Forgot to post this after the December 14th class.
Are You Governed Increasingly by God's Word?
Question 2 from
10 Questions to Diagnose Your Spiritual Health by Don Whitney
10 Questions to Diagnose Your Spiritual Health by Don Whitney
At the beginning of a new year, many people commit to a read-through the Bible plan. I very much encourage you to read through the Bible, but do not read it merely to say you read it.
Read the Bible with the purpose of knowing God, the Father, the Creator and Sustainer of the World.
Read the Bible with the purpose of knowing God, the Son, the Savior of the saint's soul.
Read the Bible with the purpose of knowing God, the Holy Spirit, our Helper and Intercessor.
Second Timothy 3:15 - 17 says Scripture gives us what we need for salvation and spiritual growth.
A specific phrase in this question is very important "governed increasingly."
This question implies that a healthy Christian is always growing.
"So we speak of being governed by Scriptures as (1) a general characteristic of a true follower of Jesus, and yet (2) something which increasingly characterizes the growing Christian."
"So we speak of being governed by Scriptures as (1) a general characteristic of a true follower of Jesus, and yet (2) something which increasingly characterizes the growing Christian."
This growth does not come from us. It comes through the Holy Spirit as we spend time in God's word.
Whitney gives several suggestions to help go
- Deepen Your Desire for God’s Word
- Read less, if necessary, in order to meditate more.
- Make Time for God’s Word.
- List at least five areas you have not recently considered from a Biblical perspective. Here are some examples.
- Church: attendance, baptism, membership, serving in, giving to, learning in, praying with, fellowship, Lord's Supper, promoting unity
- Discipleship: meditation on Scripture, prayer, evangelism, missions, priorities/stewardship of time, fasting, silence and solitude, journaling, learning/ reading, legalism versus consistency
- Family: marriage, family crisis, unconverted family members, childlessness, dealing with aging parents, parenting children, parenting teenagers, divorce, sex, family worship
- Money: giving, saving, investing, controlling debt, contentment, budgeting, gambling, wasting, not loving it, simplifying with less
- Work: the amount of, purpose, travel, attitude, dependability, integrity, witness at, relationships with boss, coworkers, customers, suppliers), integration of faith, retirement
- Train yourself to ask, “How does the Bible speak to this?”
