New Attitude 2008 Review - Josh Harris

Ok, so I am finally taking a bit of time to review the messages from NA 2008. We'll be starting out by taking a look at Josh Harris' opening message for the conference on Friday night.

Josh started from Jeremiah 15:16, which was the theme verse for the conference.

Your words were found, and I ate them, and your words became to me a joy and the delight of my heart, for I am called by your name, O Lord, God of hosts.

Even without a message, meditating on this verse was challenging to my heart, but Josh helped to direct that and establish the direction for the rest of the conference. He reaffirmed the concept of "humble orthodoxy", that there is indeed truth but that we have received it by God's mercy, not because we are more deserving or smarter than others.

One of the questions he asked was, what is our attitude towards God's Word? Does it shape us? Do we love and obey it? It really struck me when he asked if our living matched our confession. I know I will say that I believe the Bible is the true Word of God, but does my behavior affirm that belief? My belief in the Bible should be testified to not just by my words but by the place it occupies in my life.

Josh then went on to use examples of three Old Testament figures and their reactions to God's Word. First he mentioned King Josiah, in 2 Kings 22, who was following God despite a family tree that disobeyed. When the scroll of the law was discovered, Josiah reacted by tearing his clothes and repenting. Even though he was being faithful, Josiah saw that God's Word applied to his own life and admitted his own personal guilt as well as admitting the guilt of the nation. Josh noted that while emotions are not always there, we should be concerned if are hearts are never affected by God's Word. We should examine what it is that moves our hearts if it isn't God.

Second, Josh directed us to the story of King Jehoiakim in Jeremiah 36. He is the son of Josiah, but does not follow in his father's way. The prophet Jeremiah's words predicting judgement on Israel are written on a scroll and read to Jehoiakim, who cuts columns off the scroll as they are read and tosses them into the fire. Josh cautioned that while we may never have burned God's Word, the way we treat and approach Scripture can be similar in regards to how we apply it to our lives. He asked if we obey God's Word and whether we take the Bible as a complete revelation or if we pick and choose the parts we like. Also, he challenged us to listen and be humbled by God's Word when it is preached rather than be more about the person preaching than the Word preached.

Lastly, Josh came back to the example of Jeremiah in Jeremiah 15:16. Jeremiah ate the words of God and if you eat something you trust, it becomes a part of you. Josh asked whether there was anticipation and excitement when opening God's Word. He also noted that this statement about delighting in God's Word came in the midst of Jeremiah's complaint. From this we can learn that God's Word meets us right where we are, delight in God's Word is something we have to fight for and we don't love God's Word so we can earn our standing before him but we love God's Word because Jesus established our standing before him.

I was definitely challenged by my own approach to God's Word. I want to be more aware of the gift that it is and I want to fight hard to delight in God's Word. I need to strive to give the Bible a place in my life that reflects my conviction that it is God's word. And I need to seek to apply it in my day to day life.