I was pleased to receive many electronic well wishes on my birthday earlier this month. My heart smiled knowing that I was being remembered by loved ones. There was one message however; that really stood out and brought a different type of smile to my face. It came to my work email and said "FROM THE LORD."

How could I ever resist opening up an email FROM THE LORD? It was what I expected, a scam from a Mrs. Lillian Abba who wanted to donate her inheritance fund to me; the entire fund amounting to $6, 800,000. Boy could I use that money. I could pay off the entire new building and have enough left over on which to retire. So I contacted her immediately; NOT.

Matthew 7: 21 says, "Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, will enter into the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven."

There will always be false prophets who have a special message for us FROM THE LORD. Just because someone says their message is FROM THE LORD doesn't make it so; especially when their special message somehow is to their benefit.

Sometimes I do wonder what it would be like if the Lord would email me the message so I didn't have to hear it from someone else. Would he tell me to repent? Would he tell me to pick up my pallet and walk? Would he tell me about a wonderful inheritance just waiting for me to claim? I suspect that the answer is yes to all three of these questions.

Face it, the Word FROM THE LORD comes from others but it is to be heard through the reading, preaching, and teaching of scripture with the people of God working together to discern His Word.

I think next time an email says FROM THE LORD I'll delete it and reach for my Bible. I'm sure to find one of the thousands of messages waiting for me to open.

Prayer for Today

Thank you Lord for your living Word found in Scripture, preaching, and teaching. Help us to do your will here on earth by knowing your ways found in the Bible, heard in sermons, and learned in faithful study. Amen.