2009-05-01
Good Morning Dear Ones,
The Holy Spirit directs me to write more about discerning the truth in comparing MT 7: 1-2 with MT 7: 15-20 [a tree and its fruit]. The mother lode of spiritual gems in this chapter is so rich, that it takes awhile to examine it all. The very fact that Christ, in His Sermon on the Mount, spends so much time on issues of discernment and judgment tells us just how important He thinks this is for us. It’s obvious that we need to exercise discernment to identify the “dogs,” “pigs,” [MT 7: 6] or “wolves in sheep’s clothing” [MT 7: 15] that we encounter. The Gnostics of Paul’s day were a secret society, denying blessings to anyone not chosen [by these humans] for membership. This is in direct opposition to Christ’s assertion that salvation and the gift of the Holy Spirit are available to anyone who repents and genuinely professes faith in the Son, Jesus Christ. There was nothing secret about it! If anything, Christ wanted the word spread to as many people as possible [MT 28: 19-20]. “You will know the false prophets by what they do.”
We face the same problems today, dealing with secret societies who don’t tell newcomers their beliefs until they have been in their church for a period of time. And, there are some in their church who have gone a lifetime without knowing all that church teaches. This is nothing like Christ’s approach. There are many false prophets around us today. Religions denying God entirely and relying on “science,” ones which teach that God isn’t the only deity in our lives, others that assert that doctors and blood transfusions should never be used to save lives, and so on. Our God reveres life, as evidenced by the fact that we are created in His very own image [GN 1: 27]. False practices like snapping, the act of surrounding seekers with lots of attention, forcing them to make a snap decision to join, and then, only gradually showing their true colors, are practiced. Many false teachers pick and choose what they like from the Scriptures, rejecting the rest. Or they take Scripture out of it’s original context and plug it in to a man-made context they conjure up to suit their goals. [I have purposely not named these faith systems out of sensitivity to the feelings of those trapped in them. If they use their own minds, pushing Satan away, they see the need to get out of these religious groups].
Sadly, Satan, the author of all these lies, is the “father of all lies” [JN 8: 44]. He will look to wherever mankind is vulnerable, and he will go in for the kill. 1 PET 5: 8, “Be alert, be on watch! Your enemy, the devil, roams around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.” God help me, I was that prey for him many years ago. I was miserable at home, emotionally needy, a good student who never had affirmation for my accomplishments, and raised to feel worthless. Moreover, I was unaware of God’s interest in me and desire that I should come to faith in the Lord Jesus. Frankly, there aren’t many young people raised in traditional Judaism who recognize Christ’s love for them and His interest in coming in their lives. Satan’s grip was tight on me, and I agreed to a marriage that was wholly wrong for me, thinking I would escape from my misery. Instead, I jumped from the frying pan into the fire! Fifteen years later, that marriage ended in divorce-the only outcome it could have had. To this day, I thank God He cared enough about me to bring me to where the Holy Spirit could give me faith and to where my eyes were opened to that “hard road that leads from the narrow gate” [MT 7: 13-14] that leads to eternal life. We are reminded, in 1 PET 5: 7, “Leave all your worries with Him, because He cares for you.” He is telling us to have perfect faith and trust in Him, something that I am by no means perfect in doing even through I am getting better at it. God doesn’t allow us to see the details of our future. Otherwise, I would have known during those years of unhappiness that a wonderful man like my husband of 32 years, Peter, and the Lord, Jesus Christ, would take me out of the pit. PS 40: 1-3, “I waited patiently for the Lord’s help; then He listened to me and heard my cry. He pulled me out of a dangerous pit, out of the deadly quicksand. He set me safely on a Rock and made me secure. He taught me to sing a new song, a song of praise to our God. Many who see this will take warning and will put their trust in the Lord.” As always, He is writing this devotion, and all I’m doing is lending Him my hands to type it. I often write about the past trouble in my own life, as that is the only life I can claim to know well. Each of you reading this message can undoubtedly see it from the perspective of your own life’s experience. Anyone telling us that they never had problems of one kind or another isn’t telling the truth. My ex-husband was very congenial, flattering, and sounded like he was deeply in love with me for the two years before we married. I was vulnerable, young, and lacked discernment to see through this to his actual agenda. My present husband is kind, generous, always good to me, and gentle. “And you will know them by what they do!”
PRAYER: O Lord, the Rock upon which You placed me and others who You have pulled out of the pit, is Jesus Christ. You truly do hear our cries and offer Your help. From the time the sounds of the plaintive cries of the ancient Jews enslaved in Egypt reached Your ears, You have remembered Your covenant with them and with us [EX 2:23-25; 1 COR 11: 25]. Discernment doesn’t come easily to us, as it is not in our sinful nature. Yet, “nothing is impossible for You” [MT 19: 26; MK 10: 27; LK 18: 27], and You can answer this prayerful plea: PS 119: 125, “I am Your servant; give me understanding, so that I may know Your teachings.” Through Paul’s writing, in 2 TIM 3: 16-17, we learn that “All Scripture is God-breathed and useful for teaching the truth, rebuking error, correcting faults, and giving instruction for right living, so that the person who serves God may be fully qualified and equipped to do every kind of good deed.” We stand before Your mighty throne and plead with You for Your wisdom, as well. PS 51: 6, “Sincerity and truth are what You require; fill my mind with wisdom.” We desire to be Your faithful servants and acknowledge that the Lord Jesus has equipped us to be stronger than the forces of the evil one [1 JN 4: 4]. Moreover, through Christ Who strengthens us, we can be victorious over the adversary’s temptation and evil [PHIL 4: 13]. When You commanded us to walk through the “narrow gate and along the hard path,” You send the Lord Jesus to walk beside us, and even, to carry us when the going gets too rough. He does this every day and models for us what goes in to being Your obedient servant. How can we not thank and praise You for Your intervention in our lives, Your help in times of trouble, and the protection You afford us from the evil one? We do so, in the holy and mighty name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
The subject of gaining discernment is so important that I’m instructed by the Holy Spirit to continue writing about it next week. In the meanwhile, I am reminded to encourage all of us to pray for it. Prayer is a powerful tool that God gives us to communicate with Him. Real prayer is two-way communication with God, in which we listen for Him to speak first. Believe me, God hears our prayers and answers them in His own perfect time and way. One answer in response to the painful groans of His people was God’s sacrifice of His only Son on the cross, so that we, who listen to God, can be saved [JN 3: 16]. I’m living proof that God loves even those who at one time in their lives didn’t know to pray. How ironic that such a person as myself should be called to lead a huge prayer chain! God will surprise each of us, because we are not born with the knowledge of all His plans for our individual lives. That’s a good reason for seeking Him out. JER 29: 11-13, “I alone know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you not to bring disaster, plans to give you the future for which you hope. Then you will call to Me. You will come and pray to Me, and I will answer you. You will seek Me, and you will find Me because You will seek Me with all your heart.” Prayer is the first step to getting pulled out of the pit. Those who don’t know about it are helped when they can’t pray by the “groans that words cannot express” uttered by the Holy Spirit on their behalf [RO 8: 26-27]. And God understands these groans. It probably happened that way for me, just before Christ came into my heart. It could certainly happen for any of us who need it. Praise be to the Lord!
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn