Test Everything

 I sometimes get frustrated will all the electronic alerts on my car. For instance, when the weather turns cold the message on the speedometer display cautions me to drive carefully because the roads may be icy. Mind you, there is no rain, snow, or ice on the roads, it’s just a drop in temperature. Recently the car alerted me to low air pressure in a tire. I aired the tire, but a week later the warning came on again, so I took the car in for service where they removed a screw that I’d run over. Had I not heeded the alert I could easily have found myself stranded somewhere with a flat tire. In the spiritual realm we also have warning and alerts. Paul said, “Do not put out the Spirit’s fire; do not treat prophecies with contempt. Test everything. Hold on to the good. Avoid every kind of evil. May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful and he will do it” (1 Thess 5:19-24 NIV).