God's Holy Fire: 'Danger! Danger!'

Thursday, February 23, 2023

But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent's cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ. For if someone comes to you and preaches a Jesus other than the Jesus we preached, or if you receive a different spirit from the Spirit you received, or a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it easily enough.
— 2 Corinthians 11:3-4 NIV

Key Thought

Can we recognize when someone is teaching the truth or is teaching what is false about Jesus? Do we have the knowledge and spiritual discernment to recognize when someone is teaching error about the Holy Spirit? Paul is challenging the Corinthians — and us as well — not to be so gullible as to accept perversions of truth. Some of these false teachings sound nice, but underneath we find distortions of the nature of Jesus and the work of God's Holy Spirit. So let's ask God to use the Holy Spirit in our lives to tune our hearts to know the truth about both Jesus and the Spirit. Let's go back and read John 14-16 and let God's word remind us that the Holy Spirit is to help us in the quest to honor God's truth!

Today's Prayer

O Father, I want to honor you in every way that is possible. I don't want to be lured away by what is false and against your will. I want my heart to be open to your truth. I want to accept and act on the changes your word and the Holy Spirit are working to bring about in me so that your character and compassion come to life in my daily behaviors. Please open my heart to know your truth. In Jesus' name, I pray. Amen.

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Illustration

Illustration of 2 Corinthians 11:3-4 NIV —

About This Devotional

God's Holy Fire is a daily devotional about the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives.

The Thoughts and Prayer for God's Holy Fire are written by Phil Ware.

Scripture quotations marked (NIV) are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide.
Scripture quotations marked MESSAGE are taken from THE MESSAGE, copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress. All rights reserved. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.

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