Jude bears this message to guard believers against the seductive influence of false teachers, men who have a form of godliness but who are not safe leaders. In these last days, false teachers will arise and become actively zealous. All kinds of theories will be presented to divert the minds of men and women from the very truth that defines the position we can occupy with safety in this time when Satan is working with power upon religionists, leading them to make a pretense of being righteous, but to fail of placing themselves under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

False theories will be mingled with every phase of experience, and advocated with satanic earnestness in order to captivate the mind of every soul who is not rooted and grounded in a full knowledge of the sacred principles of the Word. In the very midst of us will arise false teachers, giving heed to seducing spirits whose doctrines are of satanic origin. These teachers will draw away disciples after themselves. Creeping in unawares, they will use flattering words, and make skillful misrepresentations with seductive tact.

The only hope of our churches is to keep wide awake. Those who are well grounded in the truth of the Word, those who test everything by a “Thus saith the Lord” are safe. The Holy Spirit will guide those who prize the wisdom of God above the deceptive sophistries of satanic agencies. Let there be much praying, not in human lines but under the inspiration of love of the truth as it is in Jesus Christ. The families who believe the truth are to speak words of wisdom and intelligence—words that will come to them as the result of searching the Scriptures.

Now is our time of test and trial. Now is the time when the members of every believing family must close their lips against speaking words of accusation concerning their brethren. Let them speak words that impart courage, and strengthen the faith which works by love and purifies the soul.—The Kress Collection, 5.
Ye Shall Receive Power p. 125
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Prayer Requests
—-Please pray earnestly for E and her children as she has a very important meeting on May 4. Pray that God will guide and work all things out for their good. R
—-Mr Pederson (lung transplant), needs continued prayer; along with so many others. He’s about to leave the hospital and go to be with his wife in a nearby rental. Lorraine
—-Please keep my nephew in your prayers, he’s been struggling with some things recently, but earlier this evening he sent me a message and a picture, he was at Prophecies Unlimited seminar. Mary
—-Please pray for Tommy who is in the hospital with a severe neck injury. Kathy
—-Please keep Pastor Fred Self in prayer. He broke his leg and is having a complex surgery. Connie
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Dear Friends,

When we lived in Washington state, we lived about a fourth mile from two families who were members of our church. Mr. Lowery saw us walking by his place one day and asked us if we would like to have garden space in his large garden. Of course, we said that we would. Mr. Lowery had even roto-tilled our half as well as his. We hurried to the store and bought the seeds that we would need. Then we planted it anticipating an abundant crop.

After the little plants appeared, we began to keep our garden free of weeds. At least we tried to keep the garden weed free. Mr. Lowery had one big problem which had now become ours. Morning glories! Up until this time, I had always thought those big purple flowers of the cultivated kind were beautiful; and before they appeared in our garden, I even thought the little white blooms of the wild kind were pretty. Not anymore.

Mr. Lowery explained that we needed to pull up not only the visible part of the plant, but also the vine that ran underneath the soil. This was not an easy task. We had to be careful not to uproot the good plants. We pulled and pulled and worked and worked to rid that garden of those morning glories. Often we would think we had those pesky flowers completely gone, only to find the next day more leaves appearing above the soil. All summer we battled those tough plants. In fact, in all the years that Mr. Lowry let us use that space, we never succeeded in conquering them.

Jesus told a parable that I thought of so many times as I was attempting to rid the garden of those offending weeds and wondered if I should do the same as the advice of the Master. Of course, I knew that this parable was speaking of a different kind of weed, but it was tempting. “Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field: But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way. But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also. So the servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? from whence then hath it tares? He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up? But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.” Matt 13:24-30

How often we are like those servants. We look around at our fellow church members and think we know who are the weeds and want to pull them up. I’ve seen this done in a church and it split it up. Many members left in consternation. Some never wanted to have anything to do with the church again. They were good wheat that had been rooted up because some well-meaning people began pulling out those whom they judged were tares. Those who split the church had a zeal that was not according to knowledge for they did not judge righteously. (Rom 10:2; John 7:23) How very sad.

Are we never to rebuke sin? Of course we are, but we must do it in love and with a goal of restoration. Paul advised, “Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted. Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.” Gal 6:1, 2 His admonition to Timothy is for us as well, “And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient, In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth; And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.” 2 Tim 2:24-26

Finally, brethren, “keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. And of some have compassion, making a difference: And others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh. Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, To the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen.” Jude 21-25

Rose

Source: https://rosesdevotional.org/capable-to-distinguish-false-theories.html

Sanctification is not a happy flight of feeling, not the work of an instant, but the work of a lifetime. If anyone claims that the Lord has sanctified him, and made him holy, the proof of his claim to the blessing will be seen in the fruits of meekness, patience, long-suffering, truthfulness, and love. If the blessing that those who claim to be sanctified have received leads them to rely upon some particular emotion, and they declare there is no need of searching the Scriptures that they may know God’s revealed will, then the supposed blessing is a counterfeit, for it leads its possessors to place value on their own unsanctified emotions and fancies, and to close their ears to the voice of God in His Word.

Why need those who claim they have had special manifestations of the Spirit, and the witness that their sins are all forgiven, conclude that they can lay the Bible aside, and from henceforth walk alone? When we ask those who claim to have been instantaneously sanctified, if they are searching the Scriptures as Jesus told them to do, to see if there is not additional truth for them to accept, they answer, “God makes known His will to us directly in special signs and revelations, and we can afford to lay the Bible aside.”

There are thousands who are being deceived by trusting to some special emotion, and discarding the Word of God. They are not building upon the only safe and sure foundation—the Word of God. A religion that is addressed to intelligent creatures will produce reasonable evidences of its genuineness, for there will be marked results in heart and character. The grace of Christ will be made manifest in their daily conduct. We may safely ask those who profess to be sanctified, Do the fruits of the Spirit appear in your life? Do you manifest the meekness and lowliness of Christ, and reveal the fact that you are learning daily in the school of Christ, shaping your life after the pattern of His unselfish life?

The best evidence that any of us can have of our connection with the God of heaven is that we keep His commandments. The best proof of faith in Christ is distrust of self and dependence upon God. The only reliable proof of our abiding in Christ is to reflect His image. Just so far as we do this we give evidence that we are sanctified through the truth, for the truth is exemplified in our daily life.—The Signs of the Times, February 28, 1895.
Ye Shall Receive Power p. 121
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Prayer Requests
—-Please continue to pray earnestly for E and her children. R
—-Need a prayer Please for Eddy he’s on critical condition after a surgery. Micheline
—-I have a friend with pneumonia. Please pray for healing and peace. Sylvia
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Dear Friends,

One of the funniest things to me is the birds in the Walmart parking lot. At any time I can hear a sound that was similar to a car alarm going off, an empty can rolling in the wind, and many other of the normal sounds we take for granted. I smile to myself and look around for that very smart grackle that has learned to mimic those sounds. He had heard car alarms so much, he began to make a call like one.
When a bird mimics something, it is so funny. It is not so funny when we are like that bird pretending to be something that we are really not. At first we might fool those around us, but eventually they realize our pretense. How many times we are like the Pharisees upon whom our Dear Saviour pronounced a woe. “Then spake Jesus to the multitude, and to his disciples, Saying, The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat: All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do; but do not ye after their works: for they say, and do not. For they bind heavy burdens and grievous to be borne, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers. But all their works they do for to be seen of men: they make broad their phylacteries, and enlarge the borders of their garments, And love the uppermost rooms at feasts, and the chief seats in the synagogues, And greetings in the markets, and to be called of men, Rabbi, Rabbi. But be not ye called Rabbi: for one is your Master, even Christ; and all ye are brethren. And call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven. Neither be ye called masters: for one is your Master, even Christ. But he that is greatest among you shall be your servant. And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted. But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye devour widows’ houses, and for a pretence make long prayer: therefore ye shall receive the greater damnation. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves. Woe unto you, ye blind guides, which say, Whosoever shall swear by the temple, it is nothing; but whosoever shall swear by the gold of the temple, he is a debtor! Ye fools and blind: for whether is greater, the gold, or the temple that sanctifieth the gold? And, Whosoever shall swear by the altar, it is nothing; but whosoever sweareth by the gift that is upon it, he is guilty. Ye fools and blind: for whether is greater, the gift, or the altar that sanctifieth the gift? Whoso therefore shall swear by the altar, sweareth by it, and by all things thereon. And whoso shall swear by the temple, sweareth by it, and by him that dwelleth therein. And he that shall swear by heaven, sweareth by the throne of God, and by him that sitteth thereon. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone. Ye blind guides, which strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess. Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness. Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye build the tombs of the prophets, and garnish the sepulchres of the righteous, And say, If we had been in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets. Wherefore ye be witnesses unto yourselves, that ye are the children of them which killed the prophets. Fill ye up then the measure of your fathers. Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell? Matt 23:1-33

May we rightly represent our Dear Saviour and never make a pretense of religion as they did is my prayer.

Rose

Source: https://rosesdevotional.org/not-guided-by-emotions.html

The Holy Spirit always leads to the written Word, and calls the attention to the great moral standard of righteousness. To be honored of God in thus being privileged to testify of the truth is a wonderful thing. Said Christ to His disciples just before He ascended up and the clouds of angels received Him out of their sight, “Ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth” (Acts 1:8). They were qualified by the heavenly endowment of the Holy Spirit to testify of Christ.

I wish to impress upon you the fact that those who have Jesus abiding in the heart by faith have actually received the Holy Spirit. Every individual who receives Jesus as his personal Saviour just as surely receives the Holy Spirit to be his Counselor, Sanctifier, Guide, and Witness. The more closely the believer walks with God, the clearer his witness, and, as a sure result, the more powerful will be the influence of his testimony upon others of a Saviour’s love; the more he will give evidence that he prizes the Word of God. It is his meat, it is his drink, to satisfy the thirsty soul. He prizes the privilege of learning the will of God from His Word.

Some souls who claim to be believers have slighted, and turned from, the Word of God. They have neglected the Bible, the wonderful Guidebook, the true tester of all ideas, and claim that they have the Spirit to teach them, that this renders searching the Scriptures unnecessary. All such are heeding the sophistry of Satan, for the Spirit and the Word agree. Say the Scriptures, “To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.” He only is a free man whom the truth makes free.—Manuscript Releases 14:70, 71.
Ye Shall Receive Power p. 118
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Prayer Requests
—-Please pray that God will especially work for E and children’s best good in the next two weeks. R
—-Please say a prayer for a really good friend of mine. She is 28 weeks pregnant. She has no amniotic fluid and has been admitted to the hospital until the baby is born. Also say a prayer for the family that everything can get situated. Janice
—-A friends co-workers daughter named Kendra is suicidal and just sent a note to her mom detailing her wishes for being laid to rest. Michael
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Dear Friends,

A few years ago, I knew someone who was always sharing with me their inmost thoughts and feelings of doubt and despair. They felt too sinful to be saved. Although they had confessed their sins repeatedly, they came away from their prayer feeling no different than before they prayed. I explained that we must have faith in the Word of God which tells us, “if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9 It didn’t help. They still felt the same.

I decided to make up a story that might help them to see their attitude. I said, “Asking forgiveness, but not believing you’re forgiven is as if Ron were to take me to see a beautiful log cabin located by a mountain lake. This large cabin was exquisitely furnished and even had new dishes, utensils, and linens. A baby grand piano was in one corner of the living room. I was thrilled! Taking me outside, he showed me a lightweight canoe with the finest paddles. Thoughts of hours of pleasure exploring every nook and cranny of that mountain lake filled my head. Then he told me that it was all mine. He had paid for it all. While he was away on a business trip, I was to move our personal belongings into this ideal place and enjoy it for it was to be our new home. Time passed. Finally, Ron’s business trip was over and he returned to the cabin. I was not there. Everything was the same as it had been when he had left. He panicked. What terrible thing had happened to me while he was gone? Driving as fast as he dared down the mountain road, he went to our former residence to see if he could find someone who had seen me. Just as he drove into the driveway, he saw me come out of our twenty-one year old mobile home. With disbelief and shock written all over his face, he asked me why I was still living in that old trailer. I told him that I just didn’t feel like that beautiful cabin was mine, I couldn’t believe that I could really have anything so nice, and I felt like I wasn’t worthy of such a wonderful gift.” Then I asked the person, “how do you think Ron would feel at my ingratitude and lack of trust?” I explained that when we confess our sins to our Dear Saviour but refuse to believe that our sins have been washed away, we are doing just as I did in my little parable.

How it must break our Heavenly Father’s heart when we do not believe His promises and say, “The LORD hath forsaken me, and my Lord hath forgotten me.” He assures us, ” Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee. Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; thy walls are continually before me.” Isa 49:14-16 Praise God!

Our Great Redeemer has promised, “I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.” “And I will cleanse them from all their iniquity, whereby they have sinned against me; and I will pardon all their iniquities, whereby they have sinned, and whereby they have transgressed against me.” Jer 31:34; 33:8 “Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.” Isa 1:18 “As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die?” Eze 33:11

Isaiah shares his experience, “Behold, for peace I had great bitterness: but thou hast in love to my soul delivered it from the pit of corruption: for thou hast cast all my sins behind thy back.” Isa 38:17 Micah adds, “Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity. . . and thou wilt cast all [our] sins into the depths of the sea.” Micah 7:18,19 “The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy. . . . He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him. As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us. Like as a father pitieth his children, so the LORD pitieth them that fear him. For he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are dust. As for man, his days are as grass: as a flower of the field, so he flourisheth. For the wind passeth over it, and it is gone; and the place thereof shall know it no more. But the mercy of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear him, and his righteousness unto children’s children; To such as keep his covenant, and to those that remember his commandments to do them. The LORD hath prepared his throne in the heavens; and his kingdom ruleth over all.” Ps 103:8-19 May we joyfully accept God’s free gift of salvation is my prayer.

Rose

Source: https://rosesdevotional.org/guided-through-the-written-testimony.html