The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my heart and mind in Micah 3:5,
"As for the prophets who lead my people astray, they proclaim 'peace' if they have something to eat, but prepare to wage war against anyone who refuses to feed them."
These so-called prophets were the spiritual leaders of the day. Having secured a position of influence in their midst, the people followed what they had to say. And, as we see in this prophecy of Micah, what they said to the people was dictated by what the people gave the prophet, and not what God gave the prophet. They were not really prophets anyway. Just folks scamming others.
It seems like we have so much of this very same thing today. Church hierarchies, denominational organizations, folks who have pursued a vocation in "the ministry" - many that have carved out for themselves positions of influence and stature among people lead others astray, just as in Micah's day.
How can we tell if someone speaks, that it is from the Lord? How can we tell if someone who thrusts himself forward as a minister of Christ is really from the Lord? How can we know for sure if some spiritual leader is from God and not simply deceiving others for his own sake? Very simply look at them in the light of the Scriptures. God has provided his word to us that we not be mislead, that we not be drawn in harmful or wrong directions. The Lord has provided us all we need, even if we are not "experts" in the Scriptures. The Lord will meet us at whatever spiritual level we might be at when we look for direction in his word.
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.
Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com
"As for the prophets who lead my people astray, they proclaim 'peace' if they have something to eat, but prepare to wage war against anyone who refuses to feed them."
These so-called prophets were the spiritual leaders of the day. Having secured a position of influence in their midst, the people followed what they had to say. And, as we see in this prophecy of Micah, what they said to the people was dictated by what the people gave the prophet, and not what God gave the prophet. They were not really prophets anyway. Just folks scamming others.
It seems like we have so much of this very same thing today. Church hierarchies, denominational organizations, folks who have pursued a vocation in "the ministry" - many that have carved out for themselves positions of influence and stature among people lead others astray, just as in Micah's day.
How can we tell if someone speaks, that it is from the Lord? How can we tell if someone who thrusts himself forward as a minister of Christ is really from the Lord? How can we know for sure if some spiritual leader is from God and not simply deceiving others for his own sake? Very simply look at them in the light of the Scriptures. God has provided his word to us that we not be mislead, that we not be drawn in harmful or wrong directions. The Lord has provided us all we need, even if we are not "experts" in the Scriptures. The Lord will meet us at whatever spiritual level we might be at when we look for direction in his word.
We read in 2 Thessalonians 3:14, "Take special note of anyone who does not obey our instruction in this letter." Anyone who speaks from the Lord will always say that which is consistent with what we find in our bibles. We can find further instructions on recognizing both true and false prophets in Deuteronomy 13. A big key indicator was whether the alleged prophet led people toward the Lord or away from the Lord.
It is always good to verify that those we look to really do speak on the Lord's behalf. One thing is for sure, the Lord has not left us without truth to know who is trying to lead us astray - we just need to open our Bibles. Since there are always those among us that attempt to do this very thing, it behooves us to know what it is the Lord has told us in the Scriptures.
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.
Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com
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