Okay, you guys. This is it. On something of a whim, I’m committing myself to posting every day in November. 30 Days of biblical discernment.
Now, real life being what it is, I may not get something up every day. Forgive me now, okay? I was going to title this post November and Biblical Discernment. Or One Month of Biblical Discernment. But dang it, the 30 days thing just has better flow.
So I’m going with that title. And we’ll see how it goes.
Why Discernment?
Because this is really my heart. It’s what I’m good at and it’s what I’ve been teaching every chance I’ve gotten for all my adult life. Bible studies, college composition classrooms, small groups, mom’s groups, ladies groups.
This is what I do.
I challenge people to think. To turn their brains on and know what they believe and why they believe it. Most of all, I want them to be able to figure out (discern) whether what someone else says matches up with the Bible. And I want to equip them to do just that.
Not the Norm
Because, the thing is, most Christians are not equipped to do this. We are not teaching new believers and challenging mature believers to discern. Even though it’s key to any real pattern of discipleship. Of seeing people mature in their faith without getting sucked into the thousands of lies, lines, and almost-truths that are flung at us on a daily basis.
For believers to grow, we can’t stop at the prayer they prayed. We have to teach them to listen and learn and wrestle and get real. And it all has to be tied back to God’s Word.
And sadly, almost no one’s doing this. It’s just not a thing in most churches. We’re much more likely to be told what to think than to be equipped to think biblically for ourselves. Or, if we push, we might be told to try “this” program or read “that” book.
But it’s just not a big deal for most of us. We blow discernment off as something that only applies to pastors or people in seminary. Not everyday people. After all, we’re too busy. It’s all we can do to manage life and marriage and kids and jobs and laundry. Discernment? Not for me.
But it is for you. Especially if you are a woman.
Women and Biblical Discernment
We have to get serious about anchoring and equipping our women. It’s getting real out there, and ladies, we are not prepared for it.
We are losing our footing so easily, sliding around on all the feel-good, flowery, girl-empowerment, pseudo-Christian, self-help mantras. Some of it is real and good. Much of it is not.
We’re falling prey to too much. We are absorbing too many lies through our memes on social media. And it’s killing our mental stability, our families, and our faith. It’s keeping us from the abundant life Jesus promised.
And it’s damaging the church, too. No matter your take on the recent conflict between John MacArthur and Beth Moore, the entire conversation hinged on deception and discernment. And most of us missed it. The truth of the matter got lost in all the name-calling and self-defense and mockery on both sides.
It was a mess. And women were at the heart of it. Because we are not prepared. We are not, on a daily basis, anchoring ourselves to the truth. And we are not equipped to, on a daily basis, blend the truth of God’s Word with our everyday life.
A Month of Biblical Discernment
So that’s what I’m going to blog about this month. And I’ll be honest, I get pretty passionate about this topic. I will soapbox from time to time. But my goal is to get some of my thoughts out there and see if we can’t begin, together, to bring discernment down to our real lives.
I have a few ideas in play already. Genesis 3 is a big part of it. The dangers of deception. The pattern of discernment. The how-to of discerning. Maybe we’ll even take some memes I see this month and break them down together.
And if you have a topic you’d like me to address, I’d love to hear it. Are you missing this? What have you wondered? In what areas of life do you need more of it?
I’m a few steps ahead in this journey (I think!). So I’m offering myself as a guide. We can anchor ourselves to the truth of God’s Word and then equip ourselves to discern. This series is a first-step in that direction.
I can’t wait.
