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Wolves in Sheep's Clothing
Beware of false prophets who come disguised as harmless sheep, but are really wolves that will tear you apart. You can detect them by the way they act, just as you can identify a tree by its fruit. Matt 7:15-16
Sadly we live in a world filled with counterfeits, whether it is things of a material nature or the more sinister; those that are out to copy the things of God.
Cults like the Jehovah's Witnesses and Mormons are publicising their false truths and even so-called churches are doing and teaching things that are not honouring God's church or even God himself.
How can we stand against these and how can we discern whether they are for God or against him? There are two main ways.
- To learn and understand God's Word so that it becomes a part of you.
- To use God's Word to learn the kind of behaviour we should see from those that are his.
When we ourselves are in a close relationship with Jesus, these falsehoods will very quickly lead us to dissatisfaction or make us feel very uncomfortable. As God becomes alive in us through the person of the Holy Spirit, he unites with his Word to reveal his truth to us. Once the truth is known we can stand against these wolves with the authority of the Lord.
Labels: Bible, Discernment, Falsehoods
More than Just a Number
Becoming a Christian, a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, a follower, someone who is saved (or whichever title you want to use...), doesn't make you just another number in God's kingdom.
Jesus taught that "there is joy in the presence of God's angels when one single sinner repents" (Luke 15:10). Heaven is thrown into a godly party mode every time one of us comes to recognize the Saviour. You aren't a number but a treasured individual, who God wants to pour his grace upon and strengthen you as your new life unfolds.
Not even a sparrow, worth only half a penny, can fall to the ground without your Father knowing it. And the very hairs on your head are all numbered. So don't be afraid; you are more valuable to him than a whole flock of sparrows.
Matt 10:29-31
You are one of his very own children who has strayed into grave danger but now has returned, and the Father is delighted to have you back. His eye will be on you, making sure that you stay close. And if you do stray again he will guide you back.
Self worth is something that is yours, because the Almighty God of Heaven has now declared you worthy to be called his son or daughter.
Taking the Gospel to the Community
Wherever you set your feet, the land will be yours. Your frontiers will stretch from the wilderness in the south to Lebanon in the north, and
from the Euphrates River in the east to the Mediterranean Sea in the west.
Deuteronomy 11:24 (NLT)
As we take the gospel to our community the Lord will open up the way for his Word to be victorious in the lives of those that call upon his name. All the Israelites had to do 3000 years ago was to walk in the land where God had promised and it would become theirs. Today we are asked to wear the shoes of peace (Eph 6) and take the gospel with us as we walk in faith through the area about us. Believing that the Lord will give us these territories too: that lives may be changed as the love and mercy of God is trodden about this estate. This area is lost without the message of the cross but they will not hear it unless we tell them.
In early bible times, territory was won by blood being spilt, today blood has already been spilt, once and for all, that of the lamb of God...Jesus Christ, He has made the way for all of mankind to inherit his land. (Heb 10)
