Today's Journal

STANDARD OF REFERENCE

To have opinion and sink deeply into thought that gives us our basis of good, truth and beauty in what we believe… takes some effort. The first effort is to distinguish between our sound bites, one lines, headlines and media inspired formation as compared with a system and season of study, meditation, prayer, silence and listening in our preparation. All of this is double-checked by the written scriptures…the Bible.

Dallas Willard (1935-2013) philosopher and author wrote in ‘The Importance of Study,’
“In the spiritual discipline of study, we engage ourselves, above all, with the written and spoken Word of God. Here is the chief positive counterpart of solitude. As solitude is the primary discipline of abstinence for the early part of our spiritual life, so study is the primary discipline of engagement. Our early experience may be so full that we neglect study. But relationship with God, as with any person, soon requires a contribution from us, which will largely consist of study. Calvin Miller (pastor, writer and professor) well remarks, “Mystics without study are only spiritual romantics who want relationship without effort.”

Without careful study our opinions become brightly colored hot-air balloons flying in various directions full of fired up gas without much logic or discipline. A Standard of Reference is solid, certain and full of life and reason.

As Paul, an apostle, wrote: “Then we will no longer be immature like children. We won’t be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching. We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever, they sound like the truth.” (Ephesians 4:14)

“Your mistake is that you don’t know the Scriptures, and you don’t know the power of God.” Jesus