How Do You Handle Your Authority Being Questioned - Especially When It's God Who Is Asking The Questions

John 18:19-23

Soul Food

John 18:19-23

“Meanwhile, the high priest questioned Jesus about His disciples and His teaching.

‘I have spoken openly to the world,’ Jesus answered. ‘I always taught in the synagogues and at the temple, where all the Jews come together. I said nothing in secret. Why are you asking Me? Ask those who heard My message. Surely they know what I said.’

When Jesus had said this, one of the officers standing nearby slapped Him in the face and said, ‘Is this how You answer the high priest?’

Jesus replied, ‘If I said something wrong, testify as to what was wrong. But if I spoke correctly, why did you strike Me?’”

Soul Search

• Do you live by any specific moral code?
  If so, what is it?
  What or who guides you about the decisions you make morally?

• If the Bible serves as a guide for you, what place or priority does it hold in your life for helping you discern what is moral or immoral in the decisions you make?

• Would you say that you, yourself, are the final ‘word’ or authority for the moral decisions you make?
  If you are the final authority over yourself, how do you determine what is right or wrong?
  Is your authority subjective?
  Should the authority over your life be objective and come from outside of yourself?

• If you claim to be a Christ-follower, do you believe that the Bible is your moral authority?
  If so, does what is written in the Bible consistently inform and determine for you the moral decisions you make or do you sometimes disregard what the Bible says, and if so, why?

Soul Moves

• Take an honest, transparent look at yourself and identify clearly where your moral compass takes its instructions from.
  Ask yourself if the ingredients for your moral compass come from trustworthy, proven sources.
  I highly and whole-heartedly recommend the Bible.

• Make a determination to feed and nourish your soul.
  Just as your body can get malnourished and even die from lack of food, so, too, your soul/spirit can suffer and even ‘die’ from lack of soul/spiritual food.

• Be careful to discern where your spiritual nourishment is coming from.
  Rotten food can make you sick.
  Rotten morality can also make you sick.

• Ask God in prayer to make His Word, the Bible, come alive to you and to make your spirit to come alive to Him.
  Ask God to give you the strength and courage to embrace His Word in its entirety and to keep you from picking and choosing only those things that you want or like.