Hey everyone! ^^

The title's probably very foreign to some of you, but this is just my own tribute to the Lord, here on AFF despite religious differences. My church receives little booklets that are like baby steps towards God every year and I thought I would post them here each and everyday! Or, at least I'll try to haha ^^;;

Journeys of love and reflection. How will it be for you?

[My apologies for not starting @ the beginning of May >_>]

-Love, GinniePark

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Memory Verse of the Week:

"Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour." - 1 Peter 5:8

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Remaining Holy - 2nd Peter 2:1-14

False Prophets

1: "But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them - bringing swift destruction on themselves."

2: "Many will follow their depraved conduct and will bring the way of truth into disrepute."

3: "In their greed these teachers will exploit you with fabricated stories. Thir condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping."

Due Punishment

4: "For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but sent them to hell, putting them in chains of darkness to be held for judgment;"

5: "if he did not spare the ancient world when he brought the flood on its ungodly people, but protected Noah, a preacher of righteousness, and seven others;"

6: "if he condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah by burning them to ashes, and made them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly;"

7: "and if he rescued Lot, a righteous man, who was distressed by the depraved conduct of the lawless"

8: "(for that righteous man, living among them day after day, was tormented in his righteous soul by the lawless deeds he saw and heard) -"

9: "if this is so, then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials and to hold the unrighteous for punishment on the day of judgment."

10: "This is especially true of those who follow the corrupt desire of the flesh and despise authority. Bold and arrogant, they are not afraid to heap abuse on celestial beings;"

11: "yet even angels, although they are stronger and more powerful, do not heap abuse on such beings when bringing judgment on them from the Lord."

12: "But these people blaspheme in matters they do not understand. They are like unreasoning animals, creatures of instinct, born only to be caught and destroyed, and like animals they too will perish."

13: "They will be paid back with harm for the harm they have done. Their idea of pleasure is to carouse in broad daylight. They are blots and blemishes, reveling in their pleasures while they feast with you."

14: "With eyes full of adultery, they never stop sinning; they seduce the unstable; they are experts in greed - an accursed brood!"

Reflection:

False Prophets (2:1-3)

Peter warns the early church about a problem that remains to this day: false teachers and false prophets who take the Word of God and manipulate and twist it for their own purposes. We must be vigilant and careful not to allow false teaching to enter the church. We also cannot just blame the false teachers - they will get their due punishment from God. However, we must also be responsible listeners. Pastors, preachers, and teachers do not exist to entertain us and tickle our ears. We must be in constant dialogue with the Bible so that when the Truth is preached, our spirits can agree. In addition, if we hear heresy, we ought to be well-versed enough to recognize that something is not right. How well do you know God's Word?

Due Punishment (2:4-14)

Today's passage also talks about the punishment that the false teachers will suffer. God will not spare anything when it comes to punishing the ungodly and the unrighteous. These people are arrogant and proud. Their audacity and boldness in their defiance against God will bring about their own demise. Even as they spew out lies, they accumulate their punishment, and nothing will be spared. But Peter also makes it clear that for those who love God and the Truth, there is nothing to worry about. God knows how to save the godly even in the midst of persecution and seemingly impossible situations. He personally guards and protects His people. He saved Noah and his family when the world was unrighteous, and He will save His people in the same way. Our true knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ saves us. Let us spread the Good News of this saving grace.

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Application:

-You probably hear from God's Word often. Perhaps you even read it daily. But do you engage the Word? Or do you just read it for the sake of reading it?

-Let us not only be defensive when it comes to false teaching, but also proactive. What can we do to spread the Truth rather than just wait around until the lies penetrate our faith community or personal spirituality?

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"I believe the holier a man becomes, the more he mourns over the unholiness which remains in him."

-C.H. Spurgeon.

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Prayer Guide:

Adoration

Confession

Thanksgiving

Supplication

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Beware of False Teachers

Two men walk down the street. One man has long, ragged hair, tattoos, and is wearing old clothes, while the other man is in his business suit and has a well-kept appearance. One of these men is a pastor, and the other is a serial killer. Which is which? Based only on this information, there is no way you could tell. Outward appearance does not dictate the inward state. This is the danger of the wold in sheep's clothing. Even within a short time after Jesus' ascension into Heaven, new cults had already begun to spring up. False teachers existed in the early church, and false teachers exist today.

The apostle Peter addresses false teachers in his second letter. He says, "many will follow their depraved conduct" (v. 2), leading us to believe that their false teaching is simply a matter of encouraging wrong conduct. However, John Piper explains, "You get the impression from [2 Peter] chapter 2 that the error of the false teachers was an error in morality, not doctrine. But the two are never really seperate. How you live and how you esteem Christ always rise and fall together. It is possible to live in such a disobedient way that Christ is scorned and belittled by our very behavior."

Whether one teaches heresies and lies or encourages people to act in a way that goes against God, the result is one and the same. Ultimately, both spread the corruption of doctrine. Thus, we must not only be wary of people who say things that contradict the Word of God. There may be people who can say all the right things, but if their actions go against the Gospel that they preach, they too are false teachers.

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A Letter to God:

Dear God, give me wisdom and discernment so that I might know the Truth and follow it.

Help me keep Your church pure. I ask that You guard my mind and my heart.

In Jesus' name. Amen.