Practice Discernment and Humility
Have you ever encountered a false prophet?
More searching—and more uncomfortable—have you ever been one?
How would you know?
Scripture is clear: God’s plans for us are good. Yet the path to that good is not always pleasant or easy. The apostle Paul reminds us that God works all things together for good for those who love Him and are called according to His purpose. That does not mean all things are good. Many are not.
We live in a fallen world. Difficulty, loss, confusion, and suffering touch every life.
The good news is this: God is present in it all. When we turn toward Him, we gain wisdom, purpose, discernment, help, peace, and joy—often right in the middle of the struggle. He deepens our faith. He forms our character. He builds our lives as we learn to prize relationship with Him above outcomes. He is with us.
False prophets, however, tend to promise positive futures while missing what God is actually doing now. They say what people want to hear. They aim for affirmation rather...
Can We Talk?
Many people in our country believe that faith is a personal thing – that it’s not something to talk about or share with others. To believe this, however, is to believe that there is no real, solid, true faith that we must all consider.
The Bible uses the expression “the faith” to describe a solid belief in Jesus Christ that impacts and informs all aspects of life. People are to be strengthened in the faith, encouraged to stand strong in the faith, to examine themselves to make sure they are in the faith, to grow in the unity of the faith and to experience joy in the faith together. Faith is personal.  Faith is also corporate.  We need to be discuss it so we can grow and progress in our understanding, application and practice of “the faith.”
In Ephesians 4:15 we are instructed to “speak the truth in love” to each other. This is what we all need spiritually and relationally. We need to receive both love and truth, and we need to express love and truth others.
The apostle Paul urges...
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