When I entered full-time ministry, my focus was wide. I taught the youth, I did prayer conferences, I was the Southeast Michigan coordinator for Mom’s in Touch (an international group of moms who get together to pray for their schools), I spoke at churches, and I organized Christian events. Over time, though, my focus became narrower until I realized that God was calling me to bring His people back to the Word of God. There is no question that God has appointed me to help people understand His Word and study it. If I choose another pathway, I would be denying God’s call on my life. But to guide me in my calling, God has put a deep passion for His Word in my heart.
I’ve watched the church evolve and change over the course of many years. In fact, at one time, the Word of God was held to a HIGH standard. But in our modern church, it has been replaced by many things. Of course, I’m talking about the corporate church. Praise God if you go to a church that exalts God’s Word. But in today’s world, there are many teachers, pastors, influencers with huge followings… but they should not be teaching anyone. Many of them have not been trained (and we know that God almost always trains people before they enter His work, especially teaching).
One specific thing that alarms me in the church are those who claim authority (or they claim to have been given a word from God) through dreams and visions. These people are popping up all over and their followings are growing exponentially. Why is that? Because people want to know what’s going to happen. In fact, I used to listen to some of them. But since then, God has convicted my heart. These verses in Hebrews have become almost a bedrock for my ministry. Here’s the thing… we have the completed Scriptures before us. Old Testament saints didn’t have it. I believe with all my heart is that the Bible tells us everything we need to know… everything about family, relationships, marriage, living a godly life, and… everything about the end days.
Now, here me… I realize that people in countries hostile to the gospel and where Bibles are scarce are seeing visions and dreams of Jesus. This may the only way they hear about Jesus. But for the majority of the world, we have the Bible. So, let’s put God’s Word above everything else. Let’s keep it firmly on the throne as our #1 go-to. God has given us great teachers, expositors, scholars, books, devotionals, communities. And they’re all good and we should use them to grow our faith for sure. How thankful I am for the resources and the pastors and teachers that have helped me. But God speaks to each of us through His Word. It’s important that we are very careful who we listen to and what theology we adopt. Let’s become students of HIS WORD.