Greg Laurie Harvest Daily Devotional

Get guidance on Bible study from C.S. Lewis - Free Course!
<< Greg Laurie Daily Devotions

New Doesn’t Always Mean Improved - Greg Laurie Devotion - March 16, 2023

Thursday, March 16, 2023

New Doesn’t Always Mean Improved

Dear friends, do not believe everyone who claims to speak by the Spirit. You must test them to see if the spirit they have comes from God. For there are many false prophets in the world. (1 John 4:1 NLT)

When I was a new Christian, I wanted to find a shortcut to spiritual maturity. I didn’t want to wait fifteen to twenty years to learn and grow. I wanted spiritual maturity overnight. I was always looking for an angle: What can I do? Where can I go? Is there a book that I can read? Is there one experience that I could have in my life that would bring me to instant spiritual maturity?

That is a trait of youth. You want something, and you want it now. New believers can be that way, and so can immature believers. They don’t want to wait for something. They want it now.

Another trait of youth is they like new things. Young Christians can be that way too. They like things that dazzle them.

When the apostle Paul visited Athens, he met the high council of the city. They said to him, “Come and tell us about this new teaching. . . You are saying some rather strange things, and we want to know what it’s all about” (Acts 17:19-20 NLT).

The next verse adds this detail: “(It should be explained that all the Athenians as well as the foreigners in Athens seemed to spend all their time discussing the latest ideas)” (verse 21 NLT).

That is typical of the mentality of youth. They like something that’s new.

However, we need to be careful. As we mature, we realize that just because something is new doesn’t mean it is better.

We can be looking for a new experience, truth, or revelation and get ourselves into a lot of trouble. Instead, we need to apply judgment and realize that we’re potentially vulnerable. If we can’t find it in the Bible, then we don’t need it from someone else. The Bible is the arbiter of truth.

Copyright © 2023 by Harvest Ministries. All rights reserved.

For more relevant and biblical teaching from Pastor Greg Laurie, go to www.harvest.org
and
Listen to Greg Laurie's daily broadcast on OnePlace.com.

Watch Greg Laurie's weekly television broadcast on LightSource.com.

is god real lee strobel greg laurie devo offerIn thanks for your gift, you can receive a copy of Is God Real? by Lee Strobel.

In a world that insists God is just a myth, there is overwhelming evidence to the contrary that demands our attention. Renowned author Lee Strobel takes the question of God’s existence head-on in an engaging new book titled Is God Real? Tackling the big questions of life, this fantastic resource is both easy to read and useful to share. We will mail you a copy in thanks for your support of Harvest Ministries this month. 

Click here to find out more!



More Greg Laurie Daily Devotions Articles