Spreading hate, organizing hate ...it has happened throughout history, and it is happening now.
And the worst of it, is not just taking a life ...as terrible as that is. The worst is telling someone their life is saved, their eternal life, through the horrific deception of leading them to believe God is pleased with that which is totally in opposition of what God wants for us.
God would that none would perish ...that we would all desire eternal life with Him. Yet, at what point do we realize that there are those who claim to direct us towards Him, when they are in truth pointing us in the exact opposite direction??
And why are people deceived so easily??
Part of it is because we know we are not doing as we should, and instead of coming to Jesus for reconciliation, we seek additional ways to return to God's graces.
No, we don't have to turn away from Jesus in our mind for trouble to begin. We may feel we are even actually getting closer to God, by many external factors of what we may feel are the equivalent of graduate work for a college student. But, the degree we obtain may be a slight degree of distraction in the form of an added attraction.
We may feel better about ourselves, and that is what we'd all like for each other ...but, it must be for the right reasons. Our acceptance, inclusive of our perceived spiritual health ...must grow out of the Holy Spirit's work, not ours.
Of course, our good works ...whether Good Samaritan deeds, or of some other form, should be a result of God's growth inside us. Often we are led to do things because of us, not the Holy Spirit. And yes, there are some decent things we do, even if we admit our motives may be a bit selfish. That's not all ...there can be even great unselfish acts performed by those who proclaim not to even believe in God. But, sadly, they would not be able to share with you how Jesus unselfishly died for us on the cross.
It seems that often we have more confusion than help eager to lend a hand. And there is a very scary condition that exists surrounding the very truth we need to accept. We don't always get it right, discerning when the Holy Spirit is speaking to us. There are also many deceptive assertions that stand contrary to the Bible.
God gives us the Bible, the story, His story ...of Him leading His people. God wants us to be clear about who He is, certain of His intentions for us, and informed of what we need to know to follow Him.
Last week one of the multi-state lottery games reached 1.5 billion dollars. I've never played any of those gambling games, so my chances of winning is zero ...but, for those of you who had hopes of winning, if you had won, you'd likely reread the directions on how to go about collecting the money. Or you'd make a phone call or two to make sure things were done right, so you wouldn't lose out.
Well, the stakes are even higher for eternal life ...yet, the good news is that we can all be winners, and we all can have the grand prize. And even better, the government can't take any of it from us.
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