FOLLOWERS

In scripture the people of God are often referred to as sheep. You may, or may not know, that sheep are known as followers, not only of their shepherd, but of one another too. I recently read a story of a complete flock of sheep that followed each other one by one over a cliff to their doom! It seems incredible but true that this could happen, but such is the danger of blindly following the flock, or crowd without checking out carefully where they are headed! We see something like that happening in the recent so-called "healing revival" in Lakeland Florida, led by Todd Bentley. Thousands of charismatic Christians are following this man, who has some questionable doctrines and unscriptural beliefs, simply it would seem, because of their hunger for a move of God. The fact that they have seen miracles and other signs and wonders are no guarantee that this is a "real" move of God! Read the words of Jesus as recorded in (Matt 24:24-25), for a warning about such things happening.

Becoming a follower of Jesus today, in this age of deception that we are called to live in, is the only safe place to abide. And the closer we follow Him the better! Thank God He has given us His written Word, the Holy Scriptures, to guide us and warn us of the possible danger of being deceived. The warning from Paul in (2 Thess 2:9-10) is about a future appearance of "the man of lawlessness", otherwise known as the "Antichrist", who will deceive many people who do not believe in, and love the truth. Notice that he too will be able to do many "counterfeit signs and wonders" to deceive many believers. Remember Jesus declared "I am the way, the truth, and the life" (John 14:6). He is the "Living Word" of truth, who is being represented today by the person of the Holy Spirit, who indwells all true believers.He always lines up perfectly with the "Written Word", so we have at our disposal a means of checking out any supernatural event, to make sure it is real, and not counterfeit.

Based on what I have seen on video clips of Todd's ministry, and read from his teaching about angels and visits to the third heaven, and communicating with the dead, etc. I would have to consider him a "questionable", if not a false prophet. I realize that many sincere christian friends have been down to Lakeland, and I haven't, and their opinion on the ministry there is quite different from mine, but until I see more fruit from the ministry of Todd Bentley, and the evidence of changes in his life and hear him repent of the unscriptural beliefs he has been teaching, my opinion stands. Check it out for yourself!

Sincerely submitted

Gramp

THE TWO ADAMS

The scriptures clearly identify two separate persons named Adam. It simply calls them the "first Adam" and the "last Adam" (1 Cor 15:45)! I like the way the Holy Spirit can state a profound truth in very few words. This passage given to by Paul the apostle, is a perfect example of that. A companion passage penned by the same author is found in the fifth chapter of his letter to the Roman church. (Rom 5:12-17). Let us briefly compare these two Adams, using these scriptures as our starting point.

The "first Adam" ---We need to go back to (Gen 1:26) to read about God's intention to create this first Adam, and then go to (Gen 2:7) to find out how He did it. The result was Adam, the first member of the "human race" on planet earth. We can pick up from there and follow Paul's description of this first Adam as the "natural body", or we might say "earth suit", designed especially for life on planet earth! In (Psa 139:13-16) we read about how wonderfully we were fashioned in our mother's womb, before we ever saw the light of day. So much for the so-called "theory of evolution" that many people have been led to believe. Right? One of the many deceptions of Satan that have been presented to the world as if it were scientific truth, and by which they would try to explain our origin, and disprove the Bible. Paul says that "first comes the natural body, then the spiritual body comes later" (1 Cor 15:46). We know from reading (Rom 5:12) that sin and death came into the human race through this first Adam. Since he was the first human being, we might say he was the "fountain head" of the human race. Every river or stream has a source that is often referred to as being its fountain head, and helps to determine whether the water from that source is good or bad. We know that our first Adam polluted the human race with his original sin, which was disobedience to the direct command of God. This sinful nature of Adam has been passed down through every generation to us, so that we were all born as natural sinners. No matter how angelic and perfect that new born baby might seem to be, we know that before long his or her true sinful nature will come forth!

The "last Adam"---The NLT states in (1 Cor 15:45) "The scriptures tell us the first man, Adam, became a living person. But the last Adam--that is, Christ--is a life giving Spirit". Notice the difference between the first Adam who "became a living person", and the last Adam who "is a life giving Spirit"! Jesus Christ always existed as God (John 1:1-5)! This is the most important truth in the world, that Satan has tried so hard to keep us ignorant of, by inventing and promoting many false doctrines and cults. This is becoming more clear as we approach the "last days" spoken of in scripture. Every false religion or christian cult in the world fails to grasp this fact that Jesus is God, along with the Father, and the Holy Spirit. God is a "Trinity", one God who has chosen to show Himself to us humans in three different ways, so we might better understand Him! Not as three Gods, but one and only one "Supreme Being"! With our finite minds this truth is impossible to understand by human reasoning, so we need to exercise faith He makes available to us. ( Heb 11:6). Jesus always existed as God, not an angel, not a prophet or a good teacher, as some would try to tell us, but as God who allowed Himself to be "incarnated" as a human baby in Mary's womb, in order to become our "Emmanuel" (God with us). Try meditating on scriptures like (Phil 2:5-11), or (Col 1:11-20) and ask the Holy Spirit to bring illumination to you on this truth! God who loves us so much (John 3:16), wants to reveal Himself to us through His Word, by the power of His Holy Spirit! Why not take time right now to allow Him to do just that, if you haven't already?

Sincerely submitted.

Gramp

CHANGE

Did you ever think what a perfect world this would be if everyone were just like you, and always did what you wanted done? That would require some major changes, right? And chances are these changes would need to start with you. Read (Luke 6:41-45) to see what Jesus had to say about this. Often we want to help the other person change, to improve our relationship, when all the while the "plank" is in our eye, and the "speck" is in theirs.

Basically we are all selfish creatures, and find it hard to put the needs or desires of another person before our own. We need to take an honest look at our own life, and see how Christlike we have become since coming into God's family. Paul tells us in (2 Cor 5:17) that when we receive Jesus as Savior " This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone: a new life has begun." This new life should become more and more Christlike as we mature in our walk with Him. Right?

This spiritual maturity doesn't come over night, it requires discipleship training very similar to training up a child to become a mature responsible adult. We don't go from Kindergarten to University without spending 12 years in primary, middle, and high school grades. And we only pass from one grade to the next if we pass our exams, right? Why should we think it is any different in the school of the Spirit? It would seem from what I have observed in some 40+ years as a believer in Jesus, that some people try to skip some grades. (Heb 5:11-14) covers this problem quite well, and tells why people are still immature, although they may have been Christians for many years. Peter also has a good word that applies to this problem in (2Peter 1:3-11). Here he gives a picture of how spiritual maturity comes about in our lives, to prepare us for our place in the "Kingdom of God".

Sincerely submitted.

Gramp

NOTHING BETWEEN

"Nothing between, like worldly pleasure:

Habits of life, though harmless they seem,

Must not my heart from Him ever sever--

He is my all! There's nothing between."---Tindley

If we are a follower of Jesus, this is the only way we can live a victorious Christian life that will please our heavenly Father. We are now a child of God, and a member of His earthly family. This decision we have made to follow Jesus, has angered our enemy and former master, Satan, who is the avowed enemy of God, and hates Him and everyone or anything connected to His Kingdom! We can be sure Satan will do everything within his power to destroy our new found relationship with God. The first letter of John is a good place to review our position as a follower of Jesus. John exhorts his readers to "walk in the light", with God and fellow believers, to "confess our sins", to "love one another", and to "love not this world nor the things it offers you", among other various commandments. Let us just consider two things that the author of this poem mentions.

The first thing mentioned is "worldly pleasures", which can cover a wide range of activities that often attract the attention of believers. The scriptures have much to say about our relationship with the "world". Two scriptures that speak clearly to this issue are (James 4:4) "---I say it again if you want to be a friend of the world, you make yourself an enemy of God"! We can't possibly be both at the same time! Remember Jesus said "No one can serve two masters----" (Matt 6:24). Today we see many people trying to do this impossible task, either because of ignorance of God's Word, or else just plain rebellion! The other scripture is (1 John 2:15-17), both give a very clear message "love not the world"!

The other thing mentioned is "habits of life, though harmless they seem". We all struggle with habits of one form or another. Some are undoubtedly worse than others, but all are hard to break! Right? Some we consider to be quite "harmless", as the poem says, but are they really? Anything, no matter how harmless we may consider it to be, can come between us and Jesus. The Bible calls these things "Idols", and we are told to flee from them! (1 Cor 10:14) Let us obey God's Word today!

Sincerely submitted.

Gramp

NO CONDEMNATION

These words, taken from Rom 8:1 should resound in our ears like the words “you are pardoned” must sound to a prisoner on “death row” in prison who has just received the word that at the last minute the Governor has granted him a full pardon! Paul begins this chapter with the words “There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus”. Every one of these words is important, and we need to look at each one carefully, if we are to really understand the full meaning that Paul had in mind.

Whenever we see the word “therefore”, we need to look back a few verses to find out why this word is used. In this case the reference is to the last two verses of the previous chapter. Here we see that Paul asked a question, and then answered it. This set the stage for this profound and awesome statement, “there is therefore now no condemnation”. Notice the little word “now”, this means right now, in our present situation, as long as we are “in Christ Jesus”. Paul uses this same phrase in (2 Cor 5:17) “Therefore if any man (woman, boy or girl) be in Christ he is a new creation----“. In this case he is referring back to verse 14 “if one died for all, then all died”. This is certainly the theme that Paul has been dwelling on in chapters 6 and 7, and wants to reinforce here in chapter 8. This brings us to the words “no condemnation” which we will explore now in a little more detail.

Who among us has never felt “condemned” at one time or another? Usually it is our guilty conscience that will condemn us for some wrong thought, or action! Even after we have been forgiven by God, when we repent of our many sins and receive Jesus as our personal Savior, we often still feel condemned. This is because we have an enemy called Satan, sometimes referred to as the “accuser of the brethren”. Not only is he the one who tempts us to do wrong, but then makes us feel condemned when we yield to his temptation. We have learned from our study of Rom 6 and 7 that our old sinful Adamic nature that we were born with, died with Christ on the cross. However we all have what Paul refers to as our “flesh”, that part of us that wants to protect “self”, and fights against the Spirit who now dwells in all believers. The Holy Spirit will “convict”, but never “condemn” us when we do something wrong! Condemnation always comes from our enemy. We need to learn to distinguish between his condemning voice, and the affirming still small voice of the Spirit of God! This is part of the process of “sanctification” that comes with maturity in our walk with the Lord daily! There is no shortcut, or easy way that I know of, thank God that (1 John 1:9) is still in the Book! Use it every time we fall into the enemy's trap of condemnation.

Sincerely submitted.

Gramp

THE DANGER OF DECEPTION

We have seen various moves or "revivals" in church circles in recent years that many people have claimed were a genuine work of God, by His Holy Spirit, while other people have considered them to be false, and not powered by the Holy Spirit at all! We need to have a close look at any of these moves, and make sure they line up with the Word of God before we become involved. We know from scripture that we have an enemy called Satan, who was once an archangel named "Lucifer", who rebelled against God, and wanted to take over His place ruling the universe. We can read about this in (Isa 14:12-17), and (Ezek 28:12-19). We see that God banished him from Heaven, but apparently allowed him to make his headquarters in the "heavenly places" referred to by Paul in (Eph 6:12). Satan hates God and all He stands for, so naturally he hates the True Church that is the Body of Christ on earth at this time. History shows us that every time God initiates a true "move of the Holy Spirit" in His Church, then Satan will try to counter it with a "false" or counterfeit move, empowered by his spirits of darkness. We are warned about this possibility by scriptures such as (Matt 24:4,5,11), or (2 Cor 11:12-15), and probably the strongest warning against deception is given by Paul in (2 Thess 2:9-12). This last scripture makes it clear that we must know, and love the "Truth" if we expect to be safe from deception by the "man of lawlessness"!

We know that Jesus is "the way, the truth and the life", (John 14:6) and the man of lawlessness is none other than the Antichrist, or the incarnation of Satan during the time of the "great tribulation" just before Jesus returns to destroy him, and put an end to his persecution of the church. (Matt 24:21-31). We have nothing to fear in these perilous times ahead if we know Jesus as our personal Savior, and stay close to Him. The Holy Spirit was given to us when we repented of our sins, and received Jesus as Savior, and part of His job is to make Jesus real to us by the power of His presence in our lives! Beware of the false "signs and wonders" that often accompany these so-called revivals. Remember the warning given by Jesus in (Matt 24:24) "For false messiahs and false prophets will rise up and perform great signs and wonders so as to deceive, if possible, even God's chosen ones". For this reason we who know Jesus must be on guard against this type of any false "so-called" revivals, and warn others to carefully check out the background, or "track record" of those involved in promoting these revivals. Remember miracles, and signs and wonders, can come from more than one source! Jesus tells us in (Matt 7:15-20) how to distinguish between the true and the false prophets by checking the fruit in their lives!

Sincerely submitted.

Gramp