What is from the Father & What is from the deceiver
Put your hand on your chest, feel your heartbeat. Pause. Really feel it beat. One. Two. Three. Four. Five. Six. Seven. . . .
Beat after Beat after Beat, our hearts continue to work beneath our skin, and we trust that it will continue to do its work.
However—
- One day, our hearts will refuse to continue.
- One day, our bodies will cease to live.
- One day, our lives, as we know them here on earth) will cease.
“Children, it is the last hour;
(The 1st Letter of John 2: 18 NAS)
and just as you heard that antichrist is coming,
even now many antichrists have appeared;
from this we know that it is the last hour.”
God resists the proud because God hates sin, and PRIDE is a sin. We know this to be true because the Bible records this truth in the Old Testament proverb of King Solomon. In the historical record of God’s Holy Word, we are told that there are seven sins the Lord hates:
“Haughty eyes, (1)
(The Proverbs 6: 17-19 NAS)
a lying tongue, (2)
And hands that shed innocent blood, (3)
A heart that devises wicked plans, (4)
Feet that run rapidly to evil, (5)
A false witness who utters lies, (6)
And one who spreads strife among brothers (7).”
PRIDE. Seeing ourselves better than others. Believing we are more important than another.
PRIDE. Thinking we have an upper-hand. Looking down our noses at another person.
- Life is short.
- Life is a vapor.
As children of God, we have NO TIME for such sinful behavior.
Yes, that’s correct. Our work, Our focus, Our energy must be harnessed to do the Lord’s work, the Lord’s will, for we must never forget that PRIDE is from the devil. It is so easy to see that it was the sin of PRIDE that caused Lucifer to fall from heaven, to become Satan, the enemy of God, the devil, the deceiver, and accuser—the one who wanted to reign above God, who HATED GOD. We must never forget—because we belong to God, because we have given our hearts to JESUS, then the devil HATES US and he will do everything in his power to destroy us.
- We only have a few brief years; therefore, let us live them for the Lord.
- We may only have today; thus, let us live our day not for the pleasures of the world but for the Lord.
“For all that is in the world,
(The 1st Letter of John 2: 16-17 NAS)
the lust of the flesh and
the lust of the eyes and
the boastful pride of life,
is not from the Father,
but is from the world.
The world is passing away,
and also its lusts;
but the one who does the will of God lives forever.”
There is a distinct difference in a person’s inheritance, in understanding—
What is from the Father. &
What is from the deceiver.
If we do the will of God, we will live forever.
If we live for our selfish pride, we know we sin.
“But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you all know.
(The 1st Letter of John 2: 20-22 NAS)
I have not written to you because you do not know the truth, but because you do know it, and because no lie is of the truth.
Who is the liar but the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ?
This is the antichrist, the one who denies the Father and the Son.”
We know—
Earth is short & Eternity is long.
We know—
Sin is not from the Lord but of the devil.
We know—
Jesus will wipe away ever tear from our eyes & there will be no death, no mourning, no pain, no crying in paradise.
We know—
Old things, Old thoughts, Old actions—they must pass away from our beings. &
New things, New thoughts, New actions—must permeate our lives now that we are God’s children.
Truly, we know—
What is from the deceiver, from Satan—our enemy.
&
What is from the Father, from our King of kings—our Savior & Redeemer.
May we not allow the lines to blur, to become fuzzy, to “tempt us” to let down our guard.
So, may we place our hands on our chests to feel our heartbeats, to really feel our hearts beating. Beat after Beat after Beat, our hearts continue to work beneath our skin, and we trust that it will continue to do its work.
However—
One day, our hearts will refuse to continue & our bodies will cease to live.
Yes, one day, our lives, here on earth, will cease, so we must be faithful today—in this day.
“Children, it is the last hour;
(The 1st Letter of John 2: 18 NAS)
and just as you heard that antichrist is coming,
even now many antichrists have appeared;
from this we know that it is the last hour.”