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This was first published on The End Time in April 2009
But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. For men will be ... 5 holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power; Avoid such men as these. (2 Timothy 3: 1-2,5 "Difficult Times Will Come).
As a kid on Easter morning in a secular household, it was all about the basket. The eggs, the chocolate, and toys. Even the fake green grass. Our baskets were always generously filled, and I especially loved the centerpiece of a large chocolate bunny on the mound of grass.
As a kid, if you see a 5 inch chocolate bunny you get very excited. You don't think about how much to eat or not eat, you don't think about the appropriate time of the day to eat it. You just rip the cellophane and chomp.
I remember being disappointed and a little irked that the bunny was hollow. As a kid, I could not tell the difference between a solid bunny and a hollow one, they looked the same to my immature eyes. But when I bit into the ear it seemed to me to be a total gyp when it crumbled to bits because it had no interior support. The bunny had only a form of solidity.
We are told over and over in the Bible that the last days would be filled with deception, false pastors and false prophets, wolves in sheep's clothing, antichrists, false apostles, false doctrine ... and are repeatedly warned not to fall for it.
How can we tell if a bunny is solid chocolate or hollow? Test by eating it, you say? Satan is poison, his deceptions are poison. Who wants to eat poison? Ingesting falsity for too long will inevitably pollute. As mature Christians, we must be able to discern and detect hollow Christianity early on, before it permeates the entire congregation, or our own heart.
Are you a child in Christ, seemingly mature but having fallen out of the habit of testing the scriptures for yourselves? Have you lost the ability to test the spirits? Are you, yourself hollow? Professing a form of godliness but denying its power?
Ephesians 4:14 tells us not to be babes. "Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming." Pray for experience, wisdom, and discernment through a healthy relationship with the Holy Spirit.
As deceptions and delusions grow in the end times, we are not going to be able to tell the difference between true Biblical doctrine and that of hollow and counterfeit Christianity by being a child, rushing toward something that looks oh so good to eat but biting into the hollowness to be disappointed, but perhaps already hooked by its tastiness. Do not be a baby in discernment! Do not be hollow!
But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil. (Hebrews 5:14).
But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. For men will be ... 5 holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power; Avoid such men as these. (2 Timothy 3: 1-2,5 "Difficult Times Will Come).
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As a kid, if you see a 5 inch chocolate bunny you get very excited. You don't think about how much to eat or not eat, you don't think about the appropriate time of the day to eat it. You just rip the cellophane and chomp.
I remember being disappointed and a little irked that the bunny was hollow. As a kid, I could not tell the difference between a solid bunny and a hollow one, they looked the same to my immature eyes. But when I bit into the ear it seemed to me to be a total gyp when it crumbled to bits because it had no interior support. The bunny had only a form of solidity.
We are told over and over in the Bible that the last days would be filled with deception, false pastors and false prophets, wolves in sheep's clothing, antichrists, false apostles, false doctrine ... and are repeatedly warned not to fall for it.
How can we tell if a bunny is solid chocolate or hollow? Test by eating it, you say? Satan is poison, his deceptions are poison. Who wants to eat poison? Ingesting falsity for too long will inevitably pollute. As mature Christians, we must be able to discern and detect hollow Christianity early on, before it permeates the entire congregation, or our own heart.
Are you a child in Christ, seemingly mature but having fallen out of the habit of testing the scriptures for yourselves? Have you lost the ability to test the spirits? Are you, yourself hollow? Professing a form of godliness but denying its power?
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Ephesians 4:14 tells us not to be babes. "Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming." Pray for experience, wisdom, and discernment through a healthy relationship with the Holy Spirit.
As deceptions and delusions grow in the end times, we are not going to be able to tell the difference between true Biblical doctrine and that of hollow and counterfeit Christianity by being a child, rushing toward something that looks oh so good to eat but biting into the hollowness to be disappointed, but perhaps already hooked by its tastiness. Do not be a baby in discernment! Do not be hollow!
But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil. (Hebrews 5:14).
Appreciate your constant reminders to the church to pursue maturity and good discernment. :) It's a constant encouragement.
ReplyDeleteOn a lighter note, when I was young, I detested the solid bunnies. It took exhausting effort (mis)using several kitchen utensils to break into the solid bunny body to get an edible, bite-sized piece of chocolate. The hollow bunnies were instant gratification. Which, for a young child, is a desirable characteristic. ... Now don't go making a spiritual analogy of this. I bet you can! But don't. LOL!!!
-Carolyn
Who chose what books went in the Bible? How can you be sure they had discernment? They're long gone and lived in times we can't begin to fathom.
ReplyDeleteHi Anonymous,
DeleteGood question. You're asking about the canon of scripture, and it's good to delve into its process of how the histories, writings, and epistles got into the canon as part of inspired scripture.
Though men are fallible, there is an important element to that process that we can trust: The Holy Spirit. He is the one with discernment. :)
Here is an essay that I pray will help you understand the answer to your important question- it discusses the various elements of the process that went into creating the canon; inspiration, dissemination, recognition, preservation, and illumination of His Word.
https://www.gotquestions.org/canonicity-scriptural.html
Question: "How do we decide which books belong in the Bible since the Bible does not say which books belong in the Bible?"
"Answer: If Scripture is to be our sole authority, on what authority do we know which books belong in the Bible - since the Bible does not state which books should be in the Bible? This is a very important question, because a chain is only as strong as its weakest link..."
The problem is that most can't see that the ones are the least obvious are also wolves..
ReplyDelete