Handle With Care

Read: Acts 20:27-32

I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up. --- Acts 20:32

The Bible In One Year:
Psalms 18-19
Acts 20:17-38

While Jakarta, Indonesia, for a Bible conference, I was invited to speak in a church there. Before the first of two services that Sunday morning, one of the elders asked me to give him my Bible. He explained that the elders were responsible for the biblical reliability of the teaching the congregation received, and that he would return my Bible to me in front of the congregation. It was a tangible way of showing the church family that the leadership was entrusting the ministry of the Word to me on that day.

This practice was both sobering and encouraging. It reminded me that the privilege of presenting the truths of the Bible to people is not one to be taken lightly. It also was encouraging to see the degree to which these Indonesian elders took seriously their responsibility for the care of the flock.

In Acts 20, we read that Paul met with the elders of the church at Ephesus. In his charge to these leaders, the apostle warned them of the danger of false teachers [vv.28-29] and the responsibility of the church leadership to help the congregation grow in the Word of God [v.32].

No matter what our calling is, let's handle the Word with care. When we do, God's people will grow. --- Bill Crowder

O God, in whom our trust we place,
We thank You for Your Word of grace;
Help us its precepts to obey,
Till we shall live in endless day. --- Huss

THE SPIRIT OF GOD USES THE WORD OF GOD TO CHANGE THE PEOPLE OF GOD.