Testing with Scripture

05.11.09

How will the Devil work in your life?

In Job he worked through nature. Galatians 1 warns that he will use angelic beings. In Matthew 16:23 he spoke through a follower of Jesus. In Luke 4 he quoted Scripture. Satan is a deceiver, a player with an agenda and you are a target. In James we are warned that if something looks good but God says it isn’t good – beware! Satan will come with proposals that make sense and seem good. But his goal is your pain.

How do we guard against this? The Bible teaches us that we should “test” teaching, advice, counsel, prophecies, spirits etc. against SCRIPTURE. It doesn’t matter who it is or how great they are. Even Paul commended one group for running his teaching past the Bible. But that assumes you know, study, are in the Word regularly and most importantly that the Word is in you. Dig into the Bible as if it holds the answer to your very life – it does.

Just because someone says, “God told me” doesn’t mean we should listen. Counterfeit prophets have always existed. And often they were nice guys.

2 Timothy 2:15
Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth.

Seeking Him

05.04.09

As surfers we love to seek out waves. I know at times I’ve spent hours seeking out the best waves. Sometimes I will be so intent at finding a better wave just around the next corner that I will spend an hour or two driving around before I even surf. We have all done it. Driving from spot to spot, beach to beach. All in hope of finding that little bit better spot. Surfers are so diligent in seeking out waves that this desire has taken them all around the world. Sometimes we are rewarded with great waves with no one out. Other times we end up surfing at the first spot we checked. Other times returning home disappointed not having surfed at all.

But not so with Jesus. Jesus promises that if we really seek him we will find. Recently I had a very important decision to make in my life. Which way should I go? I wasn’t sure. How much time was I spending praying and seeking God’s will about this? Definitely not the same hours I have spent seeking out good waves. Jesus challenges us to really seek him, to really spend time pouring out our hearts to him. (Psalm 62:8) It says in Matt 7:7 “Ask and it will be given to you, seek and you will find, knock and the door will be opened .” The Lord loves us and wants us to come to him to seek him to learn what’s on his heart and hear what’s on our heart. The challenge for me was how much time do I spend really seeking God? In the end after seeking him, I didn’t come home disappointed but found the answer to the direction that I needed to go.

Further reading on seeking and pouring out our hearts to God check out the following. 1Sam 1:12-20, Lam 2:19, Jer 29:11-14, Matt 7:7-12.

Guest Author: David Levey, CS Japan National Director

http://www.christian-surfers-japan.com/english/index.html