Speak Truth

Have you not seen a false vision and uttered a lying divination, whenever you have said, ‘Declares the Lord,’ although I have not spoken?” Therefore thus says the Lord God: “Because you have uttered falsehood and seen lying visions, therefore behold, I am against you, declares the Lord God. My hand will be against the prophets who see false visions and who give lying divinations. They shall not be in the council of my people, nor be enrolled in the register of the house of Israel, nor shall they enter the land of Israel. And you shall know that I am the Lord God. Precisely because they have misled my people, saying, ‘Peace,’ when there is no peace, and because, when the people build a wall, these prophets smear it with whitewash, say to those who smear it with whitewash that it shall fall! There will be a deluge of rain, and you, O great hailstones, will fall, and a stormy wind break out. And when the wall falls, will it not be said to you, ‘Where is the coating with which you smeared it?’ Therefore thus says the Lord God: I will make a stormy wind break out in my wrath, and there shall be a deluge of rain in my anger, and great hailstones in wrath to make a full end. And I will break down the wall that you have smeared with whitewash, and bring it down to the ground, so that its foundation will be laid bare. When it falls, you shall perish in the midst of it, and you shall know that I am the Lord. Thus will I spend my wrath upon the wall and upon those who have smeared it with whitewash, and I will say to you, The wall is no more, nor those who smeared it, the prophets of Israel who prophesied concerning Jerusalem and saw visions of peace for her, when there was no peace, declares the Lord God. (Ezekiel 13:7–16)

This prophet has a way with words. The Holy Spirit reveals the picture Ezekiel paints concerning false teachers. First they say all is well when it isn’t. This tells me to face the reality of a very messy world but not sugarcoat it as if nothing bad is happening or will happen.

Also, if people build a wall to protect themselves and feel safe in whatever is threatening them, or build a wall to repair what has been destroyed, the false prophets will applaud their human efforts. This may not be a wrong action, but if done without the Lord’s direction or in the power of His Spirit, the storm that hits them will reveal that neither the wall or the whitewash will do what was intended.

In our day, to whitewash anything is about disguising it. If I make a mistake and invent an excuse to protect my ego or reputation, I am whitewashing it. Instead of being honest with others and with God, such pride promotes a false teaching. It is never right to lie by whitewashing truth.

Jesus, more and more I realize the power of truth. If spoken, people listen. Your Spirit often is also speaking, backing up what I say with His own way to telling people to listen. Keep me from whitewashing anything, even embellishing anything to make me look better than I am, or to make anything look more glorious than it really is. 

 
 

His Glory takes priority over my comfort…

Concerning the prophets: My heart is broken within me; all my bones shake; I am like a drunken man, like a man overcome by wine, because of the Lord and because of his holy words. For the land is full of adulterers; because of the curse the land mourns, and the pastures of the wilderness are dried up. Their course is evil, and their might is not right. “Both prophet and priest are ungodly; even in my house I have found their evil, declares the Lord. Therefore their way shall be to them like slippery paths in the darkness, into which they shall be driven and fall, for I will bring disaster upon them in the year of their punishment, declares the Lord. 
In the prophets of Samaria I saw an unsavory thing: they prophesied by Baal and led my people Israel astray. But in the prophets of Jerusalem I have seen a horrible thing: they commit adultery and walk in lies; they strengthen the hands of evildoers, so that no one turns from his evil; all of them have become like Sodom to me, and its inhabitants like Gomorrah.” 
Therefore thus says the Lord of hosts concerning the prophets: “Behold, I will feed them with bitter food and give them poisoned water to drink, for from the prophets of Jerusalem ungodliness has gone out into all the land.” Thus says the Lord of hosts: “Do not listen to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you, filling you with vain hopes. They speak visions of their own minds, not from the mouth of the Lord. They say continually to those who despise the word of the Lord, ‘It shall be well with you’; and to everyone who stubbornly follows his own heart, they say, ‘No disaster shall come upon you.’ ” (Jeremiah 23:9–17)

It is one thing that cults and all sorts of isms preach and teach things contrary to the will and Word of God. He calls them slippery and unsavory, words that refer to folly and foolishness. But He says it is far worse when people whom He calls His people do it. He calls that horrible and adultery, words that mean fearful resulting in an ungodliness that fills the land.

How confusing this must be to those who earnestly want to know the truths of God. If they are told it is found in the “prosperity gospel” or in the “name it and claim it” or any other group, eventually truth and experience show them this is “visions from the mind” of people who follow their own heart and are not speaking for God.

I’ve noticed a current trend of teaching that our God is good and wants good for us, which is true, but He also uses trials to mature us or show us our sinful tendencies. However, I rarely hear Christians speak of learning in trials. Most of the time they are asking God to remove them, or fix the problems rather than use them for good, to teach and make them more like Jesus. The goal is personal comfort instead of faith, patience, maturity, all of which will glorify Him.

Jesus, we are on top of the world with rarefied air, pure water, amazing food, much to comfort and give us pleasure, and yet I’m finding myself wanting to be with You. You do give a deep-down joy, but You also make sense of uncomfortable situations and even stress. Without You, much of what I see and hear is meaningless or ‘no fun at all’ without Your wise and helpful input. Thank You for truth that makes sense rather than lies that stroke my ego or that confuse my selfish I-wants with the perfections of Your will. 

No false teaching

Then I said: “Ah, Lord God, behold, the prophets say to them, ‘You shall not see the sword, nor shall you have famine, but I will give you assured peace in this place.’ ” And the Lord said to me: “The prophets are prophesying lies in my name. I did not send them, nor did I command them or speak to them. They are prophesying to you a lying vision, worthless divination, and the deceit of their own minds. Therefore thus says the Lord concerning the prophets who prophesy in my name although I did not send them, and who say, ‘Sword and famine shall not come upon this land’: By sword and famine those prophets shall be consumed. And the people to whom they prophesy shall be cast out in the streets of Jerusalem, victims of famine and sword, with none to bury them—them, their wives, their sons, and their daughters. For I will pour out their evil upon them. (Jeremiah 14:13–16)

I’ve already realized that the power of positive thinking is over-rated. However, it does not seem to motivate false prophets. I know a few of them and they are self-appointed rather than divinely called. One in particular seems driven by personal pride. Others have their own ideologies or visions, perhaps driven by the Liar whose goal is to prevent truth from changing lives. Most of them form their belief systems on fragments of Scripture rather than the whole context. 

They might be ‘nice’ people, not coming across as raving lunatics. They may also be very sincere and believable, but when it comes to spiritual truth or speaking for God, the only way to know that they are not what they claim is to know the Word of God.

The NT says we are in a battle for truth, and since lies come from the devil, it is his schemes that are designed to deceive. To counter that, we need the whole armor of God as we wrestle against his rulers, authorities, and cosmic powers — the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. The whole armor of God means knowing what is true and standing firm in it, including declaring it boldly. (Ephesians 6:10–20)

Spotting false teachers is not difficult for those who know the Word of God well. Not only that, God will eventually deal with them. It might be harsh judgment, yet if those who are caught in lies and try to teach them to others realize their error and repent, He will forgive and restore them:

Therefore thus says the Lord: “If you return, I will restore you, and you shall stand before me. If you utter what is precious, and not what is worthless, you shall be as my mouth. They shall turn to you, but you shall not turn to them. And I will make you to this people a fortified wall of bronze; they will fight against you, but they shall not prevail over you, for I am with you to save you and deliver you, declares the Lord. I will deliver you out of the hand of the wicked, and redeem you from the grasp of the ruthless.” (Jeremiah 15:19–21)

Those who fit this category can be Christians already, just misled. Galatians 6 tells us to restore them. Conviction and correction are not the same as condemnation. We are in this battle together against falsehood, not against each other.

Jesus, grant me discernment and the ability to spot false teaching and loving ways to correct it. Also keep me from listening to lies and spot any false ideas I might have. I want You to be glorified, not spoken about in any sort of error.

To God be the glory…

 

Waking this morning with thoughts of Jesus born two thousand plus years ago, I wondered what He would say to me today. It is not a surprise that He gives instruction about living for Him until He comes, and then ending with the promises that He will return. I think of those who mock that promise. Don’t they know that thus far God has kept every promise He makes? He said His Messiah would come the first time and change lives — and He did.

Today I repeat His words and write “to those who have obtained a faith of equal standing with ours by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ: May grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.” (2 Peter 1:1–2) Isn’t this what Christmas is all about? Jesus came so we could know God, experience His grace, be at peace with Him, and receive His righteousness — multiplied beyond our wildest dreams!

His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire. (2 Peter 1:3–4)

This Christmas I know more clearly what the gift of this Christ-child looks like unwrapped. He does in me all that is promised so that I can: 

Make every effort to supplement my faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if these qualities are mine and are increasing, they keep me from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of my Lord Jesus Christ. For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins. Therefore, be all the more diligent to confirm my calling and election, for if I practice these qualities I will never fall. (2 Peter 1:5–10, personalized)

I know that the Word of God is not written just by men, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. (2 Peter 1:20–21) I also know that false prophets also exist and bring in destructive lies that deny Christ. Even though this means judgment for them, many follow sensuality and the true way is blasphemed. Their greed exploits God’s people with false words, but thankfully, the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials. 

My part is to recognize how these false ideas can entangle and defile me, and be watching out for them and for those scoffers who exist. They follow their own sinful desires and mock the idea that Jesus will come again. They forget that what God has already done to judge the world with a flood and that He will judge it again with fire. He is not slow to fulfill this promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward all, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. 

Jesus will return. At that time, the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn! But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. (2 Peter 3:9–13)

PRAY: Jesus, these are hard thoughts on this day of celebrating Your first coming, but I’m thankful for all reminders to not be carried away with the error of lawless people and lose my stability and faith in You. Instead, You keep giving me the gift of grace and deeper knowledge of You, my Lord and Savior. To You be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.

Beyond Reproach?

 

This morning it seemed a good plan to simply summarize 1 Timothy and see what God wants me to think about and pray about today.

Oppose false teachers, including those who devote themselves to endless genealogies that promote speculations.

Use the law to evaluate those who do not believe, it is not Christians.

Remember all that God has done for me and glorify Him, as Paul did:

I thank him who has given me strength, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he judged me faithful, appointing me to his service, though formerly I was a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent. But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief, and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost. But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life. To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen. (1 Timothy 1:12–17)

Hold fast to what God shows me without falling back into sin.

Pray for everyone that we may live in peace and remembering what Christ has done. First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. (1 Timothy 2:1–4)

Hold high standards for leaders and their wives, including myself. Learn quietly remembering that Eve was so easily deceived.

Let a woman learn quietly with all submissiveness. I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; rather, she is to remain quiet. For Adam was formed first, then Eve; and Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived and became a transgressor. (1 Timothy 2:11–14)

Know how to behave in the church practicing godliness and maintaining truth with great focus on what Christ has done.

Remember that some will depart from the faith and fall into sin, that includes not being thankful but giving in to demonic lies.

Teach these things to others, not myths but focus on godliness and hope in Christ.

Let not one despise my example, devoting myself to what God has given me to do. Use His gifts to do it and persist, keeping a close watch on myself and what I am doing. God will use it to save others.

Treat others as family members. Honor widows, particularly those who live out their faith rather than straying from God.

Honor elders and all in authority over me. Rebuke those who sin in obvious ways. 

Understand the false and sinful motivation of false teachers. Godliness with contentment is my goal.
Beware of the love of money as it leads to all kind of evil.

Vigorously pursue godliness. Jesus is coming — honor Him.

Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of godliness: He was manifested in the flesh, vindicated by the Spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed among the nations, believed on in the world, taken up in glory. (1 Timothy 3:16)

Charge those with wealth to be humble, generous, and good — storing up a more valuable treasure. 

Avoid false teachers who steer others away from faith.

If anyone teaches a different doctrine and does not agree with the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ and the teaching that accords with godliness, he is puffed up with conceit and understands nothing. He has an unhealthy craving for controversy and for quarrels about words, which produce envy, dissension, slander, evil suspicions, and constant friction among people who are depraved in mind and deprived of the truth, imagining that godliness is a means of gain. (1 Timothy 6:3–5)

PRAY: Lord, You know my heart and You know which of these teachings is most vital for me. I pray for discernment that I will not be deceived like Eve. Also, I pray for a deeper desire to pray, to share these truths to others, and to honor those over me and all others in Your family. Most of all, give me great desire to honor You and many opportunities to do that. 

Eating to glorify God

Loving creativity has me on the Internet often looking for amazing ideas that others post in art, decor, quilts, and photography. With those searches, food menus and ideas for dieting also pop up. Many of them forbid certain foods saying they are not healthy. While this is true of what could be called ‘man-made junk’ it is not true of what is often called ‘real food’ because what might come from my garden is even held suspect by some ‘experts’ in the industry.

I never connected these no-no’s in food with false teachers until this morning when I read this:

Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons, through the insincerity of liars whose consciences are seared, who forbid marriage and require abstinence from foods that God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth. For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, for it is made holy by the word of God and prayer. (1 Timothy 4:1–5)

Actually, I have wondered about fish on Friday, and now wonder about no meat at all, or no dairy, or no whatever, and who gives that advice and where did those ideas come from. Allergies may be a factor, but doing some research is always a good idea.

For instance, the OT tells of Daniel being captured by Israel’s enemies and his refusal to eat the rich food and wine as the Babylonian king ate. His captors decided to test him with only vegetables and water for ten days. After that time, he was “better in appearance and fatter in flesh” than those who ate the king’s food. Some use this as reason to be vegetarians, however it seems more about the quality of the food than its type. A walk through a grocery store picking up only what would be available back then for Daniel would mean skipping canned, frozen and processed food, and eating fresh only.

Is that even possible? Here in the north, many fresh items are trucked from the south or not available. However, locally grown greenhouse veggies are becoming more available. I want to eat real food and also appreciate this promise from Jesus:

Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. (Matthew 6:31–33)

The key to eating right has a spiritual component. Besides wanting to eat right, Jesus wants me to first seek how to live a righteous life. Then He will make sure that good food, created by Him, will always be available — and I will have enough clothing to wear. It is about making Him the priority of life and not worrying about the basics.

I know people who refuse to eat any vegetables. One calls them ‘rabbit food.’ Another will not eat anything that is ‘mushy’ but fills up on salty and sugary snacks. Obesity, diabetes, and other food-related problems are on the increase. While some think this stems from ignorance about food, or other reasons, who would point a finger at a failure to seek God’s kingdom and His righteousness combined with the impetus to run our own lives? Or even connect this problem with a propensity to believe everything we hear that fits our ‘I wants’ — even diet plans that forbid much of the food we didn’t like anyway? Or didn’t want to prepare or cook? One commercial even tells me to take a pill instead of eating broccoli!

PRAY: Jesus, I can crave cookies and chips and all sorts of stuff that are not good for me. You care about my health and I am well aware that I need Your Spirit to enable me to pay attention to, and obey, what You say about all things, even food. So, whether I eat or drink, or whatever I do, may I do all to the glory of God. (1 Corinthians 10:31) You created me and You know what is best for me!

A subtle lie. . . .

One person that I know well seems to believe in Jesus Christ and certainly tells everyone that he does. However, he does not believe that Jesus is God or that the Holy Spirit is a person. In not believing the trinity, he manages to live a moral life and strives to do all that Christians are supposed to do. However, there are some factors that do not fit.

For instance, he believes that Jesus died to give him the right and the power to earn his salvation. If totally obedient, he well survive the last judgment. He also believes that Jesus is ‘a god’ and that belonging to the ‘congregation’ that he belongs to is imperative. Only that group has any chance of eternal life with God.

There is more, but just this reveals another version of salvation by works which the gospel totally denies. However, the flesh likes this idea because our sinful nature does not want to admit total spiritual helplessness. The teaching of this group claims that they now have overcome that helplessness but without realizing that redemption is not and never will be a DIY project apart from faith in what God says about Christ and about our sinfulness.

They have also added things to the Bible and created their own version to fit what they believe. This is forbidden:

“Everything that I command you, you shall be careful to do. You shall not add to it or take from it. (Deuteronomy 12:32)
Every word of God proves true; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him. Do not add to his words, lest he rebuke you and you be found a liar. (Proverbs 30:5–6)
I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book, and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book. (Revelation 22:18–19)

One glaring addition speaks of who Jesus is. The Bible calls Him the ‘logos’ or word of God:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. (John 1:1)

Their changed version says, “… the Word was a God” without realizing the original Greek language does not have an “a” in it. Also, to say Jesus was God made flesh (John 1:14) would deny their teaching and make them liars subject to judgment rather than witnesses of the truth.

Today’s reading points to the reality of what this amazing trinity does to save sinners:

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth. In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory. In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory. (Ephesians 1:3–14)

PRAY: Lord Jesus, You are full of grace and truth, and Your identity is clear — yet revealed and not even clearly understood even by those who believe it. Even so, faith says and believes what You say even if we do not fully understand. I cannot deny or change the words You use to describe who You are, only trust You and know that I could never do what You have done for me and for all who have new life because of who You are and Your great grace toward us. Amen.

Read Carefully

When reading the Bible, I’m seeing the importance of word order. For instance, one verse says to yield to God and resist the devil and he will flee from me. It does not say God will flee or that I can resist the devil first and then yield to God. If I’m not yielded to God, I have no power to resist the devil.

Another passage, quoted in today’s devotional, has a sequential order too. Without paying attention to it, I could make a serious error:

At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them and said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 18:1–4)

Several versions interpret “turn” as repent or “be converted” which definitely comes first according to the rest of Scripture. Being reborn begins the transformation to child-likeness and that new birth is the entrance to God’s kingdom. After that, the humbling process of spiritual growth makes the new Christian greater than he/she was before that conversion, and more like a humble child. Those who are humbled in that childlike way become great in God’s kingdom.

Unfortunately, some will interpret this passage to say that getting into the kingdom is only for those who first become like little children. One example: “Become a little child, then, by laying aside all your greatness, self-assertion, self-dependence, wisdom, and strength, and consent to die to your own self-life and be born again into the kingdom of God.” This makes salvation a matter of assuming the right attitude, doing the right things, all good works, yet the NT repeatedly affirms that doing the right things is the ‘result’ of salvation. No one is saved by their own efforts.

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. (Ephesians 2:8–9)

I’ve met those who attend church, serve in various ways, and speak often of “I decided to follow…” or “I did…” They seem to mean well yet their salvation is about their choice to follow Jesus. However, Jesus said:

You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you. (John 15:16)

This topic of genuine salvation seems to come up often. It reminds me repeatedly how Jesus came into my life and surprised me. I don’t remember the date but vividly recall the day. He changed my life. I’ve nothing to boast about. Since then, He keeps dealing with my stubborn pride, showing me how helpless I am without His Spirit, and that being like a child is impossible as a decision or an action. As my King and my Savior, He must do this in me. Those who speak of laying aside self don’t seem to realize that that kind of statement comes across as a do-it-yourself project and is in total contradiction to:

I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. (Galatians 2:20)

How did I get to this understanding? It was not by choice. The Holy Spirit and circumstances of life, the thorns in my flesh, the trials and failures, the love of God — all teach me that I am nothing and Jesus is everything. He is wisdom and grace and goodness. Without Him, I can do nothing and am merely a blip in the passage of time.

PRAY: Jesus, these claims of being able to choose and to turn our lives around make me incredibly sad. As long as a person thinks that way, the humility of a child cannot describe them. Isn’t childlikeness being aware of my limitations, not that ‘I can do it myself’ attitude? Isn’t trusting You about leaning on You for everything, even the ability to lean on You? Oh Lord, enable me to pray rightly for those who twist Your Word to justify their self-effort, but also never to fall into that same misunderstanding. If pride in self shows up, deal with it quickly — that You are glorified and never me.

Going deeper…

 

It’s humbling to think about the hardness of my heart and my spiritual blindness before Jesus came into my life. I had started reading the Bible every day when thirteen and read it for seventeen years before understanding what it said. I now realize that this was done as a ritual and habit (copying my mother) yet God not only used that self-centered motivation to keep me reading, but kept on using even this most selfish reason to read it to teach me His will.

For a long time after being saved, even though my sins were confessed and I’ve tried to keep short accounts with God, it wasn’t until recently that He showed me how He has used even my mistakes to teach me His will. I brooded over those mistakes and rued them as if they had ruined my life. But God (two wonderful words) showed me that those mistakes were tools to powerfully change my heart and my attitudes. He waited a long time until I was ready to see that this was a good thing. Not that the sins were good but that in great mercy and love, He used them for good. Seeing this reality brings great joy to my heart.

Today’s reading reminds me how, after a long time of backsliding on the part of the children of Israel during a time when the book of God’s law had been lost, it was found again. These people assembled in the public square of the city to hear it read. At first they wept; but as God enabled them to understand it better, their lives changed from sorrow to rejoicing and then...

All the people went their way to eat and drink and to send portions and to make great rejoicing, because they had understood the words that were declared to them. (Nehemiah 8:12)

For them, it was realizing God is holy and His joy was their strength. They did not have to live as if all was lost because, in their position as God’s people, they were blessed and cared for by a God who is holy and loved them.

This truth is still a blessing to God’s people, even though many of them still are fearful of what God might do if they want only His will and not their own way. Part of this is human pride, as if any of us know better than God what is good for us. The other contributing factor is not knowing God in a factual way, having false ideas about Him. Some of this is motivated by Satan’s lies, including those that come through false teachers. The NT warns me of those who claim to be Christians yet put unbiblical burdens on their followers:

For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. So it is no surprise if his servants, also, disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their deeds. (2 Corinthians 11:13–15)

The subtlety of false teaching often urges people to trust God for what we want rather than for what He wants, as if His will is not good for us. However, as today’s reading says, the words “Thy will be done,” when once we understand them, become the dearest words our lips can utter.

PRAY: Jesus, You are teaching me the value of ‘just keep reading’ and how Your Spirit will take care of my burdened heart in the most amazing ways. What You reveal is astonishing and not at all like the false teachers and their messages, and sometime even contradicts sincere but unenlightened ideas that genuine Christians believe, ideas that give us anxiety instead of that peace and joy Your love wants for us. Oh Lord, open my eyes and my heart to a deeper and fuller understanding of the blessedness of Your will.

Exalting the Lord — His Way . . .

 

After reading that survey yesterday about what people say makes them happy, I’ve had several thoughts. One item on the list was ‘being in control of my own life’ and while the attitude of going our own way rather than toward God is the root of sin, there are people in the world in slavery. The NT has much to say about the godly response of Christians who are slaves, however enslaving people is also sin. What then is an acceptable form of slavery? In Paul’s letter to the church at Philippi, he said that he and Timothy were servants or bond-slaves of Jesus Christ.

It is interesting that evil spirits knew this. As Paul and his companions were going to a place of prayer . . .

We were met by a slave girl who had a spirit of divination and brought her owners much gain by fortune-telling. She followed Paul and us, crying out, “These men are servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to you the way of salvation.” And this she kept doing for many days. Paul, having become greatly annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.” And it came out that very hour. (Acts 16:16–18)

Her words were correct, but their source was not the Holy Spirit. Why would a demon do this?

On the other hand, Paul’s goal was to exalt Christ and tell others the gospel. When he was in jail, he said:

Some indeed preach Christ from envy and rivalry, but others from good will. The latter do it out of love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. The former proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely but thinking to afflict me in my imprisonment. What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in that I rejoice. Yes, and I will rejoice. (Philippians 1:15–18)

The slave girl’s words annoyed him in contrast to those who preached to hurt him? Her words came from an evil spirit. This makes me wonder about cults and false teachers, even Christian preachers who use the right words with the wrong motives. Also, were these evil spirits trying to create the impression that they had the same interest in exalting Christ as did Paul? This is a lie!

There are many enemies of the gospel including those who twist it, those who preach it with false motives for personal gain, and those who are demonically influenced to make their evil motives seem good. I will not name names, yet some of these enemies are prominent, and draw large crowds in which some may actually be saved, but they are also making money and enjoying their power.

In contrast to the lifestyle and motivation of these enemies, the Lord said of Paul, “He is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel. For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.” (Acts 9:15–16) Paul was a slave of a different kind, not to money, power, or personal gain. In fact, he gave up much:

For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain . . . . But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death . . . Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. (Philippians 1:21; 3:7–12)

This is profound. Paul exemplifies true slavery as well as true joy. He wrote from jail. His life was filled with struggles and yet his desire to exalt Christ gave him endurance in trials. His goal remained, even when facing Satan’s tactics to appear as ‘an angel of light’ or when others tried to out-preach him while he was in prison. His focus was to glorify Jesus and share the Gospel, not a false Jesus, not a false gospel, and not with self-centered motives. I need to be discerning of teachers and speakers on radio and television, and who write books. I also need to watch that my motives and actions line up with truth and never find their source in the world’s notions, the flesh’s selfishness, or the devil’s lies.

Lord Jesus, I am blessed to understand that You want my attitude and actions to line up with Your will. ‘God-talk’ is not always about God. False teaching is subtle and everywhere. The enemy and his cohorts disguise themselves and try to look ‘Christian’ to deceive people. May You keep me from all that, that I might glorify You.

MORE: Read Exodus 15:1–21 and Psalm 99 looking for ways I can exalt the Lord.