Nothing To Say

(Editor’s Note: Jeff Perkins, pastor of Mansfield Baptist Church, for the past 18 years, has volunteered to write in this space since Danny Sorrells announced his resignation. He may be contacted at jeff@MansfieldBaptistChurch.com. Both Rev. Perkins and The News welcome feedback.)

Here is a confession that you may not have expected at the beginning of a newspaper article: I really don’t have anything to say that’s worth reading.

Before you divert your eyes to other columns, let me at least say that though what I have to say is not worth much, I firmly believe that what God has to say is not only worth hearing but also worth heeding.

So I will spend my time and space letting you hear from Him rather than me. One primary way we hear from God is by diving into His Word. The Bible has much to say about itself. One truth the Bible shares about itself is the following:

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness (2 Timothy 3:16, NIV).

If in fact the Bible is “God-breathed,” or inspired by God, then how we approach His Word makes all the difference. Once we commit to the Bible being a primary way that the Lord talks with us and we commit to submitting to His control in our life, then our attitude changes.

Rather than understanding what the Bible says, deciding if I agree, then doing what I think is best, we grow to this process:

understanding what the Bible says, submitting to His authority in my life, and striving to do what He says.

Did you notice the difference? If God is speaking to me and He is calling the shots in my life, then my opinion doesn’t matter. Only my obedience matters. I do not have to decide if I agree or not. That is irrelevant. Doing what He says is all that is relevant.

Is that how you approach God’s Word? Do you come longing to know what God says so you can do it, or do you come trying to decide if you agree with it and then believe it? If I believe He is God and the Bible is His Word, I have no choice but to read then do.

Instead, if I have to run it through my filter to see if I agree with it and therefore believe it, who is actually the authority; who is making the final decision; who is God in my life?

That’s why what I have to say doesn’t matter, but what God has to say matters greatly.