“My flesh and my heart may fail,
but God is the strength of my heart
and my portion forever.” Psalm 73:26 NIV
In His Love, Cindy
Do you want to know more about Jesus? See my page Who Is Jesus?
Pray for Israel
RealChristianWomen.blog
Tag: Jesus
How To Be a Discerning Christian
The Bible warns us about false teachers. Yes, they exist today. But how do we know what is true and what is false? This is an important question. The answer is we must be discerning Christians.
A few weeks ago, I wrote about The Skill of Discernment. (Read it HERE.) Since then, I came across an excellent comparison that I want to share with you. 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 because such knowledge will make apparent what is fraudulent.”
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, it is only after we know the Bible well that we will be able to recognize false teaching. A mature Christian is a Christian who knows the Bible well. This is an important point because the Bible says that the immature Christian can be blown here and there by every kind of teaching (meaning false teaching). That makes sense, right? Ephesians 4:12-14 NASB says,
“… for the building up of the body of Christ; 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the [b]knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature [c]which belongs to the fullness of Christ. 14 [d]As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of people, by craftiness [e]in deceitful scheming;“
One thing about children, they’ll believe almost anything. And like children, immature Christians will believe almost anything, especially if it sounds good.
So the question is: How well do you know the Bible? How many times have you read it from cover to cover? How many times have you read the New Testament? Are you reading the Bible for yourself? Or do you rely on books about the Bible?
I challenge you to read the Bible from cover to cover at least twice before you read the Christian Best Sellers. Otherwise, how can you discern if what you are reading is true? Maybe you are thinking, “Oh I just know.” – I wouldn’t be so sure of that. But don’t take my word for it. Consider what the Bible says.
“I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock. Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them. So be on your guard! Remember that for three years I never stopped warning each of you night and day with tears.” The Apostle Paul (Acts 20:29-31 NIV) Read full chapter
15 “Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. …21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ 23 Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’ 24 “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.” Jesus (Matthew 7:15, and 21-24 NIV) Read full chapter
“2 But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them—bringing swift destruction on themselves. 2 Many will follow their depraved conduct and will bring the way of truth into disrepute. 3 In their greed these teachers will exploit you with fabricated stories. Their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping.” The Apostle Peter (2 Peter 2:1-3 NIV) Read full chapter
Remember this: “We can best know what is wrong by first knowing what is right.”
In His Love, Cindy
Do you want to know more about Jesus? See my page Who Is Jesus?
Pray for Israel
RealChristianWomen.blog
Verses for Meditation, 5/2/24
“For ever since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through His workmanship [all His creation, the wonderful things that He has made], so that they [who fail to believe and trust in Him] are without excuse and without defense.” Romans 1:20 AMP
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In His Love, Cindy
Do you want to know more about Jesus? See my page Who Is Jesus?
Pray for Israel
RealChristianWomen.blog
Monday’s Verse, 4/29/24
“Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!” Luke 1:45 NIV
In His Love, Cindy
Do you want to know more about Jesus? See my page Who Is Jesus?
Pray for Israel
Photo by Priscilla Du Preez on Unsplash
RealChristianWomen.blog
Sunday’s Memory Verse, 4/28/24
“But thou, O Lord, art a shield for me;
my glory, and the lifter up of mine head.” Psalm 3:3 KJV
My thoughts: Do you need Him to lift up your head, today? He is willing and able.
In His Love, Cindy
Do you want to know more about Jesus? See my page Who Is Jesus?
Pray for Israel
RealChristianWomen.blog
What Is Spiritual Warfare, Really?
Many years ago, when I was in a Word of Faith church, I was wrongly taught that we had “revelation knowledge”. It was actually a prideful attitude, thinking we knew and understood so much more than that “religious” church down the street.
We naively sought understanding from the many books written by false teachers that could be found in our bookstore. Some of these errant teachings on spiritual warfare have permeated evangelical Christianity.
I decided to set aside everything I had learned from “Bible teachers” and books and to seek understanding about spiritual warfare from the Bible alone.
What the Bible says about spiritual warfare is straightforward and plain to see. There is no mysterious, hidden meaning that only the spiritual elite can understand. The Bible warns us about the ways of Satan. It also tells us how to stand against his schemes. Only by reading and studying God’s Word daily will we learn these things. There is no shortcut.
Spiritual Warfare isn’t some mysterious prayer technique. In fact, it really isn’t that complicated at all. In its purest form, engaging in spiritual warfare is proclaiming the Gospel and speaking the Truth in God’s Word.
“For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile.” Romans 1:16
Stop and think about that for a moment. The world today believes many lies that literally shock the senses! I won’t list them here because you already know what they are.
“True spiritual warfare is a battle for the minds of men because they are held in bondage to Satan by believing the lies that he (Satan) has told them.”
Jim Osman, Truth or Territory
The Christian’s battle (true spiritual warfare) is not a feeling, an intuition or an imaginative experience in the spirit realm – however real it might seem.”
Bruce Cooper, Reasoned Cases for Christ
To be a mighty warrior, we must trust in God’s Word. We must study it to be prepared. Consider this familiar passage on spiritual warfare. Notice that this passage is about how to “STAND”. Why do we need to know how to stand? Because in today’s world, standing for truth can have its dangers. You might not be executed if you are fortunate enough to live in the West. But you could lose your job, your friends, or be outright hated and persecuted.
“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
Our battle is not against people. It’s against the devil and his demonic forces. Our only weapon is the Word of God, the Truth. But to stand against the devil’s schemes, we have been given “the armor of God”. Our faith (trust in God and His might) is our Shield.
Ultimately, spiritual warfare is not about a technique to battle demons. It is proclaiming God’s Word in a world under Satanic deception to a people who walk in darkness.
“I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” Jesus (John 8:12 NIV)
In His Love, Cindy
Would you like to learn more about Jesus? See my page Who Is Jesus?
Pray for Israel
RealChristianWomen.blog
Friday’s Verse, 4/26/24
“We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.” 2 Chronicles 20:12 NIV Read full chapter
When faced with a vast enemy attack, Jehoshaphat cried out to God. Read this amazing story about trusting the Lord when YOU don’t know what to do.
In His Love, Cindy
Do you want to know more about Jesus? See my page Who Is Jesus?
Pray for Israel
Photo by Denys Nevozhai on Unsplash
RealChristianWomen.blog
Verse for Meditation, 4/25/24
“When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified, and exclaimed, “Surely he was the Son of God!” Matthew 27:54 NIV (emphasis mine)
My thoughts: Can you imagine? They were terrified because they realized what they had done: crucified the Son of God!
In His Love, Cindy
Do you want to know more about Jesus? See my page Who Is Jesus?
Pray for Israel
Photo by Alicia Quan on Unsplash
RealChristianWomen.blog
Quote of the Week, 4/24/24
Nobody can take away from you those texts from the Bible which you have learned by heart.
Corrie ten Boom
My thoughts: I memorized Psalm 23 as a young child and I still remember it. I often quote it as I fall asleep.
In His Love, Cindy
Do you want to know more about Jesus? See my page Who Is Jesus?
Pray for Israel
RealChristianWomen.blog
Monday’s Verse, 4/22/24
“When Simon saw that the Spirit was given at the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money and said, “Give me also this ability so that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.”
Peter answered: “May your money perish with you, because you thought you could buy the gift of God with money! You have no part or share in this ministry, because your heart is not right before God. Repent of this wickedness and pray to the Lord in the hope that he may forgive you for having such a thought in your heart.” Acts 8:18-22 NIV Read full chapter
In His Love, Cindy
Do you want to know more about Jesus? See my page Who Is Jesus?
Pray for Israel
RealChristianWomen.blog
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