Do not be deceived!!

The Bible has warned us many times about false teachers and false prophets. They have always been around. With all the technology we have today, they are able to reach more people at one time. Some are quite obvious. Some, not so much. Just because someone has the title "Reverend", "Pastor" or "Doctor" before their name, does not necessarily mean that they are a true believer. Always, ALWAYS, go to the Bible yourself and verify the words they are saying. Pray for discernment. Do research. Get a concordance and look up words you don't understand completely. This is serious business. Just a few verses concerning this matter:

"For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, masquerading as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. It is not surprising , then, if his servants masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve." 2 Corinthians 11:13-15.

"For certain men whose condemnation was written about long ago have secretly slipped in among you. They are godless men, who change the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord." Jude 4.

"Yet these men speak abusively against whatever they do not understand; and what things they do understand by instinct, like unreasoning animals- these are the very things that destroy them." Jude 10.

(speaking of false prophets) "They are from the world and therefore speak from the viewpoint of the world, and the world listens to them." 1 John 4:5.

"For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and and turn aside to myths." 2 Timothy 4:3-4

2 Timothy Chapter 3 says that there will be terrible times in the last days. Verse 2 describes many people of this world today. Verse 5 says that these people will have a form of godliness, but deny it's power. Verse 7 says they are always learning but never able to ACKNOWLEDGE the truth. This is so prevalent today!!!

"If anyone teaches false doctrines and does not agree to the sound instruction of our Lord Jesus Christ and to godly teaching, he is conceited and understands nothing. He has an unhealthy interest in controversies and quarrels about words that result in envy, strife, malicious talk, evil suspicions and constant friction between men of corrupt mind who have been robbed of the truth and who think that godliness is a means to financial gain." 1 Timothy 6:3-5

"The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron." 1 Timothy 4:1-2.

Jesus himself said (speaking of the last days), "At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but he who stands firm to the end will be save." Matthew 24 10-13

I am sure that I could find many more, but I've got a sweet baby to tend to. I just felt such an urgency this morning. And please, do not take my word for it. Go and look up these verses yourself if you are not already familiar with them! Read the entire chapters to receive the full context. We must be very diligent in these times, that we are not deceived!

"Do not put out the Spirit's fire; do not treat prophecies with contempt. Test everything. Hold on to the good. Avoid every kind of evil." 1 Thessalonians 5:19-22. l

STAND FIRM MY FRIENDS!

The empty space...

How many times have you seen this lately?- A known Christian believer is asked a question about his or her beliefs. He or she answers the question truthfully, and people become outraged, shocked, appalled by the answer!! First of all, I believe that sometimes these questions are a trap. They are asked because someone is looking to stir up controversy surrounding the Christian. Secondly, since when is it not okay to believe in the Bible? A true Christian's entire faith is based on their belief that the Bible is truth. Why are people so shocked when a Christian confesses that they have Biblical view points? Hebrews 4:12 says, "For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart." My interpretation of this verse is that the Word of God is still relevant. It is not out-dated. It still holds meaning for us today. The same meaning that it held when it was written. Either you believe it, or you don't. You cannot pick out the parts you like and come up with your own ideas as to why the other parts are incorrect. If you do not agree with the entire Bible, then you do not believe in the God that wrote it. The God of the Bible is still the same God today. He has not changed. He still has authority over all creation, whether or not we like it. His Word does divide. It is dividing our country today, now more than ever. It is no longer politically-correct to believe in the Word. If you are against abortion, then you must not think that women should have rights. If you believe in Biblical marriage, then you must hate people who are gay! These are just 2 example of how my personal beliefs have been distorted by the media recently. It is really starting to get on my nerves! Why can we no longer respectfully disagree? Why do we have to mock or demonize people with different views? Just because I have compassion for an unborn child does not mean that I don't have compassion for his mother. Just because I think marriage is between one man and one woman, does not mean that I hate anyone! On the contrary, I love everyone! In fact, every single friend I have is a sinner. I happen to be one too! I do not love anyone any less because of their sin. These are only 2 of the many, many beliefs that are being distorted. I could write a book! Some will argue that God is not very clear about these subjects. It may seem that way. We rarely have political debates over the sins of the 10 commandments. Those are pretty straight-forward. I personally believe that God did this on purpose. He wants us to get into His Word and dig for the truth sometimes. The only way we can truly come to know Him is to do so. If we limited our reading to only a few chapters, we would miss so much of His character and His heart. The last few years, I have done some digging. He has revealed so many things to me that I was unsure of before. Now, I can stand confident in my beliefs. I know why I believe the things I believe and I have Biblical evidence supporting my beliefs. The one thing I lack is courage. It is scary to stand up for your beliefs when you know you will be mocked and hated. And sometimes it will feel like you are standing all alone. I believe that this is all a scheme of the devil to keep us silent. My favorite thing to do, is turn the devil's schemes upside down! My son Mason said that he would kick the devil in the privacy if he has the chance! Ha! When you get into the Word and use it daily, you are hitting the devil where it hurts! We need to pray for the Christians in leadership. Pray that they will have courage in the face of such hatred. Pray for more Christian leaders to rise up. Pray for courage for ourselves. It is not easy to write this blog. Even though few read it, I know that not everyone will agree with it. That is okay, too. I will respect your beliefs, but I ask that you respect mine, too. One more thing, people have been doing their best to remove God from our culture for many many years now. Do they not see what this has done? It is not getting any better. Ask any teacher what they think of this generation of kids coming up. I can't speak for all of them, but I can for a few. It is not good. My oldest son comes home every day complaining about school. Not because of the teachers, rules or work. But because the kids are so disrespectful and unruly that he is miserable! That is not a good sign! Some time and some place we are going to have to draw the line. When you remove God, you are leaving the door wide open for someone else to take His place. Turn on your television and you can already see who is filling in the empty space. It is not good at all. If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land. ~2 Chronicles 7:14.