Testing...

16 This is what the LORD Almighty says: "Do not listen to what the prophets are prophesying to you; they fill you with false hopes.They speak visions from their own minds, not from the mouth of the LORD.
17 They keep saying to those who despise me, 'The LORD says: You will have peace.' And to all who follow the stubbornness of their hearts they say, 'No harm will come to you.'
18 But which of them has stood in the council of the LORD to see or to hear his word? Who has listened and heard his word?    Jeremiah 23:16-18 NIV

In this day and age, you can find a sermon just about anywhere you want to find one. You can find them on the TV, the radio, or the Internet. There are a lot of people that claim to have a Word from the Lord, but even fewer people who truly do. The Bible says, that in the last days, there will be many false prophets. There will be many who say they come in the name of Jesus, who have not been called by Jesus. There will be many who preach to the people and yet don't even know Jesus themselves.

With so much information floating around, feel free to test the things you hear. Study the Word and test the prophesies against the Word. As the verse above says, these prophets preached that those who despise the Lord will have peace. They were preaching that they can continue to follow the stubbornness of their own hearts and no harm would come to them. This is directly in conflict with the teachings of the Bible that say to love the Lord, to be humble, and to give up our old ways.

The Bible also says that you will know them by their fruits. The verses above state that the false prophets have not stood in council of the Lord or seen and heard the Word for themselves. Therefore, how can they proclaim to know what God is saying? The rest of this passage goes on to state that they were living ungodly lives. As you choose your teachers, test their lives against the Word, to check and see if they are fruitful.

It will become harder as time goes on to distinguish the true from the false. We will have to rely more and more on the Bible as our measuring stick. We must take the responsibility to study for ourselves so that we can recognize these things more easily.

Congratulations on making it to August in the Chronological Bible! This is a great step towards educating yourself in the Word. I know that it has helped me a great deal. Continue on this path, and by the end of the year, your heart will be full of the truth of His Word!