Focus
Slow your breathing and become aware of the taking in and letting out of your breath. Focus on putting things aside so you will be open to what God is saying to you today.
Read
1 John 4:1-6 New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)
Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God; for many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. And this is the spirit of the antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming; and now it is already in the world. Little children, you are from God, and have conquered them; for the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. They are from the world; therefore what they say is from the world, and the world listens to them. We are from God. Whoever knows God listens to us, and whoever is not from God does not listen to us. From this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.
Reflect
My husband was fitted with a hearing aid last year. He loves being able to participate more fully in intimate conversations, but being in a large group of people drives him absolutely crazy because the hearing aid amplifies all of the voices around him, not just the voice of the person with whom he is speaking. He struggles to separate the one voice he needs to hear from the cacophony of voices he can hear.
Isn’t that how many of us feel these days? We are bombarded by so many voices – telling us what to do, where to go, how to live, what to believe, how to act, and much more – that we struggle to focus on the voice we need to hear and to shut out the others. Life would be so much easier if truth sounded like angel voices and lies sounded like fingernails on a chalkboard!
Discerning the truth is not easy; however, this scripture gives us key steps to follow. Test the spirits: take the time to process and consider the message. Look for Jesus in the message: the world follows and promotes false gods. Trust the voice of the one who is in us: the Holy Spirit is in every believer and leads us to truth.
Pray
God of truth, help us to proceed cautiously, to listen intently, to consider thoroughly, and to discern wisely so we can move forward with a boldness that comes only from walking in truth. Amen
Go with God!
Leave a Reply
Your email is safe with us.