Recognizing the inauthentic

In his book The Gospel According to Starbucks, Leonard Sweet tells the story of Ed Faubert. Faubert is what you call a "cupper"—in layman's terms, he's a coffee-taster. And his perspicacious taste buds are actually certified by the state of New York!

So refined is Faubert's sense of taste for coffee that even while blindfolded, he can take one sip of coffee and tell you "not just that it is from Guatemala, but from what state it comes, at what altitude it was grown, and on what mountain."

With so much "stuff" out there in our culture today, we need discernment, don't we. We need to know what is of God and what is not.

It can be hard.

It can be difficult.

What's the best way to walk in discernment? Continue to learn what is real as opposed to fake. Continue to "taste" God's Word so often and with such relish that anything else can be readily recognized.

To be so immersed in the basic, fundamental teachings of God's Word that false doctrine can be immediately sighted.

I want to be so sensitive to God's leadings that I can "taste" and "smell" when something non-authentic comes along.