Discernment in a time of disinformation a reading from First John 4:1 6 on the Daily Bible refresh hello my friend Dr. Brad Miller here with the Daily Bible Refresh.

This is your daily reading of the Bible from a progressive point of view.

In a bit I will read the New Testament lessons selected from the Revised and Common Lectionary for this very day.

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I use the Message version Relatable.

Please listen to the points to ponder and applicable with action steps you can take.

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Here's Today's reading from First John 4:1:6 Reading from the Message don't believe everything you hear my dear friends.

Don't believe everything you hear.

Carefully weigh and examine what people tell you.

Not everyone who talks about God comes from God.

There are a lot of lying preachers loose in the world.

Here's how you test for the genuine spirit of God.

Everyone who confesses openly his faith in Jesus Christ, the Son of God who came as an actual flesh and blood person, comes from God and belongs to God.

And everyone who refuses to confess faith in Jesus has nothing in common with God.

This is the spirit of Antichrist that you heard was coming.

Well, here it is sooner than we thought.

My dear children, you come from God and belong to God.

You have already won a big victory over those false teachers, for the Spirit in you is far stronger than anything in the world.

These people belong to the Christ denying world.

They talk the world's language and the world eats it up.

But we come from God and belong to God.

Anyone who knows God understands us and listens.

A person who has nothing to do with God will of course not listen to us.

This is another test for telling the spirit of truth from the spirit of deception.

Well, in today's reflection here, friends, we're exploring this text that speaks powerfully to a struggle, indeed our current struggle, with truth, misinformation and authentic spirituality.

Let's get into some points to ponder.

The first thing we're going to talk about is going beyond binary thinking.

This passage might seem to promote strict us versus Them divisions.

Progressive theology invites us to dig a little deeper.

The call to open quote carefully weigh and examine close quote suggests thoughtful discernment rather than a knee jerk react rejection of different perspectives.

In our polarized world, this carefully weighing becomes even more crucial.

The second point is about embodied truth.

The emphasis on Jesus coming as an actual flesh and blood person.

Close quote post points to an important principle.

Authentic spirituality must be grounded in material reality.

Any theology that ignores physical suffering, environmental destruction or bodily needs fails this test.

True faith must engage with real world struggles for justice and liberation.

Third point is about community discernment.

The text here speaks of a collective wisdom.

We come from God and anyone who knows God understands us.

This suggests that discernment isn't just individual, but communal.

In an age of algorithmic bubbles and isolated viewpoints, we need diverse communities of discernment to help us recognize truth.

Here's your action step this week.

Practice collective discernment.

That is choose some pressing issue, maybe it's a social justice concern or environmental crisis or racism or equality of some sort.

And intentionally seek perspectives from two or three different communities, particularly those who are impacted by the issue.

Notice how different viewpoints enhance the understanding.

Share your learnings.

Maybe you with your own community or build some collective wisdom about it.

We're going to pray here in just a minute, but I want you to know that we are here to serve you in so many ways, including giving you your own at home Bible Study Guide.

We call it the ABC123 Bible study method.

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It's available to you free of charge@voiceofgod daily.com let's pray.

Oh God, you are the source of truth and wisdom in a world of competing voices where lies often wears sacred clothing and truth gets buried under noise.

Help us develop keen discernment.

Ground us in communities of wisdom.

Connect us to the real needs of flesh and blood people.

Free us from the temptation of easy answers.

May we be people who carefully weigh and examine, who listen deeply to different perspectives, who who seek truth that liberates all.

In openness and wisdom we pray.

Amen.

My friend, I am delighted you chose to join me for today's reading.

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My name is Dr. Brad Miller and I'll be right here tomorrow with your daily Bible refresh.

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Remember, God's loyal love doesn't run out.

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