CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE DAILY DEVOTIONAL ON YOUTUBE
Matthew 7:15-20
Jesus continues His “Sermon on the Mount” that began in Matthew 5 and He now gives a warning about false prophets (Matthew 7:15). We all ask the question, “How do we know who is or is not a false prophet?” Jesus gives us the answer to this question in Matthew 7:16a (NKJV) as He states, “You will know them by their fruits.” He then, in Matthew 7:17-18 gives an example of a good tree bearing good fruit and a bad tree bearing bad fruit.
This is a command to be aware of the false prophets.
This teaching of Jesus to beware of false prophets is a hard thing for many people to grasp as some false prophets are very wise in their teachings and may appear to be teaching from the Bible but add their own twists that are hard to discover without a good knowledge of the Bible in our own daily study. This is why a personal time in prayer each day with God and a daily devotional Bible study is so important to the growth of a Christian. By spending time reading and studying God’s word each day, we will learn what God expects from us as we seek His will for our lives. As we are studying the Gospel of Matthew we are learning how we should conduct our lives in building a relationship with God through our salvation in Jesus, and of how we should be respectful of one another. Many people will try to disprove the Bible or to make it say whatever they want to prove their own agendas, but we will learn to discern between the good and the bad trees by the fruit they bear – is it fruit that Jesus would approve of, is the question.
Dear LORD,
We want to learn the lessons in the Bible, Your Holy inspired Word, in the proper context. We want to draw closer to You through our understanding of what You would have of us in each personal plan that You have designed for us. But there are those who would lead us astray as Satan works in their lives to pull us away from You and our salvation in Christ Jesus. Please plant within us a desire to study Your Word so that we may draw closer to You and be the people that You would have us to be – in Christ. In Jesus name I pray, amen.