Today as I read social media, I am amazed at the number of personal opinions one has, both about the Christian faith and the doctrines propagated in the bible (which is the inerrant Word of God).
Even as scripture says, “we are living in the last days” therefore we should be like the Berean believers; who checked out the content of the messages they heard to see if it matched up with scripture.

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I would encourage all those who call themselves believers to transition from believership to
Discipleship and become like those who not only read stuff on Facebook and say “wow (holy cow)” but also open their bibles to check the veracity of what is being said; so their faith stands not on the words of a man (however anointed that man might think he/she is) but on the Word of Scripture which is the final authority by which we are live.

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In 1 Thessalonians 5:20 -21 Paul encourages the “local church” (some are against the local church because they do their own thing – all in the name of Jesus!) at Thessalonica (a given geographical location) “do not treat prophecies with contempt. Test everything. Hold on to the good.” (From this it can be concluded that some of what these believers were holding on to “was detrimental to their faith and walk with God”).

We are living in challenging times where there is a proliferation of false teaching – so dear Christian believer “Test all things and hold on to what is good.”

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Don’t let anyone tell you that “following Jesus is a bed of roses” – Yes, there will be challenges, there will be disappointments but like David said in Psalm 23:4 “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me.” He is with us…! Remember Jesus Himself hung on a cross asking: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Mark 15:34). So stop looking for a quick fix from the “hyper faith” movement, remember what Jesus said: “These things have I spoken unto you, that in me ye may have peace. In the world ye have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” He did – so can we!

– Pastor David Fernandes