Jealousy is a Waste of Energy

 

13 I have seen a grievous evil under the sun:  wealth hoarded to the harm of its owners,

14 or wealth lost through some misfortune,
   so that when they have children
   there is nothing left for them to inherit.
15 Everyone comes naked from their mother’s womb,
    and as everyone comes, so they depart.
They take nothing from their toil
    that they can carry in their hands. (Ecclesiastes 5)

It is an interesting phenomena that so many people work to help those that are “less fortunate” and yet, many times this same humanity is jealous of someone else’s position in life. On one hand we do not want anyone to suffer misfortune such as poverty, abuse, or a physical disfiguration; yet, on the other hand, we feel envious towards those who have something we wish we could have, or we treat ones with disdain and snub people for minor infractions or prejudices in our heart; or we secretly envy the physical beautiful aspects of another person.

Jealousy is a waste of energy. Nothing, not one single thing, will you take from this world, except your experience of it. LOVE is the only treasure you take away with you.

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Potential Proselytes

  Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves. Matthew 23:15

How does a religious man know that he has found a potential “proselyte”? He finds someone that is ignorant of his Bible and that won’t question his teachings. He may ask questions, but he wont challenge his teachings. They may call this a “teachable spirit.”  Someone that brings out the Bible and begins to show them things contrary to what they are saying, they will quickly move on and dismiss as a “dishonest” person.

These are ones looking for proselytes, or in modern language- converts. They want to make the person over and box them up in their particular religious house like a trophy piece. Be warned! Christ said these become twofold more the child of hell than those who converted them. I wonder why. . .

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Who Are You Lifting Up?

Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up,  that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him. (John 3: 14_15)

Jesus is referring to an old testament story of told in Numbers 21 of a time when the Israelites grew weary on their journey out of the land of Egypt and began to complain against God and Moses. The Bible says that God sent serpents that bit the people and many died. The people asked Moses to pray for them and when he did, God told Moses to take a pole and then to make a bronze snake to put at the end of it and set it up for the people. Then when one was bit by the snake, if they looked at the bronze snake lifted up on the pole, they lived.

So here, Jesus is likening himself to the bronze snake in the old testament. He is to be lifted up and when He is lifted up and people look to Him they will live. This is so important, and really so missed by religion.

Many times the pastor or dynamic speaker is lifted up, the bands and entertainment are lifted up, the religious doctrine is lifted up, the rules or the way a certain denomination holds things are lifted up, the works of a church are lifted up, the arguments of what is right and what is wrong are lifted up, etc . . . and CHRIST is lost in the background.  God has even witnessed to me that much of what goes on by way of  “praise” today are crowds gathering together and working themselves up into a frenzy shouting and getting “high on the moment” and not even realizing that Christ is not being lifted up at all, that the reality is, they are full of  themselves.

How will you know if you are lifting up Christ or not? Christ said himself- “And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” John 12:32  Now here He is speaking of his crucifixion, however he states the purpose of lifting the Savior up is to draw all people to HIM! Its not just about saying his name either. Its about really seeking him with all your heart, reading his words, talking to him with a prayerful heart and listening to his leading in your life. Its about desiring to be a proper representative of him in this world, because when you say you are a follower of Jesus and you misrepresent him, you dishonor his precious name.

People wonder, why they are dying spiritually? Who is being lifted up in your life? Turn your eyes fully upon Jesus, lift him up in true praise and worship and you will come alive. This “alive” will be to the things of God- the souls he loves and wants to see healed, and to reconcile to himself. God sent Christ to seek and save the lost. God sent Christ to teach people the way of righteousness. God sent Christ to show us how to love each other. God sent Christ that whoever would believe in him would be saved – saved from sin and the condemnation, and separation from God that sin brings. God sent Christ because He loved us. He loved us so much he gave us himself in his Son Jesus Christ.

God help us daily to remember that Christ suffered horribly, was lifted up on a cruel and torching cross, that we who have been bitten by the serpent might be redeemed from an otherwise certain death. We need to keep our eyes on Christ alone. He is the one we worship. Not our pastors. Not our church affiliations. Not our reputation amongst “brethren.” But we lift up the Lord Jesus Christ, and when we do, we live and souls will be drawn to him.

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19 Cult Characteristics

Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke?

(Isaiah 58:6)

Someone recently told me that it takes the average person that leaves a cult five years to clear themselves of its fears and distortions. That makes a lot of sense when one has been in something that they have embraced as the epitome of truth and right.  In this day of so much confusion and so much calling from every direction, it behooves us to pay attention to the warning signs and above all, to pray and seek God and ask him to be our light. Don’t allow anyone or anything to destroy that mustard seed of faith God put into your heart. Treasure it. Water it. An above all guard it.

Above all else, guard your heart,
for everything you do flows from it.
(Proverbs 4:23)

University of California at Berkeley (19 Characteristics)

Recruitment

1. Deception – Group identity and/or true motives are not revealed. The group leaders tell members to withhold truth from outsiders.

2. Emotional Leverage/Love Bombing – Instant friendship, extreme helpfulness, generosity and acceptance…Group recruiters “lovingly” will not take “no” for an answer-invitations impossible to refuse without feeling guilty and/or ungrateful. “Love”, “generosity”, “encouragement” are used to lower defenses and create an ever increasing sense of obligation, debt and guilt.

3. Exploit Personal Crisis – They use an existing crisis as a means of getting you to participate. They exploit vulnerability arising from:

• Broken relationships
• Death in the family
• Loss of job
• Move to new location
• Loneliness/depression
• Guilt/shame
• Stress/fear

4. Crisis Creation – They employ tactics designed to create or deepen confusion, fear, guilt or doubt. i.e. “you aren’t serving God the way He intended.” Questions areas of faith never before examined or explored and attack other faiths specifically.

5. All The Answers – Provide simple answers to the confusion they, themselves, create. Support these answers with material produced or “approved” by the group.

Programming

1. Intense Study – Focus is on group doctrine and writings. Bible, if used at all, is referred to one verse at time to “prove” group teachings.

2. Opposer Warnings – Recruiters are told that “Satan” will cause relatives and friend to say bad things about the group to try to “steal them away from God.” Recruits soon believes group members, alone, are truthful/trustworthy.

3. Guilt and Fear – Group dwells on members’ “sinful nature” (many use public confession). Guilt and fear arising from “failing God” are magnified to manipulate new member.

4. Schedule Control & Fatigue – Study and service become mandatory. New member becomes too busy to question. Family, friends, jobs and hobbies are squeezed out, further isolating the new member.

5. Attack Independent Thought – Critical thinking is discouraged as prideful and sinful, blind acceptance encouraged.

6. Divine Commission – Leader(s) claim new revelation from God, within past 200 years, in which all but their group are rejected by God. They, alone, speak for God.

7. Absolutism – They insist on total, unquestioning obedience and submission to the group, both actions AND thoughts. Group “love” and acceptance becomes dependent upon obedience and submission. Unconditional love…isn’t.

8. Totalism – “Us against them” thinking. Strengthens group identity. Everyone outside of group lumped under one label.

Retention

1. Motive Questioning- When sound evidence against the group is presented, members are taught to question the motivation of the presenter. The verifiable (sound documentation) is ignored because of doubts over the unverifiable (presenter’s motives). See Opposer Warnings (#2 above).

2. Information Control – Group controls what convert may read or hear. They discourage (forbid) contact with ex-members or anything critical of the group. May say it is the same as pornography making it not only sinful and dangerous but shameful as well. Ex-members become feared and avoidance of them becomes a “survival issue.”

3. Isolation, Separation & Alienation – Group becomes substitute family. Members encouraged to drop worldly (non-members) friends. May be told to change jobs, quit school, give up sports, hobbies, etc.

4. Coercion – Disobedience, including even minor disagreement with group doctrine, may result in expulsion and shunning.

5. Phobias – The idea is planted that anyone who leaves goes into a life of depravity and sin, loses their sanity, dies, or will have children die, etc. Constant rumors of bad things happening to people who leave. No one ever leaves for “legitimate reasons.”

6. Striving for the Unreachable – Group membership and service are essential for salvation…”Work your way into God’s favor.” NO matter what you do, it is never enough.

So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, 27 for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female,for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise. . . So you are no longer a slave, but God’s child; and since you are his child, God has made you also an heir. . . Have I now become your enemy by telling you the truth? Those people are zealous to win you over, but for no good. What they want is to alienate you from us, so that you may have zeal for them. . . It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. . .  You who are trying to be justified by the law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace. 5 For through the Spirit we eagerly await by faith the righteousness for which we hope. . . You were running a good race. Who cut in on you to keep you from obeying the truth? 8 That kind of persuasion does not come from the one who calls you. . .  For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” 15 If you bite and devour each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other. . .

(Study and pray over Galatians for a more in-depth understanding of these scriptures)

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New Wine

“[No] one after drinking old wine wants the new, for they say, ‘The old is better.”

(Luke 5)

“They say the old wine is better” – Jesus said this after preaching from a boat, touching a man with leprosy, telling a man his sins were forgiven, sitting down to eat and drink with a roomful of tax collectors and sinners, and being questioned and ridiculed every step of the way because it was not according to the “customs of the day.”

Sermons were supposed to be preached in temples by “anointed men of God.” People with leprosy were to be kept far away from. No one but God had the right to pardon someones sins. The righteous were not mingle with sinners and furthermore, they usually spent their time fasting and praying, not eating and drinking.

Earlier in this chapter we read that Jesus went out alone in the wilderness and took time to pray. There, all alone with God, Jesus was given new wine to drink and new wine to share when he came back into the crowds. He had something fresh and life-changing.

If all you are drinking is the “old wine,” then all you will be doing is complaining whenever you see the new wine being poured out; you will be blinded to all the good the new and fresh wine is doing.  You will have one solo message; “THE OLD IS BETTER” and all around your eyes will only see that the old is not being adhered to- the old ways of doing things, the old religious systems.

Go, take some wilderness time with God alone, and let him pour forth some new wine into your soul! Let him give you something new and fresh- something relevant for today’s needs. Get out of your religious rut and back into the leading of the Holy Spirit. Let go of the old so God can bless you with something new!!!

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The Knowledge of Good and Evil

“And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it. And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die. . . And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat. And the eyes of them both were opened  .  .  .” (Genesis 2,3)

Dear Adam and Eve,

Now that your eyes are opened, tell me what do you think of the knowledge of good and evil? How do you perceive the goodness of God?

“For he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.” (Matt. 5:45)

“He hath made every thing beautiful in His time:” (Eccl. 3:11)

And He hath said, “Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.” (Jer. 31:3)

And what about the evil. We all have well drunk of the knowedge of evil .  .  .

“And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.” (Gen. 6: 5-6)

So Adam and Eve, you have been given the great gift of the knowledge of good and evil, and you have passed that gift onto us, your children. I for one have found it too much to bear. I have read in God’s Holy word that all the wisdom in the world cannot save you nor keep you saved, for King Solomon was the wisest man there ever was and he died by suicide having departed from the living God.

I will leave you with a couple scriptures that I believe are the sum of this post:

“For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called:  But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;  And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are: That no flesh should glory in his presence.” (1 Cor. 1:26-29)

“And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God. For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified.“ (1 Cor. 2:1-2)

“Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.” (Eccl. 12: 13-14)

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Stay Free From Pharisee Thinking

Years ago a visiting minister to our congregation would not sing along with us several of the songs from our hymn book because they were written by what he believed were false christians, though why he set himself up to be their judge I have yet to understand. However, I remember our pastor later mentioning the absurdity of that kind of thinking, and well it was. The songs were very edifying and godly.
Yet its strikes me funny that we see this type of thing going on amongst us all the time in other ways. I see perfectly good sound and edifying articles posted on face book that hardly anyone hits the “like” button on and I know it is because of “WHO” wrote the article rather than anything to do with the “content” of the aritcle. The people are already judged and condemned and so is anything they have to offer. How sad. It reminds me of the parable that Jesus told:

And he spoke this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous and despised others:  Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself; “God I thank you that I am not like other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and I give tithes of all that I possess.”
And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, “God be merciful to me a sinner.”
I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other. For every one that exalts himself, shall be humbled and he that humbles himself shall be exalted.  Luke 18:9-14

Many people said of Jesus that he had a devil. But others said, “Can the devil open the eyes of the blind?”

Jesus said, if you are going to judge, at least judge righteous judgement. If what you read is good, it is good. Give God glory. Be thankful for the vessel that was utilized to bring forth a good word in due season. God has even used a donkey to bring a message to a man once. If we refuse a message because of the vessel it is delivered in, even though the messsage is perfectly sound, we are a respector of persons and God says if we have respect of persons we are sinning.

If we are claiming to be living a “sin-free” life, then we should not be having respect of persons. Respect of persons is holding someone up so high that they are almost God-like- unreproachable.

You can gossip all you want about the person who “left your congregation” but woe to the one who says anything about the mighty one in holy robes who stands behind the pulpit. That is respector of persons! That is not right and God will bring judgment upon that.

People are people. Gossip and slander is wrong no matter who it is about. And if someone has left your “congregation” if you are the true body of Christ, your burden would be to see that person reconciled with the body. But cutting them off and treating them as if they are no longer part of your family is not right. That is pushing them further away and sealing them out permanently because you are not showing love but rather wounding them so deeply they will never be able to trust you again. Even God said to his back slidden church, “I am married to you.” (Jeremiah 3:14)

Our message and burden to every soul should always be reconciliation. But reconciliation never comes through the pompous, proud religous minded groups. They either lock you in to a religious system or lock you out because you wont bow to their written or unwritten creeds. Jesus would not be locked in and so was locked out.

Lets stay free! Free from sin, free from Pharisee thinking, free from religious pride, free to love souls so we can truly help them be reconciled to God and/or his body!

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Famous Quotes From Dictators

Sometimes its good to study the tactics of the enemy- his greatest weapon to bring people into bondage is FEAR! But God does not want us to be entangled with the yoke of bondage. He wants us to cast out fear. Fear has torment.  God wants us to be FREE in him. Listen to what Christ said to his disciples:

And when they were come to Capernaum, they that received tribute money came to Peter, and said, Doth not your master pay tribute? He saith, Yes. And when he was come into the house, Jesus prevented him, saying, What thinkest thou, Simon? of whom do the kings of the earth take custom or tribute? of their own children, or of strangers? Peter saith unto him, Of strangers. Jesus saith unto him, Then are the children free. Matthew17: 24-26

Nevertheless what saith the scripture? Cast out the bondwoman and her son: for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman. So then, brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman, but of the free. Galatians 4:30-31

Famous Dictator Quotes:
I believe today that my conduct is in accordance with the will of the Almighty Creator.~Adolf Hitler

“The oppressed peoples can liberate themselves only through struggle. This is a simple and clear truth confirmed by history.” – Kim Il-Sung

“Within a system which denies the existence of basic human rights, fear tends to be the order of the day. Fear of imprisonment, fear of torture, fear of death, fear of losing friends, family, property or means of livelihood, fear of poverty, fear of isolation, fear of failure. A most insidious form of fear is that which masquerades as common sense or even wisdom, condemning as foolish, reckless, insignificant or futile the small, daily acts of courage which help to preserve man’s self-respect and inherent human dignity. It is not easy for a people conditioned by fear under the iron rule of the principle that might is right to free themselves from the enervating miasma of fear. Yet even under the most crushing state machinery courage rises up again and again, for fear is not the natural state of civilized man.”― Aung San Suu Kyi, Freedom from Fear

“Withholding information is the essence of tyranny. Control of the flow of information is the tool of the dictatorship.” ― Bruce Coville

“Time and time again does the pride of man influence his very own fall. While denying it, one gradually starts to believe that he is the authority, or that he possesses great moral dominion over others, yet it is spiritually unwarranted. By that point he loses steam; in result, he falsely begins trying to prove that unwarranted dominion by seizing the role of a condemner.” ― Criss Jami, Salomé: In Every Inch In Every Mile

“When we’re afraid, we lose all sense of analysis and reflection. Our fear paralyzes us. Besides, fear has always been the driving force behind all dictators’ repression.”
― Marjane Satrapi, Persepolis

“The true essence of a dictatorship is in fact not its regularity but its unpredictability and caprice; those who live under it must never be able to relax, must never be quite sure if they have followed the rules correctly or not.”
― Christopher Hitchens, Hitch-22: A Memoir

“The lesson we are indebted to Egypt for, our future generations learned that in the face of oppression silence is never golden.”
― Aysha Taryam,

“Dictatorship, by whatever name, is founded on the doctrine that the individual amounts to nothing; that the State is the only one that counts; and that men and women and children were put on earth solely for the purpose of serving the state.”
― Harry S. Truman

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Salt That’s Lost it’s Savour

Dead Sea Salt Formations

Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men. Matthew 5:13

During the age when Jesus was depicting his people as the “salt of the earth” the salt that was widely utilized was taken from the Dead Sea. Its most common purpose was to salt dung that was then rendered usable to burn as fuel in the earthen ovens outside their homes. This salt was differnt from the table salt we use today, which cannot lose its flavour. This salt had to be kept dry and free from earth, or it would be changed into a powdery substance that was no longer usable. At that time people tossed garbage out into the streets (garbage was probably very scarce) and hence we have the analogy that the salt is no longer good for anything but to be tossed out into the streets where men trod every day.

The Jews reffered to the law as “salt and the light.” Salt was considered a purifying agent and a metaphor for wisdom. It is noteworthy that Jesus follows this statement about salt and light with;

“Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.  For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 5: 17-20

He then enters into what is known as “The Sermon on the Mount” with a well known Old Testament Law- and then defines its “fullness” of meaning. The whole sermon expands on what the people had been taught out of the law.

In light of this study, it stands to reason that the Christian is to be careful to maintian the purity of the word of God in their daily living. Also, if the Christian begins to mix that way with the ways of the world and its varied philosophies, that Christian’s message will become good for nothing. We cannot explain away the authority of the Word of God. It is the Word of Life.

We must be the salt of the earth, by living the truth out in our lives and not compromising what we know God’s word says to appease the mulititudes of Bible critics and naysayers. The law of God is to be written on our hearts and lived out in our lives.  (Hebrews 10:16) The ways of God must be preserved. We are the salt of the earth, the preserver of this way of life. To say that its okay to live any way we choose and to be accepted of God is to water down the message of God and become a useless Christian.

I repeat the words of Christ, “except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.”

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Does God Care About His Truth?

When you look around at all the religious organizations that claim to be “Christian” and all the differences of opinions and doctrine, one has to wonder; Does God care about His truth? Does it matter to him which church we go to? Does He care if some of what is being taught is not what he meant?

Before we let the Word of God answer those questions, lets just reason together for a minute. Suppose you wrote a will and left it for your children about what to do with all your assets after you were gone. You were very careful and precise as to who gets what. You thought lovingly and carefully about each child, each friend, each cause that meant a great deal to your heart. You spent much time in planning and writing out your will.

Do you think it would be important to you whether or not your children understood what you desired? Would you care if some of your children decided to rewrite in another will what you really meant? – as do so many “christian” organizations? What if your children began to represent you in a way that was false to your very Character?

If we would care about these things, don’t you think that almighty God, who went so far for his truth as to send His own Son to set us free by his truth, cares about how it is represented- cares that it remains pure?

Now, lets just look at a few scriptures about the truth and let them speak for themselves:

Lord, who shall abide in thy tabernacle? who shall dwell in thy holy hill? He that walketh uprightly, and worketh righteousness, and speaketh the truth in his heart. Ps. 15:1-2

Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom. Ps. 51:6

He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler. (Psalms 91:4)

The LORD is nigh unto all them that call upon him, to all that call upon him in truth. (Pslams 145:18)

Let not mercy and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart: (Proverbs 3:3)

He that speaketh truth sheweth forth righteousness: but a false witness deceit. (Proverbs 12:17)

By mercy and truth iniquity is purged: and by the fear of the LORD men depart from evil. (Proverbs 16:6)

Buy the truth, and sell it not; also wisdom, and instruction, and understanding. (Proverbs 23:23)

Open ye the gates, that the righteous nation which keepeth the truth may enter in. (Isaiah26:2)

None calleth for justice, nor any pleadeth for truth: they trust in vanity, and speak lies; they conceive mischief, and bring forth iniquity. And judgment is turned away backward, and justice standeth afar off: for truth is fallen in the street, and equity cannot enter. Yea, truth faileth; and he that departeth from evil maketh himself a prey: and the LORD saw it, and it displeased him that there was no judgment. (Isaiah 59:4, 14,15)

Behold, I will bring it health and cure, and I will cure them, and will reveal unto them the abundance of peace and truth. (Jeremiah 33:6)

And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth. (John 1:14)

But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. God [is] a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth. (John 4:23-24)

And ye shall know the truth, and the TRUTH shall make you free. (John 8:32)

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. (John 8:44)

Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. (John 14:6)

Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, [that] shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come. (John 16:13)

Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth. John 17:17

Pilate therefore said unto him, Art thou a king then? Jesus answered, Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the TRUTH heareth my voice. (John 18:37)

For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the TRUTH in unrighteousness; (Romans 1:18)

But unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath, Romans 2:8

[LOVE] Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; (1 Corinthians 13:6)

O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you? (Galatians 3:1)

Ye did run well; who did hinder you that ye should not obey the truth? (Galatians 5:7)

Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; (Ephesians 6:14)

And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness. But we are bound to give thanks alway to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth: (2 Thessalonians 2:10-13)

For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour; Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth. (1 Timothy 2:3-4)

But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth. (1 Timothy 3:15)

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)

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)

Paul, a servant of God, and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God’s elect, and the acknowledging of the TRUTH which is after godliness; (Titus 1:1)

Not giving heed to Jewish fables, and commandments of men, that turn from the truth. (Titus 1:14)

Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures. (James 1:18)

Brethren, if any of you do err from the truth, and one convert him; Let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins. (James 5:19-20)

He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the TRUTH is not in him. (1John 2:4)

I have not written unto you because ye know not the truth, but because ye know it, and that no lie is of the truth. (1 John 2:21)

My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth. (1John 3:18)

I rejoiced greatly that I found of thy children walking in truth, as we have received a commandment from the Father. (2 John 1:4)

I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth. (3 John 1:4)

I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ. But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. As we said before, so say I now again, if any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed. (Galatians  1:6-9)

The truth is very important- so important! It saves us, sets us free from sin, keeps us free from sin, arms us, protects us, leads us, gives us light, etc…
Departing from the truth, or receiving something that is false puts a curse on our lives. Revelations says about Babylon the great whore- which is symbolic of false religions or religions that are not walking in the pure truth:

And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird. For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies. And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues. Rev. 18:2-4

Knowing, accepting, believing, seeking, living, the truth is vitally important. Don’t just accept any old lie out there. Love your soul more than that. Love Christ. Seek him with all your heart- and he will be found and he will show you the truth, and the truth will set your FREE! Praise God!!!

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