Think you know the truth?
Yeah?
We all think we know the truth. We are quick to judge anyone who does not believe exactly what we believe. We even ask God to deliver some of them from their delusion. This is not always wrong … but sometimes it is.
When we get to the point that we think we cannot be wrong, we are wrong. When we reach the place where we think that whatever we think is what God thinks, we are wrong. And we often do not even realize that we have reached those dangerous places.
The principle Jude teaches in today’s Scripture passage is that we must be on guard for our true faith and relationship with God. We must be on guard for those who teach what would sounds good but could be spiritually dangerous, even deadly.
It may sound good, logical, or reasonable. It may make a lot of sense. It may seem right. But is it? My grandfather instilled something in me as a little boy that has been a reliable guide for all my life since and has kept me from error many times. He said,
“Regardless of what anyone teaches or what any church doctrine says, you study it out in Scripture, pray, and between you and God make sure it is right before you take it in (believe it, accept it).”
Have there been times when you heard teaching and “something” did not “feel” right? Perhaps something made your spiritual “spidey sense” tingle. You would do well to heed that sense. It could be Holy Spirit issuing a caution. It could also be your emotions. Diligence is to be cautious until you know which.
What Jude warned Believers about is as relevant today as it was two thousand years ago when he wrote the words. He said, “God treats us much better than we deserve, and so it is all right to be immoral. They even deny that we must obey Jesus Christ as our only Master and Lord.”
Relevant? I have heard such things taught, so, YES! There are books on shelves today that say such dangerous things. Though their authors vary, we know the ultimate author of such rubbish. To pick up such a book, watch such a video, or hear such a podcast should not only make your spiritual “spidey sense” tingle, it should set off major alarms! For example:
I heard someone teaching a few years ago that all the end times prophecies have already occurred and nothing bad is going to happen. Just be happy, he says. He says that times will continue to get better and better. I read his book–which was also disturbingly (in my opinion) misleading. (Looking at the world today, I think he missed it.)
Did Jude somehow prophetically see our world today? It almost sounds like it, does it not? There is so much misleading information, outright lies, fake news, and such today that one hardly knows what to believe. We now have AI writing responses for people and in some cases, creating content, videos, and images. We cannot even believe our eyes anymore because even videos can be faked to look like a certain person is speaking when in fact they are not.
Be on guard. Be aware. Do not be found off point. The only way to know for sure today is to trust Holy Spirit. You have the book Holy Spirit authored. If anything contradicts what it says, reject it. If someone is deviously twisting its words, reject it. “Err on the side of caution” is in order here.
Jude said he really wanted to write about “God’s saving power at work” but could not. I know the feeling. I encourage you today to not chase the “feel good”. There will be plenty of time, actually forevermore, to feel good. What we must focus on right now is getting there–and that takes our attention and diligence these days not to be misled.
Today’s Seed™ Scripture and Prayer for Apr. 12, 2024:
My dear friends, I really wanted to write you about God’s saving power at work in our lives. But instead, I must write and ask you to defend the faith that God has once for all given to his people. Some godless people have sneaked in among us and are saying, “God treats us much better than we deserve, and so it is all right to be immoral.” They even deny that we must obey Jesus Christ as our only Master and Lord. But long ago the Scriptures warned that these godless people were doomed. (Jude 1:3-4 CEV)
Prayer: LORD, help me not be discouraged when people pervert the Truth for their own purposes. You have warned us of it and so it will happen. My responsibility is to hold to the Truth regardless of what anyone else says or does. Do whatever You need to do in my life to keep me with You, in Truth, the way I need to be. In Jesus’ name, Amen. (c) 2023 Randall Vaughn • All Rights Reserved • http://www.e-min.org
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About Randall Vaughn:
With 40+ years as pastor, author, teacher, worship leader, and songwriter, Randall pioneered E-MIN in 1997–one of the earliest online ministries and today the longest operating. His passion is leading people to deeper, genuine relationship with God. He lives in Alabama with his lovely wife, Karen, and their dogs, Hadi and Rayah. He enjoys hiking, exploring new tech, and “prayer walks”.
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