Smoke and Mirrors

161 - Today's Prime Time Devo comes from 1Ti 6:3,4 “If anyone teaches otherwise and does not consent to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which accords with godliness, 4 he is proud, knowing nothing, but is obsessed with disputes and arguments over words, from which come envy, strife, reviling, evil suspicions,” (1 Tim 6:3,4) Anyone who teaches things contrary to the Word of God and denies the creed of 1 Tim 3:16 is a false teacher. His or her teachings will result in envy, strife, reviling, and evil suspicions. This is not the kind of church Jesus was looking to build on this earth. Such teachers are “proud.” Interesting word, it literally means smoke, and is associated with pride. Think in terms of false teachers being nothing but smoke and mirrors, using words and twisting contexts to make things appear different than they really are. False teachers are in one respect illusionists! An illusionist relies on distraction to dupe his audience into believing something untrue. The very first illusionist was Satan who provided a distraction to Eve as he disguised himself as a snake and then drew Eve's attention away from the word of God as he caused her to concentrate on the beauty of the fruit, and then was able to suggest to her, “Did God really say?” And the rest is history and with smoke and mirrors, the devil caused Adam and Eve to believe that they shall be as God knowing good and evil.! Instead of knowing good and evil, Paul says these false teachers know nothing! They are obsessed with finding loopholes in the Word of God as it concerns sin. In so doing they turn the healthy words of God into unhealthy modes of living. You will recognize them by their constant plea, “But what about this circumstance and what about that circumstance?” and they will create extreme scenarios in order to distract you and lead you into a disregard for the wholesome words of God and into a life of sin. Don't fall for it! It's a trap! Seek to learn to live by the words “Thus saith the Lord,” or as Jesus masterfully handled the smoke and mirror temptations of the devil in the wilderness, “It is written!”

Given To Diversion From Absolute Truth

119 - Today's Prime Time Devo comes from 1Ti 4:1 Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, 2 speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron,” I learned a new word today. According to the Strong's Concordance, the word “lies” here means, “”mendacious.” And mendacious means “given to divergence from absolute truth.” These false teachers seek to put two faces on the absolute truth of the Word of God, hence the word hypocrisy is used because a hypocrite is one who is “two-faced.” You can easily see why this is referred to as “the doctrine of demons,” because the original doctrine of demons was laid bare for all of us to see in the Garden of Eden, when the snake planted the seed of doubt in Eve's mind with those infamous words, “Did God really say?” This strategy is still being employed by the evil one and one only need to look around the church in America today to see it being played out. Did God really say this in 1Co 6:9,10? “ Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, 10 nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God.” Do not be deceived! Do not be taken in by these false teachers who ignore these truths, and claim that this is not absolute truth! The truth is these sins condemn those who continue to live in them! But they don't have to, if one heeds the absolute truth found in the next verse! “ 11 And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God.” These sins don't have to identify you! Turn to Jesus and allow Him to deliver you from their bondage and condemnation! The conscience of the church is being seared right before our eyes, and that is the natural consequence of those who play around with absolute truth! A seared conscience is one that has been rendered insensitive. It no longer can discern what is right and wrong. God help us! God raise up preachers and teachers who aren't afraid to say, “Thus saith the Lord!”

Twisting the Words of Jesus

# 745- Today's Du-votional comes from: Mr 15:29 And those who passed by blasphemed Him, wagging their heads and saying, "Aha! You who destroy the temple and build it in three days, " Early in His ministry Jesus had cleaned out the temple of moneychangers. The religious rulers were very upset by His actions and asked Him for a sign that would show them he had the right to upset their applecart. “Jesus answered and said to them, "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up." (Jn 2:19) Please note how His words have been twisted by these blasphemous unbelievers. They would have Jesus as the one who claimed to destroy the temple, but that's not what He said. He said in effect that if THEY would destroy the temple, He would rebuild it or raise it up in just three days. As unbelievers, they had no clue that the temple sanctuary was a “type” of the Messiah. They had no idea that the very thing they were mocking Him for was taking place before their very eyes. They were destroying the antitype of the temple, and in three days this new temple, the sanctuary for all mankind, would rise from the dead. Unbelievers still twist the Words of Jesus, (the Bible) Lenin once said, "A lie told often enough becomes the truth." This seems to be the strategy of militant atheists in these Last Days. Don't fall for it. This strategy is as old as the serpent in the Garden, as he whispered to Eve, “Did God really say?” In this day and age of multiple versions of the Scriptures available, it is wise to find a version as close to the original language as possible. I strongly urge you to find such a translation and a Strong's Concordance with the meanings of the original Hebrew and Greek words. These two tools, along with the aid of the Holy Spirit in a faith-quickened heart will help you to reply to these doubt casters with a confident, “It is written,” rather than a , “you might have a point there.”