DECEPTION

In the garden called Eden where God had placed the man and woman He had created, they enjoyed incredible FREEDOM.  Not simply the freedom to do as they chose to do; but a freedom from certain things.

•         They were free from worry
•         They were free from adversity
•         They were free from shame
•         They were free from strife
•         They were free from horror
•         They were free from tragedy
•         They were free from SIN and its cost of DEATH and                                 DESTRUCTION

Then along came a serpent.  A slithering, slimy snake bent on just that, both Death and Destruction.  With one action, that of deceiving the woman, which caused the man to join her, this serpent brought down every ounce of freedom the man and woman had enjoyed.  

Suddenly they found themselves confronted with their own nakedness, and with that discovery came worse.

•         They began to worry about being naked
•         They tensed with the idea of being confronted by God
•         They tried to hide from their shame
•         They realized too late the horror of the consequences of what              they had done
•         They understood the tragic loss of freedom they had suffered
•         SIN and its darkness entered their hearts, their minds and their         souls and as a direct result, their fellowship with God was                   destroyed and they suffered immediate spiritual death and                 eventual physical death

This same deceit occurs today with the same consequences of death and destruction still accompanying it everywhere it finds a soul who falls prey to its lie.

Ephesians 6:12

¹² For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.

Satan has no need to wreak havoc in the lives of some.  He is content to leave them alone in the quietness of their own sad desperation.  Because they are no threat to him.  A great deceit has taken place and many are only too happy to accept it. 

It is the deceit that there is no enemy.   No devil, no hell and no spiritual wickedness existing on this earth preying on the hearts of men and women.  We have no need to guard our hearts against an adversary who we have been convinced does not exist. It isn't that we don't "believe in" God.

It is more that if there is no enemy, there is no need of a deliverer.  In this way then, many live in apathy toward the truth God has given us.  After all, if we have no devil, we have no need of a Savior.  This is one of the deceitful ways satan has kept many who live otherwise “good” and “decent” lives from receiving Christ and living the truly ABUNDANT lives of JOY and PEACE and RIGHTEOUSNESS that God actually intends for us.

What then are we to do? 

I can tell you truly that it is not Gods intention that we sit passively and complacently while He spoon feeds truth and deliverance to us.

We are to take action!  

FOLLOW AFTER

DILIGENTLY SEEK

ZEALOUSLY PURSUE

EARNESTLY DESIRE

1 Corinthians 6:9

Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites...

2 Corinthians 11:3

But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.

Consider this:  

If I am wrong, if the Bible is a book of fairy tales and there is no God, I've lost nothing by living as if every word is true and absolute.  I'll die when my time comes, and whatever there is, will be.  Meanwhile, I can tell you truthfully that my life has been filled with meaning and purpose beyond myself, and I have personally witnessed  and been the recipient of miraculous things that defy description.

If you who insist there is no truth, no God and no need of a Savior named Jesus; if you have been deceived and are wrong, you will die when your time comes, and you will face unspeakable regret that you did not receive the truth when it was presented to you.  Meanwhile, where do you turn when life is difficult?  Where do you find peace and comfort?  When this world has no answers and you NEED answers, where do you turn?  

God's greatest desire is that ALL THE MEN AND WOMEN HE CREATED will turn to Him, trust Him and receive the forgiveness of sin and deliverance he made available through the sacrificial death on a cross of His only begotten son, Jesus.

WHY?  That's an easy question to answer.

  

John 3:16:  for God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son that whosoever will believe on Him will not perish, but have everlasting life.

Isn't that what all the popular songs we sing tell us? 

THAT LOVE IS THE ANSWER!  :O) 

If you need help, there is a loving answer for your situation.  Please fill out the prayer request form in the upper left.  We'll pray.  You pray.  And watch God come to rescue the child He loves unconditionally!

Keepers of our hearts

Proverbs 4:23
Keep your heart with all diligence for out of it spring the issues of life.

What is it to keep our hearts?  Does it mean we close the heart off?  Do we never fully reveal ourselves, never fully allow others in?

What are the issues of life?  The daily mundane routines of life?  Our spiritual life? 

What is it then, to keep our hearts and how, if indeed we even can, do we control the issues that come out of it?

Grasping and understanding what God desires of us and for us can sometimes feel like an overwhelming and impossible task.

Create in me a CLEAN HEART O GOD! the Psalmist prayed. 

Is it true that only God can cleanse and wash our hearts?  God, Who knows the thoughts and intents of our hearts?  God, the One Who gives the desire of our heart?

If so, then the question is, how can we keep these hearts? 

By paying attention to what we allow to influence us, that’s one way.  By watching carefully what ideas, thoughts, visual pictures and sounds – words and music included – that we give our time and attention to.

The heart, the physical organ, is the unifying factor in the functioning of our bodies as a whole.  Every drop of blood passes through our heart and by that heart is pumped out into every cell of our bodies.  If the brain stops working, we are still alive.  If the heart stops pumping, we are no longer alive, life has left our body.

It is the same with this spiritual heart the Psalmist is talking about.  Thoughts come from our minds, influenced and affected by the things we've allowed into it. 

• ·        The conversations we have with other people
• ·        The movies or TV shows we watch
• ·        The books and magazines we read
• ·        Pictures we look at
• ·        Things we discover on the internet

Romans 12:2And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

The renewal of ourselves comes from the renewing of our minds to Gods truth.  Our five senses are continually taking in data from all around us, and then circulating that information and emotion through the spiritual heart on a constant basis just as every drop of our blood circulates through our physical heart.  Even when we are sleeping, our minds are churning, thinking, and the spiritual heart is sorting, organizing and deciding what it will keep, how the data will be processed and what will be discarded.

Keep our (spiritual) hearts with all diligence, the psalmist warns us, for it is with that self same heart that we will believe to receive righteousness, the peace of God that passes all understanding and trust in the Lord with all of that heart.

With all our hearts, we pray Gods merciful grace be bountiful toward you in all ways and your heart be created clean in His image.  When we confess our sin and receive the gift of Eternal Life through Christ Jesus, He gives us a brand new heart! 

2 Corinthians 5:17Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.

Yes, He was born a babe, grew, lived and was crucified like a common criminal.  But unlike any other, He took to the cross the sin of all the world, nailed it with Himself to the cross and then ROSE FROM THE DEAD ALIVE FOREVERMORE!  His resurrection, when believed and received by us, raises us from DEAD in trespasses and sins and ALIVE ETERNALLY with Him!

Reputation vs TRUTH

Amazingly enough and although I’ve read the book of Acts numerous times, the other day while my husband read chapter 5 to me something I’d never noticed before captured my attention and demanded further investigation.

Read with me a little bit, and see if you catch it:

Acts 5: 17-29

¹⁷ Then the high priest rose up, and all those who were with him (which is the sect of the Sadducees), and they were filled with indignation, ¹⁸ and laid their hands on the apostles and put them in the common prison. ¹⁹ But at night an angel of the Lord opened the prison doors and brought them out, and said, ²⁰ “Go, stand in the temple and speak to the people all the words of this life.”

²¹ And when they heard that, they entered the temple early in the morning and taught. But the high priest and those with him came and called the council together, with all the elders of the children of Israel, and sent to the prison to have them brought.

²² But when the officers came and did not find them in the prison, they returned and reported, ²³ saying, “Indeed we found the prison shut securely, and the guards standing outside^[a] before the doors; but when we opened them, we found no one inside!” ²⁴ Now when the high priest,^[b] the captain of the temple, and the chief priests heard these things, they wondered what the outcome would be. ²⁵ So one came and told them, saying,^[c] “Look, the men whom you put in prison are standing in the temple and teaching the people!”

²⁶ Then the captain went with the officers and brought them without violence, for they feared the people, lest they should be stoned. ²⁷ And when they had brought them, they set them before the council. And the high priest asked them, ²⁸ saying, “Did we not strictly command you not to teach in this name? And look, you have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine, and intend to bring this Man’s blood on us!”

²⁹ But Peter and the other apostles answered and said: “We ought to obey God rather than men. ³⁰ The God of our fathers raised up Jesus whom you murdered by hanging on a tree. ³¹ Him God has exalted to His right hand to be Prince and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. ³² And we are His witnesses to these things, and so also is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey Him.”

Take another look, specifically at verse 28.

Now if I may ask you a question. 

IfRo you put men in prison and the next morning they weren’t in there despite the locked doors and guards, wouldn’t your first question be HOW DID YOU GET OUT OF PRISON?

The very fact they didn’t ask the question indicates to me they already knew the answer.  So they were asking the only question that mattered to them – WHY DID YOU THWART OUR AUTHORITY?

Their only true concern was what they saw as the diminishing of:

Their POWER: because they liked ruling it over others

Their POSITION: in the community which afforded them “special” treatment

Their PRESTIGE: recognized and respected by everyone as being ‘above’ and more important

When we go about our lives, what are our major concerns?  Are we focused on the integrity and purity of God’s word and our adherence to it?  In our churches, are our concerns about teaching and demonstrating Truth or have we been swayed into false concern over protecting our own “reputations”?

Asking the tough questions will help us not only to examine our own hearts, but to keep them right and in alignment with the will and purposes of the Lord.

It's far too easy to slip and fall into "worldly" thinking and actions, especially when so many actions of our churches are difficult to differentiate from actions in the world.

To experience transformation that pleases the Lord, we are NOT to conform to this world!

(Romans 12:2)

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