"But test everything!"

[NOTE: This was from Saturday, Jan. 31]

"Do not despise the words of the prophets, but test everything..."

(1 Thessalonians 5:20-21a)

"Because I said so!" It's a phrase most parents have spoken to their children at one time or another. We want to be honored, obeyed and trusted... even when we can't think of any better justification. The writer of 1st Thessalonians admonishes the church in Thessolonica to listen to the prophets - those messengers of God, recorded in Scripture, who have come before to call us to faithfulness. They are, indeed, our spiritual mothers and fathers.

But that's not the end. It's not a "believe because I said so" command. Do not despise the words of the prophets, But test everything! What a radical admonition. To say this is to believe the Holy Spirit (God's unseen presence in our midst today) can help us confirm truths found in scripture. To say this is to believe that God gave each of us a mind to think with and reason with. To say this is not to believe blindly just because someone said it or wrote it in scripture... but rather to actively search for divine confirmation of the TRUTH! Wow.

PRAYER: Lord, you call me to rely on the words of the prophets of days gone by. So be it. Thank you for their witness. And may Your spirit help me confirm these truths in my life, so I might have increased confidence in what you're calling me to do and be! AMEN.