On August 30, 2019, I wrote a post on some troubling things in the Body of Christ and specifically in charismatic circles. Towards the end of that post, I made a statement, make the determination now that Scripture is your standard. Regardless of what we have been taught, have grown up believing, or heard in prophetic words, the Scripture must be our final authority.

Since writing that post, I have continued in prayer and study over things. I have finished reading John Wesley’s sermons and have allowed myself some direct questioning on some things I have grown up believing. I have always been a dive-in type of person. That is good and bad. It’s essential to allow yourself to question teaching that doesn’t sit right, a prophetic word that doesn’t come to pass, or one so broad that it doesn’t say anything.

It is crucial to be a person of the Word and Spirit. The two extremes are; being so about the Spirit that we allow manifestations or revelation outside of the bounds of Scripture; the flipside is being so about the Word you shut yourself off to anything you can’t rationally explain.

As someone who enjoys studying theology and learns from many people, the hardest thing I am continually learning is that you don’t have to fit a specific group. The key is, we must hold to the Word of God when we are listening to someone who gets off in an area; we need to acknowledge that. Of course, there are times when we will need to stop listening to people. But, most of the time, we just need to eat the meat and spit out the bones.

Believe in God’s will to prosper you but take authority over greed when it tries to come in. Pray for healing and miracles, but if something does not happen the way you expect or in the timing you want, trust in God’s sovereignty and don’t allow the enemy to come in and create doubt. Be open to the move of the Spirit in unusual ways but test everything by the Word of God.