Favorite Quote 

Favorite quote of the season

God's gift to you

is life

and what you do

with your life

is your gift to Him

Where authority comes from 
Ezra 7:10

Ezra’s life exemplifies three important steps of good spiritual leadership. He dedicated himself to studying the Scriptures, he applied its truths to his own life, and then he began teaching it to others. Authority comes from a life lived on the principles of God’s Word. Matthew 7:28-29 records that “the crowds were amazed at [Jesus’] teaching, because he taught as one who had authority, and not as their teachers of the law."

Bible study is a little like building a house. We start by building the foundation (reading and observing the text.). Next we put up the walls and the roof (interpreting and seeking to understand what the text meant to the original hearers.). Then we move in and make it our own (by applying its truths to our lives).

Application must be a primary goal of all Bible study. To study the Word and not livee it is like building a house and not moving into it. Only when we are living by the Scriptures ourselves can we pass on to others, with authority, what we have learned.

How devoted are you to studying and applying the Word? Make it a daily habit!

Read on: Phil. 3:17; 4:8-9; 1 Thes. 1:4-10; 2 Tim. 3:14-17

Moral IQ - Pt. 1 
by Lynn Green, International Chairman, Youth With A Mission

2 Corinthians 1:12

“Now this is our boast: Our conscience testifies that we have conducted ourselves in the world, and especially in our relations with you, in the holiness and sincerity that are from God. We have done so not according to worldly wisdom but according to God’s grace.”

Michael Burke, the BBC newsreader, recently presented a series of programs called The Hand of God. In it he interviewed sports personalities, celebrities and politicians who make a claim to some sort of faith—people who believe that God makes a difference in their daily lives. Jim Caviezel, the actor who plays Jesus in Mel Gibson’s film, The Passion, was amongst several Hollywood celebrities interviewed.

In a recent film, Caviezel was starring opposite Jennifer Lopez. In a scene where the script required them to be naked together, he asked her to cover the intimate parts of her body. He also covered up. Burk suggested that this was a very “peculiar” idea, given that most men would “give their right arm” to be naked together with a famous, beautiful woman. The actor replied, “I am playing the character, but in reality I am a happily married man.” He explained that he didn’t want to introduce guilt into his marriage by behaving inappropriately with another woman because, “guilt is God’s way of telling you ‘this is not right’.”

Michael Burk was still not convinced, so Caviezel drew an analogy. If a banker has the opportunity to steal cash but doesn’t, is that peculiar? Is it peculiar to be honest, to be a person of your word?

For me it was wonderfully refreshing to hear a Hollywood leading man express moral intelligence. He understood that there is such a thing as right and wrong. Right behavior is often difficult in the short term but pays huge dividends in the long term. Wrong behavior is usually very attractive in the short term but leads inevitably to unwanted results.

(to be cont'd.)

5 Books that have changed my life 

(1)  The New American Standard Bible (2)  The Five Love Languages (3)  Repenting of Religion - Gregory Boyd (4)  The intercessor - Rees Howells (5)  A time to understand - Larry Allen