Devotionals: Active Word - July 14, 2011

Devotionals www.crosswalk.com Active Word - July 14, 2011 14 Jul 2011, 5:00 am    July 14 Everything isn’t anything The simple believes every word, but the prudent considers well his steps. Proverbs 14:15 (NKJV) Noted theologian and author G.K. Chesterton had a gift for packaging God’s truths in entertaining ways. One of his most famous fictional characters was a crime-solving priest named Father Brown. In one particular case, a criminal tries to throw Father Brown off the scent with a supernatural smokescreen. The perpetrator assumes the priest will bite the bait since it’s his business to believe in supernatural things. But Father Brown responds by essentially saying he does believe in certain things, but he doesn’t believe in other things. As a result, he sees through the smokescreen and catches the criminal. The moral of the story is this: When you believe in something, you’re not going to believe in everything. Or to put it another way, the person who believes in everything really doesn’t believe in anything. That’s the point being made here in Proverbs 14:15. “The simple believes every word, but the prudent considers well his steps.” When people are so wide open in their thinking that they accept everything that comes their way as the gospel truth, they’re actually revealing that they don’t hold any true convictions. That’s the mindset of the simple. Yet the prudent person, the one who is wise, carefully considers things. Because they have convictions, they have a higher standard of trust. They know that not everything is true, and they’re willing to exercise their God-given discernment to determine what is and what isn’t worth believing. Being spiritual doesn’t mean being gullible. Don’t be so simple as to believe in everything that comes your way. Be discerning. Examine and scrutinize things against God’s Word to see if they’re true or not. Naivety doesn’t honor the Lord. Having convictions that cause us to carefully consider everything does. Test everything that is said. Hold on to what is good. (1 Thessalonians 5:21 NLT) Think About It… What does this passage reveal to me about God? What does this passage reveal to me about myself? Based on this, what changes do I need to make? What is my prayer for today? SPECIAL OFFER New 365 Devotional Volume 2 God's mercy is new every day. That's because it's needed daily. So to help you walk through a fresh new day, the Active Word has put together this second volume of the 365 Devotional.  Our hope in creating this series of devotionals, is to help you connect with God's Word 365 days a year. And the best thing is, you can start any day of the year. Stay in step with God's Word, His will, and learn to live out your faith, daily.   You are receiving this email because you subscribed to this feed at blogtrottr.com. If you no longer wish to receive these emails, you can unsubscribe from this feed.