Day 5 – Do not scoff at prophecies, but test everything that is said. – 1 Thessalonians 5:20
In the world of social media, information is available as soon as it comes out of someone’s mouth, sometimes before they’ve fully thought about their words! It’s been a really interesting / frustrating time with so much information floating around, often with very little to no context.
It seems like there are three very distinct camps when it comes to information overload. There are those who believe everything that is written, because, well, it must be true because it’s on the internet! Then there are those who believe that everything out there is a lie or conspiracy or info intended to sway beliefs.
The final group is the group I try to maintain my membership card in. This is the group that takes in information, researches to strain out the facts from fiction, asks questions and then looks at things through a freshly filtered lens.
When it comes to the Church, these principles and groups are just as evident as they are in the world. Paul is encouraging believers to filter and research, using prayer and the whispering of the Holy Spirit as the ultimate magnifying glass as to whether something is truly from God.
It’s so easy to believe what is said from a pulpit or from a spiritual leader’s Twitter feed. But just because someone says they have a word from God, doesn’t necessarily mean we need to blindly believe and follow. God wants us to test and see that His word is true.
You’re probably asking, how on earth can we know if something is true or not. The answer is in most every page of the Bible. Book after book, chapter after chapter, God lays out His plan for mankind. The messages held within the covers of my slightly tattered-from-use Bible still hold up and pertain to those of us living in 2020.
God created us with minds that can reason and the ability to choose. God is clear about His love for the world, even though it is filled with sin. He loved us so much that He designed the most incredible path to salvation – the death of His Son. He is clear about wanting us to make the choice between staying on the wide, comfortable path of sin versus turning onto the path that leads to Heaven.
And God’s heart is that we would do our homework, test the words that we hear in the name of Jesus and choose the path that leads to a heavenly home for all eternity!
Father, I pray that you would give me a discerning mind and spirit so I can know Your words are true. Keep me grounded in Your truth so I won’t be lead astray by the noise and chaos of the world. Thank you for the amazing gift of Your Son. Amen
