Need training in discernment? Here’s a bundle!

By Elizabeth Prata

Finally the long, hot Georgia summer is letting go and we are experiencing cool mornings and bearable afternoons. Fall in Georgia really is glorious. It lasts a while, which is one of the many reasons I enjoy it. The Fall season in Maine is about 2 weeks long, I’m not joking. In Georgia it’s about 8 weeks and the slow slide into ‘winter’ is beautiful with clear skies, low humidity, and turning leaves. I put winter in quotes because even after 16 winters in Georgia the fact that winter temps rarely even get below freezing overnight, and usually remain in the 40s and 50s during the days, is not winter to me but a Maine Spring, lol. On to today’s news-

On this blog I generally do 4 kinds of essays. Encouragement (like my sailing stories), theology (like the recent providence, cessation, attributes of God, and fearing God essays), creation essays (like the one about horseshoe crabs and barnacles) and discernment.

Of course, discernment essays are the ones that people view the most. I don’t know if that is good or bad. I think it is good. People need discernment. John MacArthur has regularly said over the years that lack of discernment (which is caused by biblical illiteracy) is the biggest threat to the church.

I recently mentioned that I’ve enjoyed Todd Friel’s Wretched series called “Drive By______”. Drive By Marriage, Drive By Biblical Counseling, Drive By Theology, Drive By Discernment, etc. These are short, systematic lessons in audio, focusing on the topic, that anyone can listen to as they drive to work. (Or listen to anywhere). Audio lessons range anywhere from 10 minutes to 15 or so. They are short.

I’ve listened to several of these series and I especially enjoyed the series on discernment. Discernment as a biblical skill and applied to practical life is rarely explicitly taught. But Hebrews 5:14 says,

But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil. (ESV).

So we CAN practice discernment and train up in the skill, even if we are not blessed specifically with the gift of discernment as some possess. Bottom line, discernment is for everybody.

I saw that the Drive By Discernment bundle at Wretched is on sale. The team has put together a bundle of excellent resources with the Drive By Discernment audio lessons, which includes some great stuff. Normally this bundle would sell for $96.00. The bundle is now for sale for not much more than the lone Drive By lectures would be, $39.00. Their blurb says,

This bundle is the perfect arsenal to help you defend the truth and refute false teaching. Each resource has been carefully selected and is guaranteed to strengthen your discernment. The bundle includes the following:

• Judge Not (book)
• Drive by False Teaching (audio)
• Drive by Discernment (audio)
• Snatch Them from the Flames (video)
• Drunk in the Spirit (video)

All that for $39.00. Read the reviews!

Reviews

Joel Osteen
“This bundle is giving me my worst life now.”

Benny Hinn
“This bundle makes me so mad I want to whack someone with my coat.”

Kenneth Copeland
“I found the one thing scarier than my soulless stare, this bundle.”

Creflo Dollar
“Don’t spend your money on this bundle. Give it to me instead. My jet needs new gold platted seatbelt buckles.”

Steven Furtick
“AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!”

LOL, to be clear, if you are not familiar with Todd Friel’s jocularity, those reviews are Wretched-type witticisms of course, not real reviews. But they are pretty funny. The lectures are not given by Friel, there are a variety of noted speakers who give each lesson, many of which are from the Psalm 119 Conferences. Lecturers like Justin Peters, Phil Johnson, James White, Tim Challies (who wrote a book on discernment, see below) and others. In the Drive By Discernment series of lectures alone, there are 63 lectures. In the Drive By False Teaching series included in the bundle, there are 79 lessons. (Remember, each one is short enough to listen to on a short commute, like 15 minutes).

But I am serious when I say it would be worth it to look into either this bundle, or at least one or more of the items in it separately. If you are serious about training up in discernment and you regularly already read your Bible, this is a good deal. And for the record I am not a Wretched employee nor do I receive compensation for this. I am simply always on the lookout for credible and edifying resources, and discernment resources are scarce. When they come to my attention, I like to pass them on to you, my sisters. 🙂

Other Resources in discernment

The Discipline of Spiritual Discernment. Challies said: “Written for the general reader and in a way that is suitable for a wide audience, the book teaches people to think biblically so they might act biblically. It appeals for discernment, teaching the importance of this discipline in guarding the good news God has entrusted to us.“

John MacArthur, article: Defining Discernment. Article begins,

“In its simplest definition, discernment is nothing more than the ability to decide between truth and error, right and wrong. Discernment is the process of making careful distinctions in our thinking about truth. In other words, the ability to think with discernment is synonymous with an ability to think biblically.”

Ligonier Article by Dustin Benge: How to Develop Your Discernment. Article begins,

“Over the past several months, we’ve seen how quickly news and social media can elicit fear, provoke anger, and fuel movements. This information overload is sometimes more than we can bear and has sent believers and unbelievers alike spiraling into despair and hopelessness as we’re simply trying to discern what to believe.“

Podcast by Alistair Begg: Who is Wise? part 1 of 2. Description-

“What’s the proof of wisdom? Is it found in the diplomas you have, the books you’ve read, the knowledge you’ve gleaned? Well, on Truth For Life, Alistair Begg demonstrates the biblical measure of wisdom and discernment.“

Part 2 of Who is Wise, here. Description-

“Education can provide important facts, but it can’t offer us wisdom. On Truth For Life, Alistair Begg says it’s not intelligence, but faith, that makes a person wise. Hear how to employ wise discernment by trusting in God’s Word.“