Devotions
In a world that is running short on truth, here is an indisputable truth, Jesus is Lord and Christ. This is the greatest confession we could ever make. Jesus has dominion and supremacy over any other god. He is Lord of all. He is not just one of the variety of ways to get to heaven as some false teachers would have us believe, Jesus is the only way, because he is the risen Lord and God has made him Lord and Christ.
In challenging times like these, God expects the believer to rise up to the challenge of discipleship. But how can the believer live the life God intended with all the mounting pressures swirling around? Wherever you turn, there is temptation: temptation to judge, temptation to criticize, temptation to share misinformation and outright lies…you name it, it is there. I do not know about you, but quite often, I feel inadequate to live the Christian life. No matter how hard I try to be perfect, failure is a daily theme.
If there’s ever been a time when we needed to test the spirits, it is now. We live in an age when we can no longer be gullible and undiscerning. As the writer of this first letter of John points out, false prophets have already gone out into the world. These false prophets are exactly that, false. They are wolves in sheep’s clothing (Matthew 7:15), mimicking the real thing, if we are not careful, we too will be deceived (Matthew 24:24). These are the messengers who say one thing and yet do another, or they say one thing today and the exact opposite the next day. Do not trust them no matter how convincing they sound or no matter how large their following. The bible exhorts us to judge them, not by their “sweet syrupy words” but by their fruit (Matthew 7: 15-20). After all words are cheap.
