False Prophets in Peter’s Day and in Ours

Today we’re going to randomly dive into the middle of a long series of blog posts from 1 Peter. How long? Here’s what the author says:

…I love to spend time digging deep into God’s Word. I have learned more in these last years than I have ever learned before. I spent a year writing about Paul’s letter to Ephesus, and now a year on 1 Peter. I plan on doing 2 Peter, then 1 and 2 Timothy…

Did you catch that? One year on each!

Today we’re introducing you to a new blog, Abundant Joy written by Kimberly Minick. Click the title which follows to read today’s devotional at source. Then you’ll be in a good place to click the home page, which, if you’re reading this when it’s published, immediately shows you the start of the series on 1 Peter.

2 Peter 1:19-21

“We also have the prophetic word strongly confirmed, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. Above all, you know this: No prophecy of Scripture comes from the prophet’s own interpretation, because no prophecy ever came by the will of man; instead, men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.”

Peter continues here with the thought he started in verse 16. “For we did not follow cleverly contrived myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ…” He told them about being an eyewitness (along with James and John) of Jesus’s majesty at the Transfiguration. He has had a glimpse of Jesus as the glorious King he is. It has given him confidence of Jesus’s future return.

He continues here with hope for all his readers. “We also have the prophetic word strongly confirmed, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.” The prophetic word is the Scriptures, as we read in the next verse. He will go on to explain how the prophetic word is strongly confirmed in the next verse and I will cover that when I get there.

Peter says that his readers would do well to pay attention to it as to “a lamp shining in a dark place.” This could be a reference to Psalm 119:105: “Your word is a lamp for my feet and a light on my path.”

We live in a world darkened by sin. Douglas Moo writes, “In the darkness of this present world, God’s word casts light on his purposes and plans and so enables believers to live as those who are ‘in the day’ (see Rom. 13:11-12).” Let’s look at those verses in Romans. “Besides this, since you know the time, it is already the hour for you to wake up from sleep, because now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. The night is nearly over, and the day is near; so let us discard the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light.” 

Both Peter and Paul write about the day being near. Peter writes “until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.” The day of the Lord refers to Christ’s second coming. The morning star is a reference to Jesus. We read in Revelation 22:16, “I, Jesus, have sent my angel to attest these things to you for the churches. I am the Root and descendant of David, the bright morning star.” Peter is saying that we need to pay attention to the Word of God. Read it! Study it! It is the light that will illuminate our way in this dark world. And we are to do it until Christ returns.

Peter continues. “Above all, you know this: No prophecy of Scripture comes from the prophet’s own interpretation, because no prophecy ever came by the will of man; instead, men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.” Peter is reassuring his readers that Scripture is inspired by God. Paul puts it this way. “All Scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for teaching, for rebuking, for correcting, for training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.”

Kenneth Gangel writes, “The Scriptures’ human authors were controlled by the divine Author, the Holy Spirit. Yet they were consciously involved in the process; they were neither taking dictation nor writing in a state of ecstasy. No wonder believers have a word of prophecy which is certain. And no wonder a Christian’s nurture must depend on the Scriptures. They are the very words of God Himself!”

Peter began this section with his experience- the Transfiguration. But he concludes with the Word of God, which he says we would do well to pay attention to. On David Guzik’s Enduring Word website, he writes, “And so we have the prophetic word confirmed: Peter’s experience at the transfiguration was amazing. But the testimony of God’s Word about Jesus was even more sure than Peter’s personal experience. The fulfillment of the prophetic word confirmed is a certain, reliable testimony of the truth of the scriptures.”

There are at least 332 Old Testament prophecies about the Messiah that Jesus fulfills. Peter Stoner was the Chairman of the Department of Mathematics and Astronomy at Pasadena City College. He figured out the mathematical probability of one person in the first century fulfilling just eight of these. This is how he put it. “We take 100,000,000 silver dollars and lay them on the face of Texas. They will cover all of the state two feet deep. Now mark one of these silver dollars and stir the whole mass thoroughly… Blindfold a man and tell him… he must pick up one silver dollar… What chance would he have of getting the right one? Just the same chance that the prophets would have of writing… eight prophecies and having them come true in one man.”

My purpose here is to show you that the Bible is divinely inspired. There are so many other ways to go about that (archaeological finds, cohesiveness, etc.) but, Peter is writing about prophecy, so I will stick with that.

I am going to end with what we will start with next time–false prophets. Notice that Peter writes “no prophecy ever came by the will of man.” He is referring to the scriptures here, but the prophets wrote the scriptures. There were examples in the Old Testament of false prophets.

Ezekiel warns, “This is what the Lord God says: Woe to the foolish prophets who follow their own spirit and have seen nothing…They saw false visions and their divinations were a lie. They claimed, “This is the Lord’s declaration,” when the Lord did not send them, yet they wait for the fulfillment of their message. Didn’t you see a false vision and speak a lying divination when you proclaimed, “This is the Lord’s declaration,” even though I had not spoken?” (Ezekiel 13:3,6-7). and Jeremiah said this. “This is what the Lord of Armies says: “Do not listen to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you. They are deluding you. They speak visions from their own minds, not from the Lord’s mouth” (23:16).

We have false prophets today just as Peter did in his day. We even have a group that teaches that there is an office of “Prophet” as well as “Apostle.” I have two blog posts on this if you would like to read about it. Prophets – Abundant Joy; Apostles – Abundant Joy. These groups teach that prophecy is something that can be taught, that doesn’t have to be accurate, and should always be positive. Does this sound like what we have been reading about? If prophecy is indeed by God, which I believe it is, it will be 100% accurate. We will get more into this as we move into 2 Peter 2.

My encouragement for you… is to stay in the Word. Read through Psalm 119. Notice how every verse is another way of referring to the Word of God! “How happy are those whose way is blameless, who walk according to the Lord’s instruction!” (vs. 1)

Grace be with you!

 

Whatever Happened to Truth?

Once again we are highlighting In My Father’s House, the blog of Mel Wild, senior pastor at Cornerstone Church and director of Radiant School of Ministry, both based in Wisconsin USA. Although the blog has been inactive for nearly a year, this devotional is needed more now than it was then. Click the title below to see it where it first appeared.

Revelation-Light

Like Alice in Wonderland, we seemed to have fallen down a societal rabbit-hole where truth, or even how we understand what is true, is being assaulted on all fronts.  At the risk of mixing metaphors, this Orwellian nightmare we find ourselves in is celebrating the Emporer’s new clothes. Tragically, it’s only producing a sickness to our collective soul.

“Two swindlers arrive at the capital city of an emperor who spends lavishly on clothing at the expense of state matters. Posing as weavers, they offer to supply him with magnificent clothes that are invisible to those who are stupid or incompetent. The emperor hires them, and they set up looms and go to work. A succession of officials, and then the emperor himself, visit them to check their progress. Each sees that the looms are empty but pretends otherwise to avoid being thought a fool.” (Wikipedia: synopsis – “Emperor’s New Clothes” by Hans Christian Anderson)

Likewise, the citizens or our “city” pretend that the narrative being foisted upon us by the radicalized constitutes enlightenment and progress, but all we experience is increasingly regressive darkness and despair. We live in a time when virtue-signaling is called virtue and tolerance and inclusion mean that we will tolerate you as long as you agree with us. To make matters worse, social media algorithms have programmed the gullible into a form of mass hysteria, polarizing us beyond anything formally thought possible.

Of course, if we were to be brave and say that this “Emperor,” this current cultural construct, indeed has no clothes, we face the wrath of the woke inquisitors who have the power to lock us away in their dudgeon of the silenced (if we let them). So, many of us just keep our heads down as we watch this mad parade.

The problem is, this compliance through fear of excommunication does not produce liberty nor freedom; quite the opposite, it produces bondage and despair.

And it can only do so, because when you make truth a social construct, you have cut your mooring to what is real and have descended into something very sinister and dark. To experience it is to experience a hell on earth.

While we can agree that there are many ways to perceive or interpret what is true, a thing can only be true or not true. For instance, it is true that we exist. We’re not a social construct, and to deny common sense about us that is true can have disastrous effects on our lives, even leading to our death.

So, it’s incoherent and foolish to believe there’s no such thing as truth, or even that we cannot know the truth. We prove that we can know truth every day we live and breathe.

As it turns out, knowing truth is really a heart issue. In fact, everything really important is a matter of the heart. Because we humans tend to believe whatever we want to believe. And the only real way of knowing if we’re not just deceived is to see the fruit, or effects, of what we believe.

And this is good news! We can know the truth! When we open our heart, we open our understanding and thereby expose ourselves to what is true.

According to Jesus, it’s the truth that makes us free (John 8:31-32). Indeed, Scripture reveals that truth is revelation-light to our soul. Embracing this revealed truth heals and frees us from the lies we believe. We become whole human beings.

I like what Paul said to the Ephesians about this:

 Whatever the revelation-light exposes, it will also correct, and everything that reveals truth is light to the soul. This is why the Scripture says,

“Arise, you sleeper! Rise up from your coffin and the Anointed One will shine his light into you!”

(Eph.5:13-14 TPT)

The Greek word for “correct,” φανερόω (phaneroō), literally means to “become illuminated,” which also means to be laid bare, to appear in its true character. This revealing can be negative or positive, depending on what’s being illuminated.

What I see here is that when we drift away from this relevation-light that frees our soul, we descend into a form of darkness. But when we open our heart to the truth, this light begins to flood our soul, which reveals our true identity. We “arise” from our spiritual slumber as the Anointed One shines His healing balm into our soul!

Now, I understand that some may not agree with me. Especially, if you don’t value Jesus or His word. And, of course, there are other ways to know the truth. My only question is, how is what you’re believing working for you? Again, we can know by the outcome. Does your life’s trajectory produce love, joy, peace, kindness…self-control…or something else?

You can know a tree by its fruit.

 

Whose Word Do You Trust More?

A year ago we discovered (and introduced you to) a wealth of devotional/study content at Unashamed of Jesus which has been active since October, 2014. All of the material is classified by Bible book or topic. As we often do, we simply chose the newest devotional to feature here, but you are encouraged to study the home page to see what else might interest you. They use the KJV exclusively. If you’re a new Christian or English is not your first language, you’re encouraged to look up the Bible passages on Bible Hub and choose a more modern translation, such as the NLT.

Click the title below to read this one where readers saw it first.

1 John 5- The Voice of Truth

If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater; for this is the witness of God which He has testified of His Son. He who believes in the Son of God has the witness in himself; he who does not believe God has made Him a liar, because he has not believed the testimony that God has given of His Son. 1 John 5:9-10

The Word of God is greater than the word of man. Ever since the beginning, man has been trying to make themselves “like God,” man has followed the errors of Satan to believe they can exalt themselves, man believes he doesn’t need God, that he can rule over himself. And what happens is what we are seeing today in society, total depravity overruns the human race as God has given them up to a debased or reprobate mind (Romans 1)

As the Apostle John says under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit “The witness of God is greater than the witness of men.” Today we see liberal , progressive “Christians’ ‘ who want to rewrite and reinterpret the Bible to fit their agenda. They will say “The Bible is not the Word of God” they will say “These are not literal stories in the Bible” and so this gives them their justification to rewrite the Bible in their mind and make up a false god of their liking.

This is the same thing Satan has been doing since the garden of Eden, “You surely won’t die” (Genesis 3:4)  Satan tried to rewrite the Word of God to Adam and Eve, however Satan is a liar and Adam and Eve spiritually and physically died in paradise. The Word of God stating “In the day you will eat of it, you will surely die” (Genesis 2:7) The Word of God will always be true and the words of man are false. Don’t put your faith and trust in a fallen world with fallen people, salvation is in Christ alone

So how do we overcome this curse of death from the wages of our sins? (Romans 3:23) As the Apostle John states “He who believes in the Son of God has the witness in himself, He who does not believe has made him a liar” There is the dividing line once again, are you Born Again in Christ or are you still dead in your trespasses? (John 3, Ephesians 2)

Who is the witness that lives inside of you? It’s the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Truth, that shall regenerate you and indwell inside of you, teaching you the things of God. Without the Holy Spirit you are walking in darkness, being deceived by the lies of this world and Satan. The Word of God is our standard of truth, without the Word of God how do we evaluate truth in a deceived world?

As Jesus said “You shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free” (John 8:32) Jesus Christ will set you free from sin and death, and will give you the Holy Spirit to guide you through this life, Amen!

The Perfect Denominational Perspective

Brothers and sisters, even if a person is caught in any wrongdoing, you who are spiritual are to restore such a person in a spirit of gentleness… – Galatians 6:1a NASB

Throughout October we’ve introduced you to a large number of writers who are new to us. This time it’s Zach who lives in Michigan in the United States and writes at Faith in a Fallen World. Click the link in the title which follows and read this where it first appeared.

Which Denomination is Right?

There are thousands of denominations of Christianity around the world. Some estimates put the number at over 45,000 different denominations. The United States apparently has over 200 different denominations itself. If you’re like me, you’ve likely heard at least one person say something along the lives of “every denomination is wrong except mine.” I’ve actually had a few people tell me I’m not a real Christian because I don’t belong to their particular denomination. So…out of 45,000 denominations, which one is right?

In the Bible, we are warned about false teachers, not only in the world, but also even in the church. False teachers come in all shapes and sizes, and without a thorough understanding of Scripture and discernment from the Holy Spirit, it can be easy to fall into believing false teachings. This is the reason why in 1 John 4 we are warned to “test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world.” I wrote a post not too long ago discussing how to identify false teachers.

There are many people who are not equipped on how to identify false teachers, and that’s one of the reasons why we see many churches and denominations falling into unbiblical practices. I’m not here to call out any names, but it doesn’t take very much digging to come across church scandals or churches believing things that are way out there. I’ve heard of Christians practicing yoga and believing and telling others that it’s perfectly fine, even as they partake in poses designed for worshipping Hindu gods. There are so many different opinions and nuances that lead to church division that it is easy to see why there are so many denominations.

False teaching and church division occurred even in the first century. In 1 Corinthians 1, Paul calls out the church at Corinth for this division. People in that church were arguing because some were saying they follow Paul’s teaching while others were saying they follow Apollos, Cephas, or Christ. Paul calls this division the product of carnality in 1 Cor 3:4. Paul recognized the divisions and warned the church that sectarianism is a sin. He clarifies his response in 3:11 where he says “no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.” Paul did not design the foundation. All he did was lay it down by preaching Christ.

So which denomination is the right one? That’s not a question I can answer. There is so much division on doctrine and tradition. The question that needs to be asked of every denomination, by everyone, is “does this denomination preach the good news of Jesus Christ?” Our foundation is Christ. If a church does not preach Christ crucified for the sins of the world, then an argument could be made that it is not a Christian church.

We need to learn how to differentiate between foundational beliefs and doctrinal beliefs. Foundational beliefs like Jesus death and resurrection and grace through faith. As opposed to doctrinal beliefs, such as full-submersion or sprinkling baptism. A scriptural argument can be made on both sides of baptism, don’t get me wrong, but whether one is right and the other is wrong does not determine whether an individual is saved or not.

There may not be a denomination that gets everything right, both foundational and doctrinal. We are humans and as such, we are imperfect. The way we interpret scripture is different. If our foundation is set on Christ, that is the most important thing. I believe it is wrong to call other believers fake Christians because of a difference in doctrinal theology. Calling out a brother or sister who is in sin or believes something that goes against foundational Christian principles is a whole different thing. In those cases, we need to lovingly correct them, using Scripture as our talking point.

 

Grace That Lets You Enjoy Living

After a break of a few years, this is our fourth time with Jack Garrott, a missionary to Japan, who has been writing at Virtual Vitamins since April, 2011. After perusing a few excellent articles, we could only pick one, and chose this for you today. Click the title which follows to read it where it first appeared.

Happiness

Isaiah 26:12 Lord, you establish peace for us;
all that we have accomplished you have done for us.

The awareness of this truth is the secret to genuine success. We do all sorts of things, but it is actually God who accomplishes them through us. Grasping this truth is the ultimate antidote to personal pride; it converts it all to gratitude. It’s not at all that we are to be passive. The Verse for the Year makes that quite clear: “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” (Ephesians 2:10)

The Japanese for this verse in Isaiah uses much the same language: “You prepare/provide peace for us.” We all are deficient in gratitude, I think, because we don’t grasp how utterly powerless we are without God, and how much He does for and through us. We forget that we are created beings, and everything that gets created is created for a purpose, however trivial that might be. Anytime we do something right we are simply fulfilling, in some small way, the purpose for which we were created. The glory should all go to our Creator.

I’m reminded of another thing God said through Isaiah: “Woe to him who quarrels with his Maker, to him who is but a potsherd among the potsherds on the ground. Does the clay say to the potter, ‘What are you making?’ Does your work say, ‘He has no hands’?” (Isaiah 45:9) The devil is constantly striving to keep us from fulfilling our purpose, (John 10:10) so every time we manage to do things right we have every reason to be grateful. And actually, numbers of studies have shown that gratitude is an essential key to happiness. Everyone would like to be happy, so we need to seek the purposes for which we were created and thank God when we fulfill them, in even a small way.

As I have written numerous times, I have had real struggles with pride. That has certainly taught me the futility of personal pride. The Lord has also done a number of things through me, and I have learned that being grateful that He has done them has brought me happiness to a degree that makes some people envious. I actually had someone of a different religion bring a friend to meet me, because he wanted his friend to “know someone who really enjoys living.” That is a testimony to how blessed I am! I certainly have my frustrations, and I don’t always respond properly to my blessings, but I have learned the reality of this verse from Isaiah, and I am deeply grateful.

Father, thank You for Your overwhelming grace toward me. Thank You for the book You have provided to draw me to a higher level of intimacy with You by Your Spirit. As I read it, help me remember that You relate to each person individually, so that I won’t try to copy specific things in the book, but rather learn better how to open myself to You in full adoration and obedience. I ask for clear guidance in how to pass some of these truths on to others, so that they too may discover the incredible privilege of walking with You consistently, for their blessing and Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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After posting this, we decided to give you a second helping from Jack’s website!

Foundation

Isaiah 28:16 So this is what the Sovereign Lord says:
“See, I lay a stone in Zion,
a tested stone,
a precious cornerstone for a sure foundation;
the one who trusts will never be dismayed.

This is of course a very famous prophecy, quoted in the New Testament, and it has been magnificently set to music. There is no question that it speaks of the Messiah, but we need to think about its implications in our daily lives.

Just ahead of this, the Jewish leaders are quoted as saying, “We have made a lie our refuge and falsehood our hiding place.” Lies are amorphous, figments of imagination, because they have no objective truth behind them, and are the polar opposites of a foundation stone. Typically of the devil, his onslaughts today are all lies, extending all the way to basic biology. The counter to all that is to stand on the Rock, Jesus Christ who is the way, the truth, and the life. (John 14:6) One of the basic facts about the devil and his lies is that there is no foundation.

An old Japanese term for the world of nightlife and bars and brothels is ukiyo, the “floating world.” Part of that may have come from the fact that “red light districts” were often by rivers or canals, but such are common in Japan. The “floating world” can and often does seem glamorous, but with no foundation it is swept away. Those who know Christ must stand on Him and insist on truth, rejecting the avalanche of lies.

As Jesus pointed out, without a foundation we cannot stand. (Matthew 7:24-27) In that, though, He specifies that His truth must be put into practice for it to be effective. We can’t just say, yes, yes, and then do nothing about it. (James 1:22) We all need a foundation, and Jesus is the only one that will ultimately stand the tests of time and eternity.

I had the incredible privilege and advantage of being raised by a man who held absolute honesty as one of his guiding principles, and that was based on his knowledge of and devotion to Jesus Christ. I have tried to do the same, but I have shown myself to be all too adept at fooling myself (to go back to what James said). As I minister in Japan, I find that many people have no real concept of a foundation in life. After all, in Buddhism the ultimate “good” is mu, nothingness! For the foundation of faith to be laid, sometimes a lot of digging has to take place. However, nothing is impossible with God, and the Japanese people have a history of commitment to the point of martyrdom. I cannot lay a foundation in someone else’s life, but I can provide the materials and ask the Holy Spirit to do the work. He is more than up to the task!

Father, thank You for providing, for being, the foundation we all need. Help me be firmly established on that foundation but not be satisfied with that for myself alone. Help me be a good builder, as Paul described himself, (1 Corinthians 3:10) so that Your Church may indeed rise as You intend, bringing many into Your Kingdom and destroying the lies of the devil, for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

Truth in Love

But this is what you must do: Tell the truth to each other. Render verdicts in your courts that are just and that lead to peace. – Zechariah 8:16 NLT

Since you put away lying, Speak the truth, each one to his neighbor, because we are members of one another. – Ephesians 4:25 CSB

Elsie Montgomery is in the top five most-quoted devotional writers here at C201. I have great respect for what she faithfully produces at Practical Faith, since 2006. Clicking the title which immediately follows will take you to her site and a treasure trove of devotional articles.

Love that speaks

Some say truth hurts. Some say there is no truth, only opinions. Some say love is a feeling and if the feeling is not there, love is gone. The Bible says, “So that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ.” (Ephesians 4:14–15)

Jesus also says, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free . . . . So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed” meaning free from bondage to sin and its result of spiritual death. (John 8:31–36) Obviously human interpretations fall short of God’s definitions of both truth and love.

Jesus describes truth as the key to freedom from the tyranny of always needing to have my own way. He describes love as giving up selfish-desires to serve Him and others. That means that the truth only hurts those who insist on running their own life apart from God and truth is opinion only to those who reject God as having all wisdom and authority. This also means that love is a mere whim and only expressed when ‘I feel like it’ which, for a self-centered person, is more miss than hit.

This puts speaking the truth in love into a very narrow definition. Truth is the Word of God, what He says is true. Love is saying it without concern for myself, thinking only for the spiritual well-being of others. Love isn’t concerned about opinions, rejections, or being popular, only about the eternal destiny of those who do not know Jesus, and about the joy and freedom they can have if truth and love rule their lives.

So why is speaking the truth in love such a challenge? I know that my spiritual enemy does not want it to happen. He will do whatever he can to bring doubt, fear, confusion, and all sorts of sin my way so I’m mixed up, cowardly, uncertain, and more concerned about me than about others. He works on my conscience with accusations, temptations, and distractions. He tells me if I am bold with the truth, others will reject me or think I am ‘touched in the head’ or worse. He tells me if I love like Jesus loves, people will use me, walk all over me, rip me off and laugh at me behind my back.

Speaking the truth in love is serious business. Jesus did it — and died because of it. The early disciples, all but one, were martyrs because they did it. Today, hundreds of Christians will die for their faith, and if not death, be tortured or put in prison, or at best, ridiculed for speaking the truth in love. In North America, we have laws that protect severe persecution yet in subtle ways our freedom to speak truth is being limited and the love of God is interpreted to mean that He wants everyone to be comfortable.

PRAY: Jesus, in these confusing times, enable clarity of thought, words of truth, and a heart full of Your love for Your people. This is not only serious but difficult. In myself, I cannot do it but I can do all things through You, as Paul prayed, and “May my love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment” (Philippians 1:9). Thank You for the joy that comes with both truth and love in my life.

READ: Revelation 2:1–7 noting the strengths in this church and the one thing it lacked. What is God’s answer to what was missing?

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Watch for a bonus item from Elsie later this week!

When the Truth Bites You!

The above title isn’t in the text of the devotional, but that’s how it struck me…

Today we’re back with Stephen and Brooksyne Weber at Daily Encouragement. This couple have been faithfully producing their devotional material as a full-time job, combined with workplace chaplaincy. I was reading their work long before C201 started. As usual, click the header below to read this at source, where you’ll also find a picture of a relevant church sign, and a link to a worship song, Worship Forever, which was new to me.

When Truth Hurts

Listen to our message on your audio player.

“Have I then become your enemy by telling you the truth?”  (Galatians 4:16).

“If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:31,32).

As we’ve mentioned often on daily encouragement we are genuinely blessed by the messages we read on church signs and private yards throughout Lancaster and Lebanon County. We see a lot of them here in rural Pennsylvania. They can be thought-provoking and even humorous. Last week we passed the church sign in our lead photo in Bethel, PA which states, “If The Truth Hurts, Then It Is Working”.

For many years during the time I served as a pastor I had a small placard attached to the pulpit facing me as I preached with these words, “Sir, we would see Jesus”. It was visible as I stood in front of God’s people and preached every Sunday reminding me that it’s not me that the people came out to see, but Jesus, whom I solemnly represented. This is an extremely important truth for all ministers of the Gospel to keep in mind as they break forth the Word of Life.

The venerable J. Vernon McGee also used this phrase on his pulpit reminding him of his serious duty but he writes:

“There is another verse I wanted to place on the audience side of the pulpit, but I never had the nerve to do it. It is these words of Paul: “Am I therefore become your enemy, because I tell you the truth?” As you know, many folk today really don’t want the preacher to tell the truth from the pulpit. They would much rather he’d say something complimentary that would smooth their feathers and make them feel good. We all like to have our backs rubbed, and there is a lot of back-rubbing from the contemporary pulpit rather than the declaration of the truth.”

McGee died in 1988 so it’s no telling how long ago he wrote this and it is even more true today in the age of “seeker-sensitive” churches where a cardinal rule is “don’t say anything that might offend someone”.

Bible teacher A.T. Robertson quipped, “It is always a risky business to speak the truth, the whole truth. It may hit and hurt”.

The phrase “truth hurts” means that the truth can be painful or uncomfortable to hear, especially if it conflicts with our beliefs, expectations, or desires. It can also increasingly conflict with popular culture.

In the daily text Paul is addressing a drift away from the truth among the Galatian believers. A few verses earlier he wrote,

“Formerly, when you did not know God, you were enslaved to those that by nature are not gods. But now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how can you turn back again to the weak and worthless elementary principles of the world, whose slaves you want to be once more?” (Galatians 4:8,9).

Truth can hurt when it challenges our beliefs. These Galatians had been exposed to false teachings. They had been persuaded of certain beliefs by false teachers, hearing something, even something true, that contradicts those beliefs can be difficult to accept.

It can feel like a personal attack, and we may resist it because it threatens our sense of identity. This will be the case as our society becomes increasingly Biblically illiterate and rejects God’s ways and many become ignorant of God’s truths.

Earlier in the book of Galatians Paul writes,

“I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting Him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel” (Galatians 1:6).

Our sinful nature makes us prone to exchanging truth for a lie. In Romans 1:25 Paul wrote of those who “exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator“.

Today let us receive the truth, primarily the Gospel truth, even if it does hurt! Let us hear and heed our Lord’s words, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:31,32).

Daily prayer: Father, just as Paul wrote that he was astonished when Your followers were so quickly deserting the gospel of Jesus Christ and turning to a different gospel, we too are astonished and grieved when we see those who have walked with You in righteousness and truth turn to a counterfeit gospel, one that says Jesus is a way, not the way; another that says we are saved by our good works, by our name recognition, by how much money we give to charitable works and on and on the list grows.

We thank You for Christian friends, preachers, and Christian leaders who speak the truth even when it hurts. They don’t just go along to get along, but they stand on principle not seeking to be contrary but to be Christ honoring and obedient to that which is established in Your word. We want to abide in You so that we will abide in Your truth and do not fall prey to erroneous teaching. Keep us faithful, Jesus. Amen.

 

 

Convictions Worth Dying For

That is why I am suffering here in prison. But I am not ashamed of it, for I know the one in whom I trust, and I am sure that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him until the day of his return. – 2 Timothy 1:12 NLT

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is God’s power for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. – Romans 1:16 NET

So then, my dearly loved and longed for brothers and sisters, my joy and crown, in this manner stand firm in the Lord, dear friends. – Philippians 4:1 CSB

Today we are introducing a new author to readers here for the first time, Jesse Hoffman who writes at The Coin Jar. Click the title below to read this where it first appeared.

Convictions – How They Point to God

As I’ve pondered my faith and life, an apologetic view on convictions has come into the forefront of my mind in the recent weeks. Once again, this thought stemmed from my reading of Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s biography. As I read and thought about one of the worst times in human history, WW2, I also began to admire some of the challenges that were overcome in the same period. The man, Dietrich, held fast to what he knew to be right, even in the face of death. This is what I would call “holding fast to your conviction/belief”.

For the sake of this piece, I should define what I mean as “conviction.” A conviction is a strong and fixed belief. Dietrich’s conviction was to hold firm to the Bible as the inerrant Word of God, even when societal pressures claimed otherwise. Apologetically, the fact we have convictions, I believe, points toward God and gives a good “brick in the wall” of defense for a Biblical worldview.

First, let’s ask why the world often looks admirably upon those with firm convictions when they give their life for truth. No matter how hard people try to suppress the truth, there is a piece of everyone that knows what is true and good. For example, people may not understand why Christianity says Jesus is worth dying for, but they easily admit that a martyr for the faith was genuine in their convictions and not a hypocrite. Everyone can admit there is nothing admirable about hypocrisy, so the martyr then did something good by standing firm in their convictions and they were true to their convictions, regardless if they were based in something true.

This level of sacrifice is something desirable to most people. Even if one wouldn’t sacrifice their life for their convictions, they admire the fact that someone else did. I say that confidently because we see many movies and books in our culture that have sold millions of copies revolving around this type of heroic sacrifice for a conviction (i.e. The Giving Tree, All Quiet on the Western Front, Unbroken). Whether it be the sacrifice of life or comfort, when it is for a truly honorable cause, there is reason to applaud and thank the sacrificer. This is because it points to something outside of the individual, yet something held deep within them as well. It points to a deeply held conviction that something more valuable than comfort or life exists.

Now, as a Christian myself, I will readily admit that there are people who sacrifice themselves for causes that are not honorable. These people may sacrifice themselves for their convictions, but they aren’t honored. For example, the men who hijacked the planes on 9/11 sacrificed themselves for what they believed in, but we don’t look at them and honor them. Only certain extreme Muslim sects would honor this type of sacrifice because they are persuaded to think that type of action will be rewarded. Yet the majority would admit it was innately an evil action. However, sacrifice that is honorable is never, at the same time, evil.

Second, it is because of God that we have the ability to hold firm to our convictions. We as humans, being made in God’s image, are given certain innate characteristics and qualities according the the Bible. The ability to hold firm to the Truth in the face of evil opposition is something derived in God, because He is a rock to those who put their faith and trust in Him. Think of this. What if there was no ultimate Truth? What if there was no right and wrong? Why would anyone have convictions if these things were the case? If there was no established order to the world, then why would there be sacrifice? Nobody would live for the betterment of others and nobody would have a reason to! Holding firm to a conviction is made possible because there is a God that doesn’t change. If God changed, we wouldn’t be able to hold firmly to any beliefs because there would be no ultimate assurance of what was good, reliable, and true.

There is, however, a perversion of this God-given ability to hold firm to a conviction; it shows up in two ways. We see people hold firm to wrong beliefs (i.e. beliefs harming to society, to the individual, or against Truth) because they are extremely proud and/or deceived. These convictions are wrong because they are not rooted in the ultimate Truth and are instead rooted in something man-made. We as a society honor sacrifices most when they are rooted in something proceeding from God’s character (i.e. not caving to bribes because of a desire to be honest, since all truth is rooted in God).

Why do people view someone who resists corruption as honorable? Because God has made us to want honesty and truth. Why do people show interest in the one who moves to a third-world country to serve/help the poor? Because God is love and is the reason for us to show love. What intrigues the world about the person who sacrifices their life in standing up for God-given, Truth rooted convictions? It is because a transcendent Being, someone bigger than the individual, is pointed to. It breaks the mold of self-worship that many have submitted themselves to and shines a light on the fact that there is more reason to live than for yourself.

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This blog post is part of a series. Click the links which follow to read:

• Human Rights – How They Point to God
• Beauty – How it Points to God

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The faith which you have, have as your own conviction before God. Happy is the one who does not condemn himself in what he approves. – Romans 14:22 NASB

For our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction; just as you know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sakes. – 1 Thessalonians 1:15 NASB

Misinformation: A Spiritual Warfare Tactic

^{NLT.John.8.44} For you are the children of your father the devil, and you love to do the evil things he does. He was a murderer from the beginning. He has always hated the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, it is consistent with his character; for he is a liar and the father of lies.

Today the most powerful nation on the planet (in terms of its military and economic forces) is having an election which will generate much rhetoric in the days to come. Things there are continually heating up and Christians are not immune to the divisions, in fact, sadly Christians are often at the heart of the tension and conflict.

Today we’re back with Norman Mitchell who writes at The Wild Frontier and while this appeared back in March, it so timely for this day. Click the header below to read where it first appeared.

Misinformation About Misinformation

More and more often, I’m hearing people refer to the current global environment as a “post-truth world.” It seems that the wholesale abandonment of truth is stronger now than at any other point in my lifetime and perhaps than what has occurred in several generations. If nothing else, global communications have enabled the propagation of lies at an unprecedented scale.

Deep fakes are pervasive. Truth is obscured by layers of deception. Information warfare is being employed around the clock—even by those who are ostensibly on your side. People from all quarters are mastering the technique of “admit nothing, deny everything, make counter-accusations.” At a minimum, their goal is to sow enough confusion that the masses doubt that truth can ever actually be determined. Any dissent is conveniently labeled misinformation, and dissenters are either shouted down, shadow-banned, de-platformed, or otherwise maligned.

Our society has largely fallen for the dangerous pseudo-philosophy that truth is subjective, which ultimately means that there is no truth. This self-defeating premise is particularly insidious, as people give up on truth and instead, begin surrounding themselves with like-minded people who share their ideology.

People disseminate disinformation (intentionally incorrect information) to bolster popular support for their agendas. They employ supposed fact checkers who, it seems, are just as agenda-driven as those who employ them.

On any issue, the global forum is quickly divided into two camps, each accusing the other of lying. Language, rather than evolving to describe new concepts with greater precision, is being intentionally co-opted and twisted to obfuscate issues and conceal agendas.

I’ve been frustrated for years with the lack of intellectual integrity within American institutional Christianity; but the secular humanists, for all their criticism of Christianity, are taking this dysfunction to a whole new level.

It’s not for nothing that in the Judeo-Christian tradition, the Devil was considered to be the father of lies. Paul warned Timothy about a time when people would “not tolerate sound teaching. Instead, following their own desires, they will accumulate teachers for themselves because they have an insatiable curiosity to hear new things. And they will turn away from hearing the truth, but… will turn aside to myths.” (Paul’s second letter to Timothy, NET Bible)

Humans have seen this madness play out many times throughout history, and our prophets have warned us about the perils of rejecting the truth. With a little bit of open-minded reasoning, it becomes self-evident that truth must be supreme over all else if we want humanity to survive with any modicum of civility. Yet, despite all the warnings, and despite the historical precedents, an anti-truth ideology is possessing the masses on a global scale. Apparently, some people just gotta touch the stove.

If a significant proportion of voices in government, social, and even religious channels are employing disinformation, how do we sort through the deluge of deceit? For those who still believe the truth is important, here are a few guidelines that may be helpful in avoiding being taken in by the lies and delusions which surround us.

1. Truth exists as an objective reality. Truth is that which stands on its own. It is neither changed by nor dependent upon one’s opinion.
2. Truth must be our highest objective, for it is only by confronting reality that we have any hope of finding purpose in life.
3. A true claim is generally independently verifiable.
4. Strive to perceive agendas. If someone makes a claim that serves an agenda, their credibility should be suspect. Is the claimant seeking truth above all else, or are they making the claim to achieve a short-term, personal benefit?
5. If you must lie to get people to side with you, you are automatically wrong.
6. If you shut down dissent by claiming that to dissent is wrong, you are automatically wrong.
7. If you must employ coercion to garner support for your cause, you are automatically wrong.
8. If you must resort to sophistry (smart-sounding, subtly deceptive language) to bolster your case, you are automatically wrong.
9. You should be willing to have your beliefs falsified. This doesn’t mean that you can’t hold convictions. It simply means that you have decided that you value the truth over your own beliefs.
10. Be skeptical. This is the foundation of critical thinking. Being skeptical or being a critical thinker simply means that you require sound evidence before believing a claim.

Now, more than ever, it is critical for us to be perceptive and wise. If we don’t decide here and now that truth is our ultimate pursuit, then I fear that we will watch the world around us disintegrate into self-destruction. And a lot of people are going to suffer.

Truth-Telling in a World of Lies

Today we’re back for a second time with Rev. Taylor Mertins  who blogs at Think and Let Think, has co-authored three books, and hosts the Strangely Warmed Podcast and the Crackers and Grape Juice Podcast. Clicking the header which follows will take you to today’s devotional where it first appeared.

A Dangerous Adventure

John 14.27

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.

“Christians are people who tell the truth. And, if we cannot tell the truth, then at least we should not lie.” I have those sentences scratched in a notebook that I carried with me during seminary. And, if my notes are correct, I heard those words from a professor named Stanley Hauerwas during a hallway conversation after morning prayer.

His conviction about our truthfulness is nothing new. Martin Luther famously said that a theologian of glory calls evil good and good evil whereas a theologian of the cross calls a thing what it is.

Translation: tell the truth.

But telling the truth is no easy endeavor, particularly because we live in a world that runs on lies. Every ad we consume presents a false vision of reality so long as we purchase a particular product. The nightly news is designed to terrify us so that we will keep watching until we know what side we are supposed to be on for every subject. And even in our domestic dramas we often lie because we are trying to be good: we don’t want to tell our spouses how we really feel, we don’t want to upset the applecart at a family get together, we’d rather brush something under the rug than bring it to the surface.

All the while, as Christians, we worship the one who not only tells the truth, but is, himself, truth incarnate.

When Pontius Pilate was told that Jesus was the one who had come into the world to testify to the truth, he asked, “What is truth?” Jesus gave no response because Pilate was literally looking at the answer to his question. Therefore, should we truly desire to be a community of the truth and by the truth then we need not look further than Jesus Christ and him crucified.

The “and him crucified” is crucial. For, truth-telling is a dangerous adventure. But without an example of a truth telling community, the world has no alternative but to continue to run by lies.

Jesus leaves peace with his disciples and the peace Jesus leaves runs counter to the peace of the world. The peace of the world is achieved, kept, and maintained by violence. Whereas the peace of Jesus comes through vulnerability, sacrifice, and even suffering.

Part of the hard truth that the church has to speak into the world today is this: we have a problem with violence.

Mass shootings have become so commonplace that it’s hard to keep track of what happened and where. And yet we, as Christians, can advocate for a new peace, a peace given to us by Jesus, a peace that means we have to fundamentally reshape how we understand what it means to be in the world. Or, we can simply avoid going to churches, malls, supermarkets, concerts, cinemas, parks, pre-schools, elementary schools, middle schools, high schools, college campuses, mass transportation, and any other place where a mass shooting has taken place.

We’ve become so accustomed to the war torn images of Ukraine (and war in general) that it leaves us feeling apathetic. And yet we, as Christians, can advocate for a new peace, a peace given to us by Jesus, a peace that means we have to fundamentally reshape how we understand what it means to be in the world. Or, we can let things continue on their merry way while more and more people are displaced, separated, and killed.

Speaking truth to power is no easy thing. But until we’re willing to call a thing what it is, we are doomed to call evil good and good evil. Or, put simply, the beginning of a faithful imagination comes with telling the truth.

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Flashback link: From 2014, scripture verses which reference truth.

Hate What is Evil, Hold Tightly The Good

We are — once again — breaking the six-month rule to share an extra devotion with you from our online friends at DailyEncouragement.net. I would hold up Stephen and Brooksyne Weber as an example to anyone who wants to create a devotional/Bible-study blog. Click the header below to read this where it first appeared.

Calling Good An Abomination

► Listen to this message on your audio player.

“Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter” (Isaiah 5:20).

“But for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death” (Revelation 21:8).

Today’s message is written concerning current events here in the USA but the teaching is applicable wherever you may live.

For nearly 50 years among the most contested cultural and moral issues here in America has been the legalization of abortion, more specifically the killing of innocent life. In 1973 the Supreme Court decision asserted that abortion is a “constitutional right”. Two days ago a leaked report indicated that this decision may be overturned which has reignited simmering coals to a blazing hot fire in what has been called the culture war.

The report resulted in an emotionally strong reaction from both sides reinforcing the reality that there is a deep, deep division on this subject matter. But I was especially struck each time a statement played over and over on the news made by a prominent senator. He used a word from the Bible that describes what God strongly hates and abhors when he asserted that the decision to overturn Roe V. Wade would be “an abomination” (see here).

That immediately caught my attention since one of the abominations mentioned in the Bible is child sacrifice. “They built the high places of Baal that are in the Valley of Ben-hinnom to make their sons and their daughters pass through the fire to Molech, which I had not commanded them, nor had it entered My mind that they should do this abomination, to mislead Judah to sin” (Jeremiah 32:35). Essentially he was calling an abomination the opposite of what God calls an abomination!

“An abomination is something that causes hate or disgust. In biblical usage, an abomination is something that God loathes or hates because it is offensive to Him and His character.”(gotquestions.com)

Today let us examine timeless truths from the Holy Scriptures that address this matter as we seek insight and needed discernment.

We have used the first daily text many times in the course of writing these messages over the last 25 years, especially the first part, “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil”. Evil is increasingly called good and good is increasingly called evil. Evil has existed during every generation after the fall but there are certain periods of time it increases and other periods, such as revival, when it’s tamped down a bit. You can see this in Israel’s history during the period of the Judges with the ebb and flow of good kings and evil kings.

In the 1960’s the church, whether liberal or conservative branches, was practically unanimous in its understanding of life, marriage, family and sexuality:

1) Life begins at conception.
2) Marriage is a lifelong commitment between a man and a woman.
3) The family is the fundamental unit in society.
4) The moral understanding that sexual relations were reserved for marriage.
5) God created male and female.

For that matter even society at large had these moral underpinnings. Hollywood used to have Biblical standards which was reflected in the Hays Code in the 1930’s regarding the movies they produced to be viewed by the public!

But throughout my lifetime there’s been a steady erosion of morality and subsequently so much “calling evil good”. This has brought about the inevitable corollary; good is called evil, even abominable. And with a deep fog of spiritual blindness enveloping our country (and many other countries) people are frustrated and confused. There seems to be a huge lack of discernment.

Several years ago a nationally known preacher made a statement concerning our present moral condition that is imminently Biblical and sensible regarding the obvious consequences to children being raised without a father’s influence. He was excoriated by the national media with the typical charges of being intolerant, narrow-minded and of course hateful.

Among the signs of our culture’s moral downfall is the failure to uphold the Creator’s standards, which has led to great confusion as to what even constitutes evil.

What a powerful message in our first daily text. “Woe” is a literal transliteration of the Hebrew. In other words it’s an expression that sounds the same in Hebrew, English or any language (similar to the word, “hallelujah”). Woe is also an onomatopoeia, which is when the formation of a word imitates the natural sound associated with the object or action involved. Consider the sounds of deep, painful wailing. Isaiah’s “woe” is timeless.

“Woe” is an exclamation of pain and grief. As our culture drifts farther and farther from its Biblical moorings we see the truth of Isaiah’s proclamation. Do we also feel his exclamation of woe as well?

What is the subject of this woe? Three are listed in the daily text.

Those:

1) who call evil good and good evil,
2) who put darkness for light and light for darkness,
3) who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter.

Biblical morality is being turned on its head, not only in Isaiah’s cultural setting but also in our own lifetime. Sometimes I am stunned by that which is so contrary to the right and wrong I was taught as a child now being accepted by non-believers and sadly even some professed believers. Today much of what is evil is called good and what is good is called evil.

The second daily text is a zinger of truth that we all need to hearken: “But for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death” (Revelation 21:8).

Today let us remain faithful to the perspective that God gives us through the inspiration of Scripture. As unpopular, “intolerant”, socially insensitive, and politically incorrect as it may be described, let us continue to call evil “evil” and to call good “good”. For sure, let us not call a good decision an abomination!

As God’s children let us hear the words of the apostle Paul and “hate what is evil; cling to what is good” (Romans 12:9).

 

A Post-Truth World

This is our third time highlighting the thoughts of Geno Pyse, who writes at Geno Pyse and the Proclamation. He is the author of 16 books (!) including Christian Reflections in a Deflecting World. Click the header which follows to read this there, and also note the links at the end of this article to a recent two-part series.

Whatever Happened to Truth?

There was a time when truth was more valued. This isn’t to say people didn’t ever lie, but is was a shameful thing to be considered a liar. There was a time when, for many, a handshake was a good as one’s word. Today, many people’s word is as useless as a flimsy handshake.

The Bible says a lot about truth. We are told in Proverbs 23:23, “Buy truth, and do not sell it; buy wisdom, instruction, and understanding.” To buy, here, does not mean to purchase but to acquire, to obtain. Just as in the case when Jesus tells the church in Laodicea, “I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness may not be seen” (Rev. 3:18). The Lord was not telling them to purchase what only He can give, but to receive, to trade in, to obtain what He is graciously willing to give.

But do we see much desire for truth today? Is not our day much like Isaiah’s, a time when, “Justice is turned back, and righteousness stands far away; for truth has stumbled in the public squares, and uprightness cannot enter” (Isa. 59:14)?

Deception is considered a valuable tool and virtue to many politicians, the press, and education system. Oh, they will not necessarily openly declare this, but they don’t need to. Many have built their entire careers on lying and “bending the truth.” The press has, for many years now, been propagating instead of journaling. The education system feels no shame in “reconstructing” history, and very few are compelled to examine the actual writings of our forefathers to glean truth.

Even much of the populace is fine with being lied to, as many applaud those doing the lying . Lies, deception, and twisting truth is acceptable if these will accomplish the desired goal. I’ve observed such behaviors even among some who profess to be followers of Christ. Underhanded tactics and turning a blind eye, acting as if Christ condones such deceptive polity done in His Holy name.

Jesus declares, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life” (John 14:6), and of the Father’s word, “Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth” (John 17:17). Yet, how many who profess His name so easily chuck the truth, lest it offends or makes one feel uncomfortable. Sadly, very few pastors are willing to preach the whole counsel of God (truth), lest they lose popularity or members of their congregation. So many parishioners simply want to be encouraged and patted on the back, not to be convicted and challenged so that they might become better persons. And many churches are endorsing ideologies that are grounded in falsehood, but again, the compromise of truth is deemed acceptable if it supports their desired goal.

The jettisoning of truth, however, comes with a cost. We are left with only cargo containing falsehood, and God is not to be found in what is false or deceptive. The Bible warns, “Let no one deceive you in any way. For [the day of the Lord] will not come, unless the rebellion [i.e., the apostasy] comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed” (2 Thes. 2:3).

Before the Antichrist ever comes onto the scene, there will first be a great apostasy—a departure from solid, orthodox faith.  This must be so, for there must be a populace ready to embrace this false, deceptive, evil messiah. This great deception will come as a consequence, and judgement, of people’s trampling of truth for the embracing of falsehood and unrighteousness.

“The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders, and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false, in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness” (2 Thes. 2:9-12).

We must not think unrighteousness merely includes rapists and murderers. No, but it includes religious people—even those who call themselves “Christian”—but who do not love the truth but believe and take pleasure in what is contrary to the truth.

So, what has happened to the truth? It has not gone anywhere. People can choose to abandon truth, but it can never truly be escaped. It might be beneath people’s feet and trampled with the dust, but no further. But make no mistake, when God comes for this priceless jewel and takes it away from a world that’s unworthy of it, how dreadful when all that’s left for the world is the fool’s gold it had so loved, embraced, and cherished.

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Here are the links I promised you in the introduction:

• A King and His Kingdom (Part 1)

• A King and His Kingdom (Part 2)

Also here’s an article you might find helpful:

• 6 Warnings of Living in the Last Days

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Ed. Note: One line from today’s devotional that really jumped out at me was “The press has, for many years now, been propagating instead of journaling.” In other words, manufacturing the news instead of reporting it. We need to be especially discerning in terms of where we get our “truth.”

Watch Out for Misplaced Bible Verses!

Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth. 2 Tim. 2:15 NIV

And the people of Berea were more open-minded than those in Thessalonica, and they listened eagerly to Paul’s message. They searched the Scriptures day after day to see if Paul and Silas were teaching the truth. – Acts 17:11 NLT

All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness – 2 Tim. 3:16 ESV

A year ago we introduced you to Lily Pierce and her blog Retrospective Lily and mentioned that she is a great writer despite a physical challenge. This time around she shares a warning about people who quote scripture verses in contexts which would horrify the original writers, and adds a principle that I heard growing up, namely that you need to look for other passages which corroborate the one in question.

Click the line which follows to link to this at her site.

The Bible Can Justify Anything, So Weigh Scripture Against Scripture

You read that title right! So, how can we discern the heart and will of God–if His Word can be twisted to fit any narrative? Well, I won’t pretend for a moment to have all the answers–as if all the answers could be had. But looking at scripture as a whole is a good suggestion.

People have gotten upset in the past when I’ve spoken against fixating on one tree within a whole forest. I think some Christians are so wary of “progressivism” that their blasphemy radar is waaay too sensitive. Viewing scripture holistically is the only sensible way to approach the Bible. The alternative is pulling verses out of context and building a doctrine out of them.

In the book Oliver Twist, the orphanage director, who serves as the parish beadle, is a mean, selfish man. When he meets nine-year-old Oliver, he gives him a cold, stern lecture (because why be kind to a CHILD WHO IS ALONE IN THE WORLD, right?) and quotes 1 Cor 13:11: When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child; when I became an adult, I put an end to childish ways. Hey, man, ever read the one where Jesus says that we should become humble like children? Or the one where Jesus insists His disciples let the children come to Him? Guess not.

This fictional example reflects the contradictions that lie within so many Christians who are condescending, rude, and unempathetic–in the name of Jesus. Pride and righteous indignation reign even more supremely than God in many of our hearts. Have we forgotten that Jesus said the first would be last? Or how Paul wrote that none of us have cause to boast because we are only saved by faith, not our own works? Or, like, the other countless ways we are told in the Bible that arrogance is condemned? I think the man who went out to eat after church that’s screaming at a waitress because the chef messed up his order missed the memo. The town gossip who happens to hold several “power positions” on church committees just doesn’t get it. [SN: I’ve literally heard the term “power positions” used in reference to church committees. Hmm…ever heard of “servant leadership?”]

In a totally different instance, I once wrote a post in which I said that followers of Jesus should be active in helping their neighbors. A reader pointed out the sentence fragment of 1 Thess 4:11 (and to make it your ambition to lead a quiet life: You should mind your own business and work with your hands, just as we told you) as a way to negate what I’d said. I replied that, perhaps in that particular scenario, the Thessalonians–Christians in Greece–needed to keep a low profile to avoid persecution (confirmed by a Google search). But it’s clear when one reads the entire New Testament that we are called to really love our neighbors, and biblical love is an action verb. We must take up our crosses and follow Jesus, being His hands, feet, and face in the world, because the harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few.

The Bible has been used to justify so many things–slavery, bigotry, political agendas, etc. I don’t want to delve into it all because ain’t nobody got time for that here; countless others have written articles, essays, and even whole books on these subjects. And people disagree.

But here’s the point: weigh scripture against scripture. And always stay humble enough to learn and take direction from the Spirit.

Have you ever seen a Bible verse taken out of context?  Let me know in the comments, and thanks for reading!

Spiritual Warfare: The Weapon of Lies

As we soon approach devotional #4,000, it amazes me how many times a reading is tagged with the words, spiritual warfare. Even on my other more topical blog, Thinking Out Loud, this is a theme which is constantly recurring

This theme appears in so many books. Most authors agree that the battlefield on which the warfare is enacted is our minds. Think of bestsellers such as Battlefield of the Mind or Victory Over the Darkness. Spiritual warfare need not be the province of Charismatic or Pentecostal authors however, and it’s a topic we shouldn’t back away from. The battle is real.

Today at Devotions Daily, there was an excerpt from a forthcoming book, Winning the War in Your Mind, by Oklahoma pastor Craig Groeschel. To read it in full, click the header which follows.

Old Lies, New Truth

…You are constrained by a lie, something that doesn’t exist. The Enemy has arranged enough hurtful circumstances, in key places of your life, in which you got just enough jolt — a bit of a shock, a sting of pain to your heart — that you have decided trying even one more time is just not worth the risk. What makes it worse is that the number of places where you have stopped trying is growing ever larger.

The greatest weapon in Satan’s arsenal is the lie.

Perhaps his only weapon is the lie. The first glimpse we have of the devil in the Bible, we see him deceiving Adam and Eve in the garden. He created doubt in Eve’s mind by asking her,

“Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”

The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’”

“You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman.

“For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” — Genesis 3:1-5

What Satan did in the garden back then is the exact same thing he will attempt to do in your life today.

In 2 Corinthians 11:3, our thoughtology professor Paul said,

I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ.

Satan will whisper accusing questions and deceptive statements. He schemes to twist your mind, because if he can, he then

• diverts you from your purpose,
• distracts you from God’s voice,
• destroys your potential.

If he can get you to believe a lie, your life will be affected as if that lie were true.

Unfortunately, Satan’s lies are easy to believe. Why? Part of the reason is that because of sin, we have a flawed internal lie detector. God warned us:

• “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure” (Jeremiah 17:9).
• “There is a way that appears to be right, but in the end it leads to death” (Proverbs 14:12).

That’s definitely the problem, so what’s our solution? How do we access God’s power to stop Satan’s lies? How can we demolish his strongholds in our lives?

If Satan’s primary weapon is lies, then our greatest counter-weapon is the truth of God’s Word.

Not just reading the Bible but learning to wield Scripture as a divine weapon. God wants us to view His Word that way. See how Hebrews 4:12 offers a direct solution to the warning of Jeremiah 17:9:

The word of God is alive 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.

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Excerpts from Zondervan books are used with permission from HarperCollins Christian Publishing. Winning the War in Your Mind by Craig Groeschel, copyright 2021 Craig Groeschel.

With So Many Saying So Much With Such Confidence…

by Clarke Dixon

My Mum often used an expression when playing the piano: “I’m playing the wrong notes with confidence!” Hearing so many Christian leaders say so many different, even contradictory, things, is it possible that many of us are “saying the wrong things with confidence”? Speaking with confidence doesn’t make things so.

Of course the internet is only making things worse. You don’t need too many clicks to hear differing voices on so many issues; do this, don’t do that, vote this way, vote that way, think this, thank that, and on it goes.

With so many confident, competing, and often less than complimentary voices, how do we know to whom we can listen with confidence?

In the days of Jesus there was no shortage of voices clamoring for people’s attention, leaders speaking with great confidence. There were the Pharisees, “listen to us, and let us become better than everybody else.” There were the Zealots, “listen to us, we are better than the Romans so help us kick these Romans out.” There were the Saducees, “listen to us, life is better with the Romans, so lets just get along with them.” There were the Romans, “listen to us, our Caesar is divine, we build great roads, and besides, if you don’t listen to us, we will crucify you.”

Among all these voices, another speaks up, it is the voice of Jesus:

Let me set this before you as plainly as I can. If a person climbs over or through the fence of a sheep pen instead of going through the gate, you know he’s up to no good—a sheep rustler! The shepherd walks right up to the gate. The gatekeeper opens the gate to him and the sheep recognize his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he gets them all out, he leads them and they follow because they are familiar with his voice. They won’t follow a stranger’s voice but will scatter because they aren’t used to the sound of it. . . . I myself am the shepherd.

John 10:1-5,11 (MSG)

There is one true shepherd we can follow with great confidence; Jesus.

In this passage Jesus is not just speaking about himself as the good shepherd, he is also speaking about the other leaders of the people. They were saying the wrong things with confidence. Even though they thought they had it right, they were so far off that Jesus called them sheep stealers and hired-men. We should note here that all these religious leaders thought that they were honouring God, and that by following them people would be honouring God. Even people who think they are honouring God may say the wrong things with confidence. Perhaps that sometimes includes you and me?

In fact, let us consider the Christian teacher, living or dead, that we hold in the highest regard, for whom we have the greatest respect. You likely have someone in mind, it’s probably not me. We have great confidence in what they tell us. Yet they likely got some things wrong and at some point have said the wrong things with confidence. Every Christian leader will stand before our Lord someday and have their theology corrected. That includes me, of course.

There is one true voice for the sheep to listen to, and that is the true shepherd. Am I as a pastor helping people hear his voice, or are people under my care only ever hearing my voice? I sometimes say the wrong things with confidence. We can always have confidence in Jesus.

We can listen to Jesus with confidence because he is the true shepherd, but also because he is the good shepherd:

“I am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd puts the sheep before himself, sacrifices himself if necessary. A hired man is not a real shepherd. The sheep mean nothing to him. He sees a wolf come and runs for it, leaving the sheep to be ravaged and scattered by the wolf. He’s only in it for the money. The sheep don’t matter to him.

John 10:11-13 (MSG)

Even good religious leaders will try to protect themselves. We can imagine many pastors who, if they were pastors today, would be highly revered, yet in Germany in their day did not raise a voice against the Nazi regime. Perhaps some were blind to what was going on. No doubt some were quiet out of fear. Or we can imagine those who today would be known as great pastors and leaders, yet in their day they did not speak out against slavery. Perhaps some were blind to the sin of it, but we can be sure some kept quiet out of fear.

Jesus is the fearless shepherd, willing to lay down his life for the sheep. Jesus is the fearless shepherd, willing to speak the true things that would get himself killed. He did put our well being before his own, he did lay down his life for us, for the forgiveness of sin and our reconciliation to God. He did fearlessly speak the truth and he did get killed for it. He is the Good Shepherd. We can listen to his voice with confidence.

Jesus is the true shepherd, Jesus is the good shepherd, Jesus is also the God-shepherd. What do we mean by that?

Let us consider these words from the prophet Ezekiel:

Then this message came to me from the LORD: “Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds, the leaders of Israel. Give them this message from the Sovereign LORD: What sorrow awaits you shepherds who feed yourselves instead of your flocks. Shouldn’t shepherds feed their sheep? You drink the milk, wear the wool, and butcher the best animals, but you let your flocks starve. You have not taken care of the weak. You have not tended the sick or bound up the injured. You have not gone looking for those who have wandered away and are lost. Instead, you have ruled them with harshness and cruelty.

Ezekiel 34:1-4 (NLT)

The leaders, both religious and political, had done an awful job. They were supposed to be taking care of the people, but were taking care of themselves. Perhaps, sadly, that sounds like some religious or political leaders we can think of today?

Let us go on to consider the promise of God:

For thus says the Lord GOD: I myself will search for my sheep, and will seek them out. As shepherds seek out their flocks when they are among their scattered sheep, so I will seek out my sheep. I will rescue them from all the places to which they have been scattered on a day of clouds and thick darkness. I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries, and will bring them into their own land; and I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, by the watercourses, and in all the inhabited parts of the land. I will feed them with good pasture, and the mountain heights of Israel shall be their pasture; there they shall lie down in good grazing land, and they shall feed on rich pasture on the mountains of Israel. I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I will make them lie down, says the Lord GOD

Ezekiel 34:11-15 (NRSV emphasis added)

It is in Jesus that the prophecy of Ezekiel 34 finds its greatest fulfillment. God has come to us, in Jesus. The LORD is our Shepherd and Jesus is the Shepherd. God, Who is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, takes care of the sheep like no one else can.

Since Jesus is the true shepherd, the good shepherd, and the God-shepherd, are we tuned into His voice? Or have we become too dependent on certain voices claiming to speak for him? There are many who help us hear the voice of Jesus, but there are none who can take his place.

The best way to learn someone’s voice is to spend a lot of time listening to them. Therefore we can seek to grow in prayerfulness. We can commit to attentive and thoughtful reading of the Scriptures, especially spending time with Jesus in the Gospels, paying attention to his teaching, but also the example of his life.

With so many saying the wrong things with confidence, let us tune in to the voice of Jesus.

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Clarke Dixon is a pastor in Cobourg, Ontario, Canada. The full sermon video for today’s devotional can be seen as part of this longer “online worship expression”)