Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” John 8:31-32
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.
Photo by wisconsinpictures on Unsplash
RealChristianWomen.blog
“The probability of life originating from accident is comparable to the probability of the Unabridged Dictionary resulting from an explosion in a printing factory.”
Edwin Conklin
In His Love, Cindy
Do you want to know more about Jesus? See my page Who Is Jesus?
Photo by Hendrik Cornelissen on Unsplash
RealChristianWomen.blog
God calls His children to study, understand and defend the truth because the truth does matter to God. Faith, in and of itself, is not what God is looking for. It’s not enough to be sincere or intense. Faith, in and of itself, has no magic power. It’s a faithful, reasonable trust in the truth that matters to God. Trust placed in the correct and true God of the universe is what matters to God. That’s why God is so particular about truth and calls us to have an accurate understanding of who He is. And that’s why God has called us to treat heresy very seriously.
J. Warner Wallace
This quote was taken from the article, How Should Christians Respond to Heresy?
In His Love, Cindy
Do you want to know more about Jesus? See my page Who Is Jesus?
Photo by Sixteen Miles Out on Unsplash
RealChristianWomen.blog
“I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth. 3 John 4 NIV Read full chapter (emphasis mine)
In His Love, Cindy
Do you want to know more about Jesus? See my page Who Is Jesus?
Photo by Joshua Sortino on Unsplash
RealChristianWomen.blog
When you listen to a Bible teacher, do you ask yourself, “Is this taught in the Bible?” Or is this someone’s insight or opinion? There is a lot of “Bible teaching” that is not based on Scripture but based on the individual’s own learning and insights. Ask yourself, “Where did they learn this? Who do they learn from?”
Sometimes you can learn a lot from researching who they follow. You may discover that this “Bible teacher” is learning from some unbiblical sources. You would be surprised how many well-known “Bible teachers” subscribe to New Age thought. This is very dangerous.
One such teaching is “Listening Prayer”. GotQuestions.org has an excellent article on this topic. I urge you to read it. What is Listening Prayer?
Another great source to learn more about this topic and where it came from is the video Wide Is The Gate 2 (5 of 5) The Emerging New Christianity: The Contemplative Mystical Movement. Watch it here.
You can learn more about Caryl Matrisclana and Wide Is the Gate at Bruce Cooper’s excellent blog, Reasoned Cases for Christ here.
Jesus prayed to the Father for us,
“Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.” John 17:17 NIV
He taught us how to pray,
“Pray, then, in this way:
‘Our Father, who is in heaven,
Hallowed be Your name.
Your kingdom come.
Your will be done,
On earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil.” Matthew 6:9-13 NASB
The Bible, God’s Word, is our only source of Truth. This is how God speaks to His children. Read it every day.
In His Love, Cindy
Do you want to know more about Jesus? See my page Who Is Jesus?
RealChristianWomen.blog
“Sometimes the truth is uncomfortable. The Bible was not written to make us comfortable … the Bible will not tolerate sin and the deceptions of the devil just to make us feel better about ourselves… Leading this charge of deception away from the truth is Satan.”
Amir Tsarfati, The Day Approaching
From Amir Tsarfati’s excellent book, The Day Approaching, An Israeli’s Message of Warning and Hope for the Last Days. You can order it here.
Love, Cindy
Do you want to know more about Jesus? See my page Who Is Jesus?
Photo by Chris Gallimore on Unsplash, Sea of Galilee
RealChristianWomen.blog
Today, Christians sometimes mix New Age practices with their faith in Christ. This is exactly what the Israelites did after their miraculous deliverance from slavery in Egypt.
We can learn a lot from the Scriptures about Moses, Aaron, and the Golden Calf. Aaron’s bull was a mixture of the true God and the pagan methods of worship that were borrowed from the people around them.
“When the people saw that Moses was so long in coming down from the mountain, they gathered around Aaron and said, “Come, make us gods[a] who will go before us. As for this fellow Moses who brought us up out of Egypt, we don’t know what has happened to him.” Exodus 32:1 NIV
The people don’t like waiting, so they demand an idol who will fit their selfish desires. Aaron is pressured into giving the people the kind of god they want.
2 “Aaron answered them, “Take off the gold earrings that your wives, your sons and your daughters are wearing, and bring them to me.” 3 So all the people took off their earrings and brought them to Aaron. 4 He took what they handed him and made it into an idol cast in the shape of a calf, fashioning it with a tool. Then they said, “These are your gods,[b] Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.” Exodus 32:2-4 NIV
5 “When Aaron saw this, he built an altar in front of the calf and announced, “Tomorrow there will be a festival to the Lord.” 6 So the next day the people rose early and sacrificed burnt offerings and presented fellowship offerings. Afterward, they sat down to eat and drink and got up to indulge in revelry.” Exodus 32:5-6 NIV
Aaron calls this idol “the Lord”. Why? Because he isn’t giving them a new god. He is making God fit the image of God they want. This corruption leads to revelry.
“The Hebrew word rendered indulge in revelry … can refer to words that have sexual implications. Here it implies sexual acts done in the worship of pagan gods. Immorality often accompanies idolatry, even today.” David Jeremiah
“Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like a mortal human being and birds and animals and reptiles. Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another.” Romans 1:22-24 NIV
7 “Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go down, because your people, whom you brought up out of Egypt, have become corrupt. 8 They have been quick to turn away from what I commanded them and have made themselves an idol cast in the shape of a calf. They have bowed down to it and sacrificed to it and have said, ‘These are your gods, Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.’” Exodus 32:7-8 NIV
Do we mold God into who we want Him to be, rather than seeking out who He truly is through His Word?
When God’s people create an image of God to fit what they want Him to be, (but still call that image “God”, even “Jesus”), are they worshipping the true Jesus, or a counterfeit Jesus? Paul warned Christians concerning false apostles who would preach about a Jesus who is not the real Jesus of the Bible.
“But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ. 4 For if someone comes to you and preaches a Jesus other than the Jesus we preached, or if you receive a different spirit from the Spirit you received, or a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it easily enough.” 2 Corinthians 11:3-4
“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
Not everything being taught in Christian circles today is “sound doctrine”. There is only one way to recognize false teaching when you hear it, and it is this: You must read and study the Bible for yourself. That means reading the Word of God every day. It means reading the Word of God more than you read books about the Word of God.
When you read a popular Christian author more than you read the Bible, you begin to interpret the Bible through their “lens”. If it is false, it can take years to “unlearn” what you have been taught. On the other hand, if you read and study the Bible for yourself, you will immediately recognize false teaching.
I know this to be true from experience. Having once been deceived myself by the Word of Faith teachers, it took many years for me to recover. Many of the Word of Faith teachings are rooted in New Age beliefs. I could refer you to numerous Bible teachers who can expound on this, but I would rather you recognize false teaching for yourself. That is the most powerful kind of discernment.
When listening to a Bible teacher, do you ever think, “Where is that in the Bible?” or even more importantly, “That’s not what the Bible says!”
Sometimes new Christians, in their excitement of knowing Christ as their Savior, read many books about the Bible. I believe the devil takes advantage of their hunger for God to lead them astray through false, yet entertaining, books that are so widely available today. This is what happened to me.
Lest you think, “I could never be deceived”, think about this:
“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!’” Matthew 7:21-23 NIV
The only real protection against this is to read and study the Bible for yourself, love the Truth, and follow Jesus. Jesus said,
“God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.” John 4:24 NIV (Emphasis mine)
With Love, Cindy
Click this link to learn more about Jesus: Who Is Jesus?
realchristianwomen.blog
Someone I love claims to be an atheist. In our discussions about God, it is obvious to me that he is well-read in pro-atheist apologetics. It is clear where he looks for truth, and it isn’t in the Bible.
I would venture to say that one could find support for just about anything one wants to believe. (I considered listing all the crazy things people believe today, but you probably already know what many of them are.)
What you read and listen to (whether it is true or not) does have a tremendous influence on what you believe. That’s because human beings tend to go along with the crowd. Even science backs this up.
In his article, The Science Behind Why People Follow the Crowd, Henderson says, “One lesson from social psychology is the influence others have on us. Research shows we do not have as much control over our thoughts and behavior as we think.”
Research shows that people are greatly influenced by what those around them think and who they listen to.
But there is only one way to find truth and that is in God’s Word, the Bible. We don’t have to wonder if the beliefs put forth in our culture are true or not. God has given us His Word to teach us.
“Do not deceive yourselves. If any of you think you are wise by the standards of this age, you should become “fools” so that you may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God’s sight.” 1 Corinthians 3:18-19 NIV
I am thankful that God has given us His precious Word. The longer I live, the more I understand how important it is to life and godliness. Have you ever, in your lifetime, seen such rampant deception as we see today?
“The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron.” 1 Timothy 4:1-2 NIV
Reading and studying the Bible is a vital discipline for the follower of Christ. Do you consider yourself a mature Christian? Why? On what do you base your claim? One can only become a mature Christian by studying God’s Word. And that requires discipline. In other words, we have to discipline ourselves to study God’s Word.
The foremost of the disciplines is that involving the Word of God and constitutes the reading, study, memorization, and meditation of Scripture. If this discipline is neglected, no other effort to discipline ourselves will be successful because we simply do not have the power to overcome the resistance of the sin nature in which our new natures reside. Nor do we have the power to overcome the resistance of demonic influences whose aim is always to separate us from the only means of spiritual growth, the Word of God.“
GotQuestions.org (emphasis mine)
In these times, there is a great need for Christians to have discernment. Discernment comes from knowing God’s Word, the Bible. The more we study God’s Word, the more our ability to discern will grow and develop.
Love, Cindy
Do you want to know more about Jesus? See my page Who Is Jesus?
The Science Behind Why People Follow the Crowd, Rob Henderson
Photo by Priscilla Du Preez on Unsplash
RealChristianWomen.blog
Every time that good is called evil and evil called good, truth is a casualty. And as we draw closer ro Christ’s return, the downward spiral will accelerate.”
Steve Miller, FORESHADOWS, 12 Megaclues That Jesus’ Return Is Nearer Than Ever
“Woe to those who call evil good
and good evil,
who put darkness for light
and light for darkness” Isaiah 5:20 NIV
Steve Miller’s book, Foreshadows, is excellent and I highly recommend it. You can order it here.
Love, Cindy
Do you want to know more about Jesus? See my page Who Is Jesus?
Photo by Andras Vas on Unsplash
RealChristianWomen.blog
Have you ever kept silent because what you know to be true isn’t politically correct? Have you ever been out to dinner with friends and something controversial comes up like homosexuality, transgenderism, or abortion? Have you noticed how much influence TV has on what people believe?
As I was reading in the book of John this morning, I was struck by the fact that Pilot refused to do what he knew was right (to release Jesus). It was more important to him to please the crowd who cried, “Crucify Him!”. And so he bent to the pressure.
“Then Pilate took Jesus and had him flogged. 2 The soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head. They clothed him in a purple robe 3 and went up to him again and again, saying, “Hail, king of the Jews!” And they slapped him in the face.
4 Once more Pilate came out and said to the Jews gathered there, “Look, I am bringing him out to you to let you know that I find no basis for a charge against him.” 5 When Jesus came out wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe, Pilate said to them, “Here is the man!”
6 As soon as the chief priests and their officials saw him, they shouted, “Crucify! Crucify!”
But Pilate answered, “You take him and crucify him. As for me, I find no basis for a charge against him.”
7 The Jewish leaders insisted, “We have a law, and according to that law he must die, because he claimed to be the Son of God.”
8 When Pilate heard this, he was even more afraid, 9 and he went back inside the palace. “Where do you come from?” he asked Jesus, but Jesus gave him no answer. 10 “Do you refuse to speak to me?” Pilate said. “Don’t you realize I have power either to free you or to crucify you?”
11 Jesus answered, “You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above. Therefore the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin.”
12 From then on, Pilate tried to set Jesus free, but the Jewish leaders kept shouting, “If you let this man go, you are no friend of Caesar. Anyone who claims to be a king opposes Caesar.”
13 When Pilate heard this, he brought Jesus out and sat down on the judge’s seat at a place known as the Stone Pavement (which in Aramaic is Gabbatha). 14 It was the day of Preparation of the Passover; it was about noon.
“Here is your king,” Pilate said to the Jews.
15 But they shouted, “Take him away! Take him away! Crucify him!”
“Shall I crucify your king?” Pilate asked.
“We have no king but Caesar,” the chief priests answered.
16 Finally Pilate handed him over to them to be crucified.” John 19:1-16 NIV (emphasis mine)
How difficult it can be to do what is right when the pressure of the crowd demands we do otherwise. We can be tough on Pilot for giving in to the crowd, but going against the tide isn’t easy especially when there is a lot at stake.
I believe it is only going to get worse. Our culture is changing faster than we ever dreamed possible. Who will stand up for truth? Who will say, “No! This is not right!”?
Research done by the Cato Institute reported that self-censorship is on the rise in the United States, with 62% of Americans saying the political climate today keeps them from expressing their beliefs. And “77% of conservatives … feel compelled to keep their beliefs to themselves.”*
If we can’t openly speak the truth of God’s Word, truth will be silenced and deception will reign.
“The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons.” 1 Timothy 4:1 NIV
How much easier that will be if truth is silenced. God’s Word is the source of truth.
Love, Cindy
Do you want to know more about Jesus? See my page Who Is Jesus?
*From the book Foreshadows, by Steve Miller
Photo by Valiant Made on Unsplash
RealChristianWomen.blog
