Do you remember when Coca Cola launched a campaign called the real thing? There was even a song that went with the commercial. You could tell if you were drinking the real thing- Coke- over the others who tried to be like Coke. Well, I’ve been thinking about knowing what’s real versus what’s fake this week, when I ran across a gem from Charles Stanley’s devotional that seem to convey what I was looking to say this week. He compares the training it takes for bank tellers in spotting fake twenty dollar bills with Biblical training for the Christian to spot false teachings. The way bank tellers are trained is by handling the bills to get a feel and to notice how both a fake bill and real bill should look. Familiarizing themselves is the way to know what it should and shouldn’t be to be real. So, sadly, many Christians can fall for false teachings when they aren’t able to distinguish between false and true teachings from the Bible. The answer: simply know the real thing, the real deal, by reading and familiarizing yourself with what the Bible actually says. Bring your Bible or an app on your phone, to church and follow along with your pastor. We are to be active participants and not just sit on the sidelines and let someone lecture on Sunday mornings. Beyond just reading our Bibles to familiarize ourselves, let me encourage you also to study the Bible. I know you might be saying, yeah but that’s for pastors right? No. This might sound crazy but the Bible says we are all in the priesthood of believers, so we are all supposed to be responsible. That doesn’t mean we should all be giving sermons, but we should be responsible to learn the Bible and study it. There are many great Bible commentaries and Bible dictionaries out there and concordances. So, you’re still think it’s too hard? Well, consider how often you “google” something or ask “Alexa”, because you want some more information on a subject. So, why don’t Christians familiarize themselves with the Bible, if there are resources out there? There’s probably many excuses we could give, but they all fall short. Maybe you’re thinking, should I really question what a pastor says? Do I really need to study other books to help me understand the Bible? Can’t I just read it, and figure out what it means on my own, like make it fit what I want it to say? Well, here’s an answer from the Bible itself from Acts. Acts is a book filled with the story of how the early church got its start. Here’s just a portion..
And the people of Berea were more open-minded than those in Thessalonica, and they listened eagerly to Paul’s message. They searched the Scriptures day after day to see if Paul and Silas were teaching the truth (Acts 17:11, NLT).
Please note; they wanted to see if what the Apostle Paul was teaching was true. So they searched the Scriptures. This is my challenge for you this week. Do you know what’s in the Bible? Can you spot a fake? If you’re not sure do you look for answers? Follow the real deal. God Bless- Nancy
Moving Forward 