Don’t Be Bewitched
People are so gullible, so easily led astray. Why do you think Jesus refers to Himself as the Good Shepherd and we as His sheep? Sheep aren’t the brightest bulbs in the animal kingdom. Definitely the right analogy there.That was Paul’s problem in his letter to the Galatians, they had been easily led astray or as he put it, “who has bewitched you?” They had allowed themselves to believe Jesus wasn’t enough for salvation but they still needed the law. Why is it so hard for some people to accept God’s love? They think they have to earn it. You can’t earn something that is free, that is given, you can only accept it! God tells us to believe, accept, repent, be baptized, and then, out of gratitude, do good works. Pretty simple, nothing painful, no ten page list of rules and regulations like most home owner associations. Don’t let any church or individual deceive you into thinking you have to do more, you can’t Jesus has already done it all! As always, we can never stress enough, spend your own personal daily time in His word, pray for His wisdom and understanding, and obey what He says. Believing, accepting, repenting, being baptized, and doing good works are all steps of obedience, and that’s what He asks of us. Jesus did the hard part, with a humble heart, accept that!
It’s not always easy being a Christian. If you are a Christian, you are Christ’s ambassador on earth. On earth, an ambassador is the highest ranking diplomatic representative of one country to another. That is a heavy responsibility. People are watching every move you make, how you act, re-act, what comes out of your mouth, but sometimes, you want to say what you’re really thinking or want to do s
Paul’s rebuke of Peter for his hypocritical actions in Antioch toward the Gentile Christians there should be a resounding gong to the Church throughout the ages! We are the Church of Jesus Christ. He is the head of the Church. He died so that all who choose to accept Him would be saved. He died for Africans and Americans, Arabs and Asians, Europeans and Australians. He died for men and women, the righteous, the sinners, He died for you! If anyone acc
Can you imagine what was going through James and Peter’s minds when Paul first came to meet them in Jerusalem? It had been over three years since Paul’s conversion on the road to Damascus, but I’m sure they looked upon him with great apprehension. They could see the man that persecuted Christian’s, dragged them from their homes, threw them into prison, and happily watched as Stephen was stoned, but they couldn’t see his heart. So many children look up to athletes as role models because of their muscular bodies and athletic skill without knowing what’s in their heart. Too many adults blindly follow whatever so called celebrities say because of their beauty and acting talent, not caring what is in their hearts! Aren’t you glad God isn’t that way? He doesn’t care how good you look on the outside, how good your actions and benevolence appears to others, He cares about your heart. Where would we all be if He didn’t? 1 Sam 16:7 says it all. “For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” The last thing the Apostles saw in Paul was a world changing evangelist, but that didn’t matter because God did! What does He see in you?
Freedom is a precious thing, one too many Americans take for granted and too many politicians are playing with. Living in New Hampshire for many years, I readily embraced the state’s motto “Live Free or Die.” It astounds me why that offends some people! The most precious freedom we enjoy is our religious freedom and this one the enemy would love to destroy. As soon as Paul completed his missionary journeys, the enemy sent in false teachers, wolves in sheep’s clothing, trying to confuse and bring the people back into the bondage of the law, the very thing Jesus freed them from. In Jesus we are not bound to follow over 600 burdensome laws. We are told to obey 10 common sense Commandments that are for our own benefit. We are not bound to follow any man-made rites or rituals. We are free to worship with our own hearts, hearts that are surrendered to Him, forgiven by Him, freed by Him. As Jesus nailed them to the cross, we are free from sin, not free to be able to sin, but from the bondage of sin. As always, you can listen to pastors, priests, evangelists, laymen, whoever, but always check the Bible against what they say. God will speak to your heart through His Word and that’s the word counts!
People are always trying to discredit the Gospel, that Jesus isn’t who He said He is, that He is the only way to the Father. It’s nothing new, it started right at the beginning. Look at Paul’s letter defending the Gospel to the Galatians. That’s the enemy’s way though, discredit, deny, defame. Try as he might, he cannot stop the power of the Bible. It may have been penne