John – God and Love
We always test it before buying it, right? I always push the buttons of a product display at the store to see if it really works, don’t you? We drive the vehicle we are interested in buying before paying good money to have it for ourselves. SO, it stands to reason that we do what John tells us in our passage this morning, “Don’t believe everything you hear!” Test what you hear with God’s Word. Examine words and actions before “buying in”. Look for those who proclaim Jesus as Savior and Lord, who talk the same language and walk as Jesus walked. Look for those who do not point the world to them but to Jesus! That is the button to push to test what you are hearing.
1 John 4, The MessagePart One
Don’t Believe Everything You Hear
4 My dear friends, don’t believe everything you hear. Carefully weigh and examine what people tell you. Not everyone who talks about God comes from God. There are a lot of lying preachers loose in the world.
2-3 Here’s how you test for the genuine Spirit of God. Everyone who confesses openly his faith in Jesus Christ—the Son of God, who came as an actual flesh-and-blood person—comes from God and belongs to God. And everyone who refuses to confess faith in Jesus has nothing in common with God. This is the spirit of antichrist that you heard was coming. Well, here it is, sooner than we thought!
4-6 My dear children, you come from God and belong to God. You have already won a big victory over those false teachers, for the Spirit in you is far stronger than anything in the world. These people belong to the Christ-denying world. They talk the world’s language and the world eats it up. But we come from God and belong to God. Anyone who knows God understands us and listens. The person who has nothing to do with God will, of course, not listen to us. This is another test for telling the Spirit of Truth from the spirit of deception.
GOD’S PROMISE OF HELP….
Did you pick up the promise in this passage? We get help to discern God’s Truth for “the Spirit (of God) is far greater than anything in the world.” Anyone who knows God understands us and listen…they get it. Those who have nothing to do with God…won’t get it. Simple test. Push the right buttons.
Dear Heavenly Father, You are God and we are not. You love us no matter what. You will always be with us and help us to discern who and what is Truth as you see it. Thank you! The devil is tricky but far greater are you in us. Help us to see You in others.
In Jesus Name, Amen
Daily Manna (Coffee with Jesus) 