July 22, 2024 - Romans‬ ‭16‬:‭17‬-‭18

“And now I make one more appeal, my dear brothers and sisters. Watch out for people who cause divisions and upset people’s faith by teaching things contrary to what you have been taught. Stay away from them. Such people are not serving Christ our Lord; they are serving their own personal interests. By smooth talk and glowing words they deceive innocent people.” Romans 16:17-18 NLT

Lord, we ask that you would be our guard. Make us so aware if something we are hearing doesn’t line up with your word. Give us wisdom on how we are to deal with that. If we are to address it and say something, or if we are to just be careful not to allow it to penetrate into our belief system. Help us be especially aware of this with people that we know and trust, or people that have a position of authority, that mean well but maybe have their belief system slightly skewed.  Lord, we don’t want to easily accept things because of who says it or the fact that it sounds right. Help us to always measure what we are hearing by your word before we accept it as truth. Holy Spirit, be our truth meter that keeps us from being deceived by anyone whether they mean to or not.

Lord, we also ask for you to help us to make sure that we are fully grounded in your truth. We don’t ever want to lead others astray because our belief doesn’t line up with your truth. Uproot any lies that we are believing. Rewire our thinking where it needs to be aligned in truth. Help us to never be people that cause division because we are leading people away from truth. Keep us always deeply rooting in your truth.

In Jesus name, amen.