Your Daily Devotional for June 22, 2007

 

June 22,  2007

 

 

Spiritual Discernment

by Dr. Paul Chappell

 

 

"Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world."

 

1 John 4:1

 

 

Since the beginning of time, Satan has battled God's truth with deception. In Genesis 3, God ordained that Adam and Eve should not eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Yet, Satan came and said, "Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? …Ye shall not surely die." The spirit of the deceiver is to question God's Word and to replace it with his own substitute. That is why we as believers must have spiritual discernment to recognize and reject the devil's tricks.

 

In the New Testament age, no sooner had God ordained the apostles to teach doctrine, then false teachers began to question God's truth. Jude 3-4 says, "Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints. For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ." Even in the early church, the devil attacked the work of God and tried to draw people away from Him.

 

In 1 John 4, Paul warns the believers concerning false teachers. He commands them to use spiritual discernment in what is said and taught. This warning was meant to fortify against spiritual vulnerability. Even so, we must have spiritual discernment to know what things are of God and what things are not.

 

The devil desires to draw us away from God by twisting God's truth. Just as with Adam and Eve, the devil will come to us subtly to get us to stray from God. We must have spiritual discernment to see the devil's temptations and to resist him.

 

Before the attack of Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, radar picked up Japanese planes, but the radar technician was told to ignore the blips on the radar because they were thought to be supply planes from the West Coast. Our warning about the devil's attacks comes from the Word of God, but we must read it if we will be protected.

 

In our world today, there are many ways the devil tries to discredit God's Word and lead believers away. It is so vital that we are in God's Word each day so as to avoid the subtleties and lies Satan throws our way. Only God's Word can give us spiritual discernment to protect us against Satan's attacks.

 

Are you seeking spiritual discernment through God's Word each day? The devil is so subtle in his attacks and tricks that we must be prepared by knowing the truth of God's Word before he attacks. Spend time in God's Word today and ask God to give you spiritual discernment as you seek to live for Him today.

 

 

 

 

Daily Bible Reading

Esther 6-8 • Acts 6

 

---

================================================
THIS IS AN AUTOMATED MESSAGE PLEASE DO NOT REPLY
================================================
Manage your online subscriptions at
http://www.dailyintheword.org/email/user-login.aspx

To Unsubscribe from this list please follow this link
http://www.dailyintheword.org/email/user-unsubscribe.aspx?s=4159&l=1