Take Heed That No Man Deceive You!

Matthew 24: 3-5: Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, "Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?"

And Jesus answered and said to them: "Take heed that no one deceives you. 5 For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many.

Also read Mark 13:5–23; Luke 21:5–24.

This week while watching the news, I caught a brief viewing of a man who is calling himself "Jesus". He is saying he is God’s son walking in the flesh to lead souls to heaven. In the news clip, he was preaching telling a huge congregation that he is indeed Jesus come to preach the gospel.

What struck me was the fact he was preaching from the bible.

Now my bible says that Jesus is the Living Word, so my thought was that if he has to read…just what was he reading from? Certainly not the King James Version, nor any of the bibles I have read.

My thoughts then went back to 1979/1980 when Jim Jones lead 1000 people to Guyana telling them he was God and he was going to take them to Heaven.

He performed all types of vile sexual behaviors. When the USA sent over government people to investigate, Jim Jones had them all killed.

He then told the people it was "time" to go to heaven. He had all the people drink kool-aid spiked with poison. After all the people were dead, men, women, children and babies,
Jim Jones he killed himself with a gun.

Only about 4 or 5 people were able to escape alive.

I vividly remember crying for three days. I prayed, and fasted asking God how I could have let this thing happen. I felt personally responsible for the death of so many souls.

Isn’t that how we should feel? What are we doing to bring Jesus to a lost and dying world?

I was talking to a bank teller who said the way they are taught to be able to distinguish between a counterfeit bill and the real thing is to study and know the various amounts of real paper bills. They study the real bills of money for hours. Then if a counterfeit bill comes along, they can detect it right away.

That is exactly what we must do. We must read the bible, pray and fast.

II Timothy 2: 15 : Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

We must study God’s Word. We must know God’s Word. Then when a counterfeit comes along, we will be able to detect it right away.

Are you a saved, born-again, bible reading Christian? Praise God! What are you doing with the Word of God?

Don’t keep the salvation you have hide…spread it around. Tell everyone you meet about Jesus. Let them know God loves them.

It is up to you and me to tell others about God’s love. I don’t ever want to be misled or have anyone in my family misled by false teachings. I don’t ever want to know that because I did not speak up for Jesus, someone’s soul went to hell.

It really is up to you and me. We have a work to do with not a minute to spare.

Oh God, I pray that You would bless your people, give us the courage and boldness we need to speak up for You to keep a world from dying lost. In Jesus Name. Amen.

A Prayer Before Surgery

My 9-year-old's last-second request surprised his doctor and taught me a valuable lesson about sharing the gospel.

by Tina Blessitt.

Last fall my 9-year-old son, Austin, had his tonsils removed. Before the surgery, Austin's anesthesiologist came to start an IV. He was wearing a cool surgical cap covered in colorful frogs. Austin loved that "frog hat."

The doctor explained that he had two choices. He could either try to start the IV, or he could wait until Austin was up in the operating room. In the OR the doctor would give Austin some "goofy" gas, and start the IV when he was more relaxed.

"So, Austin," he asked, "which do you want?" Austin replied, "I'll take the gas." But when the doctor started to leave, Austin called, "Hey, wait."

The doctor turned.

"Yeah, buddy, what do you need?"

"Do you go to church?"

"No," the doctor admitted. "I know I probably should, but I don't."

Austin then asked, "Well, are you saved?"

Chuckling nervously, the doctor said, "Nope. But after talking to you, maybe it's something I should consider."

Pleased with his response, Austin answered, "Well, you should, 'cause Jesus is great!"

"I'm sure He is, little guy," the doctor said, and quickly made his exit.

After that a nurse took me to the waiting room. Someone would come and get me when Austin's surgery was done.

After about 45 minutes, the anesthesiologist came into the waiting room. He told me the surgery went well and then said, "Mrs. Blessitt, I don't usually come down and talk to the parents after a surgery, but I just had to tell you what your son did."

Oh boy, I thought. What did that little rascal do now?

The doctor explained that he'd just put the mask on Austin when my son signaled that he needed to say something.

When the doctor removed the mask, Austin blurted, "Wait a minute, we have to pray!"

The doctor told him to go ahead, and Austin prayed, "Dear Lord, please let all the doctors and nurses have a good day. And Jesus, please let the doctor with the frog hat get saved and start going to church. Amen."

The doctor admitted this touched him.

"I was so sure he would pray that his surgery went well," he explained. "He didn't even mention his surgery. He prayed for me! Mrs Blessitt, I had to come down and let you know what a great little guy you have."

A few minutes later a nurse came to take me to post-op. She had a big smile on her face as we walked to the elevator.

"Mrs. Blessitt, I couldn't wait to tell you something exciting that your son did."

With a smile, I told her that the doctor already mentioned Austin's prayer.

"But there's something you don't know," she said. "Some of the other nurses and I have been witnessing to and praying for that doctor for a long time. After your son's surgery, he tracked a few of us down to tell us about Austin's prayer. He said, 'Well girls, you got me. If that little boy could pray for me when he was about to have surgery, then I think maybe I need his Jesus too.'"

She then recounted how they joined the doctor as he prayed to receive Christ right there in the hospital. Wow! Austin had played a small part in something wonderful. But then, so did the nurses who prayed and witnessed.

I thought about John's words in his Gospel, "One sows and the other reaps" (John 4:37). Austin's experience taught me that, although we never know which role we may be called to play, in the end it doesn't matter. What's important is that we remain faithful in sharing the gospel.

Tina Blessitt, a freelance writer, lives with her husband and four children in Kentucky.

ATTITUDE

There once was a woman who woke up one morning, looked in the mirror, and noticed she had only three hairs on her head.

"Well," she said, I think I'll braid my hair today."

So she did and she had a wonderful day. The next day she woke up, looked in the mirror and saw that she had only two hairs on her head.

"H-M-M,” she said, "I think I'll part my hair down the middle today."

So she did and she had a grand day. The next day she woke up, looked in the mirror and noticed that she had only one hair on her head.

"Well," she said, "Today I'm going to wear my hair in a pony tail."

So she did and she had a fun, fun day. The next day she woke up, looked in the mirror and noticed that there wasn't a single hair on her head.

"YEAH!" she exclaimed, "I don't have to fix my hair today!"

Attitude is everything. As the saying goes: "The kind of life you will have isn't determined by what happens to you, it's determined by your reaction to what happens to you."

Have a Good Day. Be kinder than necessary, for everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle and Forgive your enemies. It messes up their heads.

Our Lord Jesus Christ Gives Victory to His People

Our Lord Jesus Christ Gives Victory to His People...we are no longer guilty! He:

1. Demands FAITH (Hebrews 11:6 - Without FAITH it is impossible to please God!)
You must believe God and walk with Him even when you cannot see or understand what He is doing or where He is going!

2. Dispels FEAR (I John 4:18 - Perfect love drives out fear!)
The more you understand God the more you know you do not have to be afraid of the devil. Satan cannot hurt you unless God gives him permission. You do not need to be afraid.

3. Diminishes FRUSTRATION (Matthew 16:18 - I will build my church!)
You do not need to be upset when you cannot do the work. HE will use you and He will complete the work. It is HIS work, not yours, not mine. You do not need to be frustrated.

4. Directs the FUTURE (Isaiah 46:10 - I make known the end from the beginning!)
He IS in control! You cannot surprise God. He knows everything from the beginning until the end. He has a plan for your life. He wants the BEST for you! Will you let Him give you a future and a hope? (Jeremiah 29:11)

Those who trust in God are no longer guilty!

What do you think is the worst sin we can commit?

And when He comes, He will convince the world of its sin, and of God's righteousness, and of the coming judgment. John 16:8 NLT

The worst sin

What would you consider the worst sin you could commit? Adultery? Stealing? Murder? You might be surprised by the answer the Bible gives.

The worst sin—and the one with the most far-reaching consequences—is this: to refuse to believe in Jesus Christ.

Jesus taught that the Holy Spirit convicts guilty men and women of sin "because they do not believe in Me." (John 16:9) On that final day, it will not so much be the sin question as it will be the Son question. All sins can be dealt with and forgiven if we believe in Jesus.

We must not forget that knowledge brings responsibility. It is a grave thing to shake off the conviction of the Spirit.

Jesus said the Spirit came to convict us "of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged" (John 16:11). The ruler or prince of this world, Satan, was judged at Calvary. When Jesus went to the cross and died in our place, Satan lost his death grip on humanity.

The spirit convicts us of sin, righteousness, and judgment, but He wants most of all to give us assurance of forgiven sin. Why not let Him do what He really desires to do? Why not come to Jesus? If not...why not!

Your greatest blessing comes when you come to Jesus, then help someone else find God too.