Imagine for a moment, The Lord Jesus stopping in at your house to visit with you personally. You have him sit in your most comfortable chair. In the course of your sharing together you offer him a cigarette. What do you think his response would be?

In 1991, Larry Burkett wrote The Coming Economic Earthquake, warning of the dangers of the ever-growing appetite for debt by our society and federal government alike. Although a best seller and helpful to many who heeded his advice, he received harsh criticism for his failure to peg the event to a date certain. Many dismissed his work as “too simplistic” and unsubstantiated by economic models. Others painted him as a “doom and gloomer,” especially in light of the robust economic growth of the 90s. Larry remained humble towards his critics, stating he was not attempting to be a prophet but was only making Christians aware of their need to apply God’s Word. He said that even if the events he outlined in his book did not occur, the reader would be better off for following the advice that God gave for our benefit. 

To recognize false prophets we must heed the above verse and "prove all things." One does not arrive at being an overcomer until he first learns the all important lesson of testing or "proving" the issues of this life. In the hour that we live there are so many things that are false and evil. We must be constantly on guard and "prove" or test things, lest we become ensnared by something that is wicked. Cults are spreading. Eastern idolatrous religions are creeping into our country in very subtle forms, and many Christians are being deceived and have accepted their practices without even being aware of their evil. Some religious groups have existed for years under the guise of Christianity, and yet are far from the teachings of Jesus Christ. The Lord warns us of these false teachers and tells us to beware of them.

"Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body. What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's. Now concerning the things whereof ye wrote unto me: It is good for a man not to touch a woman. Nevertheless, to avoid fornication, let every man have his own wife, and let every woman have her own husband."

Most people are well aware that over a million babies a year are killed in U.S. abortion clinics. What is just coming to light is what happens to some of them after the abortion. Investigators are finding that selling the parts of these babies has become a half-billion dollar industry and growing.

Matthew 15:11: "Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man; but that which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man."

Matthew 15:17-20: "Do not ye yet understand, that whatsoever entereth in at the mouth goeth into the belly, and is cast out into the draught?
18 But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man.
19 For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies:
20 These are the things which defile a man: but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile a man."

Faith is a word which is used in so many ways that we so often dilute its true meaning. For example, we sometimes say …”I have faith in you”; or …“you know, I have my faith!” While these expressions have a colloquial connotation, the literal meaning of faith is much more profound.

Faithfulness is defined as "firm in adherence to promises, steadfast and loyal in love, conscientious, staunch."  The Bible assures us that God is faithful.  Faithfullness is an essential part of God's nature, one of his most gracious attributes.

'LOOKING CAREFULLY...LEST ANY ROOT OF BITTERNESS SPRINGING UP CAUSE TROUBLE...' HEBREWS 12:15

Harbouring bitterness will not change the other person, but it will sure change you - and not for the better!

'...YOU ARE WORRIED...ABOUT MANY THINGS, BUT ONLY ONE THING IS NEEDED...' LUKE 10:41-42

Sometimes the reason we approach God with a list of requests the length of our arm, is because we are more interested in His 'presents' than His presence.