Truth on the Menu
Greetings in the Lord!
You know, its funny how the Holy Spirit will quote a secular saying sometimes to shed light on a particular passage or theme He may be teaching about. Like, for example, recently He said this to comment on Jeremiah 23, Micah 3, and Zechariah 13:
"You can fool some of the people all the time, and all of the people some of the time,
but you cannot fool all of the people all of the time."
I've always had an appreciation for little bits of conventional wisdom with humor. It's like a spoonful of sugar to help the medicine go down, ya know? In this case, if you were to read the above passages in Jeremiah 23, Micah 3, and Zechariah 13, you may very well desire a little sugar to go with those Scriptures as they pull no punches about people telling lies and making up stories to mislead others--all in the name of the Lord. These are called false prophets.
This is what the Lord Almighty says: "Do not listen to what the prophets are prophesying to you; they fill you with false hopes. They speak visions from their own minds, not from the mouth of the Lord. They keep saying to those who despise Me, 'The Lord says: You will have peace.' And to all who follow the stubbornness of their hearts they say, 'No harm will come to you.' But which of them has stood in the council of the Lord to see or to hear His word? Who has listened and heard His word?...I am against the prophets who wag their own tongues and yet declare, 'The Lord declares.' Indeed, I am against those who prophesy false dreams," declares the Lord. "They tell them and lead My people astray with their reckless lies, yet I did not send or appoint them. They do not benefit these people in the least," declares the Lord.
So that leads me back to what the Holy Spirit said regarding these Scriptures: some people surely are fooled all of the time--the lying "prophet" counts on that. Maybe because these false speakers appear friendly and trustworthy, good-looking and harmless, persuasive in their smooth words, whatever, but alas, some people will always be fooled by them because the spoken words are too delicious to be passed up and lies taste better to them than the truth.
Then, there is the false prophet that is able to fool "all the people"...but only "some of the time." True--if even for just a moment. One of the tests the Bible gives to determine a false prophet is to examine their fruit. Do their words come true? Are they speaking from spite or a competive spirit that seeks glory or benefit for themselves? Does their current life reflect a close and intimate relationship with Jesus or are they living off of past good deeds and a self-righteous viewpoint of themselves? Do they quote other "prophets" to prove their points or bemean others to sound or look superior? Is what they're saying not compatible with Scripture or does it endorse a secular viewpoint ahead of the Word of God? These are just some of the ways lying "prophets" can go about fooling people and misleading them from the true words of God. But be sure, they are most certainly found out with time. The Lord will see to that.
Since I've been back in the States for vacation these are the Scriptures the Lord has had me read and the word is that false prophets will be revealed and sifted out of the American Church. Its open season on people who have been perpetuating lies in the name of the Lord. Pray that the true word of God will overflow from the mouths of God's servants while imposters and self-appointed "prophets" be revealed and shamed in the assembly of God's people. I also pray that all those who embraced the lies of those false prophets and even persecuted true prophets would share in the discipline of the Lord for their hard-heartedness.
Lord, I thank you for your unending love that corrects and returns us to have a closer and more truer walk with you. I thank You for giving us Your precious Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Truth, to guide us into all righteousness and maturity in Christ. In Jesus name I pray, Amen.
~Be blessed and be a blessing.
You know, its funny how the Holy Spirit will quote a secular saying sometimes to shed light on a particular passage or theme He may be teaching about. Like, for example, recently He said this to comment on Jeremiah 23, Micah 3, and Zechariah 13:
"You can fool some of the people all the time, and all of the people some of the time,
but you cannot fool all of the people all of the time."
I've always had an appreciation for little bits of conventional wisdom with humor. It's like a spoonful of sugar to help the medicine go down, ya know? In this case, if you were to read the above passages in Jeremiah 23, Micah 3, and Zechariah 13, you may very well desire a little sugar to go with those Scriptures as they pull no punches about people telling lies and making up stories to mislead others--all in the name of the Lord. These are called false prophets.
This is what the Lord Almighty says: "Do not listen to what the prophets are prophesying to you; they fill you with false hopes. They speak visions from their own minds, not from the mouth of the Lord. They keep saying to those who despise Me, 'The Lord says: You will have peace.' And to all who follow the stubbornness of their hearts they say, 'No harm will come to you.' But which of them has stood in the council of the Lord to see or to hear His word? Who has listened and heard His word?...I am against the prophets who wag their own tongues and yet declare, 'The Lord declares.' Indeed, I am against those who prophesy false dreams," declares the Lord. "They tell them and lead My people astray with their reckless lies, yet I did not send or appoint them. They do not benefit these people in the least," declares the Lord.
So that leads me back to what the Holy Spirit said regarding these Scriptures: some people surely are fooled all of the time--the lying "prophet" counts on that. Maybe because these false speakers appear friendly and trustworthy, good-looking and harmless, persuasive in their smooth words, whatever, but alas, some people will always be fooled by them because the spoken words are too delicious to be passed up and lies taste better to them than the truth.
Then, there is the false prophet that is able to fool "all the people"...but only "some of the time." True--if even for just a moment. One of the tests the Bible gives to determine a false prophet is to examine their fruit. Do their words come true? Are they speaking from spite or a competive spirit that seeks glory or benefit for themselves? Does their current life reflect a close and intimate relationship with Jesus or are they living off of past good deeds and a self-righteous viewpoint of themselves? Do they quote other "prophets" to prove their points or bemean others to sound or look superior? Is what they're saying not compatible with Scripture or does it endorse a secular viewpoint ahead of the Word of God? These are just some of the ways lying "prophets" can go about fooling people and misleading them from the true words of God. But be sure, they are most certainly found out with time. The Lord will see to that.
Since I've been back in the States for vacation these are the Scriptures the Lord has had me read and the word is that false prophets will be revealed and sifted out of the American Church. Its open season on people who have been perpetuating lies in the name of the Lord. Pray that the true word of God will overflow from the mouths of God's servants while imposters and self-appointed "prophets" be revealed and shamed in the assembly of God's people. I also pray that all those who embraced the lies of those false prophets and even persecuted true prophets would share in the discipline of the Lord for their hard-heartedness.
Lord, I thank you for your unending love that corrects and returns us to have a closer and more truer walk with you. I thank You for giving us Your precious Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Truth, to guide us into all righteousness and maturity in Christ. In Jesus name I pray, Amen.
~Be blessed and be a blessing.
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