“What a powerful message! Life changing for sure. It truly blessed me. Every believer should listen to this video! But God! Two little words that I missed. And found this phrase used at least 44 times in the KJB. Those little words takes the focus off us! If it wasn’t for God coming to save our wicked souls we would be doomed forever to burn in hell. Psalm 49:15 “But God will redeem my soul from the power of the grave: for He shall receive me. Selah.” We are saved by the grace of God and kept by the power and grace of God. To which none of us can boost! (Ephesians 2:8, 1 Peter 1:5).” Karen Cochran | Grounded in Grace [podcast]
“But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, 5 Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) : And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: 7 That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9 Not of works, lest any man should boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.” Ephesians 2:4-10
Satan continues to pick off people with the same exact law-keeping deception he snared the Galatians with. They become in unbelief about Christ’s perfect sacrifice and begin to add law to salvation’s equation. This is deadly. Having begun in faith, in the Spirit, they fall away from the faith by trying to help God save them through self-effort, law-keeping (Galatians 3:3; 5:4). Many of those snared are seduced into this by way of the sabbath keeping deception, foolishness.
Being established in the saving grace of God is the only defense against the many deceptions creeping in among God’s people.
When the self-righteous legalist hears someone preach that Christians are saved by grace and not under the old testament law, they react – because they are still trusting self and have not truly repented/surrendered and putting their whole faith in christ. Law and grace don’t mix! You MUST choose! (John 1:17) Either you are saved by Jesus or your own law keeping works. There’s no in-between! It’s time to get into God’s Word, asking Him to give you a NEW Testament clue!
Especially with the upsurge of Judaizers and the law-keeping doctrines they perpetrate, every true born-again believer should pray, seek out, and study to be grounded in God’s saving grace in Christ.
SAINTS, we are saved by the LORD Himself, by His grace and not our own works. People who are still self-righteous, thinking THEY are earning their own justification, get very uneasy when the saving grace of God is preached. They are not yet students of NEW Testament truth. WE MUST have an ever-deepening biblical revelation of God’s justification by grace and faith! Please begin by memorizing Romans 5:1-2. AND, please read Romans chapters 3-5 prayerfully and over and over, this week.
To the Galatians, when Paul said “A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump”, he was saying that trying to mix even “a little” law keeping into the equation of salvation Christ alone 100% earned for us, ruins your whole relationship with God (Galatians 5:9). In fact, you don’t have one if you don’t 100% trust Jesus Christ!
Remember when Jesus saved you? He found and saved our wretched soul alllll by Himself!!!!! Right? Please pause and let that soak in. …. In light of this reality, this sheer mercy, how is it that we still strive in the flesh, thinking we are going to earn divine forgiveness, merit His blessings, etc. – “Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. 5 But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.” (Romans 4:4-5)
“But God”
“But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,” Ephesians 2:4
After hanging the backdrop (vv. 1-3), reviewing our alienation, our past life of trespasses and sin, how we are now found and rescued—brought back to life from our dead state—by the LORD, the writer now transitions upward.
Of Ephesians 2:4, William MacDonald writes:
“The words, But God, form one of the most significant, eloquent, and inspiring transitions in all literature. They indicate that a stupendous (astonishing, stunning) change has taken place. It is a change from the doom and despair of the valley of death to the unspeakable delights of the kingdom of the Son of God’s love.
The Author of the change is God Himself. No one else could have done it, and no one else would have done it.
“One characteristic of this blessed One is that He is rich in mercy. He shows mercy to us by not treating us the way we deserved to be treated (Psalm 103:10). ‘Though it has been expended by Him for six millennia, and myriads and myriads have been partakers of it, it is still an unexhausted mine of wealth, as Eadie remarks.’
The reason for His intervention is given in the words, for his great love wherewith he loved us. His love is great because He is its source. Just as the greatness of a giver casts an aura of greatness on his gift, so the surpassing excellence of God adds superlative luster to His love. It is greater to be loved by the mighty Sovereign of the universe, for instance, than by a fellow human being. God’s love is great because of the price He paid. Love sent the Lord Jesus, God’s only begotten Son, to die for us in agony at Calvary. God’s love is great because of the unsearchable riches it showers on its object.” William MacDonald, Believer’s Bible Commentary, p. 1917
Satan attempts to make God out to be an unloving Father. Only mankind is created in God’s image, and He loves us beyond words (Ephesians 2:4-9). He loves us so much so that He gave His only begotten Son to die a horrible yet redeeming death on the cross, raising Him from the dead three days later to fully, completely justify us (John 3:16). God still has a remnant who trust Him and not self (Romans 5:6-8).
Justification
ARE YOU justified by sinful self or the Savior? Good luck flashing those “filthy rags” at the Throne of the Almighty who sent His only begotten Son to die for you! (Isaiah 64:6) You have called Him a liar! (Galatians 2:21) Righteousness comes from knowing and trusting the only One to ever keep the law perfectly and not from trying to keep the law (Galatians 2:16). Though the law be righteous, there is NO righteousness in the law other than repenting of your own efforts and putting your full trust in the only One who ever kept the law! (Romans 10:4) You deserve judgment and hell. You have nothing to offer God except a deeply repentant, honest, contrite, humble heart! (Psalms 34:18; 51:17; Matthew 5:3) You are a guilty sinner and must trash your stupid, ridiculous, laughable religious fig leaves which are a sham at best! True NEW Testament saints are dead to the law (Romans 7:1-4). Law keepers, do-gooders, and moralists are completely self-righteous antichrists who’ve put themselves in place of Jesus Christ as their own savior – denying Christ that place while vainly believing they can earn their own justification before a holy God and Judge of their eternal soul (James 2:10). Anti in the biblical word “antichrist” means “in place of.” Selah (meditate on that) God doesn’t want His children trying to keep the old law but rather to choose to worship, love, trust, and obey Him who is the only One to keep it and then nailed it to the cross and took it out of the way!
Revelation 2:8 “I know thy works, and tribulation, and poverty, (but thou art rich) and I know the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews, and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan.”
Revelation 3:9 “Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie; behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee.”
William MacDonald writes:
“His kindness toward us (2:7)
“His grace in His kindness toward us (2:7)
“The riches of His grace in His kindness toward us
“The exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us
“Now it follows that if God will be disclosing this throughout eternity, then we will be learning throughout eternity, then we will be learning forever and ever. Heaven will be our school. God will be our Teacher. His grace will be the subject. We will be the students. And the school term will be eternity.
“This should deliver us from the idea that we will know everything when we get to Heaven. Only God knows everything, and we will never be equal with Him.
“It also raises the interesting question: How much will we know when we get to Heaven? And it suggests the possibility that we can prepare for the heavenly university by majoring in the Bible right now.
“2:8 The next three verses present as clear a statement of the simple plan of salvation as we can find in the Bible.
“It all originates with the grace of God; He takes the initiative in providing it. Salvation is given to those who are utterly unworthy of it, on the basis of the Person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ.
“It is given as a present possession. Those who are saved can know it. Writing to the Ephesians, Paul said, ‘are ye saved.’ He knew it, and they knew it.
“The way we receive the gift of eternal life is through faith. Faith means that man takes his place as a lost, guilty sinner, and receives the Lord Jesus as his only hope of salvation. True saving faith is the commitment of a person to a Person (Christ).
“Any idea that man can earn or deserve salvation is forever exploded by the words, ‘and that not of yourselves.’ (2:9) Dead people can do nothing, and sinners deserve nothing but punishment.
“‘It is the gift of God.’ A gift, of course, is free …. The gift of God is salvation by grace and through faith. It is offered to all people everywhere.
“2:9 It is not of works, that is, it is not something a person can earn through supposedly meritorious deeds. It cannot be earned, for instance, by:
Confirmation
Baptism
Church membership
Church attendance
Holy communion
Trying to keep the Ten Commandments
Living by the Sermon on the Mount
Giving to charity
Being a good neighbor
Living a moral, respectable life
“People are not saved by works. And they are not saved by faith plus works. They are saved through faith alone. The minute you add works of any kind or in any amount as a means of gaining eternal life, salvation is no longer by grace (Rom. 11:6). One reason that works are positively excluded is to prevent human boasting. If anyone could be saved by his works, then he would have reason to boast before God. This is impossible (Rom 3:27).
“If anyone could be saved by his own good works, then the death of Christ was unnecessary (Gal 2:21). But we know that the reason He died was because there was no other way by which guilty sinners could be saved.
“If anyone could be saved by his own good works, then he would be his own savior, and could worship himself. But this would be idolatry, and God forbid it (Exod. 20:3).
“Even if someone could be saved through faith in Christ plus his own good works you would have the impossible situation of two saviors – Jesus and the sinner. Christ would then have to share the saviorhood with another, and this He will not do (Is. 42:8).
“Finally, if anyone could contribute to his salvation by works, then God would owe it to him. This, too, is impossible. God cannot be indebted to anyone (Rom 11:35).
“In contrast to works, faith excludes boasting (Rom 3:27), because it is non-meritorious. A man has no reason to be proud that he has trusted the Lord. Faith in Him is the most sane, rational, sensible thing a person can do. To trust one’s Creator and Redeemer is only logical and reasonable. If we cannot trust Him, whom can we trust?
“2:10 The result of salvation is that we are His workmanship – the handiwork of God, not of ourselves. A born again believer is a masterpiece of God. When we think of the raw materials He has to work with, His achievement is all the more remarkable. Indeed, this masterpiece is nothing less than an new creation through union with Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passes away; behold, all things have become new (2 Cor 5:17).
“And the object of this new creation is found in the phrase, for good works. While it is true that we are not saved by good works, it is equally true that we are saved for good works. Good works are not the root but the fruit. We do not work in order to be saved, but because we are saved.
“This is the aspect of the truth that is emphasized in James 2:14-26. When James says that ‘faith without works is dead,’ he does not mean that we are saved by faith plus works, but by the kind of faith that results in a life of good works. Works prove the reality of our faith. Paul heartedly agrees: ‘we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.’ (2:10)
“God’s order then is this:
“Faith->Salvation->Good Works->Reward
“Faith leads to salvation. Salvation results in good works. Good works will be rewarded by Him.
“But the question arises: What kind of good works am I expected to do? Paul answers, Good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. In other words, God has a blueprint for every life. Before our conversion He mapped out a spiritual career for us. Our responsibility is to find His will for us and then obey it. We do not have to work out a plan for our lives, but only accept the plan which He has drawn up for us. This delivers us from fret and frenzy, and insures that our lives will be of maximum glory to Him, of most blessing to others, and of greatest reward to ourselves.
“In order to find out the good works He has planned for our individual lives, we should: (1) Confess and forsake sin as soon as we are conscious of it in our lives; (2) be continually and unconditionally yielded to him; (3) study the Word of God to discern His will, and then do whatever He tells us to do; (4) spend time in prayer each day; (5) seize opportunities of service as they arise; (6) cultivate the fellowship and counsel of other Christians. God prepares us for good works. He prepares good works for us to perform. Then He rewards us when we perform them. Such is His grace!” William MacDonald, Believer’s Bible Commentary, p. 1918
“Riches” appears five times in Ephesians
Ephesians 1:7 – “In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;”
Ephesians 1:18 – “The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints,”
Ephesians 2:7 – “That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.”
Ephesians 3:8 – “Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ;”
Ephesians 3:16 – “That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man;”
Ephesians 2:1-10
WHAT GRACE HAS DONE by FB Meyer
“Evidently dead men may walk; that is, they may be dead to the eternal world but alive to this world, which is moving past like the films of a moving picture. The death of the spirit is compatible with much active interest in the course of this world. Behind the shifting scenes of the material is the great enemy of souls. As the Spirit of God works in the obedient, so does the evil spirit work in the disobedient. Note this trinity of evil-the course of this world, the lusts of our flesh, and the prince of the power of the air. If we desire to save men, we must be in living union with the all-conquering Spirit of Christ.
Notice, also, the past tense which describes the finality of Christ’s work, Eph_2:5-6. In the purpose of God we have been raised from the grave of sin and are seated with the risen Lord in the place of acceptance and victory. We were one with Christ when He lay in the grave and arose. In God’s thought we have already taken our seat with the glorified Christ upon the throne; only the pity is that we do not believe this or act as if we had done so. All this is the gift of God’s unmerited love. By grace have we been brought into this position, and by grace are we maintained in it. We are of God’s “making;” such is the Greek word for workmanship, Eph_2:10. We have been created for good works; they have been planned for us and we have only to walk in them.”
Articles
The Essential of Forgiveness: Are Your Hands Around Someone Else’s Throat? [podcast]
Forgiveness is ultra important to God. If you don’t forgive all others, you are not forgiven of your own sin and are as sure for hell as if you were already there. If you refuse to forgive you damn your own soul, non-negotiably. irrevocably.
GOD SAW IT ALL – HE SAW ALL YOUR SIN AND YET YOU HOLD UNFORGIVENESS TOWARD ANOTHER. IF you want to be forgiven, you MUST forgive. Do it now (Mark 11:25-26). Begin by admitting aloud to God what He already knows – that you are pure evil and have sinned against Him innumerable times! cry out to Him for mercy and declare aloud that no one needs Jesus more than you do!
“Harboring unforgiveness against someone else is like drinking poison and hoping the other person dies.” unknown
The reason people have a hard time forgiving, is that they’ve not yet been brought to the place in God to realize just how wicked THEY themselves are – and how merciful God was when He sent His only begotten Son to die for them “WHILE we (they) were yet sinners.” (Romans 5:6-8)
Outside of Christ’s righteousness, YOU are utterly wicked and depraved in the eyes of a holy God (Jeremiah 17:9; Romans 3, 7). When this finally sinks down into your heart, you will immediately and freely forgive all you’ve harbored ill will against – in utter forgiveness. This breaking all begins when we repent (Acts 3:19).
The sins that should concern us the most, are our own!
People who don’t forgive simply do not realize just how wicked they themselves are.
God will not forgive the sins of any person who refuses to forgive all others – from their heart (Matthew 18:21-35; Mark 11:25-26, etc.). Unforgiveness is non-negotiably, irrefutably, soul damning sin.
ANYone who doesn’t forgive EVERYone is going to hell irrevocably! Matthew 18:21-35
GOD mercifully forgive each of us, His children, not on our own merit or behalf, but rather on the perfect behalf of Christ Jesus! He now requires us to freely forgive all others as He mercifully forgave us. Non-negotiably saints.
We shall not receive divine mercy unless we freely show it to others (Mark 11:25-26). And anyone who denies this calls the son of God a liar.
Father, please forgive my hardness of heart, my obstinance, my heart rebellion. Please forgive my gross sins and grant this heart to be a heart of flesh dear LORD. In Jesus’ name, amen.
“Unforgiveness is poison to your soul. I see many who think by holding hatred and anger they are hurting the person they are mad at! But it damns their own soul! And will destroy you from the inside out! That is God’s judgment if we choose not to forgive.” Karen Cochran
The Parable of the Unforgiving Servant: A Parable is Simple an Earthly Story with a Heavenly Meaning. Matthew 18:21-35
Mat 18:21 Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times?
Mat 18:22 Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven.
Mat 18:23 Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain king, which would take account of his servants.
Mat 18:24 And when he had begun to reckon, one was brought unto him, which owed him ten thousand talents.
Mat 18:25 But forasmuch as he had not to pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife, and children, and all that he had, and payment to be made.
Mat 18:26 The servant therefore fell down, and worshipped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all.
Mat 18:27 Then the lord of that servant was moved with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt.
Mat 18:28 But the same servant went out, and found one of his fellowservants, which owed him an hundred pence: and he laid hands on him, and took him by the throat, saying, Pay me that thou owest.
Mat 18:29 And his fellowservant fell down at his feet, and besought him, saying, Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all.
Mat 18:30 And he would not: but went and cast him into prison, till he should pay the debt.
Mat 18:31 So when his fellowservants saw what was done, they were very sorry, and came and told unto their lord all that was done.
Mat 18:32 Then his lord, after that he had called him, said unto him, O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desiredst me:
Mat 18:33 Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellowservant, even as I had pity on thee?
Mat 18:34 And his lord was wroth (furious), and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him.
Mat 18:35 So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses.
Forgiving others is essential to answered prayer. It’s a non-negotiable, divinely required condition.
“Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them. 25 And when ye stand praying, FORGIVE, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses. 26 But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses.” Mark 11:24-26
Clear it all out…. the past is the past saints … “Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: 32 And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.” (Ephesians 4:31-32)
God forgave us in our wickedness, “while we were yet sinners”, on the basis of Christ’s righteousness and in spite of our own evil, sinful state (Romans 5:6-8). Now, as His children, we are non-negotiably commanded to freely forgive all. If we don’t, the Father will not forgive us and if we die that way, we shall perish irrevocably (Mark 11:25-26).
ALL it takes to go the eternal hell is to not forgive just 1 person (Matthew 18:21-35; Mark 11:25-26).
You are not forgiven if you don’t forgive – all, from your heart.
When we realize just how “desperately wicked” WE ourselves are outside of the present saving mercy of God, then will we freely forgive all others (Jeremiah 17:9).
IF THE LORD ISN’T A GOD OF MERCY, WE’RE ALL IN TROUBLE…. SELAH. GIVE OUT MERCY LIKE YOU NEED IT – BECAUSE YOU DO!!!
AS you were shown mercy in your sin, God requires that you show mercy to all others – and if you don’t, you lose His divine mercy. Repent. Acknowledge your own utter wickedness and myriad of sins before God in true repentance, and forgive all – now. Memorize James 2:13 now.
“For he shall have judgment without mercy, that hath shewed no mercy; and mercy rejoiceth against judgment.” James 2:13
A sure way to bring judgment on ourselves is to judge another while we have sin in our own life (Matthew 7:1-5; James 2:13). Repent now.
PRAYER: Dear heavenly Father, I come to You as a vile sinner in and through the precious blood and name of Jesus Christ. I am guilty of infinite sin before You and here and now express to You my thanksgiving for sending Your only begotten Son to die on that cross for me, for my sin of which I am 100% guilty. There is no good thing in me except You LORD Jesus. I am not good but You are dear LORD. Having been freely forgiven by You LORD, I have no business not forgiving all others. In light of how You’ve mercifully forgiven me, I fully understand that You will damn my soul to eternal hell if I refuse to forgive all others of all offenses. Jesus please rebuke and break me to the core of my being, taking away all hardness of heart and granting to me a heart of flesh. Please fill me with Your love Father, in Jesus’ name, amen.
Forgive as You Have Been Forgiven with Todd Tomasella and Frank Telford [podcast] | Forgiveness | Mercy | The Daily Cross
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Apostasy
The Blessings of Bible Reading [podcast]
“Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.” Revelation 1:3
The quickest and surest way to get blessed is to simply read God’s Word. This is so simple that most miss it.
- Bible reading is the key to learning the things of God (Prov. 22:17-22).
- Bible Study is paramount to spiritual growth (1 Pet. 2:2).
- Reading God’s Word etches the image of Christ upon the canvass of the heart (Lk 24:27; Jn 5:39, 46).
- Bible reading instills the fear of the LORD (Deut. 4:10, 17:19).
- Bible reading and obedience guarantee answered prayers (John 15:7).
- The Word gives us God’s direction (Ps 119:105).
- Bible learning comforts the soul (Rom. 15:4).
- Reading the Bible enhances one’s intelligence and mind (Ps 119:99-100).
- Bible reading wards off the enemy (Ps 17:4).
- Reading the Bible dispels darkness (Ps 119:130).
- Bible Study clears and cleans the mind and heart (Jn. 15:3).
- Studying God’s Oracles equips for battle (Eph. 6:17).
- Bible reading washes the religion out of us (Matt. 15:6,9, 22:29; Eph. 5:26).
- Studying the Word corrects our faulty thinking (2 Tim. 3:16).
- Bible reading imparts divine wisdom (2 Tim. 3:15).
- Pouring over God’s Truth fully equips us to minister divine truth in love (2 Tim. 3:17).
- Bible reading fills the heart with joy (Jer. 15:16).
- Reading the Bible increases discernment (Ps 17:4; Heb. 5:11-14).
- Bible study increases our spiritual strength (Prov. 24:5).
- Bible study excites and energizes prayer (John 15:7).
- Bible reading causes a spiritual fire inside the heart of the believer (Jer. 20:9).
- Bible reading increases faith (Rom. 10:17).
- Reading the Bible stirs evangelism (Rom. 10:13-17).
- Bible reading makes one sure of His salvation and more confident in the LORD (Jn 20:31; 1 Jn 5:11-13).
- Bible reading comforts the heart in times of trouble (Ps 119:50,76,171).
- Bible learning imparts wisdom to the believer (Ps 19:7).
- Studying God’s Word builds up the disciple in the faith of Christ (Acts 20:32).
- Bible reading sanctifies the Christian (Jn 15:3; 17:17; Eph. 5:26).
- Bible study reveals Christ to the heart of the believing reader (John 5:39).
- “Wondrous things” are beheld by those who ingest, read God’s Words (Psalms 119:18).
God blesses those who read His Word
“Blessed is he that readeth” Revelation 1:3
“Seek ye out of the book of the LORD, and READ.” Isaiah 34:16
YES God’s people are to “study” His Word and how else to do such than to begin by “READING” His words? 2 Tim 2:15
“Till I come, give attendance to READING, to exhortation, to doctrine.” 1 Timothy 4:13
“Bless is he that READETH ….” Revelation 1:3
Years ago I found that if I don’t get up early to read God’s Word and spend quality moments in prayer first and foremost, it will never happen. God must be put first and this requires ruthless discipline.
“But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” Matthew 6:33
Reading all of God’s Word is the priority of ever astute follower of Jesus.
There’s no way to learn God’s Word other than reading it yourself (2 Timothy 2:15) God gave you His Word in tangible format in order for you to learn of Him from Him and by Him. Those who leave it to others to teach them God’s Word are self-deceived and will be misled by those they depend on to teach them the Bible.
Saints, in order that some may be encouraged, below, let’s talk about our current personal Bible reading…..
“Presently, I am in 1 Kings, reading all the way through the Bible again, and also reading through Revelation backwards. Personally I like to read several chapters every morning to begin the day and like to include OT, Poetic books, and New Testament chapter readings….. along with pouring over passages like 1 Cor 13; Phil 2:3-5; Col. 3:1-4, 12-14;” Todd
“In 1 Thessalonians reading through the Bible.” Jason
“I am reading Mark.” Michele
“Philippians—Paul’s letter in prison—and joy.” Joe
“I Been Reading James And 1st An 2nd Peter This Week.” Connie
“Working my way through 1 Sam (ch 14 finished now) Psalms 77 and John chapter 4 finished. Trying to read through in 6 months. I enjoy listening (KJB on YouTube) while I read also.” Nathan
“Thank you. Very edifying podcast. I remember getting away from God’s Word. When I came back I was told to read Psalm 119. I spent probably a year in it. And it is impossible not to see the love David had for the Word of God. That began to spill out into my heart! Now I never miss a day. Everyday the Holy Spirit gives me new revelations! And I keep saying ‘Jesus thank You so much for putting the love for You and Your precious Word in the hearts of Your people! We can’t do it. It comes from the Spirit of God.” Karen Cochran
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Articles
AI TECHNOLOGY IS WHAT?
By Stacy Strother
AI TECHNOLOGY IS WHAT!?
The Bible doesn’t mention AI by name, but its warnings about deception, control, and false images in the last days speak directly to the dangers technology could bring.
Look at Revelation 13:14-15 (KJB):
“And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles… saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast… And he had power to give life unto the IMAGE of the beast, that the IMAGE of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the IMAGE of the beast should be killed.”
In the original Greek, “IMAGE” (eikon) means a likeness, simulation, or even an artificial representation. The text says this image is given “breath” (pneuma) so it can speak. Today, that sounds like AI—an artificial system that can “speak” and even influence or control people, becoming something people look to for answers or even authority.
REFUTE THIS PLEASE!
Jesus warned in Matthew 24:24 (KJV):
“For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall DECEIVE the very elect.”
The Greek for “deceive” (planao) means to lead astray or seduce—exactly what can happen if the masses start trusting an AI system that doesn’t actually know truth, only what’s common or popular.
Almost sounds like cultish celebrity followings, right?
Paul wrote in 2 Timothy 3:1, 7 (KJB):
“This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come… Ever learning, and NEVER ABLE to COME to the KNOWLEDGE of the TRUTH.”
This describes our world—where knowledge explodes, but discernment and real truth get lost. AI can gather endless information but cannot provide spiritual wisdom, EVEN THOUGH, people will flock to it to get it!
Daniel prophesied in Daniel 12:4 (KJB):
“…Many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.”
The Hebrew word for “knowledge” (da‘ath) means skill and discernment, but today we see more INFORMATION than ever—without the FOUNDATION of truth.
All of these passages warn us: the last days will be MARKED by artificial IMAGES, persuasive DECEPTION, and overwhelming INFORMATION without wisdom.
AI fits right into this picture—a tool that could be used by the “beast system” to control, deceive, and subtly SHIFT doctrine AWAY FROM the truth.
AGAIN—It’s a reminder to walk in the Spirit and test everything by God’s unchanging Word, not by artificial intelligence.
Stay Blessed!
If you are not ready to meet the Lord, please call on Him today and then pray for wisdom and discernment!
Blessings!
Stacy
SWSPUB
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