How much does God allow Satan to harm us?

Job 1:9 – 12

Have you ever wondered how much Satan has to do with things in your life? So many Christians do not understand just how much Satan’s able do in their life, but God knows. God is Omniscient which means God knows everything, not a few things, not some things, not most things, but everything. The truth of the matter is Satan can do nothing unless God allows it, in fact no being in existence has any ability at all except that it be given to them for the All-Powerful God. God created every being in existence as He chose what he wants them to be. “Hath not the potter power over the clay…” Rom. 9:21. People have a hard time understanding what God is able to do, but please understand that every creature is exactly what God has created it to be, “Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour?” Therefore, God created Satan to be Satan and to be the evilest creature in existence. Satan, at the time Lucifer was a high-ranking Angel, even an Archangel until He fell. Today we know him as Satan, the archenemy of God and even everyone connected to God. Satan has great powers, and if God allowed him, he could and would kill every Christian on this earth. However, as we saw in the event of Job, he is limited to God’s power. God said to Satan, “And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, all that he hath is in thy power; only upon himself put not forth thine hand...” This means that Satan was able to do as he pleased with everything Job had, but Job himself was not to be overtaken with sickness nor was his life to be taken. Can you imagine what life would be like for you if God was to give Satan that power over you? Satan asked God, “Hast not thou made an hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side?” Job 1:10 The answer was yes God did, just as God has a hedge over all of us. A hedge is like a fence for our protection but also for our restraint in life. Satan also told God about Job, “thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land.” Yes, God did bless Job with much and Job knew that God had and this is why when this satanic persecution came upon him, he never cursed God. Job realized a truth very few people understand, and that is God provided him with everything in life and if God took it all, he was still blessed. This is why Job said, “Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD. In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly.” Job 1:21 – 22 This is simply amazing, Job had so much and lost everything, he did not pout, he did not ask God why, he did not curse God, he was not mad at God, he did not blame God, he didn’t even blame Satan, he simply “blessed be the name of the LORD.

As God’s children we must understand that God has a hedge about us and with that hedge we are protected as well as we are restricted by God. We live, move, and have our being by the grace and power of God. Our strength is in the Lord and in our understanding as to exactly what God has ordained for us in this life. Every part of our life from birth to death and beyond is exactly what God has  ordained for us. Paul understood this when he said, “by the grace of God I am what I am” 1 Cor. 15:10 and Jesus understood this throughout His life and even in His death. Job blessed the name of God and Jesus never opened His mouth but suffered as God had ordained. “For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me.” John 6:38.

The truth is, Satan can only harm us as much or as little as God allows him too. As much as he would love to make our life miserable and even kill us all, he cannot. We all need to stop looking for someone to blame for our miseries in life and be like Job, and continually bless the name of God in everything.       

Thank You Lord, “For God hath not appointed us to wrath…”

1 Thessalonians 5:9 - 10 “For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ, (10) Who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him.”

Every lost person trusts in something or someone, organized religion, works and good deeds or some other false hope. Every lost soul is trusting in some sort of god, even if they are agnostic. The world is full of gods, saviours, with all sorts of ways to get to their believed heaven. And these lost people have one thing in common, their god is imaginary, their salvation is impossible, and their salvation is dead just as their god is, and they are all going to suffer the wrath of Jehovah The True God.  Jehovah is the God of the bible, the God who saves the sinner from His wrath through His Son Jesus, the seed of the woman, the Saviour of mankind. Jesus is not just man He is also Jehovah’s Son incarnate with Jehovah the Son, the second part of the Trinity. God said in Isaiah 26:4, 5 “Trust ye in the LORD for ever: for in the LORD JEHOVAH is everlasting strength: For he bringeth down them that dwell on high; the lofty city, he layeth it low; he layeth it low, even to the ground; he bringeth it even to the dust.” Our total faith must be in God, and if it is we can indeed be content in this world, but one single wrinkle, one small kink in our armor of faith, and we will never be content. Moses told the Jews in Exo. 14:13  “And Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which he will shew to you to day: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen to day, ye shall see them again no more for ever.” The promise was “Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD…he layeth it low; he layeth it low, even to the ground; he bringeth it even to the dust.” The wrath that is too feared is not the people of this world, it is not even Satan and his angels or demons, it is God because He is Omni everything. God’s wrath is a Just and Righteous wrath, and it is painful and dreadful, and it will come to every single lost soul in this world. God promised is in 2 Peter 3:9 “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” God is not willing that any of His elect souls should perish, and this is His promise to us who are saved or will one day be saved. Again, this is the base of our contentment, trusting in the word of Jehovah God. God is Omni or all-power and there is no power greater than that of God. God is all-knowing; therefore, He knows everything at one time, He never does not see everything because He already knows everything. He already knew that Satan wanted to take Jobs life, therefore God forbid him from doing so. As God’s children we need to understand and believe in God’s promises to us, and one of God’s gracious promises is “God hath not appointed us to wrath”. There is nothing more hurtful to a human soul than that of God’s wrath. The Tribulation period is full of God’s wrath on this lost and dying world. More than ever before, more than the flood because people will suffer much before God kills them and send them to eternal hell. People will see God; Jesus will open the heavens and they will know that Jehovah is God and that He is sending His promised wrath to them. “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness; Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them.” Romans 1:18 And when God is finished all of them will be caught-up to the White-Throne of Jesus and learn of their eternal placement in eternal hell. But to us, to us who God has saved and Jesus has redeemed, to us whom God has promised many things, “God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ”. We are the blessed of all God’s created beings because God hath chosen us not to suffer eternal damnation with the lost and wicked of this world, but to live eternal blessedness with Him and our Saviour sin-free and cleansed as He is. “Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not. “Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.” 1 John 3:1 

“I thank my God always on your behalf, for the grace of God which is given you by Jesus Christ; That in every thing ye are enriched by him, in all utterance, and in all knowledge; Even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you: So that ye come behind in no gift; waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall also confirm you unto the end, that ye may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.”1 Corinthians 1:4-8

We cannot take God for granted.

1 Timothy 4:14 - 16 "Neglect not the gift that is in thee, which was given thee by prophecy, with the laying on of the hands of the presbytery. (15) Meditate upon these things; give thyself wholly to them; that thy profiting may appear to all. (16) Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee."

The easiest thing for a believer to do is to take God for granted. I was taught as a young minister that the only way to learn of God is to continually study, then when you learn act upon what you learn, and if you do, you will be a good believer. Lot of the time we learn but fail to act and if we do, we are taking God for granted. God said, “Neglect not the gift that is in thee”, now most will rightly argue that God is talking about Ministers here. However, it is not limited to Ministers because all believers have gifts of God given to us. For example, salvation is a gift from God, “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Rom. 6:23 Can a Christian neglect their salvation, absolutely we can if we are not being followers of Jesus Christ. Solomon wrote in Ecc. 5:19 “Every man also to whom God hath given riches and wealth, and hath given him power to eat thereof, and to take his portion, and to rejoice in his labour; this is the gift of God.” Our worldly goods are a gift from God, and they also can be abused in an ill manor. If we look at our life properly, we will understand that everything is a gift from God. And if it is a gift from God then it is by God’s grace because He gave it to us. We all, every single believer takes God’s gifts for granted in one way or another and some more than others, even if we know it or not. Let’s look at our gift of salvation because it is the most abused gift of all. God gave us our salvation, it was not earned, it was not bought, it did not just fall out of the sky, God gave it to us. But none of us walk absolute according to God’s word. Sometimes we subconsciously may believe that we are walking rightly but in reality, we are wrong. Let’s face it, we are all wrong about some things because none of us are perfectly aligned with the scriptures. We are only perfect in Jesus Christ because He was perfect. Some may say that if we do not understand then we are not guilty, others will say the word “neglect” means - to be careless of – that is true, but it also means - not regard something -. Just because we do not understand something may be because it goes against the belief we were raised with, or maybe it’s not within our line of thinking. Just because I believe something to be right doesn’t mean I am right, and it is the same with you. The more we learn in God’s word and the more we believe what God says the more right we will be. God said, “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 The bottom-line for a believer is to study, not to study a little but a lot. We need to study with much prayer because the Holy Spirit is our teacher. “But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.” John 14:26 Our fervent study will show us much, but if we are going to “rightly dividing the word of truth”. It is the Holy Spirit that will teach it to us, this is why we must listen to the scriptures and not give to much savvy to the teacher, who are just men. If it is in the scriptures then it is right, and right over even out thoughts or belief. We cannot simply overlook something scriptural as though it isn’t there, if God said it then it’s there and we need to learn to rightly divide the word of truth. It is our responsibility to learn God’s word and rightly divide the Truth. God has given to every believer gifts, those gifts are given to rightly serve Him without error. God said, “Meditate upon these things; give thyself wholly to them;” If we fail, then we are neglecting God’s gifts.  

The Image of Jesus Christ.

Isaiah 52:14 “As many were astonied at thee; his visage was so marred more than any man, and his form more than the sons of men:”

As Christians and churches, we must be very carful as to our worship of Jesus Christ. The only images we have of Him are only in our minds. Catholicism has created so much idolatry of Jesus and everything else biblical that they have entirely idolized Christianity into a non-truth. Catholicism is so false and fake that you almost must believe that they are satanic at best. When we look at Jesus, we only know a limited amount about Him and almost nothing about His human appearance. To say it honestly, there are absolutely no earthly images of Jesus Christ because the scriptures do not have any real descriptions of Him. I searched the internet and found that images of Jesus dates to maybe the second or third century and Jesus was crucified about 30AD. Therefore, we must believe that there are no true images of Jesus Christ on this earth and that all that exist must be “false graven images” and as we know it is sinful to have false graven images. It is more impossible to have any images of God the Father or the Holy Spirit because they are “a Spirit” and neither has a body form. And again, to have any form of image of anything in heaven is a sin. "Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: (5) Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;" Exodus 20:4 – 5. Therefore, as a Pastor I must strongly suggest that if you have any images of any sort that violate this law of God that you destroy them immediately. This is any sort of image of anything in heaven, or on the earth, or beneath the earth such as hell – Satan – or any demons. 

So let us look at what we do have, we know that Jesus was born as a man in the likeness of sinful flesh. The word “likeness” means He appeared like us but in a sinless form. We also know He was God as well as a man therefore He had two natures both human and deity. We also know that He had no flaws, not one single flaw inside or out because there was no sin about Him. I believe He could not have had long hair because it is a sin for a man to have long hair. “Doth not even nature itself teach you, that, if a man have long hair, it is a shame unto him?” 1 Corinthians 11:14 We also know that he did have a beard, “I gave my back to the smiters, and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair: I hid not my face from shame and spitting.” Isaiah 50:6 And last we know that He was about 33 years old when He was crucified. Outside of this we know very little about the bodily features of Jesus Christ.

We also know some about His arrest and crucifixion. However, it is most important that we have a vision in our minds about His suffering. While not much is known, we do have enough information to have a clear understanding that He was severely beaten before He was brutally crucified. Isaiah wrote “his visage was so marred more than any man” the words “more than any man” allows us to understand that His beating was so severe that no other human could have survived it. Isaiah also told us that “many were astonied at thee; his visage” The word “astonied” means people were so stunned they were numb as they looked at Him. Jesus was beaten so badly that He was unrecognizable, “more than any man”.  Mark told us, “And they smote him on the head with a reed, and did spit upon him, and bowing their knees worshipped him.” Mark 15:19 A reed was like a measuring reed or rod or a staff. There is more but I think we get the image of Jesus. But we need to remember that all this often, because He suffering was what the Father required of Him for our redemption. This is what it took to save us, this is what it took to pay in full for our sins. THANK YOU JESUS!   

The world hates the Light and loves darkness.

John 3:19-21 “And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.”

In the beginning, when God created the earth there was total darkness, not even a hint of light existed. “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.” Genesis 1:1, 2 Can you imagine total darkness, can you imagine walking outside with not one single light anywhere? This is the way that the world was after God had created it, no light, not even one hint of it. But there was hope because God shined His glory upon the entire earth and there was light everywhere. “And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.” Genesis 1:3, 4 It was only after God gave His glory to the world that light was there. Then He created a sun to give the earth light in the day and the moon and stars to give a lesser light to the night, but not until the fourth day. See, God did not need the sun, moon, or stars to give light to the earth, but He did create them for the rotation of the 24-hour day. After all that God created God was pleased and even very pleased. Then one day Satan showed up, Eve ate of the “Forbidden Fruit” causing her husband to eat of it, and for the human soul death darkness ruled them as the darkness on the earth before God gave it light. The human soul was dwelling in total darkness and the human spirit was corpse dead, no light to see at all. God said that Adams sin brought death and darkness to the entire population of the world. Then God sent a Saviour, God sent a Light to this world that would allow a remnant of the world to see God, His Son, and His word. This light was in His Son and only in His Son just as it was in creation when God lite-up the whole earth only by His glory. But the human soul hated the light because their life was already ruled by the darkness and blindness created by Satan. The world’s population loves darkness and hates The Light. Evil things happen in the darkness, sin rules more in darkness than the day. People love not being able to see their sin, not being able to see the evil in their heart. It is this reason people will “neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.”

The word “reproved” means that Jesus as the Light shows people their sins, but they love their sins more than the Light. God said, “And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. People do not want to see their sins therefore they hate the light. It reminds me of a person in a deep sleep and waking up to the sunshine and just wanting it to go away. It is only those who, God gives through the power of the Holy Spirit can see and accept the light that is given in His own Son Jesus the Christ who also gives us spiritual life. Lost people and even backslidden Christians hate the light and will avoid the word of God. They will avoid the Son of God and His word. If a Christian doesn't live a godly separated life, than the world and the devil will treat him as one of their own and they will not walk in fellowship with God who is light. Christians will hate darkness, unless they choose to return to the sewage that God rescued them from. As Christians we need to always remember, Satan will convince you that everything is fine because he impersonates the light. This is the same Satan that lied to Eve to get her to eat of the forbidden fruit that caused darkness and death. But the backslidden Christian needs to be reminded that this is the same false light that appeals to the flesh, and not to the Spirit within the believer is nothing short of anti-God. Satan is behind it all, God gave us light, He gave us life, but somehow some Christians still desire to roll in sin like a pig does the mud and fellowship with darkness and Satan rather than light and God.         

Being made free from sin, is the gift of God through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Romans 6:22 - 23 “But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life. (23) For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”  

What does it mean to be “free from sin”? Is it possible for any human being to be free from sin? The true answer is that there was only one living soul to ever without sin, the Lord Jesus Christ who was also God’s own Son. So, the question must be asked “how can God tell us, sinners by nature that we are “made free from sin”? God does not mean that we will not sin but that we are no longer bound to sin, that is we are no longer are under sins power which is the power of Satan. But it does not end there, God also meant that we are no longer chargeable for sin. As Christians the blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sin. When Jesus told the adulterous woman in John 8:11 “go and sin no more” He was saying go and stop doing the sin you were doing. As Christians we have been blessed to have the chains of sin released, its hold on us has been broken. And because of this we can “become servants to God,”. Lost people are not servants of God and cannot be, because they are at enmity with God and God gets no glory from them. People who are chargeable for their sins are dead to God, therefore there is no good in them. However, we that are saved, washed in the blood of Jesus, and are holy through His Holiness are indeed God’s servants. It is only through our salvation that we have “have your fruit unto holiness”.  It is implied here that our fruits are holy because of Jesus Christ and that makes our service to the Lord holy. In other words, as children of God we walk in righteousness, live in righteousness, and serve God in righteousness like unto Jesus. God ended verse 22 with these words, “and the end everlasting life.” Not only is this a blessing but it is also the Truth, this is our end because God no longer condemns us for the sin that Jesus shed His blood for. God will not accept sin that is unpaid for because “the wages of sin is death”. Death is the results of sin and hell will be its eternal home. God promised that without the forgiveness of sin you are already condemned. “He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” John 3:18 Therefore, God in His mercy and grace has given us “the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” It is only possible to have our sins forgiven through the blood of the “…Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.” Rev. 13:8 As Christians we owe God much for electing us as His own children and electing our path of eternal life through Jesus Christ His Son and our Lord and Saviour. Since sin no longer holds us prisoner, chained and bound, we ought to use our freedom in Jesus Christ to follow Him, as our desire is to serve the Lord whom saved us from eternal damnation. And to do this with all our heart.    

We fear no evil because God is with us.

Psalms 23:4 “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.”

This must be one of the most encouraging scriptures in the bible, “though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death”. As God’s children we need never fear because no matter what happens in this life, even through the path of death, God is with us. Our comfort must be the very fact that no matter what, God will never leave us alone. “…for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.” Heb. 13:5c When God makes us a promise it is made for our comfort and assurance. Moses wrote these words, “Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the LORD thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.” Deuteronomy 31:6 As Christians we must always be reminded of God’s blessings to us, but more so in the fact that we never walk alone. We are God’s children, elected to be His children before the world was created. God has a plan for us, and God will execute that plan during our earthly life. Our greatest blessing of God is that He chose us to be His children therefore we are the most blessed of God’s creation. Jesus assured us in John 10:28 - 29 “And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand.” No matter what happens in this earthly life, God truly does have us protected in His hand and nothing happens without God allowing it. Paul wrote in Romans 8:38 - 39 “For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” More encouraging words from God that we have nothing to fear. This is why God was so bold to point out we need to be of great courage because “we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.” Rom. 8:37. Everything in this life is temporary and no matter what happens and the pains that come with it, they are short lived. When the Lord assured us that “…we are more than conquerors through him…” this means our gain in this life is a decisive victory, no matter what it is. We will never be defeated, just as Jesus was not defeated in death, but that moment was His most shinning victory as it was ours. Jesus suffered the darkest moment at His death because He died all alone, “…My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” Matt. 27:46 However, this is the moment we as Christians had our victory over Satan, this world, and death. This is why the Psalmist wrote, “…though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil…” What a true blessing because God has given us every blessing we could ever ask for. Yes, it is true, life hurts, the stings are there, but the victory is ours because Jesus suffered it all alone for you and me. Countless Christians suffer death as martyrs through history for the Lord, the church, and to preserve God’s word of Truth, and not one of them walk to their death alone. Beloved, we have no reason to fear anyone or anything, because we are in God’s hand of grace! While life has so many trials, persecution, and even death, Jesus Christ will carry us through them. “But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” 1 Corinthians 15:57 Even though sometimes it may not look or seem like it, God has without question blessed us beyond what we could thing or ask. “Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift.” 2 Corinthians 9:15 Therefore, as Christians we need not fear what road we travel in life and even in death, fear is not something the believer in Jesus Christ needs to have.  

We fear no evil because God is with us.

Psalms 23:4 “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.”

This must be one of the most comforting and assuring scriptures in the bible, “though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death”. As God’s children we need never fear because no matter what happens in this life, even though the path of death, God is with us. Our comfort must be the very fact that no matter what, God will never leave us alone. “…for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.” Heb. 13:5c When God make us a promise it is made for our comfort and assurance. Moses wrote these words, “Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the LORD thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.” Deuteronomy 31:6 As Christians we must always be reminded of God’s blessings to us, but more so in the fact that we never walk alone. We are God’s children, elected to be His children before the world was ever created. God has a plan for us, and God will execute that plan during our earthly life. Our greatest blessing of God is that He chose us to be His children therefore we are the most blessed of God’s creation. Jesus assured us in John 10:28 - 29 “And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand.” No matter what happens in this earthly life God truly does have us protected in all evil, even in death. Paul wrote in Romans 8:38 - 39 “For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” More encouraging words from God that we have nothing to fear. This is why God was so bold to point out we need to be of great courage because “we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.” Rom. 8:37. Everything in this life is temporary and no matter what happens and the pains that come with it, they are short lived. When the Lord assured us that “…we are more than conquerors through him…” this means our gain in this life is a decisive victory. We will never be defeated, just as Jesus was not defeated in death but that moment was His most shinning victory as it was ours. Jesus suffered the darkest moment at His death because He died all alone, “…My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” Matt. 27:46 However, this is a moment we as Christians had our victory over Satan, this world, and death. This is why the Psalmist wrote, “…though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil…” What a true blessing because God has given us every blessing we could ever ask for. Yes, it is true, life hurts, the stings are there, but the victory is ours because Jesus suffered it all alone for you and me. Countless Christians suffer death as martyrs through history for the Lord, the church, and to preserve God’s word of Truth, and not one of them walk to their death alone. Beloved, we have no reason to fear anyone or anything, because we are in God’s hand of grace! While life has so many trials, persecution, and even death, Jesus Christ will carry us through them. “But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” 1 Corinthians 15:57 Even though sometimes it may not look or seem like it, God has without question blessed us beyond what we could thing or ask. “Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift.” 2 Corinthians 9:15 Therefore, as Christians we need not fear what road we travel in life and even in death, fear is not something the believer in Jesus Christ needs to have.   

Christians need to be careful whom they support.

2 John 1:10 - 11 “If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed: (11) For he that biddeth him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds.”

Lewis Speery Chafer said in his writings Essential Works “Bible doctrines are the bones of revelation and the attentive Bible student must be impressed with the New Testament emphasis on "sound doctrine" When Christians associate themselves with other Christians or Christian organizations or when they pray for or support in any way anything Christian, it must first be determined what their belief on Sound Doctrine is. We are responsible for what we believe in biblical doctrine, but we are also responsible with whom we associate and support. Now this goes beyond Christianity it also goes into your everyday life. While all of Christians need to heed this warning Ministers and especially Pastors need to heed this warning. God said in the qualifications of Elders these words, “Holding fast the faithful word as he hath been taught, that he may be able by sound doctrine both to exhort and to convince the gainsayers.”     Titus 1:9 The reason is that Pastors and teachers are teaching learning Christians, and they must be taught with very strict and bold doctrine. Paul told Titus “But speak thou the things which become sound doctrine:” Titus 2:1 When we listen to what God is saying is “it matters what you believe” and only sound biblical doctrine is what we are to support. In this world called “Christianity” it is full of unsound doctrine; some say they do not want to even hear any doctrine much less sound doctrine. However, as we have just quoted God, doctrine is very important, and not just doctrine but biblical sound doctrine. Here God points out that Christian responsibility and the rules we are to abide by God’s word, “If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house…” If you do not believe that sound doctrine is important, then look at what God says about the gospel. The gospel is the message God uses to save sinners, but why if it is not taught with sound doctrine? God said in 1Cor. 1:21 “For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.” Therefore, if someone is not preaching the true gospel in sound doctrine? People will be misled and miss true salvation. They will believe they are saved but find out later they believed a lie. What if a Minister doesn’t believe the truth about the Sovereignty of God, then people will be misled about the true nature and workings of God.

So, you can see how important it is to find sound doctrine and only support true biblical sound doctrine. If Christians support churches, pastors, musical groups, or any organization that is not a believer of sound doctrine then they are supporting the spreading of lies. We must also be reminded that God will hold us responsible for being a “partaker of his evil deeds.” As Bible believing Christians, we are not allowed to support anything that is not biblical truth. God even says, “neither bid him God speed:” Do not attend their churches, do not listen to their music, do not give them money, in no way are we to help them spread their lies to the world. Just because they do what they do in the name of Jesus or in the name of God does not make it truth, it must have “sound doctrine”. God said our worship must be in “Truth” that is in Biblical Truth which is Sound Doctrine. “God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.” John 4:24 The world can worship anyway they chose, they can teach what is pleasing to the ears of the world, they can have ordinances that are pleasing to the world, but as churched and Christians believing in sound doctrine, we must not in any form support them or their teachings. If the bible is not the totality of your doctrine, then you are not walking in righteousness. God is very strict about this, there is no “gray area”. We must always make sure what we believe, teach, or the things we support are of biblical sound doctrine even it the world hates us! God said, “Proving what is acceptable unto the Lord. And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them.” Ephesians 5:10 – 11   

The Sovereignty of God.

Ecclesiastes 3:14 “I know that, whatsoever God doeth, it shall be for ever: nothing can be put to it, nor any thing taken from it: and God doeth it, that men should fear before him. (15) That which hath been is now; and that which is to be hath already been; and God requireth that which is past.”

If you do not know, understand, or you are maybe confused about the Sovereignty of God, you need to study these two verses. While the nature of man is limited and imperfect the very nature of God is completely opposite. Everything about God is perfection, while sometimes man thinks of himself this way, they are wrong. But it seems sometimes man thinks of God as finite but again man is wrong, God is Infinite in every way. We read in Proverbs 19:21 “There are many devices in a man's heart; nevertheless the counsel of the LORD, that shall stand.” It is man who is always confused, thinking, and changing in an attempt to be right and complete, but only God is complete and never changing. There is none like God, none has His power, authority, and none has a grace that is irresistible. No one, not one created being can hinder God’s will in his work. No one can change the course of God’s ordained will or His predetermined purpose. God is the Perfect Being, “There is no wisdom nor understanding nor counsel against the LORD.” Proverbs 21:30 This is because God is all and in all, He is the only true eternal being, and He is the creator of all things and therefore everything in existence is under His perfect Will and Power. John Gill once wrote these words, “No human schemes whatever, formed with the greatest wisdom and prudence, can ever prevail against God, or set aside or hinder the execution of any design of his; nothing that is pointed against his church, his cause, and interest, his truths and ordinances, in the issue shall succeed; all that are found fighters against him shall not prosper…” God only commands He never ask, pleads, nor begs, He only commands and succeeds at all His will. Matthew Pool wrote these words, “all God's counsels or decrees are eternal and unchangeable, and his providence works effectually, so as men cannot resist or hinder it.” People can and will deny God’s rule and authority, His ordained predestined will, and His execution of it, but they are mistaken. If anyone, regardless of educational level, their stature in life, or their power, denies these truths, they are wrong. God cannot be hindered of His will or in His work since His power and grace is irresistible. It is not man who let’s God into their heart, it is God who comes into their heart. Man does not invite God into their heart it is God who changes their heart. It is God who draws us to Christ, “No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.” John 6:44 And it is God who makes us willing, it is God who quickens our dead spirit, it is God who gives us the faith to be saved, and it is God who walks us through every step of salvation. Therefore, if you hear any man who tells you that “God cannot change your heart, that it is only changed by your will”, then that person does not understand God. Paul wrote in Philippians 2:13 “For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.” If God does not “worketh in you” and draw you, then you will never come to Christ for salvation. “There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God.” Romans 3:11 None, no not one! Not one soul will move unless the Holy Spirit quickens their dead heart and causes them to move. Not in salvation or anything else. Proverbs 21:1 - 2 “The king's heart is in the hand of the LORD, as the rivers of water: he turneth it whithersoever he will. (2) Every way of a man is right in his own eyes: but the LORD pondereth the hearts.” The word “pondereth” means - to balance, that is, measure out (by weight or dimension); figuratively to arrange, direct or tell. Therefore, take the time to study our text scripture, and God will open much understanding about the truth about Him to you, and it will be such a blessing to you. 

Lies are sin.

“A false witness shall not be unpunished, and he that speaketh lies shall perish.” Proverbs 19:9

We all need to be very careful how we speak to others. We are responsible to God for how we conduct ourselves and that includes controlling our tongue. God never has lied, lying is from Satan and when Christians lie, they are disobeying God and doing the will of Satan. God said of Satan in John 8:44 “Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.” Now, while here God is speaking about lost people God never approves of His children lying. It is true that Jesus Christ died and shed His blood for all our sins, however, we do not have the freedom to sin. When Christians lie it is one of the worst sins that we can do because it shows us doing the will of Satan and not the will of God, and as God said, we cannot serve two masters. “No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.” Luke 16:13 Therefore, while we are serving Satan in our disobedience to God, we are serving the will of Satan. God said that we are only in fellowship with Him while we are serving Him in spirit and truth. “God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.” John 4:24 The truth here is in the truth of His word which boldly tells us not to lie. Because liars are what we were before God graciously saved us from. “But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth. (9) Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds;” Colossians 3:8 Spreading rumors is the same a telling lie, because rumors are almost always lies. It has been said “rumors are like ringing a bell, easy to start and hard to stop”. God said in 1 Timothy 5:13 “And withal they learn to be idle, wandering about from house to house; and not only idle, but tattlers also and busybodies, speaking things which they ought not.” A “tattler” is one who is always meddling in other people’s business or affairs, never having all the facts, and are out telling rumors of misunderstanding which are classified as lies. A “busybodies” is one who has nothing to do but to busy themselves so they find their main employment by looking into the affairs of their neighbors and friends. God said these people are walking in a disorderly manner. “For we hear that there are some which walk among you disorderly, working not at all, but are busybodies.” 2 Thessalonians 3:11

As Christians we need to be careful in our Christian walk and not to walk disorderly because that is what Jesus saved us from. Christians ought not never lie to anyone or talk about rumors or to be nosing around in other people’s business. It is not true until we know the truth, and partial truths are not enough facts to tell it. As Christians the last thing we should ever do is to walk disorderly. When Christians walk disorderly, they are not in fellowship with God. “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.” 1 John 1:7 Christians ought to never lie, not even if we think it is for the good. Repeating rumors is never a Christian walk because the very definition of rumor is telling uncertain facts.

God doesn’t do anything by chance.

“For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.” Ephesians 2:10

The writer to the Acts wrote these words, “Known unto God are all his works from the beginning of the world.” Acts 15:18 What this tells us is that God is Omniscient or all knowing and that everything God ordained or predestinated was completed before the foundation of the world. Most of confessed Christianity will not recognize God’s Sovereignty, nor the ordained workings of God. In Ephesians 2:8 God said, “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:” but God went on to say in verse 10 these words, “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.” Therefore, we must recognize that our salvation was given to us because of God’s grace, and it was not of our own works or doings, but by the working of God through Jesus Christ. Now, to make us understand the context here God put these words in the middle of these two verses, “Not of works…” verse 9. With all this being said, we can understand that we are saved by God’s grace and power, through Jesus Christ, and not by anything we do, but it is a gift from God. Then God goes deeper and says that whatever we do in our Christian life is His ordained workings that He ordained before the world was ever created. Since God has explained this to us in detail, we must also recognize that God does not make mistakes nor does He do anything by chance, but by His Sovereign ordained will and power. Since “Known unto God are all his works from the beginning of the world.” Then we must conclude that God will see all His ordained will thru its completion. As Christians and churches, we were put into the church and work because God created us for that work. God unlike man does nothing by chance, He does everything according to His ordained will, and God never fails. We see in Numbers 23:19 these words, “God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?” God is not like a man that He should not carry through His ordained will, nor that He should not see it through. God has a reason that He has elected people to do His will and ordained them to do His works, it is because God purposes everything and He ordained nothing by chance. If you understand God and His Sovereignty then you must understand He never fails, and He knows every detail of everything because He ordained and predetermined everything before the foundation of the world. Let’s look at the Tribulation Period, is there a chance it will not happen? Is there any chance that it will not happen exactly as God said it would? The answer is no because God said it would happen and how it would happen. This means that God not only ordained it to happen but also how it would happen. Every detail was predestinated and ordained by God before the world began. God leaves nothing to chance because He cannot fail. God ordained the death of His Son Jesus, but He went farther and ordained how He would be crucified and His reaction on the cross per Isaiah 53 and other places. Because if He had not then maybe they would not have crucified Him. How did God know the works we would do for Him, He ordained them. God left nothing to chance, nor does God depend on the believer, God carries through His ordained will.         

Do we give enough time to God?

And I gave my heart to seek and search out by wisdom concerning all things that are done under heaven: this sore travail hath God given to the sons of man to be exercised therewith. Ecclesiastes 1:13 

The writer of this book is Solomon who is identified as “the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem” in verse 1. King Solomon was a great man; I believe spiritually he would have been a very strong servant of God because God said he was. “And God gave Solomon wisdom and understanding exceeding much, and largeness of heart, even as the sand that is on the sea shore. (30) And Solomon's wisdom excelled the wisdom of all the children of the east country, and all the wisdom of Egypt.” 1 Kings 4:29 But with all this wisdom and understanding he continually gave his heart to search out by wisdom the thing God did on the earth. Imagine the spiritual intelligence we could have if we gave our hearts to want to know everything about the workings of the Lord. Solomon also wrote in Ecclesiastes 7:25 “I applied mine heart to know, and to search, and to seek out wisdom, and the reason of things, and to know the wickedness of folly, even of foolishness and madness:” To search out the wisdom of God in the events, not only in the good things but in the evil wickedness, foolishness, and madness in this world. Imagine if believers today attempted to follow Solomons lead here, and instead of worrying about things, instead of complaining about things, instead of losing their minds over things happening in this world, we simply remember that God is over all things, and God has promised us, “… that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:28 And in believing God and knowing that this is His promise to us, that everything in our life, everything happening on this earth, that every event, is under the ordained power of God. So, to us it is our obligated work, to give our hearts to enough study time in attempting to search out by wisdom God’s purpose in doing these things. And once we get those answers, imagine how much more spiritually powerful we would be. Nothing just happens, everything is by a designed and ordained will of God, we just need to search out why He did it. Solomon also wrote these words, “I know that, whatsoever God doeth, it shall be for ever: nothing can be put to it, nor any thing taken from it: and God doeth it, that men should fear before him. (15) That which hath been is now; and that which is to be hath already been; and God requireth that which is past.” Ecclesiastes 3:14 - 15 Can you we see what King Solomon saw? Can we understand what God is telling us through Solomon’s writings, if not, we need to keep searching for the answers. Solomon went on to say these words, “And moreover I saw under the sun the place of judgment, that wickedness was there; and the place of righteousness, that iniquity was there. (17) I said in mine heart, God shall judge the righteous and the wicked: for there is a time there for every purpose and for every work.” Ecclesiastes 3:16 – 17 Believer, do not worry about the wickedness, not even the wicked judges because God is the final Judge, and He has put all that judgment into the trusted hands of Jesus Christ, the Son of man. I cannot personally answer why things happen in this world, nor why God allows so much evil to reign in this world. However, I can tell you the answer to all your questions are in God’s word and it is up to us to “gave my heart to seek and search out by wisdom concerning all things that are done under heaven”. Because it is our study time that makes us better Christians. “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 Because it is through this study time that every Christian will grow and excel in understanding God, His ways, His doings, His will, and everything else in your life and in the happenings in this world. So, I will ask, do we all give enough time to God, do we seek to know His will and His doings in our own life and in the world that we live? If not, then we are missing such a blessing!    

“all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.”

2 Timothy 3:13 “But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived.”

In the last days, (and I do not doubt that we are in the last days), the world shall wax worse and worse. People who claim that the world is a good place and claim that things could get better have been deceived. God has ordained evil times, and those evil times are here today. The Tribulation Period is closing in and as they do the world becomes more and more evil. People are deceived by deceivers and as the days pass the seducers will wax worse and worse. It will not stop, the end to it is when Jesus Christ returns to sit on King Davids earthly throne. The deceivers will also get deceived by the other deceivers and they too shall be deceived. A seducer is defined as a wizard who is also defined as one who is a master in fairy tales. This is the world we now live in; it is a time where people are living in a lie, the lie of Satan. As Christians we must remain faithful to God and His doctrine, we cannot allow ourselves to be unfaithful. We know in the end that only a few will remain faithful until the end because said there shall be a falling away. “Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;” 2 Thessalonians 2:3 Before the Anti-Christ shall come there shall be a falling away first, that falling away will be by deception, or being deceived by the deceivers. People, that includes many Christians and churches shall turn away from the Truth and follow doctrine of deception. “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables. 2 Timothy 4:3 – 4 The time of the falling away is here, it is happening today, and it is spreading through social media like fire. Many Christians and even churches have fallen into the deception and have no idea that they have fallen for the lies of Satan. What about those remaining faithful to God, the churches, and the true doctrine? We shall suffer loss, God said, “Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.” 2 Timothy 3:12 I do not believe that word “shall” is a “maybe” but rather a promise from God who cannot lie. Both the churches and the membership will suffer persecution because we “live godly in Christ Jesus”. God’s people have always suffered at the hands of the great deceiver Satan ever since the fall. Look at Able, he suffered and was murdered because of his righteousness. Millions died martyr’s deaths because they refused to surrender to the lies of Satan. And here in the 21^st Century we too shall suffer at the hands of Satan just as Jesus Christ did. Churches have suffered since Jesus began the first church at Jerusalem during His earthly ministry. Almost all His Apostles died horrible deaths as martyrs. And this persecution continued through time and here we are today still suffering through the deception of Satan. Christian we are not safe, God has not promised us safety but instead His promise for us is persecution. Just as Judas betrayed the Lord Jesus and those believers with Him, other Christians, whether true of imitation Christians can and will betray those “that will live godly in Christ Jesus”, and living godly is living in the Truth of God’s word. Beloved, do not be deceived, the persecution will get worse and worse because God said it would. We all need to be in much prayer, not only for our own but for all Christians and churches.            

A Lamp Under a Basket

Mark 4:24 “And he said unto them, Take heed what ye hear: with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you: and unto you that hear shall more be given.”

This parable is called “A Lamp Under a Basket” because our Lord Jesus asked this question in verse 21 “Is a candle brought to be put under a bushel, or under a bed?” As Christians and especially as church members we need to understand our important responsibility to the Lord and the world. Jesus said in the “Great Commission to, “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.” Matthew 28:19 It is not just the gospel we take to the world but also the entire word of God. We are to take the gospel to them so that they may be saved, but we are also to take the complete doctrine of God’s word to them. How can people learn the truth of the word if “we” who have been blessed with the revelation of His word fail to teach others. God does not bless us for us to hide His word but to teach it to others. If we who are blessed do not continue to spread God’s truths, then why would God continue to bless is with the truth. One problem with a lot of Christians and even churches is they have not enough, or maybe no zeal to accomplish the task that God has given us. God does not teach us to hide the truth of the word, He teaches us that we will take that truth to the world. Christians that fail to attend church are failing to study and learn God’s word. Our purpose and goal should be to the Lord who graciously saved our souls and taught us His word. We are God’s children and our goal in life is to surrender all to the Lord and to learn of Him and His word and to be servants to Him. The life of a Christian is to do the work of God’s calling of us and working every day to serve Him. If we surrender to the will of Satan, then we drop out of church, stop studying God’s word, and start caring what the world thinks. No one in our life is as important as the Lord, nothing in this life is as important as the Lord, and nothing is more pleasing as serving God. However, if we lose sight of what we are supposed to do as Christians and especially as churches then we are no longer serving the Lord. If we ever began to think of self-more than God, we have lost our calling as Believers and lost the purpose of God’s command of us. When a Christian fails to understand the importance of church, they start going in a downhill spiral of serving God. Day by day they become less useful to God because our usefulness begins and ends in the school of higher learning, and that is the local church. The church is where you hear, it is where your biblical improvement is made. How is God going to teach you if you are not working to learn His word through His place of learning. How will others learn if we are not teaching them, we are not self-taught. Think of church as school, the more you attend the more you learn and the more you learn the more you can teach others. If our schools were as empty as our churches, then look how ignorant our society would be. We simply cannot hide our gift of learning from those that are without, and we cannot help others that are without if we are hiding our light under basket. Every believer has the responsibility to help make disciples in this world, and this all works through the Local church. However, we cannot accomplish this if we are not the light of the world and if we are hiding our light under a basket. Matthew 5:14 “Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.” How bright is your light shining, or do you have it hidden under a basket? The world is a dark place, it needs all the light we can give to it.             

We must worship God as He is, a Spirit.

John 4:24 “God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.”

We must worship God as He truly is, as a Spirit, He is not a man nor is He anything like a man. God has no body because He is a Spirit. God as a Spirit is defined as - a current of air, that is, breath (blast) or a breeze – Per Strongs. God has not body nor can He have because God is Omnipresent which means He is always everywhere. God said of Himself in Acts 17:24 - 26 “God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands; (25) Neither is worshipped with men's hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things; (26) And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation;” Therefore, it must be concluded that God has no body, no hand, no brain, no heart, no hand, not body part at all, He is a Spirit. The bible speaks of body parts but only to make God’s actions understandable to us. For example, Jesus said, John 10:28 - 29 “And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. (29) My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand.” For us to be safely in the hand of Jesus is the same as being in the Hand of God. Jesus is expressing our security as the children of God being figurative in the hand of Him and the Father. Jesus has a body, and He has a hand because He is also the Son of man. We are as safe as though we are tightly in God’s hand, and spiritually speaking we are in God’s hand because He is Omnipresent. Since God is a Spirit, He cannot ever be absent from us. He has promised that no matter what, He will never leave us, He is forever with us. God does not dwell in temples made with hands, but He is in the temples that are His and those temples today are called churches and the bodies of every believer. For us to rightly worship God, we must first know Him, know who He is, and know what He is, otherwise how can a person worship Him if we do not know and understand Him. God said we must worship Him not only in Spirit but also in Truth.  A believer worships God in spirit, when, under the influence of the Holy Sprit because it is spiritually that we worship God. But also, God must be worshiped in Truth because God is Truth, and He will only accept worship that is spiritual and in truth. We must know and understand God’s being or else we cannot understand His Sovereignty. Paul wrote in 1 Timothy 1:17 “Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen.” How is one to worship God in Truth, we worship His true being. To worship God in truth is to worship Him according to His word, as He truly is. God will not accept any other kind of worship because to worship Him any other way is to falsely worship Him. Sometimes Christians ignore God’s word and accept the teachings of worldly religions, this is a big mistake. If God is not worshiped properly according to the scriptures, then your worship is useless. Just because other forms of worship feels good to the flesh doesn’t mean it’s acceptable to God. As Christians and churches, we must be careful and not allow ourselves to get caught up in human feelings or in worldly attractions. Everything we do in the form of worship must be strictly according to God’s word and our worship of God must be in spirit and truth.