God's Gift of Discernment...

I have come to believe that discernment is one of the greatest gifts the Holy Spirit can give us in our life, however it is something we have to allow the Holy Spirit to teach us, develop in us and then be obedient to when God uses it in our lives.

Jesus was a man of great discernment, and if we want to be like him, we have to allow the Holy Spirit to teach us discernment. Having discernment means you evaluate things. You don’t just automatically accept what somebody tells you. You check it out. You don’t get sucked in by popular culture. Even if it’s mentioned on a talk show or a magazine cover or if everybody says it’s cool, you still check it out.

You ask questions like, “Is this the truth? Does this square with reality? How does this fit into God’s view?”

In Romans 12:2, the apostle Paul says, “Do not conform to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is- His good pleasing and perfect will”. That’s a snapshot of discernment at work in your life.

In John 7:24, Jesus says, “Don't be nitpickers; use your head — and heart! — to discern what is right, to test what is authentically right.” This is Jesus teaching discernment. In essence, he’s saying, “I don’t want you to be a nitpicker, who runs around criticizing everything. But I do expect you to use your brain and not just automatically believe everything you hear or see."

We need to learn to discern and be aware of what we’re allowing into our minds. Let me ask you a couple of questions: Do you believe everything you read in the newspaper? How about everything you read on the internet, or hear on the radio, or watch on TV? What about the Bible? Do you believe everything that God says is true?

Then, here’s the question I ask myself sometimes: Why do we spend more time listening, watching, and reading something we don’t believe than something we do?

That’s why we need to live with discernment. In Luke 11:35, the Bible says, “Make sure that the light you think you have is not actually darkness”.

I challenge us today to seek discernment through the leading of the Holy Spirit in our lives!

In His Grip.........Pastor Matt Meadows