JUNE 12 "TWISTED AND CONVULUTED HEARTS"

  People who want what we got, but don’t have what we got are a dangerous and crazy species. It’s a long standing issue in Christian circles and my guess is it will never go away until the Church is raptured. Until then, we will have to put up with heretics, Apostates, hypocrites and hirelings within the Church of Jesus Christ. Peter, you and I would deem this as completely ridiculous that someone would think he could buy what we have and what God is doing through our lives, but to them it is perfectly normal. This is what happens when people come into the Church but do not convert. There is only one approach with people like this and that is the approach that Peter takes, it is a direct, confrontational approach. We would never deal with a sincere church member like this, no matter how much they are struggling, this would not be the method, ie: “repent of your wickedness and pray to the Lord. Perhaps He will forgive your evil thoughts, for can see you are full of bitter jealousy and are held captive by sin”.  This is definitely the “direct approach” no beating around the bush here. However this is how you deal with such people. And the results, “Pray to the Lord for me, Simon exclaimed, “that these terrible things won’t happen to me”.  Are the results always like this...the answer to that is a definitive NO, but it is still the best approach. With the disciples Jesus exercised grace and compassion, with the religious & twisted people of the day, Jesus was stern and confrontational. “you are of your father, the devil”, just to quote one line from Jesus. Crazies will be part of our experience until Jesus’ return and our duty as sober minded Christians is to not allow them to distract and divert us from our mission and calling.  Our duty as Christians is to protect the sheep from them, our duty as Christians is never to become “one of them”. How do we become “one of them”, endless amount of ways, but the one I think is most worthy of mentioning is sitting under the preaching of God’s word week after week and then going out and living a life that completely defies what you hear preached Sunday after Sunday. This is not like when we were in false and powerless religion before we got saved. Now we are no longer ignorant, now we are sitting under Holy Ghost Preaching, hearing the truth and when we do that Sunday after Sunday and then go out and live a life that is contradictory we will eventually become twisted, pervert the truth and become deceived. The Word of God “warns” us not to be “hearers only” but “be doers” of what we hear. Some of the craziest people I’ve met in my life were not raw pagans or Satanists even, they were religious and twisted people. Many of these men and women can quote scripture, many can talk spiritual platitudes, but they won’t live it, they are heretics, apostates and of such, the bible says, “have nothing to do with them” and if you must encounter one, follow Peter’s method and perhaps, a miracle will happen in their convoluted and twisted heart.