that may be untested, may lead us astray.

Though our personal experiences are powerful learning experiences, it is impossible for us to experience everything in the world and even if we could, we would still evaluate those experiences in in light of our personal viewpoint, which may be far more limited than we realize. If we were honest, I think most of us would admit that basing truth on our ever changing feelings only creates chaos. If we had the courage to admit it publicly, we would also admit that basing truth on social media group-think also leads us to be less authentic than we want to be.

Sub-consciously we know all of this. Deep inside we know that basing our understanding of truth on these things will not help us understand what truth really is. Yet, our culture is so focused on each of us creating our own truth that we keep doing it. But perhaps that is starting to change.

Recently I read an article in Time magazine about how science was “winning the vaccine wars.” What I found fascinating about the Time article was that is used factual data, raw numbers and actual research to prove the point it was trying to make. This was in stark contrast to the use of public opinion polls or emotionally charged testimonials that are so often used to decide what truth is. This is not a post about vaccines, so do not let us get sidetracked on that tangent. The point I am making is that there is an objective truth about that subject that transcends opinions, feelings, perceived experiences, etc. Likewise, there is objective truth about pretty much every subject we might want to discuss. The longer our society ignores the reality of truth, the more chaotic society will become. The sooner we embrace the concept that absolute truth exists, the sooner we will be able to find solutions to the many problems that ail our society.

I am reminded of the words of Jesus, who said, “I am the way, the truth and the life; no man comes to the Father but by me” (John 14:6). As my faith in Christ has grown, so has my understanding of truth. It is a truth that is outside myself and often at odds with the opinions of those around me and the group-think that is controls our current culture. It is a truth that has been tested again and again and again and verified to be truth. This truth has helped me, and countless billions of other people, build happy and meaningful lives. I urge each of my readers to search for the truth. We may be surprised what we find.

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Dr. Terry W. Dorsett has been a pastor, church planter, denominational leader and author in New England for more than 20 years. He is a happy husband, a proud father and adoring grandfather. He is a cancer survivor and believes that God works powerfully through times of suffering. He writes extensively and you can find all of his books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Dr.-Terry-W.-Dorsett/e/B00405U4NY

Enjoy Familiar Scripture Texts

For many years I served as a pastor in a local church. Though I tried to have variety in my sermon texts, I often found myself preaching from familiar passages either because they seemed to speak to critical needs in the lives of those I served or because it was a special day like Easter or Christmas. Though no one ever complained, it was sometimes challenging to bring fresh insight to passages everyone knew so well. From time to time I would wonder if the congregation got tired of hearing from those particular scriptures each year.

This morning in my devotions I read Philippians 3:1 where the Apostle Paul said, "Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things to you is no trouble to me and is safe for you." Paul said it was not a problem for him to remind those he served of the same truths again and again. In fact, he said it was safer for the hearers if he did that.

It is safer for us to hear beloved passages again and again because at any given time our hearts may not be ready to receive all that is in a passage of scripture. But when we read, hear or discuss it at a later time, our hearts might be more ready to heed and obey its truth. Therefore, it is a blessing to hear those passages explained multiple times in our lives.

So this Sunday, if our pastor is preaching on a passage we already know, instead of tuning him out, listen with ears ready to gain nuggets of truth that we might have missed the last time through.

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Dr. Terry W. Dorsett has served as a pastor, church planter, author and denominational leader in New England since 1993. He is the proud father of three adult children, a cancer survivor and the author of 8 books. You can find all of his books at http://www.amazon.com/Dr.-Terry-W.-Dorsett/e/B00405U4NY

What is Truth? - Guest Post by Bill Davis

A conservative, a liberal, a conservative liberal and a liberal conservative went in search of the truth. On the way they met a religious right, a religious left and a religious ambidextrous that were arguing. The conservative, the liberal, the conservative liberal and the liberal conservative asked the religious right, the religious left and the religious ambidextrous what they were arguing about. To which they replied; “We don’t really remember, but we know we are right.”

The conservative, the liberal, the conservative liberal and the liberal conservative asked the religious right, the religious left and the religious ambidextrous to accompany them in search of the truth. The religious right, the religious left and the religious ambidextrous asked the conservative, the liberal, the conservative liberal and the liberal conservative what the truth looked like. To which they replied; “We don’t really remember.”

Then the religious right, the religious left and the religious ambidextrous asked where was the last place you saw it. To which they replied; “We don’t remember, it was so long ago.”

The moral of the story: How do you know what the truth is if you do not remember what it looks like or where it lives? Jesus said:

John 8:32 (NIV); “Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

John 14:6a (NIV); “I am the way and the truth and the life.”

Bill Davis lives in Anderson County, SC, where he speaks at churches and encourages evangelism and discipleship efforts across the region. He is the author of “The Revelation of Jesus.”

Using Biblegateway.com for Study, Part Three - Guest Post by Brendan Ian Kennedy

In our last installment we discussed how to use biblegateway.com for more advanced studies that use the biblical languages. Biblegateway.com is a great tool, especially since it is free. Its advanced functions have some limitations, just as you would expect any free resource to have. We will discuss what these are, and how to work around them. Finally, we will look at some commentaries that are available on the site.

The first shortcoming pertains to Old Testament study. No text-critical information is provided along with the Hebrew text. This is a problem because sometimes we have to determine what exactly the original text said in a certain place (the discipline of textual criticism) before we can interpret it for a sermon. This is not insurmountable for preachers and teachers, however. One can work around it by comparing several English versions with the Hebrew in order to catch differences in the text. This is made easier by using a good study Bible with footnotes that give variant readings. When you read them side-by-side, look for differences that appear to be more significant than a different word choice for the same concept, or a different English word order. As you do this, bear in mind that none of the differences you may find affect any major points of doctrine. Greater certainty of the text and its interpretation lead to greater confidence in the pulpit, however, so it is still important to be as sure as possible of the text.

The Greek New Testaments available on biblegateway.com have their limitations as well. The Scrivener, Stephanus, and Westcott-Hort, all older editions, were mentioned in the last post. The modern edition of the Greek New Testament that is used by most biblical scholars, the Nestle-Aland 28^th Edition/United Bible Societies 4^th Edition (NA-28/UBS-4) is not available. The modern edition that biblegateway.com does have is the SBL Greek New Testament (SBLGNT). This is a scholarly alternative that differs in more than 500 places from the NA-28/UBS-4. As in all textual variants of the New Testament, none of the differences affect any core theological issues. One may use the same comparison technique described above to investigate any passage where the reading is debatable.

The concordance feature can be employed while using the Greek versions, but it is a little more complicated than using it in English. First, set up your screen so that the only version displayed is in Greek. Second, enter a verse address in English in the search box. This will bring up the verse in Greek. Then you can highlight, copy, and paste a word or phrase from that verse into the search box, click “search,” and the results will be all the occurrences of that word or phrase in the Greek New Testament that you are currently using. Biblegateway.com searches complete words and words plus suffixes, just like in its English concordance function. If you paste only a portion of a Greek word into the search box, the concordance will search for all words in the Greek New Testament that start with that portion, no matter how they end.

The concordance feature does not work in Hebrew. This is an unfortunate oversight that we hope will be corrected someday.

There are several commentaries available on biblegateway.com. Hover over the “Study” link at the top of the homepage. This will reveal a two-column drop-down menu. At the bottom of the right-hand column is a link to “more resources.” Click this, and you will arrive at a screen full of links, one of which is for “commentaries.” Click here, and you will have the choice of an abridged version of Matthew Henry’s Commentary, the Reformation Bible Commentary, the Asbury Bible Commentary, the IVP New Testament Commentary, and a series of sermons on the Gospel of Mark entitled “A Ransom for Many.” These represent a variety of theological positions within conservative Protestantism (Reformed, Wesleyan, Baptist, and inter-denominational). All are good for sermon preparation and general study, even though some are limited in scope (the IVP commentary only covers the New Testament).

Those who have the money and time to invest in expensive study aids should by all means do so, for biblegateway.com will not meet all the needs of an advanced Bible student. For most users and most purposes, however, these concordance, parallel, biblical language, and commentary tools work very well, and the price is right: free! Keep studying and preaching, and may the Lord bring the harvest!

Brendan Ian Kennedy

Ph. D. (cand.), Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary

Haman’s Fall

Esther 6:12-13 - Then Mordecai returned to the King’s Gate, but Haman, overwhelmed, hurried off for home with his head covered.  Haman told his wife Zeresh and all his friends everything that had happened. His advisers and his wife Zeresh said to him, “Since Mordecai is Jewish, and you have begun to fall before him, you won’t overcome him, because your downfall is certain.”

In the story of Esther, we meet Haman, who was an enemy of the Jews. Haman plotted genocide against the Jews, but had a special hatred for one particular Jew, Mordecai, who refused to bow down to him as he walked by.

In chapter six, the King realized that Mordecai once had done him a great favor that had not yet been rewarded, so he called Haman in and told him to go honor Mordecai for the unrewarded deed. Though Haman hated Mordecai, he had no choice but to do what the King commanded, even if he loathed every moment of it.

When Haman got home that night he whined to his family and friends about having to pay homage to Mordecai that day, the very Jew who had refused to honor him. He was expecting sympathy. But their answer to him was startling: “If Mordecai, before whom you have begun to fall, is of Jewish origin, you will not overcome him, but will surely fall before him" (Esther 6:12 NAS).

It is amazing that Haman's friends, who had no love for the Jews, recognized that the Jews were special and that Haman would not be able to stand against them. Whether Haman's friends had access to the Old Testament or not, they clearly understood the teaching of Genesis 12:3, where God promised Abraham, "I will bless those who bless you, I will curse those who treat you with contempt, and all the peoples on earth will be blessed through you."

Almost since the beginning of Jewish history, there have been those who have sought to destroy the Jewish people. Time and time again they have been persecuted, often with great enthusiasm. But through God's supernatural protection, the Jewish people have survived.

In our century, the media have somehow painted the Jews as the bad people of the Middle East. Any effort they make to defend themselves from far superior numbers of enemies gets spun to somehow make the Jews the aggressors instead of the victims. We may not always agree with the tactics that the modern nation of Israel uses against her enemies, but we should not be foolish enough to put ourselves in Haman’s place. The Jews are still God's chosen people, and if we stand against them, our fall is inevitable.

Lord, help us be a blessing to the Jewish people and remember that if we bless them, You will bless us, but if we curse them, then we will be cursed. Amen.

This post is an excerpt from the book, The Heavenly Mundane: Daily Devotions from Ordinary Experiences. Filled with stories of how God spoke in big ways through small events, the book will encourage people to look for God in the mundane things of life. Great for both personal use and to give as a gift to friend, either the print version or the e-book version may be purchased at this link:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00MJ2UE4E

Heading the Right Direction

Proverbs 3:5-6 - Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own understanding; think about Him in all your ways, and He will guide you on the right paths.

I was on the way to visit an acquaintance who was interested in being involved in ministry. He gave me the address where I was to meet him, but when I arrived, I could not find the house number. There were houses with numbers higher and lower, but that house number was missing. After driving up and down the road a couple of times, I called him on his cell. We realized I had gone to Stevens Street, when I was actually looking for Stephens Street. The streets are pronounced the same way, but have a slightly different spelling. They are on opposite sides of town. I would have never found the address on the first street, because that address does not exist. We had a good laugh about it when I finally got to the right place. What a difference those letters made!

That experience made me think about how important it is to make sure we get our facts right before striking off on some task, journey, or course of action. If we have a faulty premise, it will lead us in the wrong direction, and we may never find what we are looking for. Even if the underlying mistake is minor, our faulty premise will take us the wrong direction, causing great frustration as we come so close to what we were trying to do, and yet cannot quite accomplish it.

For example, when considering marriage, if we start out thinking that if it does not work out, we can just get a divorce, that will impact how we handle conflict in our relationship. Such thinking leads us to a much different conclusion than we would come to if we went into it thinking we were going to stick with the marriage no matter what, and trust God to make the relationship what it should be.

In thinking about what college to go to, if we start out thinking which school has the best recreational activities, we will end up in a much different place than if we ask ourselves which school will best help us gain the training we need to achieve our career goals.

Examples are numerous, but the point is clear. We need to start off with right information and correct reasoning so we can head in the right direction in life. How do we find the right information? Do some research. Discuss the issue with people who have already been there. Ask lots of questions. Most importantly, read the Bible and pray for guidance. The Bible is still relevant for today and God’s advice is always right. As we learn to trust in the Lord’s advice, we will head in the right direction in life.

Lord, help us listen to Your advice and follow Your directions. Amen.

This post is an excerpt from the book, The Heavenly Mundane: Daily Devotions from Ordinary

Experiences. Filled with stories of how God spoke in big ways through small events, the book will encourage people to look for God in the mundane things of life. Great for both personal use and to give as a gift to friend, either the print version or the e-book version may be purchased at this link:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00MJ2UE4E

Playing the God Card

Over the years I have heard many people justify certain behaviors by saying "I sensed it was the Lord leading me to do it" or "I just knew it was God's will" or "God clearly opened the door so I just walked through it." I call such comments, playing the God card. Once the God card is played, it is very difficult to continue the conversation because if we do not agree with whatever the other person claims God said, then we are going against God.

Now, I suppose if someone tells me that God has led them to bake cookies for a next door neighbor as a way to demonstrate God's love to them, I am not overly concerned if they have actually heard from God or not. After all, cookies are fairly harmless, so if it was only the person's emotions and not God, it may not make much of a difference.

But people play the God card for much bigger things than just baking cookies for the neighbors. I recall a man once telling me God had "led him" to leave his wife and marry another woman who was better suited for him. Of course, that other woman was also currently in an adulterous relationship with a different man, who was also married to someone else and also thought it was God's will for him to have the woman. Talk about a weird love triangle! Though I do not claim to speak for God, I highly doubt God wanted two marriages to break up so that one man could have a woman who was "better suited" for him. I have always thought that fellow was led by lust, not by the Lord. But once he declared that "God told him" to do this, he no longer needed to listen to a mere pastor's advice. After all, he had a clear word from God so who was I to question God?

In situations like this I always remind people that God speaks by His Spirit through the Bible, circumstances, prayer and the church. Notice that the Bible is first, because it is the plumb line through which the other methods are measured. I do not know if there is a specific verse in the Bible that deals with baking cookies for a neighbor, but I do know several that talk about lusting after another man's wife. God will never lead us to contradict His Word.

God also speaks through circumstances. If we are having to kick a door open through deceit, manipulation or coercion, then it is clearly NOT a door God has opened. Since the Bible is our plumb line, God never opens a door that goes against what the Bible has already said.

God also speaks through prayer. As we pray through the scriptures and look at the circumstances God has put us in, proper behavior presents itself. God will not tell us in our prayers to do something contrary to His Word.

Rarely does God speak to only one person about things He plans to do. There is only one Spirit and that Spirit speaks to all of us. If we think God wants us to do something, we should seek counsel from other Christians to see if God is telling them the same thing. That is why it is important to be active in a local church, so we can benefit from the godly wisdom of others in times of uncertainty. If we find that we are the only one God is speaking to about something, that most likely means that the timing is not yet right for us to proceed and we must wait until He also speaks to others about the same thing before moving forward.

In the end, if we do conclude that God has actually spoken to us about doing a certain thing, then we really must act upon that leading. However, we must remember that the prophets of old often paid a high price for obeying what God said. Why would we expect it to be any different for us? Far too often I hear people say that God told them to do a certain thing, but then when that thing gets hard, they bail. They apparently thought God only wanted them to obey when it was easy, though that goes against the whole narrative of scripture. We should be careful about playing the God card, but when we do, we should follow through with it, even if it costs us dearly.

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Dr. Terry W. Dorsett is a church planter and author who has lived in New England since 1993 starting churches and discipling new believers. He is a happy husband, proud father and grandfather, thankful cancer survivor, and more convinced than ever that New England is ripe for spiritual revival. Check out Dr. Dorsett's books at this link:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B00405U4NY

More Will Be Given To Those Who Already Have

Mark 4:21-25

And he said to them, "Is a lamp brought in to be put under a basket, or under a bed, and not on a stand? For nothing is hidden except to be made manifest; nor is anything secret except to come to light. If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear." And he said to them, "Pay attention to what you hear: with the measure you use, it will be measured to you, and still more will be added to you. For to the one who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.

Last week in my personal devotions I was studying the Gospel of Mark. I read a familiar passage of scripture from Mark 4. I confess that I have always struggled a bit with verse 25. That verse says that "the one who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away." I have struggled with that verse because it seemed unfair to me that the person who already has a lot will get more and the person who as little will lose what he has. What kind of God takes from the poor and gives to the rich? What kind of God takes from the less talented and gives to the talented? What kind of God takes from the person who has no family and friends and gives to the one who has an abundance of both? I have never liked this verse much. I do not ever recall preaching or teaching it to others because I was uncomfortable with what I thought it said.

But when I read this passage last week, the Holy Spirit helped me understand it from a whole new perspective. Suddenly I realized that in the context that it was written, it means something quite different than what I have been thinking all these years. The verse comes after the parable of the sower and in the context of Jesus's teaching about people who live generous lives. What this verse is actually saying is that people who lives generous lives will find generosity and those who live stingy lives will have less. It relates to the same principles as Galatians 6:7-9, where Paul reminds us, "Don’t be deceived: God is not mocked. For whatever a man sows he will also reap, because the one who sows to his flesh will reap corruption from the flesh, but the one who sows to the Spirit will reap eternal life from the Spirit. So we must not get tired of doing good, for we will reap at the proper time if we don’t give up." When we live our lives in ways that give of our time, our talents and our treasures to others, then we are rewarded in many ways, making our own lives better. When we live our lives for self, only seeking to fulfill our own desires, we reap the consequences of that selfishness. 

When I realized the truth of this passage, suddenly it went from being a passage that I did not like to one that makes perfect sense. What a simple truth we can all put into practice. If we want "more" out of life, we must learn to give of ourselves to the Lord and to others. But if we refuse to do that, then even the small satisfaction we get from our selfish approach to life will eventually disappear. That sounds fair.

Lord, help us live generous lives making a difference in the world around us. Amen.

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Dr. Terry W. Dorsett is a church planter and author who has lived in New England since 1993. He is a happy father of three young adults, a blessed husband of one great wife, a joyful grandfather, a thankful cancer survivor and convinced that New England needs Jesus more than ever!

Personal Preferences or the Word of God

Matthew 23:1-4 - Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and to His disciples: The scribes and the Pharisees are seated in the chair of Moses. Therefore do whatever they tell you, and observe it. But don’t do what they do, because they don’t practice what they teach. They tie up heavy loads that are hard to carry and put them on people’s shoulders, but they themselves aren’t willing to lift a finger to move them.

The Facebook discussion began with an honest question from an innovative church planter serving in a more traditional part of the country. He asked for the pros and cons of having his primary worship service on a day and time other than Sunday morning. Some responders were very traditional in their thinking, suggesting Sunday morning was the only legitimate option. Others focused more on whatever option would be the most effective evangelistically. What was insightful was that many participants, on both sides of the issue, seemed to think that their personal preferences were the same as God’s Word.

One person said she attended a church for a while that had a Saturday night service, but it was not convenient for her. That person concluded that since Sunday morning was the most convenient time for her, Sunday morning was the only biblical option. Other people gave the very same reason, convenience, for why worship services should be held at times other than Sunday morning. After a lengthy comment thread, people on both sides of the question concluded that what was convenient for them was what God wanted everyone to do.

One individual felt empowered to speak for non-believers. However, in supporting the supposed views of non-believers, he only offered his own preference as a committed believer. It was a bit difficult following his logic, but he concluded that “If non-believers want to come to church, they need to get with the program and not expect believers to make it easy for them.” It sounded a lot like the attitude of the Pharisees in the New Testament who seemed determined to make faith difficult for as many people as possible.

Regardless of what we may feel about the issue of when we should worship, those of us who have grown up in traditional Christian settings need to acknowledge that we frequently substitute our own preferences for God’s Word. We tend to make selective use of a scripture or two in the effort to prove our viewpoint is right without looking at the whole canon of scripture. Without realizing it, we have fallen into the deception of thinking our preferences are actually God’s Word.

If we expect revival to come, we are going to have to give up our personal preferences and stop assuming that our opinion is God’s opinion. We will have to remember what Jesus said in John 8:31, “If you continue in My word, you really are My disciples.” We must hold firmly to scripture, but be willing to give up our own personal preferences for the sake of the Kingdom. Sometimes it is hard to know the difference, but if we pray, and study the Word of God with an open mind, the Holy Spirit will give us discernment, and we will be able to follow biblical principles even if it means we must abandon our personal preferences.

Lord, help us to diligently study Your Word and be willing to abandon our own personal preferences for Your glory. Amen.

This post is an excerpt from the book, The Heavenly Mundane: Daily Devotions from Ordinary Experiences. Filled with stories of how God spoke in big ways through small events, the book will encourage people to look for God in the mundane things of life. Great for both personal use and to give as a gift to friend, either the print version or the e-book version may be purchased at this link:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00MJ2UE4E