Thursday, January 3, 2013

Who Are You Listening To?

            The world says "everyone's doing it." The advertisements say, "you have to have one of these. Everyone has one." The news media makes it seem as though everyone in the country from ten years old and up is doing drugs or drinking excessively. We are bombarded multiple times a day with messages about what to eat, what to wear, how to live, where to live, get the best buy. These don't even include the rumors you hear at work, the gossip, the innuendos.
            And then there's the church, you know, the worldwide church. The TV preachers with their plastic smiles and $1,000 suits who promise that if you put a smile on your face, speak to that checkbook and tell it to be filled, and send them money, you will be blessed. Or there are the ones that sound so sincere but all they ever talk about is God's love.
            Is there any truth to be found any more, anywhere? Who can you trust? Who can you believe? I have the answer. Don't give up. Don't lose hope. Keep reading.
            Genesis chapters 2 and 3 and describe the beginning of life after God finished creating everything. He made Adam and placed him in a beautiful garden where he could care for the animals and water God's garden. It was a rich, fertile land with all manner of fruit and vegetables just begging to be eaten. Adam saw that all of the animals had mates but he was alone. God then created Eve from one of Adam's ribs, a place close to his heart. Adam cherished his wife as we read his poem upon her being presented to him.
            God had told Adam he could eat of any tree in the garden except the tree of knowledge of good and evil. We always want what is forbidden, don't we? But Satan came in and challenged God's word. He didn't go to Adam. He went to Eve because he knew that God had not specifically told Eve not to eat the fruit; He had told Adam. We read that Adam was there, with his wife, however, when Satan was tempting her. Adam didn't say a word. He listened and ate the forbidden fruit with his wife. God's judgment was swift; it came later that day and the couple was banished from the garden. Now Adam was no longer calling Eve his wife; she was "that woman you gave me," when he answered God. He blamed her for his sin.
            Satan still challenges God's Word today. He sets up false teachers, false prophets, preachers who only tell us what we want to hear. He fills our churches with entertainment instead of truth. He gives us bibles that have changed the truth of God into a lie. If you want the truth, read God's Authorized version of the Bible, the King James. Too hard to understand, you say? I recommend a good concordance: Vine's or Strong's. Also, get a good study Bible such as Life Application or Rainbow Study Bible. We must be careful not to get a wrong understanding of God's Word. I have a free downloadable program called e-sword. It has Strong's built in so you can immediately look up the meaning of a word. Happy studying and God bless.

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