Dear friends, do not believe everyone who claims to speak by the Spirit. You must test them to see if the spirit they have comes from God. For there are many false prophets in the world. - 1 John 4:1
Occasionally, we hear someone say something, preach something, or teach something that doesn't sit well in our hearts. We have a nagging feeling that something just isn't quite right with what was said. The Holy Spirit within us gives us what I call "the greasies" — that sick feeling in the pit of our stomachs that something isn't quite right.
The things said could be very pleasing to us, they could be difficult for us to hear, or they could be the culturally acceptable point of view. No matter on what trajectory the comments reach us, we need to pray and seek the Spirit's leading and then open the Scriptures to check and see if what we heard is really from God. Spiritual discernment is an important work of the Holy Spirit in our lives.
Meditation
When you think about a problem over and over in your mind that is called worry. When you think about God’s word over and over again in your mind that is meditation. So, if you know how to worry then you already know how to meditate
Romans 12:2
Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is — his good, pleasing and perfect will.
Sooner or later we all have to make a decision: Will I be a nonconformist? Will I refuse to be squeezed into the mold of the world? (J.B. Phillips terminology) Will I be part of a Christian counter-culture? (John R.W. Stott terminology) Will I be God's own person, an alien and an exile in the world, put here to have a redemptive influence?
(The apostle Peter's terminology) Jesus simply calls us his disciples. Bottom line: until we are really ready to cross the line and live totally for the Lord, we're not going to be able to fully recognize God's will for us. There are no arm-chair quarterback Christians. There are no sideline disciples. There are no back-seat driver Christians. We either choose the Lordship of Jesus, or else we reject it. So what's your decision?
Occasionally, we hear someone say something, preach something, or teach something that doesn't sit well in our hearts. We have a nagging feeling that something just isn't quite right with what was said. The Holy Spirit within us gives us what I call "the greasies" — that sick feeling in the pit of our stomachs that something isn't quite right.
The things said could be very pleasing to us, they could be difficult for us to hear, or they could be the culturally acceptable point of view. No matter on what trajectory the comments reach us, we need to pray and seek the Spirit's leading and then open the Scriptures to check and see if what we heard is really from God. Spiritual discernment is an important work of the Holy Spirit in our lives.
Meditation
When you think about a problem over and over in your mind that is called worry. When you think about God’s word over and over again in your mind that is meditation. So, if you know how to worry then you already know how to meditate
Romans 12:2
Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is — his good, pleasing and perfect will.
Sooner or later we all have to make a decision: Will I be a nonconformist? Will I refuse to be squeezed into the mold of the world? (J.B. Phillips terminology) Will I be part of a Christian counter-culture? (John R.W. Stott terminology) Will I be God's own person, an alien and an exile in the world, put here to have a redemptive influence?
(The apostle Peter's terminology) Jesus simply calls us his disciples. Bottom line: until we are really ready to cross the line and live totally for the Lord, we're not going to be able to fully recognize God's will for us. There are no arm-chair quarterback Christians. There are no sideline disciples. There are no back-seat driver Christians. We either choose the Lordship of Jesus, or else we reject it. So what's your decision?
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