Tomorrow (Thursday) at 10:30 a.m. CST, join us for the Digging Deep podcast for the month of May. It’s about the authority of our elders over our individual congregations and lives. Truth be told, we may veer just a little bit from the specific study of our shepherds and discuss both primary and delegated authority from the perspectives that come sharply into focus for a Christian visitor to the country of Israel. But we hope to cover things that will be practical for all of us. Kate Hudgens, from Hot Springs, Arkansas, will be joining me and we may have a small live “studio” audience right here on the shores of the Sea of Galilee.
The Sea of Galilee! I’m spending the night tonight in a room that overlooks those shores where Jesus, the Christ, displayed the fact that “all authority (had) been given to (him).” I’ve seen Beersheba, the home country of Abraham, from which he followed wherever God led. I’ve looked at the mountains of Moab and Edom and I have even seen Mount Nebo, where Moses died in faith, “not having received the promise.” I went to Jericho and came face to face, once again with God’s authority. (It’s ultimate authority when someone can make a promise in the past tense!) He is omnipotent!
As I looked today at the massive ruins of the palace of Herod the Great that sits atop the Masada and as I contemplated those battering rams of the Romans penetrating the fortress, I became acutely aware that, though the physical instruments of destruction were in the hands of The Romans, there was a sovereign God who was powerfully orchestrating the destruction of the last Jewish stronghold and replacing it with the spiritual stronghold that is Christ. He is almighty!
I went to Qumran and saw one of the caves where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found. In His perfect timing, God allowed this major verification of the truth of His Word an entrance into the world via a shepherd boy who threw a rock into a cave. The sound of the shattering glass of those jars that held complete manuscripts of so much of your Old Testament also signaled the shattering of doubts of many skeptics about the veracity of those Scriptures. He is truth!
And when we, as His church, acknowledge His plan for worship, church organization, the purity of our congregations and our evangelistic plea, we can count on His making His people victorious. The battering rams are already aligned for the eternal destruction of those who reject His authority. I hope you will join us as we talk about authority in the church. Here’s the link;
https://livestream.com/whcoc/for-women.
Spoiler alert!…We do have a plan in place for you to type your comments to us and we are hoping that will happen! We’ll tell you how when we air tomorrow! Can’t wait!
