“Spiritual Awareness”

Deception

2 Corinthians 11:14, 15

¹⁴ No wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. ¹⁵ Therefore it is not surprising if his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness, whose end will be according to their deeds.

Those who will come to deceive us will not come publicly denying Jesus.  They will preach what we preach.  They will speak the way we speak.  And they will do what we do.  

We identify these individuals by holding them up to the Bible.  God will allow us to witness the fruit that they produce.

Matthew 7:15-20

¹⁵ “Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. ¹⁶ You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes, nor figs from thistles, are they? ¹⁷ So every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. ¹⁸ A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. ¹⁹ Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. ²⁰ So then, you will know them by their fruits.

 

“Biblical Application”

Conversion

Romans 12:1-2

Therefore I urge you, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. ² And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.

Conversion requires that there is an internal change of heart and mind that is exhibited by an external change in our actions and behaviors. 

Acts 8:9-24 gives an account of a sorcerer by the name of Simon that was believed to be a man of God because of the magic he performed.  He came to believe in Christ and followed Philip after hearing Philip’s preaching.  However, when he witnessed people receiving the Holy Spirit after Peter and John laid hands on them, Simon attempted to purchase that authority.  His desire was the result of having an impure heart and he was enticed by the actions of his life up to that point.  His lust for this power indicated that no conversion had taken place. 

 

“Life Applications”

Conflict Resolution

Romans 12:17-21

¹⁷ Never repay evil for evil to anyone. Respect what is right in the sight of all people. ¹⁸ If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all people. ¹⁹ Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written: “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. ²⁰ “But if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” ²¹ Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

The only way an issue can be resolved is if all parties involved are willing to acknowledge their fault or the role that they played which factored into the disagreement.  If only one person apologizes for their offense and the other person accepts the apology but never apologizes for their role in the conflict, the issue does not get resolved; it simply gets smoothed over.  In order for a resolution to occur, all parties involved have to take accountability for their actions.  Unless an individual or group chose not to respond negatively to the conflict, each individual involved in the conflict have a share in the disagreement.  If only one person owns their error and expresses regret for it, the issue does not get resolved because, while they may have acknowledged their guilt, they never received an apology for the offense they experienced.  Even though they may never voice it, they understand that they were wronged as well. 

When we are made aware that we have been offensive toward someone, an apology is necessary, even if we do not understand why they feel offended.  We all have things that offend us that may not necessarily offend someone else.  This is because there are many dynamics that make us who we are and what we have experienced in our lives may contribute to how we view and receive words and actions.  Each of us has a responsibility to guard our words and actions to avoid unrighteous offense.  We also have a responsibility to respond righteously when we are offended.

Proverbs 19:11

A person’s discretion makes him slow to anger,
And it is his glory to overlook an offense.

 

“Biblical Truths”

Children of God

Romans 9:8

That is, it is not the children of the flesh who are children of God, But the children of the promise are regarded as descendants.

Some believe that we are all children of God. However, this statement could not be further from the truth.  While we may all be God’s CREATION, we are not all His CHILDREN. 

 

“Life Applications”

Change

Romans 12:2

And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.

In order to bring change to an individual, the focus must be on changing their MIND.  The INTERNAL has to be addressed before there can be a visible EXTERNAL change.  Mark 5:1-15 gives an account of a man who was demon possessed and living among the tombs.  This man had no desire to wear clothes.  However, after Jesus cast the demons out of the man, the man lost the desire to continue walking around naked.  

God is ultimately responsible for producing change in an individual, but there are times when we can be instrumental in the process of their change.  However, people tend to be resistant to our encouragement of their change if they have not witnessed change in us.  People who are close to us have the opportunity to observe our lives and they witness our flaws.  When they do not observe the same intensity in us to address our faults as they notice in our desire to produce change in them, our efforts will not yield any good results.