Truth?

Yesterday my pastor talked about being aware of false prophets, teachers, doctrines, etc. He implored us to be careful who we follow, since who we follow will be who we become and who we become will be who we reproduce. Who do you want to become? What kind of fruit do you want to produce? He talked about how important it is to know the word of God and to be able to recognize when something comes up against it. He brought up how there are many Christian authors, speakers, etc out there bringing messages to people, and much of what they say can be good and true and honor the word, but that sometimes, there will be stuff amongst the truth that doesn't line up. So we need to be aware of what people are saying, no matter how it good it sounds, and take it to the word and see what God says. If we don't know the word well enough, we can be lured into believing a false doctrine, even though we don't mean to. He mentioned how a lot of time what these people end up doing is minimizing the word of God and that is never a good thing.

Now, I love to read books on Christian life and issues and people, and all that. There are times that I get so pumped up and motivated and inspired when I read some of these books. I will recommend books and rave about a lot of the things I got out of them; God's word and message can come alive and be seen more clearly through giftings of writers and speakers. God uses many things in life to give us revelation, but true revelation must match up with the word.

We must be careful not to go around and promote these books as the "all in all" or worship any of the authors/speakers. I know I have caught myself before, jumping the gun and saying how much I am enjoying a book when I start it, only to find out later in the book some questionable material. I want to be careful not to promote something I cant back up with the word. So until we can take something to scripture and back it up, we shouldn't be out walking in it or teaching others. A book never replaces the bible. There are many times where I stop and say "I'm not too sure about that" or "I am going to have to do some study on that one" type of thing. We can take a lot of things away from the books we read, positive and negative; but we always must remember, that they are not the bible. Whenever we do get some message from a book we read, whether we like it or not, we need to take it to the Bible and see how it lines up. I also think, the sooner the better. For if we ponder on something in our thoughts for too long we can start making it part of who we are and if it is something contrary to the word, it will not be good for us. For only God's ways are good. Or the opposite, if God was trying to use something to awaken you to a truth of His and you didn't like that truth so you just pass over it as you read it or hear it saying it isn't truth instead of taking it to the word for conviction to come, then you won't grow in your relationship as God desires you to.

We must remember, that only the Bible is the word of God. The measure for everything. It is not just a book that we can take and leave info from. It is the very word of God. All other books are just books. They might contain the word in them, but you cant call them the Bible. There are many gifted and blessed speakers and writers doing amazing things for the Kingdom of God and they can be such a blessing and inspiration for us. Yet we always must be responsible with the information we receive. Our personal walks with God can not be fully based off of what someone says, writes, teaches, preaches, etc. We need to go to God and dig into His word ourselves and make sure we are living in tune with His ways. We need to have a real living/growing relationship with God and we should be seeking to know Him as we worship Him with our lives. Scripture is so critical in this walk. It can not be minimized. Prov. 14:12 "There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death." Be ware of who you follow; only the truth brings life. Only the Bible is fool-proof. 2Tim. 3:15-16 "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work."

Are you learning the word? Can you detect false doctrines? Do you esteem the word above all else? Do you only rely on others to fill you and teach you truth? Do your beliefs line up with what God says? Do you have a growing personal relationship with God? Do you have strong accountability in your life to help keep you on track with God? Are you willing to let go of your ways and follow God's truth?

Brothers and sister, I pray you fall in love with the word of God and write it on your hearts and consume your thoughts with it. Be careful who you follow, for that is what you will become and that is the kind of people you will produce. Follow Christ and point everyone to Him! God is so worthy of worship and honor; He is the giver of life and His ways are above all others! Colossians 3:16 "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God."