Thursday, January 27, 2022
Beware of False Teachers and Prophets
Beware of the so-called "prophets" of today. I listened to one this morning that was absolutely agonizing to hear. He was taking a phrase or a word out of context and another phrase or word out of another context putting them together and making a "prophetic word" out of the two combined words or phrases that was nothing of what God said in His Word.
Cherry-picking a word here and a word there and making one's own meaning is devilish and foolish. All scripture must be read within its context and within the context of the entire Bible.
We are encountering more and more of these false prophets today than ever before. This is the reason we have so many Christians believing wrong things and even the opposite of what God said, using His own words through their crooked and contorted version of the Word of God.
Matthew 24:24 "For there shall arise false christs and false prophets and shall show great signs and wonders, insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect."
When you hear a so-called prophet claim things that are not in scripture you have encountered a fraud. We have no need for "future tellers" who use the Bible to prove their false prophecy.
God has given us all we need to walk by faith without ever having to see the future.
When you see a person claiming to be a prophet of God using continual word salad you have encountered a false prophet. Word salad is when they string several words together that have little meaning, making the hearer think something profound has been said when its nothing more than foolishness.
Deuteronomy 18:22 "When the prophet speaks in the name of the Lord, and the thing does not happen or come true, that is the thing which the Lord has not spoken. The prophet has spoken it presumptuously; you are not to be afraid of him."
God's word is clear and the Holy Spirit will tell us specifics for our lives at the time it is needed, we have no need to hear the future. A false prophet who claims to know the future in specific terms is adding to the word of God, this is blasphemy.
The false prophets of today can deceive many because they speak in generalities that can sound right to anyone, they are so general and convoluted that the false prophet can claim they happened.
One prophet said that he predicted a war in the next few months in the middle east. So what, the world is ramping up for war all the time now we don't need a prophet to tell us that. We can see it in the Bible and we can watch it for ourselves on the earth. These kinds of prophets are self-exalted and greedy for money.
Proverbs 30:5-6
"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."
A true born again believer who is prophesying will be expounding on the Words already written in the Bible, not new information with specific events. All we need is what God has already given us.
To feel a need to know specific future details that are not in the Bible is a clear lack of walking by faith.
Be warned that in these last days there is a multitude of false prophecies and false prophets as well as a multitude of false news sources. They are so prolific and cleverly misleading and ambiguous, leading to whatever the hearer chooses to interpret them, whoever listens to them can easily be deceived into interpreting them in their own mindset.
2 Corinthians 4:18
"So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal."
Bottom Line: We must read the Bible as the Holy Spirit gives us the wisdom to understand what God meant, not what man wants the Bible to say.
Bearing Good Fruit
Matthew 7:17-18 "…17 Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit.
Our actions and attitudes are evidence of our heart condition. We cannot be different on the outside than what we are on the inside.
We can pretend for a time on the outside but the fruit will emerge during difficulties. God gives us difficulties and trials so that we can see our real selves as it emerges.
When someone blows up in anger at the challenge to examine themselves it is strong evidence that they have a rebellious spirit, one that does not want to evaluate self to confess and be cleansed.
1 John 1:9 "9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."
Those who confess to be cleansed by God are those who will grow in holiness, become stronger in the fruit of God's Spirit and are useful for His Kingdom.
Galatians 5:22-23
"22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law."
Matthew 5:6
"Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled."
Wednesday, January 26, 2022
Keep Calm and Carry On!
Being angry over things because they don't go as we would like is really a choice. We can choose to see each challenge as an opportunity to practice patience and kindness.
I know this because of the many times I was tempted to be upset that something didn't happen on time or as I desired. It was the Holy Spirit Who restrained any outward expression of anger and then cleansed me of the temptation to be angry.
Anger does nothing, except if expressed in the faces of others to cause more unnecessary conflict. When we care about others we take into account their needs in our expectations. In fact, I find it better not to have expectations of others, this eliminates all frustration when things don't happen our way.
1 Corinthians 13:4-5
"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs."
Patience and love go hand in hand. When we show patience we are demonstrating a desire to understand the hearts of others.
Romans 8:25
"But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently."
Has anyone come to Christ because someone else shouted at them or mocked and demeaned them as an attempt to motivate them,......NO, people do not see Christ in us when we act no better than the ugly unrestrained world.
Showing patience is evidence that we are trusting in Christ for the outcomes of things we cannot figure out for ourselves. It shows love to those who might not otherwise experience the love of Christ in their lives.
Psalm 27:14
"Wait for the Lord;
be strong and take heart
and wait for the Lord."
There is strength associated with patience. Only the weak worry about every detail. I have been weak many times wishing something would happen when I wanted it to happen. I have learned there is very little accomplished according to our own desires, we might as well calm down and carry on with the other things in our lives.
Colossians 3:12
"Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience."
Romans 15:5
"May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you the same attitude of mind toward each other that Christ Jesus had."
Perhaps we ought to be more concerned about our Christian witness than we are about "getting things done our way in our time."
Proverbs 3:5-6
"Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths."
Then there is peace all the time in everything. Hallelujah
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