He IS Lord, Not A Magician's Assistant

267 - Today's Prime Time Devo comes from 2Ti 3:8,9 “Now as Jannes and Jambres resisted Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, disapproved concerning the faith; 9 but they will progress no further, for their folly will be manifest to all, as theirs also was.” (2 Tim 3:8,9) First question here is, “who are Jannes and Jambres?” Though not named in the Book of Exodus, Jewish writings, and other books of history name these two men as the magicians that sought to duplicate the miracles of Moses and Aaron. They were of the devil and their magic tricks were cheap imitations of the power of God. If you recall, Aaron cast his rod to the ground before Pharaoh and it turned into a snake. Jannes and Jambres duplicated that feat, but then Aaron's rod swallowed up their rods. Just as the truth of God's Word will swallow up the devil's dupes and cheap deceptions! Time and time again Jannes and Jambres sought to duplicate the power of God and time and time again they were trumped by God! Truth wins! Grace wins! These religious impostors will rise up in the church in the end times (the time from the ascension of Jesus and subsequent pouring out of the Holy Spirit on His church, until the Day He returns! ) with their cheap tricks and false signs orchestrated by the devil himself! But that's all they will have going for them. They and their adherents will find themselves in the situation Jesus speaks of in Mt 7:21-23, “Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. 22 "Many will say to Me in that day, 'Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?' 23 "And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!' Chilling words for any willing or unsuspecting false prophet who may find themselves caught up in the arena of the spectacular, while bypassing that which matters....namely Jesus as Lord not as magician's assistant. Supernatural displays will cause many to depart from the faith as Jesus said in Mt 24:24 "For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. So how do we guard against this? The key is to understand how magicians work. They work by means of distraction. The glitz of the false prophet distracts the saint from the Word of God which has the final say! Isa 8:20 says, “To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, it is because there is no light in them. So keep your head in the Word! Because Jesus said the words that HE has spoken will serve as our judge on the Last Day!