“No greater mischief can happen to a Christian people than to have God’s Word taken from them and falsified, so that they no longer have it pure and clear. God grant that we and our descendants be not witnesses of such a calamity. Let us not lose the Bible, but with diligence, in fear and invocation of God, read and preach it.” ~ Martin Luther
Many newly-housed inmates, those who were jailed for the first time are facing a tough situation when those inmates who hold power inside the prison, know that they are preys. They will take advantage of the lack of knowledge of these newly-arrived inmates and demand for their money, service or anything they can obtain from them, for their own gain. Despite the tight security, these old timers are still able to get away with their ugly schemes.
How true it is too with our spiritual condition. We also face a spiritual predator and we can all be potential spiritual preys if we are not knowledgeable. For spiritual deception, we must learn to also fight back in a spiritual way.
“14 But I am not surprised! Even Satan can disguise himself as an angel of light. 15 So it is no wonder his servants can also do it by pretending to be godly ministers. In the end they will get every it of punishment their wicked deeds deserve.” - 2 Corinthians 11:14-15
Not everyone who spoke positively about Jesus is from God. There are also spirituals con artists. Many talked about a Jesus who is a moral example, instead of being the Savior. Theirs is a works kind of religion. Some uses their authority to take advantage of believers, for their own gain.
Paul talked about his credentials to the Corinthians, not to brag about them, but to remind them that his authority came from the Lord and was to be used to serve them [2 Corinthians 4:5 -“We don’t go around preaching about ourselves; we preach Christ Jesus, the Lord. All we say about ourselves is that we are your servants because of what Jesus has done for us."] and help them become mature [2 Corinthians 10:8 - “I may seem to be boasting too much about the authority given to us by the Lord. But this authority is to build you up, not tear you down. And I will not be put to shame by having my work among you destroyed.”]
Let’s continue to read the Word so we can gain knowledge in this spiritual warfare we’re all in as believers of Christ. Don’t fall prey into the hands of spiritual predators…
Psalm 119:89 - “Forever, O Lord, your word stands firm in heaven.”
2 Peter 1:20-21 - “20 Above all, you must understand that no prophecy in Scripture ever came from the prophets themselves 21 or because they wanted to prophesy. It was the Holy Spirit who moved the prophets to speak from God.”
2 Timothy 3:16, 17 - “16 All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It straightens us out and teaches us to do what is right. 17 It is God’s way of preparing us in every way, fully equipped for every good thing God wants us to do.”
Read Ephesians 6 and be reminded that we have the Armor of God to use against our spiritual enemies.
30 DAYS OF THANKSGIVING - 14
8 hours ago
Enjoy your posts as always. Thank you for being a vessel for the Lord.
ReplyDeleteThanks for being such a faithful worker for the Lord sis, love you. I like your new blog look.
ReplyDeleteBelieve it or not there are many times the Lord calls to my mind those that enter into jail...to pray for them. I think of them many times and what will happen to them..SIGH.....
ReplyDeletewe have the Armor of God to use against our spiritual enemies. amen amen amen..yes,,amen..
This was so relevant to what I had to deal with this morning. I have my own "bully" to deal with. I put my foot down though. I hope Madison's dad realizes I am not going to be intimidated by his threats, letters from his lawyer, or visits to my house from the police. I am trying to put all of this behind me and enjoy the rest of my week. I hope you have a nice week too! I like the new look :)
ReplyDeleteSuch a great analogy Rosel! It amazes me that anyone would use the Name of Christ for personal gain but it happens so often.
ReplyDeleteI hope you had a wonderful celebration yesterday.
Love and blessings to you!!
This post is so timely, Rosel. There are so many who are being deceived by those who claim to be Godly men and women. It's vile and disgusting, but I keep praying for them that their eyes will be opened to their own vices and deceits; and repent of their ways.
ReplyDeleteGod bless you for boldly going forth spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ! I love and admire what you do on a daily basis. You truly do inspire me.
Please pray for me tonight. I am really struggling!
ReplyDeleteI definitely pray I will walk in great discernment. Mercy can cloud our discernment sometimes.
ReplyDeleteLove you Rosel!
Rosel,
ReplyDeleteThese are truly some great words of advice and ones that have been on my heart as of lately. We, as Christians, need this type of protection because the enemy is just waiting to take advantage of those times when we think we are OK on our own.
Love and Hugs ~ Kat
Rosel, thank you for sharing. Blessings to you dear one.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteRosel, what a well written and biblical view of false teachers and preachers. There are so many false prophets today that it is hard for "New Babies in Christ" to find out for sure what the Word of God actually says. One person will say it means one thing and another will say it means totally something else.
ReplyDeleteWhat we, as Believer's, need to do is stand up against these false teachers and so called prophets and let them know that we only allow God to tell us what He intended His Word to mean when revealed to us. Keep us your mission for God, and may the light of Christ continue to shine through you and your blog. God bless, Lloyd
Good reminder sister. May we stay in the Word and on the alert
ReplyDeleteGreat analogy! I felt the quake up here in Huntington Beach - how was it for you?
ReplyDeleteLove to you
Kelly
Rosel, the strongest point you made in this post is when you said, "Let’s continue to read the Word". We must read it, meditate on it and fill our minds with it, DAILY. That's the key so that when spiritual attacks come, and they will, we will have our weapons of warfare to fight them back with.
ReplyDeleteThanks as always for great post.
Hugs,
Lisa
You are such a blessing,Rosel! Yes, we must keep ourselves clothed in the full armor of God at all times.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for sharing another great lesson.
AMEN! Seeking diligently to stay clothed in the armor of GOD!
ReplyDeleteThinking about you, much yesterday. Praying you are doing well.
Hugs, love, and prayers, andrea
PS: Love the new blog look! So bright and cheerful! I feel as though I am floating on a cloud with our Lord while I am here!
Precious Sister,
ReplyDeleteSuch a powerful posting. Yes, we must stay in the Word, devour it completely so that it is etched deeply into our minds, hearts and souls so that we can stand alert, on guard and be ready at all times to defend ourselves and our families against the enemy.
Your new look here is oh so beautiful and refreshing just like you my dear friend.
Love you,
Alleluiabelle
Great analogy of another spiritual truth. Keep pressing on, sister! God bless you for your work.
ReplyDelete“My fear is that the modern conception of faith is not the biblical one, that when the teachers of our day use the word they do not mean what the Bible writers meant when they used it. The causes of my uneasiness are these:
ReplyDelete1. The lack of spiritual fruit in the lives of so many who claim to have faith.
2. The rarity of a radical change in the conduct and general outlook of persons professing their new faith in Christ as their personal Savior.
3. The failure of our teachers to define or even describe the thing to which the word ‘faith’ is supposed to refer.
4. The heartbreaking failure of multitudes of seekers, be they ever so earnest, to make anything out of the doctrine [of faith] or to receive any satisfying experience through it.
5. The real danger that a doctrine that is parroted so widely and received so uncritically by so many is false as understood by them.
6. I have seen faith put forward as a substitute for obedience, an escape from reality, a refuge from the necessity of hard thinking, a hiding place for weak character. I have known people to miscall by the name of faith high animal spirits, natural optimism, emotional thrills and nervous tics.
7. Plain horse sense ought to tell us that anything that makes no change in the man who professes it makes no difference to God either, and it is an easily observable fact that for countless numbers of persons the change from no-faith to faith makes no actual difference in the life.”
A. W. Tozer, “Faith: The Misunderstood Doctrine,” in Man the Dwelling Place of God, pages 30-31
Spiritual discernment is truly lacking in the church today. We should not be surprised at this because the Bible warns us this will happen in the last days.
ReplyDelete1 Timothy 4:3-5
3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; 4 and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables. 5 But you be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.
This is so a fantastic post !!Thanks for sharing !!
ReplyDeletePowerful nuggets of wisdom all over this message!!!
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing!!
I somehow missed this yesdterday but glad I noticed it this morning. This is just soo full of wisdom and truth. How I appreciate all you share with us. Have a wonderful day. Hugs...
ReplyDeleteFor I delivered to you...what I also received. I Corinthians 15:3
ReplyDeleteIn the above text, we learn two important truths about the Gospel - it is handed down, and it is to be delivered. When the Apostle Paul writes that he “received” the Gospel, he is making a claim to special revelation. He did not fabricate this message, nor was it borrowed from others. Rather it came to him through an extraordinary revelation of Jesus Christ. In Galatians 1:11-12, Paul describes this experience in greater detail:
For I would have you know, brethren, that the gospel which was preached by me is not according to man. For I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ.
There is only one true Gospel. It was born in the heart of God and handed down to the church through the Apostles. These men, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, were quite clear regarding the content of their Gospel and its immutability. It was not to be changed or adapted to please the palate of differing cultures or epochs, but was to be held in the highest regard as absolute truth. We who have become recipients and stewards of this Gospel would do well to listen to their admonitions and handle the Gospel with the greatest caution, even fear. Jude exhorts us to contend earnestly for this faith which was once for all handed down to the saints. Paul admonishes us to guard it as an entrusted treasure, and even goes so far as to pronounce a curse upon any man or angel who would adapt the Gospel message to any preconceived notion of culture or religion:
But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed! As we have said before, so I say again now, if any man is preaching to you a gospel contrary to what you received, he is to be accursed!
Each generation of Christians must realize that an "eternal" Gospel has been handed down to them. As stewards, it is our charge to preserve that Gospel without additions, subtractions, or any sort of modification. To alter the Gospel in any way is to damn our own souls, and to hand down a corrupt Gospel to the following generation. For this reason, the Apostle Paul warned young Timothy to take pains with the truths entrusted to him, and promised him that in doing so he would ensure salvation both for himself and for those who heard him.
We, who have received the Gospel, have a fearful obligation to deliver it. This obligation is not only to God, but also to our own generation and the generations to come. Although the Gospel can be corrupted in an instant, it may take the Church years, even centuries to recover it. If Church history teaches us anything, it teaches us that though heretical movements abound, there are few genuine reformations. There is something worse than holding our silence while the lost world runs headlong into hell. It is the crime of preaching to them a watered down, culturally carved, truncated Gospel that allows them to hold to a form of godliness, while denying its power, to profess to know God, while denying Him with their deeds, and to call Jesus “Lord, Lord”, while not doing the Father’s will. Woe to us if we preach not the Gospel, but even greater woe if we do so incorrectly!
Great post. Loved how you lead into the main body. Discernment is so crucial. We only get discernment, of course it comes from God, but as we exercise it according to Hebrews. Unfortunately most are too lazy to do that.
ReplyDeleteYour website looks great!