"Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity."

(Matthew 7:20-23)

In his Olivet Discourse Jesus warned that deception would be one of the greatest dangers of the last days. And we're living in a time when it's hard to know whom to trust or what to believe anymore, humanly speaking. We've long lost trust in much of the media and many of our politicians. AI now raises the dangers of deepfakes, hacking and psychological manipulation, so much so that even the tech bros are sounding the alarm. Cults and false teachers are rampant. But perhaps the greatest danger we face is self-deception. There's a troubling trend these days of people claiming to be Christian who really aren't. Sometimes they refer to themselves as "cultural Christians." Some believe they're Christians because they're Americans, and America was founded on Christian values. Some believe they're Christians because they grew up in a Christian home. Some believe they're Christians because they were baptized as infants (or adults), or passed a confirmation class. Some believe they're Christians because they said a prayer, signed a card or walked an aisle at some point in time. And some believe they're Christians because they simply chose to identify as such.

The problem is they're trusting in somebody else's faith or assurance, some act or ritual, or their own will to get them to heaven and not what Jesus did on the cross. Jesus said His way is narrow because it requires repentance (turning from our sinful ways), trusting Him alone for our salvation, and following Him by obeying His commandments with the help of the Holy Spirit. ("Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?" Luke 6:46)

Some people believe they're a Christian because of their intellectual knowledge. They're knowledgable about the bible and may have advanced education, but their head knowledge has never transformed into heart knowledge. They may know alot about Jesus but they don't have a personal relationship with Him.

This is the time for all of us to examine ourselves to make sure we're truly in the faith (2 Corinthians 13:5). And if you're not sure there's no time like the present to make sure.

"Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth."

2 Timothy 2:15

It's been often said that bank tellers are trained to identify counterfeit bills by studying genuine ones. Likewise, the best defense against spiritual falsehood is by getting firmly grounded in God's truth. Notice that when Jesus was tempted by satan in the wilderness He never argued or debated, but simply countered with "It is written..."

Not all of us are, or will be church leaders like Timothy, but all of us are teachers on some level, if only to our children. There are all manner of people and groups out there leading people to follow a false Jesus or another gospel. There are some who claim the bible is out of touch with modern times and needs to be updated. There are some that claim that mere men arbitrarily decided what books should be included in the bible and which ones should be excluded. There are those who claim that Paul was a false apostle. There are others who claim that the book of Genesis was merely allegorical and not literal. There are even those who say that Jesus never claimed to be God. How do you respond if you don't know what the scriptures teach?

"And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near."

Hebrew 10:24-25

Having had negative experiences at several churches as a new believer, I decided one day to be a perpetual visitor. I alternated attending services at several different churches so that no one would start pressing me to join. Eventually, financial straits landed me in a job where working Sundays was frequently a requirement. I listened to the radio or watched sermons on t.v. when I had Sundays off and thought that was enough. But my spiritual growth severely stagnated and eventually came to a standstill. It was during the Covid outbreak that I developed a strong urge to be among fellow believers, and online fellowship wasn't cutting it. I finally found a solid, bible-believing church that I've been a member of ever since, and now I understand why the bible gave this admonishment.

Like me, you may have often said "I don't need to go to church to be a Christian." But has it ever occurred to you that the Church is not a building but the body of Christ on earth? You're a part of the Church the way a brick is part of a building, an engine is part of a car, or a leg is part of a body.

Jesus didn't leave us orphans when He returned to heaven. Not only did He send the Holy Spirit to sanctify, empower comfort us and guide us into all truth, but He gave us a worldwide family of fellow believers. Regardless of the country, social status, race or culture, you can find a spiritual brother or sister. Our heavenly Father also endowed us with spritual gifts so that we can encourage, edify and support each other, as well as demonstrate God's glory to unbelievers.

As the days grow darker and the Church potentially faces more challenges, the greater the need will be for believers to band together and lift each other up.

"Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world"

I John 4:1

We live in a time of celebrity worship. Many people today are famous for no other reason than that they're famous. If you have enough charisma and are willing to say or do something outrageous enough you can be the next "it" guy or gal for 15 minutes at least. And social media had given rise to "influencers" who command the adulation of thousands (and occasionally millions) of subscribers who hang on their every word. It's also rampant with "prophets" and "apostles" and just regular folks claiming that God showed them or told them things that can't be supported by scripture. The unsuspecting are swallowing their false teaching hook, line and sinker and being fleeced to support their lavish lifestyles.

The Apostle Paul commended the Bereans for searching the scriptures daily to see if what he was telling them was true. May we be like the Bereans and do the same.

"I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing."

John 15:5

I used to think it was silly when I'd see Christians praying to God for guidance in minor decisions. I used to think He was much too busy to be bothered with such trivia. But making some really disastrious decisions proved me very, very wrong. If God can be bothered to care about a sparrow falling to the ground there's no aspect of our lives so trivial that we can't submit it to Him for guidance.

I recently had to be reminded that Christianity is not a religion but a relationship. There I was, steeped in religious activity and feeling more stressed and put upon than anything else. Then I remembered the story of Mary and Martha when Jesus came to visit them. Martha was running around like a chicken with her head cut off trying to play hostess and getting frustrated that her sister Mary chose to spend time with Jesus. Jesus told Martha she was worrying needlessly and that Mary had made the better choice.

So, it's possible to attend church every time the door is open, be highly involved and active in church activities, and still be estranged from God if all of our focus is outward rather than inward. Attending church had become a box to be checked off, and I was beginning view all of my busyness as evidence of my spiritual growth, even though God was seeming father and farther away. I'd forgotten how to just spend time alone with God, studying His word, praying to Him, or just telling Him what's on my mind or telling Him how much I love Him.

So, to me at least, abiding means living day to day and moment by moment with the awareness of God's presence, sovereignty and control. Having nothing that's off-limits to Him. Like, "I know He won't approve of this, but I want to watch it." "I know he won't approve of that, but I really want to go." Or, "I know He won't approve, but I just need to give that person a piece of my mind." Letting ourselves be wide open and real with Him, even whe we're not at our best. He already knows what's in our hearts anyway.