“Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to determine if they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.” (1 John‬ ‭4:1‬ ‭HCSB‬‬)
The amount of false prophets out there is disturbing, but the most disturbing thing is the amount of Christians following them. False prophets know they’re false prophets, so why is it so hard for Christians to recognize them as false prophets? After all, false prophets are from the devil, not of God, right? They should be really easy to spot, but for some reason, they’re still in business with professing Christians as their primary patrons. 
We’ve all heard of the Secret Service. It is a federal law enforcement agency that is divided into two investigative branches. One of those branches investigates counterfeit American currency, and those men and women are the very best in the world. With so much new technology, counterfeiters are getting better and better at their jobs making it harder for the Secret Service to do theirs. However, the Secret Service has yet to be fooled by the counterfeiters. Why? How can they keep from being fooled? Because they study and learn every millimeter of the real currency. Yep, that’s it. They know the real currency so well, that they are able to recognize the counterfeit right away.  
In the same way, Christians can protect themselves from counterfeit prophets by comparing what they’re teaching with God’s Word. God’s Word is the only absolute truth that we can put all our faith and confidence in. God warns us not to put our faith in man. He says,
– “The heart is more deceitful than anything else, and incurable — who can understand it? (Jeremiah‬ ‭17:9‬ ‭HCSB‬‬).”  

That’s why today’s verse is so important to all Christians. God is telling us to test every doctrine we hear with the only true doctrine there is, His Word. God, through the Apostle Paul, said,

– “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who doesn’t need to be ashamed, correctly teaching the word of truth (2 Timothy‬ ‭2:15‬ ‭HCSB‬‬).”

Most Christians hardly ever read the Word of God outside of our Sunday gatherings. It’s no wonder we’re are being deceived and destroyed by the devil and his false prophets. So, what can we do to keep from being deceived?  
1. Get up early in the morning, before anyone else.

2. Pray that God will help us understand His Word so that we can apply it to our lives.

3. Open our Bibles and read at least three chapters.

4. Make notes on the verses that stand out to us, and meditate on them throughout the day.

5. When we are finished with our reading, pray that God will reveal to us how He wants us to obey what we learned, and then do it.  

6. Repeat every day.  

So, then,
– how will you obey today’s Scriptures?

– With whom will you share today’s Scriptures?

– With whom will you share the story of your salvation and the story of what Jesus has done for you?

God bless you, my friends!