Insightful Musings on the New Testament
by
Ray Sparre, NU class of '67
Ray
has a wealth of experience as a Husband, Father, Pastor, Missionary,
and student of the Word. He believes and practices his faith where the
rubber meets the road. You'll find his writings to be practical,
insightful, and grounded in a truly Christ-centered world view.
Below
are links to a printable daily Bible reading guide which Ray is
following, and an archive of all his daily devotional
writings for 2010.
| Daily Reading Guide | 2010 Devotion Archives |
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4 December 2010
Passage: 1 John 4
Focus: “Do not believe every spirit…” 1 John 4:1.
Let’s
first view the whole of verse 1: “Dear friends, do not believe every
spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because
many false prophets have gone out into the world.”
I
think we normally take this word of exhortation to apply to spiritual
influences on the outside of us (external). But what do you think
about applying this warning to spiritual activity inside of us
(internal)? I believe that this really is the most important
arena for testing spirits. Insofar as you and I are concerned
personally, it is the very worst place in the world to allow
deception. Deception out there somewhere is not near as serious
for me personally than deception within me—self deception. If the
spirit within me does not measure up in the right way, I run the risk
of being one of those “false prophets” that John warns of—and not even
know it.
So
let’s ask this point-blank question of ourselves: What kind of spirit
makes me tick?—guides and controls me? Is it one that is truly
from God? Or is it from elsewhere—not from God? To help us
test appropriately, we are given in this reading two basic standards
for evaluation. I’ll list them in the form of questions: (1) DOES
MY FAITH AND THEOLOGY ALIGN WITH TRUTH? Do I genuinely believe
that Jesus Christ is the embodiment of God in the flesh and that He is
my one and only hope of salvation? (Read vv. 2-3, and
9-10.) (2) DOES MY LIFE REFLECT AND DEMONSTRATE LOVE? As I
see it here, this love standard needs to be assessed in two directions:
(a) It must be something PURSUED. Let’s face it—love is not
optional. It is commanded. “Dear friends, let us love one
another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of
God and knows God” (v. 7). “Dear friends, since God so loved us, we
also ought to love one another” (v. 11). “And he has given us
this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother”
(v.21). (b) It must be something PRODUCED. “Whoever does
not love does not know God, because God is love” (v.8). “No one
has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his
love is made complete in us” (v. 12). “But the fruit of the
Spirit is love…” (Galatians 5:22).
Please understand that it is only as we pass this important test that
we can claim the important promise that “the one who is in you (me) is
greater than the one (spirit of deception) that is in the world” (v. 4).
“Those who deserve love least need it most.”