Tuesday, August 9th, 2022

Countless people today consider themselves experts on various subjects and post content to be consumed all day every day. But what qualifies that content as worth consuming, let alone following, or making a part of our lives? I believe we can learn things from anyone God puts in our lives, not just trained “experts” or teachers; but what qualifies a teaching is what it is rooted to. Is a teaching rooted to making someone money/clicks? Or to common worldly advice? Or is it rooted to the Word of God? If a teaching is not rooted -- as in tethered at its base (not adjacent, close to, related to) -- to the Word, it should hold no authority in our lives. There is inherent power in the Word; just look at the faith expressed by the centurion to Jesus, knowing in his heart that Jesus could heal just with a word. We hold that same Word each time we open our Bibles, and that power is spoken into our lives each time it’s uttered. The Word is thereby of a different weight, value, and power than anything we can come up with ourselves. Before allowing words, teaching, beliefs about society to take hold in our lives — seek out the origin, the base, the root system of it. If it is not rooted in God’s Word, turn from it entirely and seek what God says on the subject.

“When Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, asking for help. “Lord,” he said, “my servant lies at home paralyzed, suffering terribly.”

Jesus said to him, “Shall I come and heal him?”

The centurion replied, “Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and that one, ‘Come,’ and he comes. I say to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”

When Jesus heard this, he was amazed and said to those following him, “Truly I tell you, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith. I say to you that many will come from the east and the west, and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. But the subjects of the kingdom will be thrown outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” Then Jesus said to the centurion, “Go! Let it be done just as you believed it would.” And his servant was healed at that moment.” — Matthew 8:5-13