Something to Believe In
Scripture Reading — Isaiah 8:11-22
To the law and to the testimony! ... [Without] this word, they have no light of dawn. Isaiah 8:20
Religious gurus seem to be everywhere. A host of preachers claim to receive visions and messages directly from God. But their messages are very different. As a radio broadcaster, I received letters from several people who each claimed to be the last true prophet on earth. Obviously they couldn't all be right!
God gave us a tremendous gift when he gave us the Bible. Without it we would live in hopeless confusion. With so many ideas floating around, we need the Bible as our standard. God has not left us guessing. We can use a test: if an idea contradicts the Bible, it does not come from the Lord. "To the law and to the testimony! If [people's teachings] do not speak according to this word, they have no light of dawn."
This test does not solve every dispute. The pages of the Bible "contain some things that are hard to understand" (2 Peter 3:16). But even if we struggle to understand some things, we can remain certain of the essential truths about God, about salvation through Jesus, and about Christian living.
When God gave us the Bible, he gave us something to believe in. The Bible teaches truth. The Bible teaches everything God wants us to know about him.
We can safely ignore the gurus and false teachers of our day and believe God's Word.
Father, "your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path." Protect me from lies and confusion. Help me believe and live according to your Word. In Jesus' name, Amen.
About the author — David Feddes
Dr. David Feddes is pastor of Family of Faith Church and provost of Christian Leaders Institute, which supports mentor-based ministry training through online courses. David is also adjunct missiologist for Crossroad Bible Institute, which provides biblical distance education to more than 40,000 people in prison. Previously he served as broadcast minister for the Back to God radio program, reaching people in more than fifty countries. David earned his Ph.D. in intercultural studies from Trinity International University, Deerfield, IL. He and his wife, Wendy, have nine children (one in heaven).
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