Watch What You Say

When should we guard what we say? One time is described in Psalm 39 verse 1.

I said, “I will guard my ways,
that I may not sin with my tongue;
I will guard my mouth with a muzzle,
so long as the wicked are in my presence.”

Have you ever been in the presence of foul mouthed, vulgar people and wonder how you should respond to their hateful speech?

This Psalm has two pointers for us to consider in those situations.

The first is make sure we don’t join in their abusive language and thereby sin.

The second is make sure we really shut up and don’t engage them. They are called wicked. I take this to mean that they may become physically dangerous if you try to correct them.

Another thought is to make sure we don’t encourage them. If they are telling dirty jokes, don’t laugh. If they are making offensive comments about others, walk away.

Remember also, that we are only saved from the same things when we came to know Jesus as Savior.

If you are one of the wicked and want to change all that, watch my video on the Gospel on YouTube.

Dangerous Half-Truth

Telling people that God loves them the way they are is a dangerous half-truth.

Look at the way it should be told starting in Psalm 36:7 and ending in verse 12.

How precious is your steadfast love, O God!
The children of mankind take refuge in the shadow of your wings.

Isn’t that a great promise? But that isn’t all there is.The psalm goes on with more comforting words, but it finishes with verse 12.

There the evildoers lie fallen;
they are thrust down, unable to rise.

If I just read the first 11 verses I would only be telling half of the truth. I would be just like the preachers and the Christian radio DJs who like to say, “God loves you just the way you are.”

That is only half the truth. The rest is that he doesn’t want you to stay the way you are no matter how good or bad you are.

If you know Jesus and you don’t change and grow in holiness you will be disciplined, Hebrews 12:10 says, “He disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness.”

If you do not know Jesus Christ for salvation the danger of only hearing half of the truth is that you may think you don’t have to change.

If you stay the way you are, Jesus says in Luke 13:3, “No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.”

To know Jesus Christ who is the truth, watch my video on the Gospel on my profile page or on YouTube.

God bless you.

Conspiracies of Christians

Too many Christians have been sucked into conspiracy theories and follow ungodly leaders. How should Christians deal with conspiracies?

John 7:1 sets the stage for dealing with them. It says, “After this, Jesus went around in Galilee, purposely staying away from Judea because the Jews there were waiting to take his life.”

After many of his disciples left him, Jesus was very cautious about his exposure to the Jewish leaders who wanted to kill him. This wasn’t just a conspiracy theory and the irrational fears that come from that. They wanted to kill him because he had called God his Father, which was a clear claim to his own deity as recorded in John 5 verse 18.

When we come to conspiracies, we need to be cautious. Not everything is a conspiracy. God made it clear in Isiah 11:11-13 that we need to focus on him instead of groundless fears. He said, “For the Lord spoke thus to me with his strong hand upon me, and warned me not to walk in the way of this people, saying: "Do not call conspiracy all that this people calls conspiracy, and do not fear what they fear, nor be in dread. 13 But the Lord of hosts, him you shall regard as holy. Let him be your fear, and let him be your dread.”

Falling for conspiracies happens when we are not walking with the Lord. It happens when we follow the way of people. It only causes needless fear. Instead of following the crowd (even when that crowd is other Christians), we need to focus on holiness and the fear of the Lord that comes when we understand that we are not holy.

To put it into perspective of the current environment, conspiracies are the realm of the far right and the far left. They belong to those with extreme positions. They ignore facts and claim that their “facts” are true even in the presence of evidence that proves the opposite. They will only listen to those who agree with them and fulfill Paul’s prophecy in 2 Timothy 4:3-4.

“For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. 4 They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.”

I call upon Christians who have been sucked into these conspiracies to repent of following worldly leaders who are only out to enrich and empower themselves claiming to look out for the good of the country. Remember that God is sovereign; he raises up our leaders and brings them down according to Daniel 2:21. Look for godly men instead of those who claim to look out for Christian ideals but don’t live them out themselves. 

If you don't know Jesus, then watch my video on YouTube, "The Gospel in 3 Minutes" It will tell you how to know Jesus for salvation and then you will be blessed according to the Bible.