THINK

"Do not put out the Spirit's fire; do not treat prophecies with contempt. Test everything. Hold on to the good. Avoid every kind of evil. May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through."

I Thessalonians 5: 19-23a NIV



"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith; meekness, temperance: against such there is no law." Galatians 5: 22-23 KJV

Wisdom from the Spirit: "No, we speak of God's secret wisdom, a wisdom that has been hidden and God destined for our glory before time began."

I Corinthians 2: 7 NIV

"Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's Spirit lives in you? If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him; for God's temple is sacred, and you are the temple."

I Corinthians 3: 16-17 NIV

"The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery, idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God." Galatians 5:19-21 NIV

Some Christians have difficulty discerning the difference between the occult, which is to be avoided and through which Satan can easily work, and the prompting of the Holy Spirit. They tend to lump all hard-to-explain, hard-to-understand occurrences into one bin labeled "questionable." The main test for supernatural or spiritual gifts and transmissions is to realize that good comes only from God, and spiritual goodness is confirmed by God's Holy Word, the Bible.

A person immersed in living the Christian life, in prayer, in study of Scripture will be less likely to question spiritual gifts and information that comes from God. Faith and obedience are living attributes for the believer and assist discernment. The well springs of living water, the guidance of the Holy Spirit, bring joy and affirmation for the Christian.

Matters such as these are hard to discuss and hard to word correctly. Young and new believers perhaps struggle with these insights and determinations more than others, but at any stage of our Christian walk we can suffer doubt and lack of understanding. Prayer is a constant source of strength and direction. Guided by the Bible, faith, and the Holy Spirit, each of us must work out these understandings and messages for ourselves.

…..Mary-Ellen Grisham (meginrose@gmail.com) (eternal_ink@associate.com) by way of “Christian Voices” (www.ChristianVoicesWorldwide.net)