God Speaking

“they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the Scriptures daily, whether those things were so..”

(Acts 17:11 K.J.V)

My family tease me for my great interest in social media and I must admit I love to see what they are all up to, and I also like the fact that I can keep in contact with Australian relatives and friends who are so far away, yet through the internet seem very close by, when I see their photos of special occasions or fun holidays, and I marvel at how the children are growing etc. but the thing I dislike about much of what I read, (I call it “social media nonsense”), is what is blatantly displayed as being trustworthy and absolutely true with no evidence to back it up. We have all read it!!! Eat this special food every week and you will ward off cancer. Outrageous stories about very unlikely people, purporting to be true, dripping with sentimentality, but with no word of truth contained anywhere. Sometimes dangerous suggestions about emotional problems and how to solve them. I suppose the real message is, “don’t believe everything you see on this page.”

My husband and I were reading in our Bible study this week, the passage in Acts which describes Paul proclaiming the good news to others and the fascinating section for us was how people received this news, the Bereans (Acts 17) were the ones that caught our attention. They wished to check if what Paul was telling them was true and went back to the one solid source of truth, Scripture. No need for them to worry if this was social media nonsense, his words had the backing of the Lord God Almighty. They also did not stop at a quick “Google check”. Firstly they had prepared minds to accept the truth. Then they realised daily reading of the truth was needed so this amazing message could be totally absorbed into their beings.

“…they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the Scriptures daily, whether those things were so.” (Acts 17:11 (K.J.V))

What a wonderful example for us to follow. God’s word has so much depth of knowledge we also need to have our minds ready and to daily seek wisdom from this one solid source of truth. When Solomon left wise words for his son to live by, he emphasised the need to make it a priority, an urgent necessity, more important than silver or gold, to know and understand God’s word;

“…and if you call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding, and if you look for it as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God.” (Proverbs 2:3 – 5)

Reading rubbish that floods all forms of media certainly fades into oblivion when it stands up against the timeless truth of God’s Word and what confidence it gives us who love the Heavenly Father when we read this assurance ;

“And the words of the Lord are flawless, like silver refined in a furnace of clay, purified seven times.” (Psalm 12:6)