A devotional site that lifts up Jesus our Lord as well as confronting the falling away of the modern church.
Sunday, November 01, 2009
Levels of Discernment
The easiest and most effortless level of discernment is the assessment of others. But the most difficult and arduous level is found in a mirror and not in a telescope.
I cannot see a New Testament calling that is exclusively for discernment. All preachers and pastors should have a discernment element in their ministries.
But when a person is constantly looking for things like that, it tends to mold a person's thought process and eventually he is susceptible to nitpicking and self righteousness, and his relationship with Christ can easily become cold and doctrinal.
One thing I do see in the New Testament is that the Pharisees of Jesus' time thought they had a so-called discernment ministry, too. (Among other things.) We know where that led.
Online discernment ministries alerted me to the apostasy currently rampant in the church (of which i was totally ignorant - not having attended a church for 10yrs and only recently coming back to loving Jesus. God is faithful!). So, I am grateful that they exist and have tried to use some discernment myself in testing what they say. I believe that it is good to have watchmen in the body and that the warning they sound encourages me to be prepared for what might lie ahead before Jesus returns.
Online discernment ministries alerted me to the apostasy currently rampant in the church (of which i was totally ignorant - not having attended a church for 10yrs and only recently coming back to loving Jesus. God is faithful!). So, I am grateful that they exist and have tried to use some discernment myself in testing what they say. I believe that it is good to have watchmen in the body and that the warning they sound encourages me to be prepared for what might lie ahead before Jesus returns.
Another one for the collection! The most revealing mirror of all, of course, is His Word. Read it and weep.
ReplyDeleteonline discernment "ministries" = virtual busybodies
ReplyDeleteI cannot see a New Testament calling that is exclusively for discernment. All preachers and pastors should have a discernment element in their ministries.
ReplyDeleteBut when a person is constantly looking for things like that, it tends to mold a person's thought process and eventually he is susceptible to nitpicking and self righteousness, and his relationship with Christ can easily become cold and doctrinal.
One thing I do see in the New Testament is that the Pharisees of Jesus' time thought they had a so-called discernment ministry, too. (Among other things.) We know where that led.
ReplyDeleteOnline discernment ministries alerted me to the apostasy currently rampant in the church (of which i was totally ignorant - not having attended a church for 10yrs and only recently coming back to loving Jesus. God is faithful!). So, I am grateful that they exist and have tried to use some discernment myself in testing what they say. I believe that it is good to have watchmen in the body and that the warning they sound encourages me to be prepared for what might lie ahead before Jesus returns.
ReplyDeleteOnline discernment ministries alerted me to the apostasy currently rampant in the church (of which i was totally ignorant - not having attended a church for 10yrs and only recently coming back to loving Jesus. God is faithful!). So, I am grateful that they exist and have tried to use some discernment myself in testing what they say. I believe that it is good to have watchmen in the body and that the warning they sound encourages me to be prepared for what might lie ahead before Jesus returns.
ReplyDelete