Seven-Day Practical Faith Blog: Knowing the Truth

The United States Secret Service supervises the inspection of counterfeit money. They train their agents and share with merchants how to determine if a piece of currency is authentic.

For each bill, a set of characteristics makes it authentic. For example, all Federal Reserve notes, from the $5 bill on up, have a clear thread embedded vertically into the paper. The thread is inscribed with the denomination of the note and is visible only when held to the light.

The Secret Service's intent is to train people on how to determine the bill is real, not to determine how the bill could be fake. Studying the real characteristics helps one know the authenticity. An expert would know each bill so well they could readily identify fake ones.

As Jesus followers, we want to know what is authentic and what is not. We can best determine what is authentic by engaging with it so much that we know when something is true or not true. I'm thinking primarily of two examples: the Bible and the messaging of the Holy Spirit.

If we study the Bible and soak it in, we will know whether someone's usage of the Bible is accurate. Learning the overall narrative of the Bible as God's redemption of the world is useful. No, we won't know every verse. But we'll catch it if someone gives us an interpretation or an out-of-context verse that doesn't make sense against the whole.

Reading the Bible for ourselves is vital. I recently engaged with someone who held a lifelong interpretation of a subset of the Bible. By showing the four verses ahead of this subset, I was able to clearly prove their interpretation was the exact opposite of what scripture actually said. The person was stunned and shaken because they had always been told and taught the wrong interpretation.

When we are taught or told something from the Bible, we should look it up for ourselves. We should identify and read the exact book, chapter, and verse. We must be sure to read the verses before and after it so we understand the proper context. We should meditate on the scripture and what God intends to tell us. Only then can we determine the authenticity of both the message and the messenger.

Likewise, if we are engaged with the Holy Spirit, we become trained in what the voice or message sounds like. In my experience, Spirit messages are always wise, loving, patient, kind (even when forceful), and aligned with scripture. The Holy Spirit is not going to tell you to kill your children; that comes from a different voice or a mental illness.

I heard a good analogy from an upcoming podcast guest, Kevin Taylor. He described how in a store, he might become separated from his mother. But he knew when she was on the move because he recognized the rattling of her keys, even softly from a distance. Similarly, we learn the voice of our Shepherd through experience, proximity, and listening.

Authenticity is a valuable attribute. Let us be as shrewd as serpents and as innocent as doves, to paraphrase Jesus in Matthew 10:16, becoming astute and blameless as we seek God's authentic truths.

I mentioned my Practical Faith Academy podcast above. It's been nominated as Best Interview Podcast by the Selah Awards, a prominent Christian content awards program. Selah will announce the winner next week. In the meantime, Season 6 of Practical Faith Academy is underway with an outstanding slate of guests talking about how to put faith into practice each day and in all your endeavors. Search for "Practical Faith Academy" on Apple, Spotify, iHeartRadio, YouTube, and Podbean, or listen on CecilTaylorMinistries. com/podcast.