The brothers immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea, and when they arrived they went into the Jewish synagogue. Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so. Many of them therefore believed, with not a few Greek women of high standing as well as men. But when the Jews from Thessalonica learned that the word of God was proclaimed by Paul at Berea also, they came there too, agitating and stirring up the crowds. Then the brothers immediately sent Paul off on his way to the sea, but Silas and Timothy remained there. Those who conducted Paul brought him as far as Athens, and after receiving a command for Silas and Timothy to come to him as soon as possible, they departed. — Acts 17:10-15

I love four words of this text. Luke says they were "examining the Scriptures daily." This illustrates the eagerness and willingness of the men and women of the Berean synagogue to dialogue about Jesus, who Paul proposed was the promised Messiah. And they listen to what Paul is teaching but don't blindly accept or reject what Paul is teaching. They match his teaching with the Hebrew Scriptures. And they do this daily.

As I have gotten older, I have discovered the wisdom of these four words "examining the Scriptures daily." I should constantly be testing what I am being taught, regardless of whether it is teaching by celebrities in the media, teachers in the classroom, or pastors from the platform. I should take their teaching and put it to the test against what is written in God's Word. God's inspired Scriptures are the final authority on all matters. They have the power to divide the truth and direct the heart back to truth. And we need a daily intake of the truth because the human heart is so deceitful. It is easily led away by propaganda and the philosophies of this world; therefore, it must be redirected daily. And in a time when we are being fed untruth by the truckload in media, classrooms, and the platform we need to be in the scripture more.

The activity of coming daily to scriptures, even a little bit, trains our hearts to submit to God. It keeps us in a place of submission to his ways. Because when we are not examining the Scriptures daily, we will discover that our feelings and our opinions become the truth. We become guided by our misguided truth. And this is precisely why some of the opposing Jews travel all the way from Thessalonica agitating and stirring up opposition in Berea. They become driven by erroneous opinions and will do anything to defend them.

So today, do this. Assess where your feelings and opinions have been driving your behavior. And then submit those feelings and opinions to God. But then take that final step, search the scriptures for how to feel and respond to the issues that have been directing your feelings and opinions, and worship the God of all truth.

ASK THIS: What feelings or opinions have been driving your behavior? (Share below).

DO THIS: Let God lead you by his truth by spending five minutes searching scriptures for a godly response.

PRAY THIS: God, reveal to me how to think, feel, and respond.

PLAY THIS: Spirit And Truth — Chris Sayburn.

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