Planted by God or Men?

Then some Pharisees and teachers of the law came to Jesus from Jerusalem and asked, “Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? They don’t wash their hands before they eat!” Jesus replied, “And why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition? For said, ‘Honor your father and mother and “Anyone who curses their father or mother is to be put to death.’ But you say that if anyone declares that what might have been used to help their father or mother is ‘devoted to God,’ they are not to honor their father or mother’ with it. Thus you nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition. You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you: “ ‘These people honor me with their lips but their hearts are far from me. They worship in vain; their teachings are merely human rules.’ “ Jesus called the crowd to him and said, “Listen and understand. What goes into the someone’s mouth does not defile them, but what comes out of their mouth, that is what defiles them.” Then the disciples came to him and asked, “Do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this?” He replied, “Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be pulled up by the roots. Leave them; they are blind guides. If the blind lead the blind, both will both into a pit.” Matthew 15:1-14 NIV

The Word of God speaks loudly and pierces the hearts of all who truly love Him and desire to please Him. And since it does, we are without excuse–we cannot allow the hypocrites to teach us anything when they have learned nothing. We cannot afford to allow the blind to lead us anywhere. 

False teaching will always be exposed along with the false teachers and apparently–there are many.

Yet once again, I find myself propelled to dismantle the false notion being promoted that God chose trump or that Jesus appointed him or that Jesus showed up at the polls and voted trump into office.

The most misused or misquoted segment of scripture people have used to “support their fallacy” has been Romans 13:1,2 without giving heed to the rest of the passage. Now, I believe that Paul spoke with the authority and under the anointing God gave him, but he is not a substitute for Jesus nor is he part of the divinity. Paul was a spokesman–taught under the law, and rose in the Spirit of God to teach truth for the day in which they lived.

God can and will use anyone who is willing to be used by Him. Paul is the greatest example of that we’ll probably ever know–and that’s because of his experience with God on the road to Damascus.

Unless a person has had a “Damascus Road” experience–which fueled their knowledge and desire to please God–they are not true representatives of who God is and anyone who teaches that they are–is a false teacher and hypocrite. 

The truth of what I’m saying will soon be revealed publicly and then I wonder how all those false teachers will feel–those who lied to their congregations–pushing agenda of man’s making and not God’s.

Anyone who is of God–promotes love not hate; peace not war; and understands the command we have to defend the rights of the poor and needy, not the rich and greedy. God never tells us anywhere in His Word that we–mere human beings–are to exercise control over people, but we should promote the Gospel of Jesus Christ–so when they receive Holy Spirit–they are controlled by Him.

I suggest that in the coming days, people who have falsely stated that trump is God’s choice for president, should meditate on God’s Word–not what the false teachers are saying, and hear God. Surely, what God plants is not easily uprooted, but what man plants–is a hit and miss situation. It’s a maybe and we know that because of what nature reveals to us. Some people plant and things grow because of their “green thumbs” and some people plant and things die.

Regardless of the false teaching, I will rely upon God’s Word as I continue to endeavor to serve the nation as its next president. I don’t expect God to vote for me, but I am seeking His direction in all that I do and in the end, only those showing up at polls will determine my fate and the fate of others. Pause–and think about that.

 

 

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Guarding What We Have With Care!

“Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to your care. Turn away from godless chatter and the opposing ideas of what is falsely called knowledge, which some have professed and in so doing have departed from the faith. Grace be with you all.” (1 Timothy 6:20, 21 NIV).

Within the context of the instructions given to Timothy regarding how he was to conduct himself within the church, we find those instructions relevant to everyone who is in leadership, now.

Though many may argue that the bible is “simply a book of myths,” those who know Truth, know better. And as such, we can always go back to the bible–for instructions in our daily living, understanding that what God inspired others to write-no matter when it was written–is still good for us, today.

An interesting conversation occurred yesterday when someone said to me, they didn’t finish reading a certain book years ago because of the book’s doctrine. Since I was familiar with the book, I couldn’t understand the reference, but was able to determine that the person meant, “they didn’t want to be indoctrinated” by what was being disclosed in the book. It struck me when it was said and I responded that perhaps, that’s why many people won’t read the bible–fear of indoctrination to a sound belief system.

I know many could argue why the bible is outdated, but they could not argue that with me. I don’t argue over what’s in the bible because of my relationship with God. I know and understand the bible is a summary of historical events, demonstrating God’s love for mankind from the beginning, and is sound–for the day in which we live. If all understood the context of events noted in the bible and what happened and what was said, when–we’d understand that careful study of where we are today, is depicted in the bible–a history that covers about 3500 hundred years of man’s behavior and God’s response.

We learn how God expects us to honor Him and honor parents as well as one another–still relevant today. We learn how we are conduct ourselves with one another–with integrity. We learn what happens to people who do not honor God and those He has chosen. We learn how we are to respond to those who are different and respect them for who they are. We learn about politics and leadership, taxes, and love relationships–culminating in marriage as part of His plan to see mankind continually perpetuated by new births. We learn how much He loves us through His death on the cross, His resurrection, and His ascension with the promise of His return. We learn how to operate in the gifts and power He has given us through Holy Spirit. We learn to love the unlovable and to pray for our enemies. And everything we learn now, is referenced in the bible–that “book of myths” by which so many have used–to gain wealth and assist others.

All of this–and more–Paul was reminding Timothy of as he started leading a church--to stay the course and guard what he had been taught, never allowing the foolishness of demonic teachings to become part of what he taught others.

Unfortunately, since many do not understand how Holy Spirit operates in our lives, they have succumbed to demonic teaching–all those things that are opposed to God’s plans for mankind–and they think they are teaching truth. They are not teaching God’s Truth and since we have no truth to teach, what is being taught is a lie and we know that Satan is the father of all liars. We cannot allow demonic teachings to keep us from our destination–an eternity with God. 

With all of our getting, we must get wisdom–and true wisdom only comes from above–not below. We must guard the wisdom given from God with great care and allow Him to direct us in all things.