1st John 4:1-3 Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world. Hereby know ye the spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God. And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now, already, is it in the world.
Ah my Friends, today we touch on a very touchy but very important subject in a believer’s life: The Apostle John is warning us about believing stuff we see or hear. He starts out by saying don’t believe everything, or for that matter, anything, without checking to make sure that what you’re hearing or seeing is really from God, because there are numerous false prophets in the world. And that’s a proven fact, especially nowadays, given the great variety of technological tools for easy dissemination of anything. Unfortunately Friends, there are lots of people out there in our busy, greedy, wicked, ungodly world purporting to be bearers of the word, but the stuff they’re teaching is either completely wrong, or slanted and biased to some degree, so they can better achieve whatever goal they have in mind. And we’ve got to be very wary, on guard at all times, since many of them are very glib and convincing, have a way with words, the gift of gab. However, John also tells us how to ferret out the sincere ones from the wicked hypocrites: If the information you’re getting admits that J.C, who came in the flesh is God, then you can pay attention to it, but if it doesn’t, then forget it, leave it alone, it’s part of the antichrist movement that J.C warned would crop up to bedevil us and lead us astray. To John’s warning though, I am adding that you’ve still got to be very careful, because, as mentioned above, some -change that to- a lot of them basically preach the right thing, but with their own personal spin to achieve their own, immoral or evil ends. You hear about it all the time: Pastors abusing both male and female parishioners; Churches collecting funds to do good works, with said funds eventually ending up in the Church leaders pockets or splurged on a jet-set lifestyle. Have you ever noticed that some of these so called bearers of the word are the best dressed people in town; expensive clothes and accessories that don’t seem to gel with the standard of their church? Then there are the recent scams about giving big donations to the church to get even bigger tax breaks, but the church either isn’t aware of such a scheme, or is in cahoots with the crooks and just claims that it is not. Friends, we’ve got to be ever so careful today about what and whom we let into our lives, our hearts and minds. The only real guide that I can suggest is J.C. Set your heart and sights on Him; like the picture I mentioned of Him standing behind the youth on the bridge of the ship, pointing the way, assuring the lad with His left hand on his shoulder. Put your trust in Him. He will lead and guide us on the right path. Much LOVE…plenty care in what we watch, listen to and believe!
Ah my Friends, today we touch on a very touchy but very important subject in a believer’s life: The Apostle John is warning us about believing stuff we see or hear. He starts out by saying don’t believe everything, or for that matter, anything, without checking to make sure that what you’re hearing or seeing is really from God, because there are numerous false prophets in the world. And that’s a proven fact, especially nowadays, given the great variety of technological tools for easy dissemination of anything. Unfortunately Friends, there are lots of people out there in our busy, greedy, wicked, ungodly world purporting to be bearers of the word, but the stuff they’re teaching is either completely wrong, or slanted and biased to some degree, so they can better achieve whatever goal they have in mind. And we’ve got to be very wary, on guard at all times, since many of them are very glib and convincing, have a way with words, the gift of gab. However, John also tells us how to ferret out the sincere ones from the wicked hypocrites: If the information you’re getting admits that J.C, who came in the flesh is God, then you can pay attention to it, but if it doesn’t, then forget it, leave it alone, it’s part of the antichrist movement that J.C warned would crop up to bedevil us and lead us astray. To John’s warning though, I am adding that you’ve still got to be very careful, because, as mentioned above, some -change that to- a lot of them basically preach the right thing, but with their own personal spin to achieve their own, immoral or evil ends. You hear about it all the time: Pastors abusing both male and female parishioners; Churches collecting funds to do good works, with said funds eventually ending up in the Church leaders pockets or splurged on a jet-set lifestyle. Have you ever noticed that some of these so called bearers of the word are the best dressed people in town; expensive clothes and accessories that don’t seem to gel with the standard of their church? Then there are the recent scams about giving big donations to the church to get even bigger tax breaks, but the church either isn’t aware of such a scheme, or is in cahoots with the crooks and just claims that it is not. Friends, we’ve got to be ever so careful today about what and whom we let into our lives, our hearts and minds. The only real guide that I can suggest is J.C. Set your heart and sights on Him; like the picture I mentioned of Him standing behind the youth on the bridge of the ship, pointing the way, assuring the lad with His left hand on his shoulder. Put your trust in Him. He will lead and guide us on the right path. Much LOVE…plenty care in what we watch, listen to and believe!
SCRIP-BITS 