The brothers immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea. When they arrived, they went into the Jewish synagogue. Now these were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so. Acts 17:10–11 WEB.

The first mechanical repeater was a telegraph machine, but the practice was used long before that. A repeater hears a signal and then repeats it verbatim. With the telegraph, someone tapped out a signal at one end, and the repeater at the other end of the line reproduced that exact tap.

In wireless networks today, repeaters are used to expand the coverage area. Each repeater says the same thing as the last one. It doesn't question the signal sent to it but passes the message right down the line just as it was received. Repeaters can cover a large campus or hospital, all transmitting the same message without questioning it.

For a season in my life, I was merely a repeater. I heard things at church or seminary that sounded good, then repeated them as the gospel truth. I would staunchly defend them. I am now embarrassed to say at least forty percent of it was rubbish, traditions of men, fairy tales. That's being polite, for it was probably a much higher percentage.

There are so many pet doctrines floating around that have absolutely nothing to do with God and have no basis in Scripture. Jesus said in Mark 7:7, "In vain do they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men." I was taught the commandments of men, and then I began teaching others the things that I had learned. Just as the ones Jesus was speaking to had.

The Berean Christians in the Scripture above received the word Paul brought them eagerly. Then, they searched the Scriptures daily to see if it was true. So don't just be a repeater like I was. Look it up. The more that I studied the Bible, the more rubbish that was revealed in my life. So listen to or read the Bible for yourself. If you don't know what's in the Bible, you will almost certainly be deceived.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, I pray that You give me a hunger for Your Word. Please stir up that desire in me and open my mind to understand the scriptures. Help me discern what is from You and what is not. In the name of Jesus Christ, I pray. Amen!

Note: "Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray.” James 5:13 ~ If you have a prayer need, we are here for you! We and the prayer team are ready to lift you up at our private prayer page: RHM Prayer Network. If you are interested in joining the prayer team, here is how to get started Prayer Partners.