Word Verification

It just begun happening. It's a sign of the times and I don't like it one little bit. Anonymous junk blogger comments. I'm always a bit leery of anonymous comments because I figure they are behind a curtain for one reason or another. Either they don't wish to be known for their own privacy reasons or they're about to blast me and it's more easily done incognito. Fortunately blasters are few and far between. As a general rule you who visit the Olive Leaf Ministries blog are a tidy intimate bunch who are more than trust worthy. Unfortunately, a few interlopers have crept into the mix prompting me to add the Word Verification feature. It creates an extra step for you when adding a comment but prevents automated systems from bogging my blog with spam.

As I woke this New Year's morning to another full plate of spam, I was reminded how important it is to implement our own word verification when hearing the word of God. For instance, whoever you listen to, whether a trusted teacher, favorite preacher, or long-time godly friend, all of it must be filtered through the Word of God. Ask yourself if what you are hearing syncs with what the Bible teaches. If it does accept it. If it doesn't reject it like a hot potato. Allow no teacher to be exempt from your filtering process either. The Bereans were praised for their word verification and just take a gander at who they were listening to.

"Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians,

for they received the message with great eagerness

and examined the Scriptures every day

to see if what Paul said was true."

Acts 17:11

Oh mercy, if the Bereans were wise enough to test Paul's words against Holy Scripture, how much more wise should we be? Paul was an Old Testament scholar, he personally encountered Christ on the road to Damascus, and had been taken up into the third heaven where he heard inexpressible things that man is not permitted to tell, yet they tested his teachings against the word of God. What tenacious wisdom!

Now, I don't know about you but my knowledge of God's word doesn't hold a candle to many around me. This doesn't make me vulnerable however. On the contrary. I, like a Berean, can test what I hear against the very word of God, listen to what the Spirit is teaching me, and walk strong and steady in His truth each day. The same is true for you. As you listen to your favorite teachers and preachers, measure every word, thought, and idea with the word of God. If it coincides with God's truth hide it in your heart. If not, toss it far away in the trash. If you aren't sure about a teaching, ask God to help you discern truth from fiction and He'll be faithful to provide.

As you enter this New Year I hope you are determined to seek a greater knowledge of God over the coming days. Christ will return soon and we must be ready. We are bound to be tested and must be vigilant to guard our hearts against lies from the enemy. This involves carefully planting only God's truth in our hearts and meticulously monitoring what we accept as truth. This can be done even by us modern day Bereans, and the good news is when we do we will be blessed!

Happy 2010!