For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. —Romans 15:4

Saturday, May 5, 2012

The Voice of Truth


1 John 4:1-3a;4-6a
Dear friends, do not believe every spirit,
 but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God.
They are from the world and therefore speak from the viewpoint of the world, and the world listens to them.
We are from God, and whoever knows God listens to us; but whoever is not from God does not listen to us.

Sometimes my husband teases me and tells me stories that may or may not be true. After a few minutes of me guessing whether the tale is grounded, he tells me the facts and we have a good laugh. We enjoy the back and forth banter involved and sometimes share it with our children.

But in life I hear too many falsehoods. People sometimes flat out lie or spin tales for their gain. Many people tell stories about Jesus and his kingdom that sound convincing, yet are not grounded in truth. The lie may be an out and out falsehood or may fall in the category of an untruth due to omission. In other words they only tell part of the story. Learn to recognize truth by relying on the Holy Spirit’s guidance. Measure everything against the word of God. I thank God for the written truths he gave us through his followers. 

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