After I was illuminated in 1987; like most new Christians I watched Christian television, listened to Christian radio, and went to church as much as humanly possible.

But the more I watched, the more I listened, and the more I went — the more confused I became.

Everyone claimed to know the truth.

But which one was right?

 I was pondering that when God spoke these words to me, and they changed my life:

“Stop listening to the words of man, and start listening to the Word of God.”

I turned off the radio and television, stopped going to church, and spent nine months in prayer, studying and meditating on Scripture.

Listen, you don’t have to be a pastor, priest, or biblical scholar to understand the Bible.

But you do need the Holy Spirit. You must be “born again” spiritually, because the things of God are spiritually discerned. (1 Corinthians 2:14)

Unfortunately, too many preachers simply pass along the religious rhetoric they learned from someone else.

What if they’re wrong?

Can you think of a better way to deceive than from the pulpit?

Be careful whom you choose to follow. As Jesus said, If the blind lead the blind, both will fall into the ditch. (Matthew 15:14)

Read the Bible.

Study to show yourself approved.

And stop listening to the words of man long enough to hear the Word of God.