Would you like to learn how to have beautiful flowers in your yard? Maybe you have said, “I don’t have a green thumb like Mary.” You may even say, “I don’t have time to plant & water.” But what if Mary could show you another way you could have pretty flowers in your yard with no work, no time, no learning the “Law of the Farm” & with little expense, would you like to know more? If you say yes, then continue.

Does this sound like today? We see or hear something that appeals to us and we decide to go with it. We might go to the website and checkout how many stars they have or even take a few moments to read a few comments…but hey, it looks good…you click yes and you are all in.

But if you had done your research… if you had spent time in discovery, you would have found Mary does not have a green thumb. She did not grow the flowers in the picture. She did not even buy the flowers from a local nursery. No. The flowers are man-made. She ordered them for Amazon. She simply took them out of the box, arranged them, and hung the basket. We sent the picture to our family as a joke because they know Mary does not have a green thumb.

Question, how well do you know who you follow & trust? More importantly, do you really know them? Have you observed them over time? Do you have a standard you use to measure the truth?

If I were buying flowers and they turned out not to be as advertised, you just throw them in the trash. It’s no big deal. You chalk it up for a lesson learned. But what about who and what influences your beliefs for your eternal destiny? What do you really know about them? Do you have a test to determine the truth? This is a serious matter and should not be based on opinion but written facts that have been tested by time.

There is only one tested source, the Bible. In Malachi 3:6 “For I am the Lord, I do not change.” Further, we find in 2 Timothy 3:16, “All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right.” It is God’s Word, not someone’s opinion that has the final authority.

The Fire Bible provides several Biblical references on how to sort out real from false teachings that permeates our lives today. The Fire Bible sited these 14 times Jesus warned His disciples about false teachers. (Matt &:15; 16:6; 16:11; 24:4, 24:24; Mark 4:24; 8:15; 12:38-40; 13:5; Luke 12:1; 17:23; 20:46; 21:8). In Luke 21:8 Jesus said, “Don’t let anyone mislead you, for many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah, ‘and saying, ‘The time has come!’ But don’t believe them.” The false teachers are among us today.

The Fire Bible provides ways to Scripturally test for “The Truth.”

1. Decern the Character – Galatians 5:22-23 “But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!” This is not a pick and choose standard or having 7 out of the 9  but 9 for 9. If you notice this is opposite of our culture.
2. Decern their Motives – “They bring honor to Christ.” (2 Cor 8:23). For more read,  2 Corinthians 8:23, Phil 1:20; Acts 26:18; 1 Cor 6:18; 2 Cor 6:16-18; 1 Cor 9:19-22; Phil 1:16. Who do they talk about the most? Who are they trying to please? Can you see Jesus in the way they live life?
3. Evaluate the Fruit of their lives & message. – Matthew 7:16, “You can identify them by their fruit, that is, by the way they act. Can you pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?” Bad fruit of Sexual immorality, Impurity, Lust, Idolatry, Sorcery, Hostility, Quarreling, Outburst of Anger, Selfish Ambition, Division, Envy, Drunkenness and Wild Parties. (Exodus 20:14; Matt 5:31-32; Matt 19:9; Acts 15:20; Acts 15:29; 1 Cor 5:1; Eph 5:3; Col 3:5;2; 2 Cor 12:21; Col 3:5; Ex 7:11; 8:18; Rev 9:21; Rev 18:23; 1 Cor 1:11; 1 Cor 3:3; Col 3:8; Rom 16:17; 1 Cor 11:19; Gal 5:21; 1 Cor 6:9) Or can you identify the Good Fruit? The Fire Bible provides these Scriptures as key identifiers of the Good Fruit (Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness and Self-Control): 2 Corinthians 6:6; Roams 8:5-14; Eph 4:2-3; Eph 5:9; 2 Col 3:12;-15; 2 Peter 1:4-9; Romans 5:5; 1 Cor 13; Eph 5:2; Col 3:3:14; Ps 119:16; 2 Cor 6:10; 2 Col 12:9; 1 Pet 1:8; Phil 1:14; Rom 15:3; Phil 4:7; 1 Thes 5:23; Heb 13:20; Ep 4:2; 2 Tim 3:10; Heb 12:1; Eph 4:32; Col 3:12; 1 Pet 2:3; Matt 21:12-13; Matt 23:23; rom 3:3; 1 Tim 6:12; 2 Tim 2:2; 2 Tim 4:7; Titus 2:10; 2 Tim 2:25; 1 Pet 3:15; Matt 11:29; Mark 3:5; Gal 1:9; 1 Cor 7:9; 1 Cor 9:25; Titus 1:8; Titus 2:5. My advice, If you can’t evaluate the fruit, don’t get too close.
4. Decern Their Level of Reliance On God’s Word – 2 John 9-11 “Anyone who wanders away from this teaching has no relationship with God. But anyone who remains in the teaching of Christ has a relationship with both the Father and the Son. If anyone comes to your meeting and does not teach the truth about Christ, don’t invite that person into your home or give any kind of encouragement. Anyone who encourages such people becomes a partner in their evil work.” What is the core of their message? Is it Scripture or do they use Scripture as a footnote?
5. Test Their Integrity – 1 Timothy 6:9-10” But people who long to be rich fall into temptation and are trapped by many foolish and harmful desires that plunge them into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. And some people, craving money, have wandered from the true faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows.”

Don’t blindly follow a person or organization. It is imperative that people personally know God’s Word. And most importantly our worship must only be to the King of Kings. People & organizations will fail… but know, “for He will never fail you.” 1 Peter 4:19

I would love to hear what you use to filter your information and how well it works for you.

Just comment below.

God Bless you.