Most of you know that I have been working diligently to finish up my fourth book (and 3rd in the Living Out the Word series). Lord willing, LOVE: a verse by verse study for women through the epistles of John will be completed by March 2012. Please keep me in your prayers as I strive to meet this goal.
The new website, www.livingouttheword.net, is devoted just to the Living Out the Word series. I would love for you to stop by and check it out!
Blessings,
Kimberly
Lies, falsehoods, errors, deceit, dishonesty, fraud, deception – no matter what it is called, it is still the antithesis of truth. It is also more prevalent than truth. More taught than truth. And more loved than truth. And let’s not forget how exceedingly dangerous a lie is. One would think that the further way from the truth a lie is the more of a beast it becomes. But this is not necessarily so. Others have said that the most dangerous lie is the one closest to the truth. With this I would have to agree. Judge for yourself, which poison is more deadly, the one clearly marked or the one masquerading as healing medicine?
There are a lot of lies masquerading as truth. That is why believers are told in I John 4:1, “Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.”
Not every spirit is of God. The Bible speaks of evil, unclean, dumb, foul, and deaf spirits. It tells of the spirit of infirmity, spirit of divination, spirit of bondage, spirit of the world, spirit that “worketh in the children of disobedience,” spirit of antichrist, and the spirit of error. The children of Israel were warned of false prophets who do not follow after the Spirit of God but follow their own spirit. Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel that prophesy, and say thou unto them that prophesy out of their own hearts, Hear ye the word of the LORD; Thus saith the Lord GOD; Woe unto the foolish prophets, that follow their own spirit, and have seen nothing!” Ezekiel 13:2-3.
A false spirit produces false teachers that fabricate false doctrine. “…many false prophets are gone out into the world.” Over and over in the New Testament we are warned of these men and their teaching. See Matthew 7:15, Matthew 24:4-5, Matthew 24:23-24, Luke 21:8, Acts 20:29-30, Romans 16:18, 2 Corinthians 11:13, Galatians 1:9, Ephesians 4:14, Philippians 3:18-19, I Timothy 4:1, 2 Timothy 2:17-18, Titus 1:10-11, 2 Peter 2:1, 2 John 1:7, 10, Jude 1:4, and Revelations 2:2 just for starters.
We are not to believe them all but to try them. To try the spirits means to test or prove them. “Prove all things; hold fast that which is good,” 1 Thessalonians 5:21. There are two ways to test a spirit. The first is by the Word of God. The believers in Berea were nobler than the ones in Thessalonica because they “searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so,” Act 17:11. If a doctrine does not line up with Scripture it is wrong. The Spirit of God will never contradict the Word of God. This is very important. Let me say that again, the Spirit of God will NEVER contradict the Word of God. I heard a female preacher/pastor on the radio one day defending her “call” into the ministry. Another pastor, disputing with her, kept bringing up the Scriptures. Quoting Paul he would say that a woman was not to teach or usurp the authority of a man within the church. This lady responded with the notion that we are led by the spirit and are not under the law. At that point, the host of the program even erroneously contended that the ‘words in red’ are more important than Paul’s writings.”
Read Jesus’ words (in red). “Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come. He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you,” John 16:13-14.
To recognize truth we must understand that the Spirit will never supersede the written word. Just as Christ came to do the will of the Father and glorify Him, the Spirit will point people to Christ and glorify Him. John 1:1 tells us that Jesus is the Word of God. Revelations 19:13 tells us that “The Word of God” is His very name. We also know that “all scripture is given by inspiration of God,” 2 Timothy 3:16. To say that the Spirit would lead us or teach us something contrary to Jesus Christ (The Word) is untrue. The Spirit did not call this woman to be a pastor because that contradicts the Word. (Read I Timothy 2:11-12.)
So the first way to test if something is true is by the Word of God. But Jesus said there was another way in which we can test the spirit of false prophets? “Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them,” Matthew 7:20. You cannot separate a man’s personal life from his ministry. Does his life line up with what he is teaching? The same can be asked of women. Friends, be careful when getting advice from others. You need to make sure that what they say is first biblical and second that their life demonstrates good works. “Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge among you? let him shew out of a good conversation his works with meekness of wisdom,” James 3:13.
If the Spirit of God dwells in you, by knowing the Word of God and examining fruits, you can test the spirits to see if they are truly of God. God has given the believer the spirit of discernment. “God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.” 1 Corinthians 2:10. Do not fall for lies that hinder your spiritual growth, there are many out there. And remember, the most dangerous ones are the ones closest to the truth.
(Taken from Living Out the Word: Love, A verse by verse study for women through the Epistles of John by Kimberly Williams. Coming soon – Spring 2012!)
As the 2012 election approaches there is a lot of talk about potential candidates. Who will be the next United States president? Will a woman make history by being elected? Perhaps it is too early to decide. However, it is not too early to discuss the possibility. And more importantly, what biblical stand should Christian people take on the matter. Does God’s Word address such issues?
God ordained three institutions upon this earth. He ordained the family, the church, and government. The Scriptures are clear about the hierarchy within the family. The husband is the head of the family; the wife is to submit to him as unto the Lord; and the children are to honor and obey their parents. (Ephesians 5:33-6:3) The Scriptures are clear about the hierarchy within the church. I Timothy 2: 9-15 and I Corinthians 14:33-35 explains this clearly. Men are to be the spiritual leaders not only within their home but also within the church. I realize that even within Christian circles today that this is not taught. However, the authority of the Scriptures still stands. We can accept the truth or deny the truth, but we cannot change it. So if God has established men to lead in the institution of the home and within the church. Why then, would we think that God would not have a hierarchy within the institution of government?
When tackling the subject of women in political leadership, often Christian’s will point to two particular passages in the Bible – Esther and Deborah. Esther is the heroine of the Old Testament book named after her. She was the young Jewish Queen of the Persian King Ahasuerus. She was responsible for saving her people from mass slaughter. Esther was placed in her position, “for such a time as this.” (Esther 4:14) The account of Deborah is found in the book of Judges Chapter 4. She was a prophetess who judged her people. She was the only female judge of Israel. Deborah led a successful attack against Jabin, the King of Canaan.
Those that contend that God is pleased with women in leadership often use these examples from history. In looking at the story of Esther it is important to remember that she did not have a choice in the matter. She was not seeking a position of political leadership. She did not purposely forsake her family in order to become Queen. She was not given an option. Look at Deborah from Judges Chapter 4, many others will say. God used her to lead the nation of Israel to great victory. This is a convincing argument other than the fact that people forget to take the story in context. When you look at the whole passage contextually the children of Israel “did evil in the sight of the Lord,” (Judges 4:1). God was not pleased with them and put them in bondage. It was a shame to the men of Israel for a woman to judge over them. Isaiah 3:11-12 says, “Woe unto the wicked! it shall be ill with him: for the reward of his hands shall be given him. As for my people, children are their oppressors, and women rule over them. O my people, they which lead thee cause thee to err, and destroy the way of thy paths.” There is a lot to this passage. But simply put, God gave the wicked people what they wanted. It could be that God, in His sovereignty, will allow a woman President. Romans Chapter 13 tells us that there is no power but of God. God Himself will place our next President. But Christians must remember that sometimes God gives His people what they want, not what is best for them, (I Samuel Chapter 8).
When sharing this view with a young lady, the other day, I was asked, “What if the vote comes down between an unrighteous man for President and a Christian woman?” Wouldn’t we have to vote for a woman in this case? Many believe that we must often choose the “lesser of two evils.” The assumption is that God will not give His people the right option. However, I believe that God always gives His people a way to make the right choice, (I Corinthians 10:13). It was John Quincy Adams that said, “Always vote for principle, though you may vote alone, you may cherish the sweetest reflection that your vote is never lost.”
Whether we are speaking about the home, the church, or government, the issue has never been if women were capable of leading. Of course women are capable of leading. There are many talented women who have a great gift of administration. The issue has never been if they were smart enough. There are many women who are well educated and skilled above even men. The issue has never been if they could lead. It is true that there are women that could lead very well. But these are not the issues. The biblical issue is whether women should lead. Christian people can rationalize woman leading in the home, in the churches and within our government. However, they cannot from the Scriptures establish that this is God will. He did not design women to lead in any of the institutions He has ordained. The fictitious principle is just not there. The modern feminist movement has caused many Christian’s to err. I pray that we will lay aside this fallacy and come back to Scripture. May the pure Words of God be our standard for our beliefs.
My husband is preaching revival this week at a church down the road from us. Tuesday night’s message was called “Redeeming the Time” taken from Ephesians 5. He preached on how we are to live and walk in this world because the days are evil. After the message and a moving invitation, several men spoke out. One man shared from his heart about how God’s Word had really touched him. One of the comments he made was that he needed to look at his own life, not those around him, and make sure that he was a “doer of the word” not a hearer only.
You know, it is very easy to point fingers at others and say what they should be doing. It is very easy to spot the sin in other’s lives and ignore the sin in our lives. It is very easy to compare ourselves to others and in pride be lifted up. It is very easy to use others as the standard in which we live. While it is easy to do, it is not wise. “For we dare not make ourselves of the number, or compare ourselves with some that commend themselves: but they measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise,” 2 Corinthians 10:12. In fact, it is rather foolish. But how many people do exactly this? How many times have I done this very thing?
“At least I don’t do (fill in the blank)…..!”
“I’m just as good as that person….”
“I might live like this but at least I don’t live like so-and-so.”
“I’m at church much more than……”
And so on… If it is foolish to compare our lives to others, by what standard do we compare our lives? If we are children of God our standard is God’s Word. The Bible is a mirror. We hold it up and look in it. It reveals to us the truth. Sometimes we do not like what we see. Let me rephrase that statement. Many times we do not like what we see.
Ladies, how many mornings have you woke up and looked into the bathroom mirror and been completely satisfied with how you look for the day? That probably does not happen very often. Most of the time we need to brush our teeth, wash our face, comb our hair, put on some makeup, etc. On those mornings when the mirror reveals that a change needs to take place do you find yourself getting made at the mirror? Have you ever said, “I can’t believe that the mirror makes me look so bad! I hate this mirror! I will never look into it again!” Probably not. Why then do we treat the mirror of God’s Word like this? Why do we get mad at the message? (Or the messenger?) Why don’t we just look at ourselves and make the changes that are necessary?
When I hear God’s Word and it reveals to me my sinful condition I have two options. I can deceive myself and pretend like nothing is wrong. Or I can be a hearer and doer of the Word and be blessed by God. Listen to what James says,
“But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was. But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed,” James 1:22-25.
It’s time God’s children FACE the BOOK. It’s time we take a good hard look at our lives through His Holy Word. Studies show that the past two generations are the most illiterate when it comes to knowing God’s Word. We have more Bibles, Bible studies, helps, and technology but each generation knows less and less of the Bible than the generation before. Why is that? Could it be that the reason we know less and less of the Bible is because we are reading it less and less? Could it be that our ears are stopped and we are hearing it less and less? Could it be that sin has blinded our eyes are we are seeing the Truth less and less? How many hours does the average Christian spend reading the paper or other books a week? How many hours does the average Christian spend on Facebook each week? How many hours will we do things that please our flesh this week? Let’s ask another question. Let’s answer it honestly. How many hours will we spend this week FACING the Book of life?
The reason so many people do not read their Bible is because they do not like what it says and they don’t want to be accountable to it. But dear Christian, you are already accountable. It is your standard in which you will be judged. “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad,” 2Corinthians 5:10. If our works are going to be judged by God’s Word, don’t you think we should read it, study it, know it, and apply it to our lives?
It’s time to FACE the BOOK.
“What are you preaching this morning?” I asked my husband. We were sitting alone at the breakfast table. We had just finished our breakfast of bacon, eggs, and toast and were now sipping our coffee and talking. I held my coffee and listened to him share with me what he was going to preach to a group of young pastors in a few hours. As I held my coffee I whiffed the fragment aroma. I cherish mornings like these. The children were still asleep, the phone had not starting ringing, no one needed our attention, and laundry could wait. This was our time. We both seemed deliberate in taking our time this morning. We sipped slowly not wanting the moment to end. We talked about life, our children, and the precious things of God. It is not that these moments are few. You see, we make a point every morning to have this time alone. We grow closer. Our marriage becomes stronger. Life becomes sweeter.
As I sat there this morning thanking the Lord for my husband and our blessed life together I wondered how many people experience the joy of marriage. How many people take time each day to cultivate their relationship with their spouse? How many husbands talk, share, and communicate with their wives? How many wives purposefully make time for their husbands each morning? How many couples spend time each day talking about the Word of God? I hope many do. I pray those reading this do. In the end very few things will matter. How busy we were, our homes, our cars, our careers, and our stuff will all be in vain someday. However, our marriage is well worth nurturing.
“Likewise, ye husbands, dwell with the according to knowledge, giving honour unto the wife, as unto the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life; that your prayers be not hindered.” I Peter 3:7
Kimberly Williams 