2 PETER - Hear Ye! Hear Ye!

Remember that old game called, "Telephone"?

Where everyone sat in a circle, and one person would whisper a sentence into the next person’s ear…

"The dog buried a bone in the dirt."

And then, one by one, each person passed on the sentence they heard to the next person. Until by the time it reached the last person – who said the sentence out loud – it wasn’t quite the same message.

"The hog married a scone in a skirt."

Everyone laughed at how garbled things got as they were passed along incorrectly. In this case, there’s no harm (unless, perhaps, you’re the hog, now married to a tasty biscuit!!).

But other times, changing the message can be very dangerous.

Today’s "Bible Pick ‘Ems" demonstrates this:

"I am warning you ahead of time, dear friends. Be on guard so that you will not be carried away by the errors of these wicked people and lose your own secure footing. Rather, you must grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ." (2 Peter 3:17-18a)

A little background to provide some context for Peter’s stern admonition.

By the time Peter was writing these words, Paul’s letters had already garnered a widespread reputation. In previous verses, Peter attests to the fact that Paul’s letters were written "with the wisdom God gave him." Peter spoke of Paul’s writings as if they were on a level with "other parts of Scripture." (Verses 15 and 16)

Already the early church was thinking of Paul’s letters as authentic, inspired, reliable – the very word of God Himself.

Consequently, this meant that they spoke truth – God’s truth.

However, people had begun to stir up dissension. They were distorting the message of God as given through these two great men.

Peter and Paul had lived very different lives. They had come from very different backgrounds. Peter had been a humble fisherman. Paul had held a high position in the Jewish religious sect known as the Pharisees.

They had very different personalities, and they preached from different viewpoints.

Paul emphasized salvation by grace, not law, while Peter preferred to talk about Christian life and service. Because the Holy Spirit was with them, they did not contradict each other – and they had always held each other in high esteem.

But the devil has a way of putting wolves in among the sheep.

And false teachers were around in abundance in the days of the early church. They were intentionally using Paul’s writings to condone lawlessness. No doubt this made these teachers very popular. Have you ever noticed how people like to have their favorite sins justified?

So, Peter is issuing a warning here.

And giving some practical guidelines about how to avoid falling into the seductive pathways of distorted truth.

Be on guard – always be looking out for false teaching. Like a sentry, be constantly aware of incoming threats.

Do not be carried away – keep your emotions in check. Feelings can often deceive us. God tells us not to trust our hearts – they are deceptive.

Recognize errors – use the Word of God as the yardstick. If something doesn’t agree with Scripture, it’s not truth.

Don’t lose your secure footing – hold on steadfastly to what you have been taught. Ask the Holy Spirit for power to stand firm.

Peter concludes by urging his readers to grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord. He is compelling them to get to know Jesus better and better. This is the best way to discern false teaching.

The better we know Jesus, the less attractive false teaching will be – and we’ll learn to recognize it a lot sooner.

No matter where we are in our spiritual journey, no matter how mature we may be in our faith, there will always be people who are willing and eager to spread untruth. We have enemies, spiritual enemies, who actively work against us.

Every day we need to draw closer to Christ.

We need to explore and know God’s Word.

We must be prepared to stand for truth in any and all circumstances!

Hang up the "telephone" of false teaching – and pick up the Bible. The message remains the same…

We just need to hear it correctly.

(Today I'm linked up with Spiritual Sundays, hosted by Charlotte and Ginger)

"When in doubt, search God out."

PHILIPPIANS - The Season of Discontent

‘Tis the season to be buying…

Oh wait, that’s not how it’s supposed to go!

But isn’t that what happens?

We get overwhelmed with the media blitz that programs our willing little minds with the mantra, “Shop, shop, shop…”

Our church is doing a message series between Thanksgiving and Christmas called, “Consumed.”

It's a thought-provoking word. What consumes us?

I looked up the definition for the word “consume.” This is what it says:

“To spend wastefully; squander; use up; waste or burn away; perish.”

I’m not pointing fingers here! I’ve been a recovering “shopaholic” my whole life. It’s difficult not to WANT MORE. It’s even more difficult when you have the financial means to get more. And even when you don’t, there’s credit.

Oh yes, the urge to acquire is powerful.

But where does it come from?

Our pastor testifies that it started in the beginning. In a perfect place where EVERY need was provided by a loving and attentive God.

And that’s when “THE LIE” came –

The devil placed a niggling worm of doubt in the mind of Eve.

“Psst. God is withholding something from you – something GOOD.”

Oh, that wily serpent. He implied that God was strict, stingy, and selfish. He got Eve to forget all that God had given her.

He moved Eve from a heart of gratitude to a mind of discontent.

He does the same thing to us. He gets us to focus on the ONE thing we DON’T have. And then, the seed begins to grow. We get “consumed” with what we think is “missing” from our lives – the one thing we “have” to have.

Discontent grows into resentment. And unchecked resentment grows into anger. And unchecked anger grows into bitterness.

We forget to be thankful. We allow gratitude to die.

How do we fight against this insidious attitude?

We battle with the truth!

God is good.

Life is dependence on God.

All life is a gift from Him.

That’s how we break the confusion. We dedicate ourselves to gratitude. We learn to cultivate contentment.

Today’s “Bible Pick ‘Ems” completely enhances this valuable lesson. Listen to the words of Paul:

“…for I have learned how to be content with whatever I have. I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret to living in every situation…For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.” (Philippians 4:12-13)

Paul looked at life from GOD’S perspective.

He focused on what he was supposed to DO, not on what he felt he should HAVE.

We can learn some powerful lessons from Paul:

1) Set our priorities straight.

2) Be grateful for everything God has given us.

3) Detach ourselves from the nonessentials.

4) Concentrate on the eternal.

5) Fill up that “empty” place in our hearts with God – not with things.

Here’s how our pastor summed it up – Want what you have, and don’t want more.

Contentment is found right HERE – right where you are. It is a discipline of mind, and a surrender of heart.

It is rejecting society’s message to consume. It is resisting the urge to accumulate. It is refusing to fill empty places in our hearts with “stuff.”

It is renouncing the enemy’s lie.

It is claiming God’s goodness, and living like we believe it – single-mindedly, wholeheartedly.

The other definition for “consumed” is this: to be engaged fully, to be engrossed, held firmly, completely occupied!

Let GOD consume you…

“Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.” (1 Thessalonians 5:18)

“When in doubt, search God out!”

1 TIMOTHY - Clear Conscience

I remember summers when I was growing up –

Swimming, bodysurfing, reading, playing the radio, and…

…getting a tan!

Yup, not “politically correct” to say that, in these days of SPF 50 and skin cancer scares.

But, it’s true – I was a real “sun worshiper!”

That first day in the sun usually meant a sunburn – ouch! Bring out the Noxema cream or SeaBreeze – the only two things that seemed to take out the sting!

Did that keep me from going out in the sun the next day? NOPE!

And before I knew it, that sunburn didn’t hurt so much. As my skin got tougher, it didn’t notice the effects of the sun. I could sit in the sun for longer and longer periods of time – without the burn. I got USED to it.

Unfortunately, it can be the same way with our conscience.

Today’s “Bible Pick ‘Ems” speaks to this:

“Cling to your faith in Christ, and keep your conscience clear. For some people have deliberately violated their consciences; as a result, their faith has been shipwrecked.” (1 Timothy 1:19)

I’ve learned this lesson the hard way a few times in my life, I’m sorry to say.

At first, doing something wrong really makes you feel bad. Guilt tears at your heart, and you feel remorse. Like that first day of sunburn. It hurts…

But, if you choose to IGNORE that feeling, (if you go out in the sun again, so to speak) – your conscience begins to harden. Just a little bit. And before you know it, your conscience doesn’t feel the sting of your sin as much. Then it doesn’t feel it at all.

Each time we deliberately ignore our conscience, we are hardening our hearts. Over time, we will lose our capacity to tell right from wrong. We will choose to do the sinful thing intentionally, and we will not feel bad…

But Paul reminds us of a terrible truth – if we do this, we will shipwreck our faith.

Paul knew something about shipwrecks. He experienced them more than once.

When I think of shipwrecks, I think of the Titanic. A huge, beautiful, unsinkable ship. And yet, a glancing blow off an iceberg sank it. Something that seemed small and inconsequential, started an inevitable chain of events that led to disaster.

There are no such things as “small” sins. The “little ones” are the dangerous ones. I am reminded of this phrase from Scripture – “the little foxes that ruin the vineyards.” We must be on guard – we must CLING to our faith like a life preserver – because IT IS a life preserver, in every sense of the word.

How can you keep your conscience clear?

Treasure your faith in Christ more than anything else. Do what is right.

As you walk with God, He will speak to you through your conscience. He will give you His wisdom – He will show you what is right and wrong.

Act on those inner tugs…

Stay out of the "sun" – and remain in the SON!!

"When in doubt, search God out!"