Daily Musings ~ Part 9

Jude, identified as a brother of Jesus, warned of false teachers who would cause divisions in the church. They would infiltrate and eventually take over Christian meetings and later congregations, and cause divisions within the body of Christ. Jude said certain ungodly men have crept in and have turned the grace of our Lord into lewdness. Denying our Lord Jesus Christ. Jude warned that the Lord saved the people out of the land of Egypt but afterward destroyed those who did not believe.

Exodus 35 tells of Moses coming down from Mount Sinai after receiving the two tablets of the Book of the Law and the people could not look at him because his face shown from being in the presence of the Lord. So, he had to wear a veil as the people of Israel were afraid to come near him. We are called to be in His presence. In John 14 Jesus tells us that if we love Him we will keep His word. And that they will love us and make their home with us. But somehow, we’ve have become like the Israelites that could not look on Moses’ face. It’s easier to follow the face and teachings of one who only “says” they have been in His presence and then go about telling us what they want us to hear. And so many follow right into a pit filled with lies and greed. False direction. A place that speaks of God but in actuality has only a form of godliness without his goodness or perfect leading. A place that eventually leads us so far from His presence we can no longer see Him.

C.S. Lewis writes in Mere Christianity that we question a world with absolute goodness as the governing power from Him who is everything. We do so because to not question a world that He supremely rules means we agree with His words and then that would make us a liar as we choose to follow wrong doctrine. Lewis wrote, “The trouble is that one part of you is on His side and really agrees with His disapproval of human greed and trickery and exploitation. You want Him to make an exception in your case, to let you off this one time. But you know at bottom that unless the power behind the world really and unalterably detests that sort of behaviour, that He cannot be good. On the other hand, we know that if there does exist an absolute goodness, then all our efforts are in the long run hopeless. But if it is, then we are making ourselves enemies to that goodness every day. God is the only comfort. He is also the supreme terror: the thing we need the most and the thing we most want to hide from. He is our only possible ally as if meeting the gaze of absolute goodness would be fun. They need to think again. They are only playing with religion. Goodness is either the great safety or the great danger – according to the way we react to it. And we have reacted the wrong way.”

No different today as when C.S. Lewis wrote this. Who among us can unquestionably say they could look upon His face without a veil? So many have an image of Him they have concocted and it truly does not resemble what He taught. If so, why are we where we are today? How can we follow doctrines of demons? How can we lift up those who are lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, unloving, unforgiving, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God?  They claim to have a form of godliness but in effect, denying its power. Turn from such people as the Apostle Paul wrote in warning that so applies to today. How can we venerate one who sells bibles with his name on top and is a sexual deviant? Rape is excused and so are those who this sexual pervert has surrounded himself with. I fear we are at a place from which there is no return and I watch so many I know and love go forward fully believing this path of hatred and perversion will bring them face to face with a god that will say well done. But you had better have your veil handy. Carefully follow His doctrine and His words that bring life. Turn from this path that will only lead to destruction. Seek Him and His ways. Face to face. Blessings.