Listen to this.
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28
In His Love, Cindy
Do you want to know more about Jesus? See my page Who Is Jesus?
RealChristianWomen.blog
Why do people believe a lie?
Many times, people believe a lie when that lie is something they want to be true. Sometimes people believe a lie because they have heard it so many times. In fact, a study at Villanova University proved just that. If a person hears something often enough, they will start to believe it’s true.
Is there any way to know what is really true and what is not? There is! God’s Word is true. The longer you study it, the more you will realize how true and relevant it is today!
One of the best things you can do to protect yourself is to commit to a “Read the Bible in a Year” chronological reading plan. The reason I recommend it so highly is that you will be exposed to “the whole counsel of God’s Word” and begin to see God’s Word as the complete story of Christ.
At the very least, read the New Testament cover to cover at least once a year (although twice a year would be better). But remember that the Apostle Paul encouraged Timothy saying,
“All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” 2 Timothy 3:16 NIV
Paul is talking about the Old Testament! It must not be neglected because it has much to teach us! Some preachers have said the Old Testament is not relevant today, but that is clearly a contradiction of 2 Timothy 3:16.
Many preachers claim God wants you to be wealthy and rich. That’s called the “Prosperity Gospel” and it’s very popular. (Possibly one of those things people believe because they want it to be true.) But the Bible says something different.
“These are the things you are to teach and insist on. If anyone teaches otherwise and does not agree to the sound instruction of our Lord Jesus Christ and to godly teaching, they are conceited and understand nothing. They have an unhealthy interest in controversies and quarrels about words that result in envy, strife, malicious talk, evil suspicions and constant friction between people of corrupt mind, who have been robbed of the truth and who think that godliness is a means to financial gain.” 1 Timothy 6:2-5 NIV
Errant teaching thrives when specific verses are taken out of context, as in the two examples above. We can pray for discernment, but we must still check what is preached against the Word of God.
Let’s take Harriet as an example. Harriet goes to church on Sunday, has a devotional at home (usually a passage from Psalms, and reads random verses for encouragement. She even attends a Ladies’ Bible Study in which they study the latest best-selling book of a well-known Christian author. For the most part, Harriet gives well-known Christian personalities a lot of respect and she trusts their teaching. She has attended church her whole adult life.
Here’s the question I have for you: Is Harriet a mature Christian woman? Is she safe from false teaching? She thinks she is. But is she? Is she developing discernment? Take another look at Harriet’s habits. She depends almost entirely on Bible teachers to guide her beliefs. She has never read the whole Bible, not even the entire New Testament. Is she well-equipped to recognize false teaching or is she vulnerable? You decide.
In his book, The Discipline of Spiritual Discernment, Tim Challies compares spiritual discernment with identifying counterfeit currency.
Challies writes, “We can best know what is wrong by first knowing what is right. Experts on counterfeit currency know this as well. They train others first to know the traits of genuine currency… Experts in counterfeit money study every aspect of their currency including how it feels and every detail of its appearance and color. Only after they do this are they shown counterfeit currency. And guess what? They know immediately what is not real!”
In the same way, the better we know the Bible the easier it will be to discern truth from error.
“I delight in your decrees; I will not neglect your word.” Psalm 119:16 NIV (emphasis mine)
Learn more about discernment in the following articles:
How To Be a Discerning Christian
Why Do Christians Listen to False Teachers?
In His Love, Cindy
Do you want to know more about Jesus? See my page Who Is Jesus?
Photo by Kristina Paparo on Unsplash
RealChristianWomen.blog
“May you be richly rewarded by the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge.” Ruth 2:12b NIV
In His Love, Cindy
Do you want to know more about Jesus? See my page Who Is Jesus?
RealChristianWomen.blog
“I make known the end from the beginning,
from ancient times, what is still to come.
I say, ‘My purpose will stand,
and I will do all that I please.” Isaiah 46:10 NIV
My Thoughts: God is in control. He has made known what is yet to come.
In His Love, Cindy
Do you want to know more about Jesus? See my page Who Is Jesus?
Photo by Andrew Coelho on Unsplash
RealChristianWomen.blog
In His Love, Cindy
Do you want to know more about Jesus? See my page Who Is Jesus?
RealChristianWomen.blog
“So is my word that goes out from my mouth:
It will not return to me empty,
but will accomplish what I desire
and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.” Isaiah 55:11 NIV
In His Love, Cindy
Do you want to know more about Jesus? See my page Who Is Jesus?
Photo by Timothy Eberly on Unsplash
RealChristianWomen.blog
“For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous
and his ears are attentive to their prayer,” 1 Peter 3:12 NIV
In His Love, Cindy
Do you want to know more about Jesus? See my page Who Is Jesus?
Photo by Diana Simumpande on Unsplash
RealChristianWomen.blog
“Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” James 1:2-4 NIV
In His Love, Cindy
Do you want to know more about Jesus? See my page Who Is Jesus?
RealChristianWomen.blog
Jesus said we are blessed if we read the book of Revelation. I also realize that studying Revelation can be overwhelming! So let’s break it down to one bite-size piece.
Interestingly, in chapters 2 and 3 Jesus expresses serious concerns for 5 of the 7 churches, and He has made them known to us by including them in the Scriptures. With that in mind, shouldn’t we give it careful attention and ask ourselves if we are guilty of the same things? Here is a list of those concerns:
These concerns can be put into 2 main categories: a decreasing love for God (Ephesus, Sardis, and Laodicea) and tolerance of false teaching (Pergamum and Thyatira). These are serious problems that the church today should be aware of and look out for. For now, I want to turn our attention to the problem of allowing our love for God to wane.
A Decreasing Love for God
Consider this: When asked, “What is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Jesus replied:
“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment.” Matthew 22:36-38
I asked the Lord, What does that mean? What does it look like? Here is what I found in the Word:
1. We show our love to God when we make decisions to obey His every command.
Jesus said, “Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them… Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. Anyone who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me.” John 14:21, 23-24 (emphasis mine)
2. We show our love to God when we worship the God of the Bible, not a god we have created to be what we want him to be. Idols are gods of our own creation. They promise to give us what we want.
“You shall have no other gods before Me. You shall not make for yourself an idol,” Exodus 20: 3-4 NASB
“… true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit [from the heart, the inner self] and in truth; for the Father seeks such people to be His worshipers. God is spirit [the Source of life, yet invisible to mankind], and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” John 4:23-24 AMP (emphasis mine)
“For the time will come when people will not tolerate sound doctrine and accurate instruction [that challenges them with God’s truth]; but wanting to have their ears tickled [with something pleasing], they will accumulate for themselves [many] teachers [one after another, chosen] to satisfy their own desires and to support the errors they hold,” 2 Timothy 4:3 AMP
3. We show our love to God when we persevere.
“Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.” James 1:12
4. We show our love to God when we obey our calling and seek to do His will.
“Again Jesus said, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”
He answered, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.”
Jesus said, “Take care of my sheep.” John 21:16
Are there other ways we can show God our love? Of course! These 4 things may not be what you expected to find on the list, but I’m pretty sure that if we are doing these things, we are showing God that we love Him! On the other hand, if we are not doing these things … we should examine our hearts.
In His Love, Cindy
Do you want to know more about Jesus? See my page Who Is Jesus?
All Scripture references are from the NIV unless otherwise noted.
RealChristianWomen.blog
“For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways,”
declares the Lord.
“As the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.” Isaiah 55:8-9 NIV
In His Love, Cindy
Do you want to know more about Jesus? See my page Who Is Jesus?
Photo by Cam Adams on Unsplash
RealChristianWomen.blog
Real Christian Women 