Insidious Deception

Insidious Deception by John Bevere

I want to show you the most insidious deception that is leading Christians into idolatry—even right now.

To do that, I want you to think of the story of the golden calf at Mount Sinai. If you remember, God had just saved Israel from Egypt through many powerful miracles and had led them through the wilderness to Mount Sinai. He spoke His commands to them, but they all shrank back and insisted that Moses go up the mountain to talk to God alone.

While Moses is gone, the people lost patience. They went to Moses's brother, Aaron, and demanded that he make them gods to lead them into the Promised Land. Now, the word they used for "gods" is Elohim, which is used in the Old Testament to refer to both pagan gods and the true God, so we don't really know who they are talking about yet.

Aaron bows to their demands, fashions a golden statue of a calf, and they said, "...This is your god, O Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt" (Exodus 32:4). We still don't know which God they're talking about, but Aaron makes it clear right away.

He says, "...Tomorrow will be a feast to the Lord" (Exodus 32:5). Now when it says, "Lord," what's written there is the name, "Yahweh," the name of God. Now we know who they are talking about.

Here's what's going on: They are declaring, "Yahweh is our God. Yahweh saved us from Egypt. Yahweh is our Lord," yet they are worshiping an idol. We must see this warning, because if they could have all the right declarations while still worshiping an idol, we can too.

In fact, many Christians do this every day. They declare, "Jesus is Lord," but they don't follow Jesus.

Just as Israel said they worshiped Yahweh, but followed their desires instead of God's declared will, many Christians pick and choose which passages of Scripture they want to follow and ignore the rest that challenge them.

This is creating a knockoff Jesus—an idol. It is not worshipping Jesus in truth.

The question we must ask is, how can we know we are worshiping the true Jesus, not a knockoff Jesus?

The answer to that important question lies in the fact of who is glorified in our worship, and who is glorified in our lives. We cannot worship Jesus and exalt ourselves.

Who do you lift up in your life? Is it yourself? Is it your children? Is it your wealth? Is it your influence over other people? Is it your desire for the future?

Or is it your SAVIOR and LORD, JESUS CHRIST?

Scripture Reading: Exodus 32:1–10

Weekend Blessings

As the first weekend of December unfolds, may the awe and wonder of the CHRISTMAS SEASON overflow you with a sense of HIS nearness as you prepare to celebrate the INCARNATION.

The actual date of the birth of CHRIST can be debated and disputed, but the wonder of its impact upon the world is beyond argument ...but only as each heart receives HIM to himself.

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2. *❅.•*˚✻🎄🌻.• * ˚⛄.❅~May you have an Amazing day~ full of Peace, Hope, Love and Blessings~.⛄•*˚❅.🌻✻🌻•*˚•.༺.•𝓔𝓋𝒶 ღ•༺•✻🌻•*˚❆*❅.•*˚✻🌻🎄🌻.• * ˚⛄.❅
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Thoughts on Isaiah 40:28-31

Thoughts on Isaiah 40:28-31 by John W. Ritenbaugh

"Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the LORD, The Creator of the ends of the earth, Neither faints nor is weary. His understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the weak, And to those who have no might He increases strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary,

And the young men shall utterly fall, But those who wait on the LORD Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint."

God is the source of strength, power, and refreshment. They all come from our relationship with God within the proper keeping of the Sabbath day. He gives it to us as a gift of His grace. Through the rest provided, He restores our energy.

He gives us the power to overcome and to grow.

He gives us peace of mind so that we are truly rested.

He helps us to recover our strength.

He enables us to live confident, hope-filled lives.

He gives us good health and sound minds.

"The Lord gives His beloved sleep" (Psalm 172:2).

He gives us strength-restoring sleep. All of these things are gifts of grace from time well-spent in fellowship with Him, developing the relationship with Him and communicating with Him in Bible study and prayer.

We tend to look at the Sabbath day as "things that we cannot do" rather than "things we can do" -- truly liberating things we cannot devote time to do on the other six days of the week.

Let us be mindful of His claim to 1/7th of our time. Let us use it to our refreshing and to His glory. Let us devote a portion of each day to Bible reading and study and to prayer.

Is 1/7th of our time really enough when the Word tells us to "give ourselves to prayer"? Perhaps as we begin with a fraction of our day spent in prayer, we will find that HE indeed, "inhabits the praise of His people."

That time of abiding in His nearness will be so precious that we will want to expand it, and in the sweetness of His presence, we will want to continually abide.

Delusional

Delusional by Bill Wilson

If you are delusional, raise your hand!

Just finished reading a story about Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) delaying tax reform because he can't get enough votes. Same old story with him. Remember the last big vote was repeal of socialist healthcare and he couldn't hold his own Republicans together to vote to end something they all promised to end. We have had over a decade of a do-nothing Congress.

The previous president remedied the situation with executive orders. The current president is working around Congress through administrative actions and executive orders. Congress, which is supposed to be the check and balance on the President and the Supreme Court, is more of "send me a check to keep my balance."

 

Republican or Democrat, Congress seems to be the weak link in every year's government. Inaction has resulted in turning the presidency into a near-dictatorship, where the enforcement of laws is selective and the power of law has become vested in agencies, administrative law that enforces an agenda.

During the previous administration, Congress was a non-factor in budgeting (against its Constitutional duty) as well as the check on a president that refused to enforce many laws that Congress passed. Today, Congress generally prefers globalism to the "put America first" agenda of the president, and has acted accordingly-which is essentially no action.

 

Some people want to fix this situation with term limits. In reality, every election for a representative or senator is a term limit. So those who want term limits are trying to fix another problem with a legal solution.

That problem is delusion among citizens. The definition of delusion is the holding of beliefs that are contradictory to evidence or reality. Many people complain about "Congress," but when election time rolls around, they continue to reelect their congressman. They believe it's everybody else's congressman that is the problem-not theirs. This is widely confirmed by polls. Citizens give Congress extremely poor marks, but their own congressman gets high marks. Meantime, the country declines.

 

The same sad commentary could be said of the church in America. There are many complaints about bad doctrine; seeker sensitive light-weight church; self indulgent, extra-biblical and emotional teaching; a lack of making disciples; and just plain nonsense that is driving our youth and others away from Christianity.

Yet, when it comes down to it, people think their pastor is doing a great job.  How many times have you heard, "Well, I don't think he is teaching the Bible as it should be taught, but he's a really nice guy"?

Good citizenship in country and in the kingdom of God requires responsibility, and responsibility requires action.

Jesus said in Matthew 24:4, "Take heed that no man deceive you."

Delusion is self-inflicted deception. Recognize it and act on it.

I Need Christ

I NEED CHRIST, NOT SOMETHING THAT RESEMBLES HIM.  C. S. Lewis

The Beginning of Advent

The Beginning of Advent by Dr. D. James Kennedy

“Listen, you will conceive in your womb and bear a Son and shall call His name JESUS.” Luke 1:31

The church calendar begins the first Sunday of December, which marks the beginning of the Advent season. Advent comes from Latin and simply means “coming.” Jesus came into the world the first time that first Christmas some 2000 years ago.

We remember that the entire Advent season climaxes on December 25, when the Western church (Protestant and Catholic) celebrate His birth.

The Eastern church (Orthodox, Coptic, etc.) celebrate His birth on January 6, along with the coming of the wise men.

A church council to reconcile these two dates came up with the notion of the 12 Days of Christmas. Regardless of the particular day celebrated, what counts is that we remember Christ’s coming into the world. In one sense, we could celebrate Christmas every day of the year because every day we should celebrate the salvation the Savior has brought to us.

Advent and the whole Christmas season is marked by light. Lots of lights. Why is that?

Because suddenly into the darkness of the world of woe there shone a great light, as the Son of God first manifested His light and His glory.

Incredible!

Jesus is the Light of the World, and wherever He has gone He has brought His light. He has enlightened the minds of countless millions of people. The Bible tells us that God is light, and Jesus is God the Son, so He brought that light of heaven with Him into this world.

Lord Jesus, Light of the World, shine in our darkness. Help us this Advent season to prepare properly for Your coming again. Renew our hearts with Your light and peace.

BY GOD’S STRENGTH, WE CAN SHINE HIS LIGHT IN THIS DARK WORLD.

Today in History

Today in History

1862

Lincoln’s State of the Union Address

On this day in 1862, President Abraham Lincoln addressed the U.S. Congress and spoke some of his most memorable words as he discussed the Northern war effort.

Lincoln used the address to present a moderate message concerning his policy towards slavery. Just ten weeks before, he had issued his Emancipation Proclamation, which declared that slaves in territories still in rebellion as of January 1, 1863, would be free. The measure was not welcomed by everyone in the North–it met with considerable resistance from conservative Democrats who did not want to fight a war to free slaves.

The November 1862 elections were widely interpreted as a condemnation of the emancipation plan. The Democrats won the New York governorship and 34 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives, though the Republicans gained five Senate seats and maintained control of most state legislatures.

Lincoln used the State of the Union address to present a more moderate position on emancipation. He mentioned gradual, compensated emancipation of slaves, which many moderates and conservatives desired, but he also asserted that the slaves liberated thus far by Union armies would remain forever free.

Lincoln’s closing paragraph was a statement on the trials of the time:

“The dogmas of the quiet past are inadequate to the stormy present…fellow citizens, we cannot escape history…The fiery trial through which we pass will light us down, in honor or dishonor, to the latest generation. We say we are for the Union. The world will not forget that we say this. We know how to save the Union…In giving freedom to the slave, we ensure freedom to the free–honorable alike in what we give, and what we preserve. We shall nobly save, or meanly lose, the last, best hope of earth.”