60IN60 Day 46 - Thurs Aug 19

It's Day 46 and we're in Titus 3.

Where God Spoke To Me:
- Verse 9 – We can spend so much time on pointless arguments. We need to avoid those and stay focused on what’s fruitful.

If you want to read the chapter online, here’s a link.

If you have a question or comment, email me at butcher@ymail.com.

Your Questions and Comments:

- "Hi Pastor Jim, I have a question from day 42. This question may not matter much, but I just wanted to try and clear up confusion if it does matter. You spoke of  'the Book of Jashar' on this day, and said 'This is a book that didn't make it into the Bible but is a historic document.' I have heard my grandmother talk of other books that didn’t make it into the Bible, but she would still read or listen to them. So what ultimately made them not make the Bible? And should we still read them and listen to what they say? I just wasn’t sure since it didn’t make it to the Bible if it was accurate and Holy if that makes sense?" - Great question!  There are obviously a lot of ancient documents that didn't make it into the Bible, like the Book of Jashar.  (The Bible references a few more in other places.)  Sometimes, though, those books are helpful as references to what the Bible does say.  If we choose to read them, it's important to remember that (unlike the Bible) they may be a mix of true and inaccurate statements since they're just ordinary books.  Now, on the more important question you asked: why did some books make the Bible?  Maybe the easiest way to explain this is to focus my answer on the New Testament.  In the decades after Jesus' Ascension, there were a lot of books written about Him.  Some made it into the Bible; some didn't.  The ones that did make it in were the ones inspired by the Holy Spirit.  Discerning which ones those were happened through the collective witness and experience of the early church.  They asked important questions: was this written by one of the apostles or a key church leader?; does this document contain obvious falsehoods?; have we experienced the Holy Spirit moving through this document?  They came to a consensus on which books were of divine origin (written with the guidance of the Holy Spirit) and which books were ordinary documents.  So you could say that God's Spirit working through God's people confirmed God's Word.