This is the second to the last of the series I was handling. I hope it blesses your heart a great deal.
A proud person is someone who is likely to miss opportunities. Exalting yourself in any way makes God to stay out of your way.
Therefore humble yourselves [demote, lower yourselves in your own estimation] under the mighty hand of God, that in due time He may exalt you. 1Pet 5:6[AMP].
Here, humility is the key.
Do not be carried about by different and varied and alien teachings; for it is good for the heart to be established and ennobled and strengthened by means of grace (God’s favor and spiritual blessing) and not [to be devoted to] foods [rules of diet and ritualistic meals], which bring no [spiritual] benefit or profit to those who observe them. Heb. 13:9 [AMP].
Strange teachings have infiltrated the churches today. Any teaching that is not directed towards expanding God's kingdom should be avoided. Equip yourself with the undiluted word of God so as to be able to defend the truth when need arises. You can only test or try every spirit when you have the word. The only teachings and messages needed to be accepted by men are those ones coming to give instructions for righteousness.
Every Scripture is God-breathed (given by His inspiration) and profitable for instruction, for reproof and conviction of sin, for correction of error and discipline in obedience, [and] for training in righteousness (in holy living, in conformity to God’s will in thought, purpose, and action), So that the man of God may be complete and proficient, well fitted and thoroughly equipped for every good work. 2Tim. 3:16-17. [AMP].
Samson went down to Timnah and at Timnah saw one of the daughters of the Philistines.
And he came up and told his father and mother, I saw one of the daughters of the Philistines at Timnah; now get her for me as my wife. But his father and mother said to him, Is there not a woman among the daughters of your kinsmen or among all our people, that you must go to take a wife from the uncircumcised Philistines? And Samson said to his father, Get her for me, for she is all right in my eyes. Judges 14:1-3 [AMP].
In this pitfall the life of Samson is being considered. Hasty decision was a slip that led to Samson's downfall. He made a decision without inviting God into it. In this case, he did not heed to the counsel of his parents not to take a wife from Philistine. In Samson's assumption, the spirit of God was still moving mightily upon him, as such, he no longer needed instructions from men. When a man decides hastily on ministry, marriage and carrier, it always ends in great danger. When a man cannot discipline the flesh by saying "no" to it in order to obey God, but unequally yokes with the uncircumcised, he removes himself from the yoke of discipleship.
The point here is that, no one should act in a haste and presumption, always be properly guided. It can be a costly assumption and equally dangerous to think that what pleases you well is pleasing to your Creator and that the desires of your heart will always be acceptable in the eyes of Jehovah God. Usually, it is the things we regard as "innocent" and minute that become ready weapons in the hands of the devil to use and assault a great saint. They are enticing and pleasant packages that lead God's people to fall.
It is a pitfall, when a Christian's life is not about his personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ, but rather becomes a company or group experience. It is one of the greatest mistakes one may make by assuming that the group experience is one's personal experience. Jesus may be missing in one's life when he believes that certain factors like the name of a church, his title, family background or societal status can make Jesus to be with him.
Caravan Christianity will carry you nowhere because everyday you move without being sure of who Jesus is, or not being able to give an account of your encounter with Christ, you are taking one step farther away from reality. Hence, one must always insist on making his relationship with God a personal one, and never forget to note or write down what is happening to him as an individual, not as a group.
