DID YOU KNOW “For each tree is known by its own fruit.” Luke 6:44, ESV. Did you know that spiritual discernment begins with observing character, including our own? In Luke 6:39–45, Jesus brings together several pictures: a blind guide, a student becoming like a teacher, a beam obstructing someone’s vision, and a tree producing fruit.Continue reading “The Fruit That Tells the Truth”
Tag Archives: spiritual discernment
What Quietly Takes God’s Place
DID YOU KNOW An idol does not always announce itself. Sometimes it enters our lives as something useful, enjoyable, or reassuring. Work provides purpose. Entertainment offers rest. Money helps us meet responsibilities. Approval encourages us. Yet any of these can begin demanding the trust and devotion that belong to God. Today’s readings—Ezekiel 6:1–8:18, Revelation 2:12–29,Continue reading “What Quietly Takes God’s Place”
When Error Wears the Clothing of Truth
As the Day Ends “The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with how Satan works. He will use all sorts of displays of power through signs and wonders that serve the lie.” —2 Thessalonians 2:9 Spiritual deception rarely announces itself openly. Paul warns that evil may arrive with persuasive claims, impressive power,Continue reading “When Error Wears the Clothing of Truth”
When Flattery Meets a Faithful Heart
The Bible in a Year “With flattery he will corrupt those who have violated the covenant, but the people who know their God will firmly resist him.” —Daniel 11:32 Daniel 11 describes a season when God’s people would experience enormous pressure to compromise their faith. The chapter’s immediate historical setting points to Antiochus IV Epiphanes,Continue reading “When Flattery Meets a Faithful Heart”
Counsel That Has First Heard God
As the Day Ends “The way of a fool is right in his own eyes: but he that hearkens unto counsel is wise.” — Proverbs 12:15 Advice surrounds us, but abundance does not guarantee wisdom. The biblical fool is not simply uninformed; he is convinced that his own judgment requires no correction. The Hebrew wordContinue reading “Counsel That Has First Heard God”
When Truth Becomes Light
As the Day Ends “That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.” — 1 Corinthians 2:5 As this day ends, I am reminded that knowing about God is not necessarily the same as knowing God. Theology gives us words for understanding His character, works, and purposes,Continue reading “When Truth Becomes Light”
When Appetite Outruns Wisdom
On Second Thought “For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.” — Galatians 5:17, KJV Some of our most regrettable choices are made in remarkably short moments. We may spend yearsContinue reading “When Appetite Outruns Wisdom”
When True Words Turn to Ashes
DID YOU KNOW “Your maxims are proverbs of ashes; your defenses are defenses of clay.” —Job 13:12 Job’s friends did not arrive empty-handed. They brought familiar sayings, accepted theology, and explanations drawn from their own observations. Some of their statements about God’s justice, sovereignty, and moral order were true. Their failure came when they assembledContinue reading “When True Words Turn to Ashes”
When Kindness Needs Courage
As the Day Begins “For we have not followed cunningly devised fables.” —2 Peter 1:16 Peter’s words come from an eyewitness who had seen the majesty of Jesus Christ. He was not offering a religious legend or a story polished to impress an audience. The Greek word translated “cunningly devised” is sesophismenoi, related to sophizō,Continue reading “When Kindness Needs Courage”
The Wisdom to Wait When You Could Act
On Second Thought “But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.” —Isaiah 40:31 One of the most difficult forms of faith is not acting when we believe we already know whatContinue reading “The Wisdom to Wait When You Could Act”