I have been a Christian for more than four decades and I get asked the above question a lot. And during these Final Days when Jesus says many people will be fooled by "false Christs" coming in His name, it's more important than ever. (Matthew 24)
My answer is,
"Bible, Bible, Bible".
And,
"Listen, Listen, Listen."
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| HA! It Looks like someone snuck into my bedroom and took a photo without me knowing it. LL |
Filter everything people say by whether or not it contradicts the Bible. (Even what I am writing right now)
Then listen to what the Holy Spirit tells you. God does not speak to you less because you never went to a Bible College. In these Last Days, God says He will "pour out his Holy Spirit on all flesh." (Acts 2:7) I've attended churches with an amazing abundance of Bible Teachers. Yet, on the flip side, there were seasons of my life when I couldn't attend a Home church, but still utilized my time to get quiet and be focused on being alone with Jesus. So He taught me directly. But remember that the Holy Spirit will never contradict himself by saying something against or different than what is already in the Bible. But it takes TIME to be with Jesus.
Just like any relationship, if you ignore that person, are too hurried to listen, don't care to promote clarity, and foster understanding between you, then that relationship will suffer. You won't grow closer together, there can be all sorts of misunderstandings and you can be tricked and seduced away by someone else. It's the same thing with your relationship with the Lord.
Spend time with Jesus and be someone who LOVES the truth. Chase after it and settle for nothing less than 100% truth (in yourself and others) and I believe God will respond by showing it TO you and IN you. He will "guide you in paths of righteousness for His name's sake." (Psalm 23)
And don't be too quick to just dismiss what your Pastor says if you think he has got it wrong. Don't stand up in the middle of his sermon and yell "Child of satan!!", but don't just let him off the hook either. If he is teaching sound, Biblical doctrine then he should be able to state what he says without talking in circles and give you Bible verses that are reasonable too. And without cramming his beliefs into them. The truth will stand up under the most intensive scrutiny. But having the Holy Spirit living inside of us warm, sensitive, and stirred up is essential because He will guide us in "all truth". (John 16:13)
If you are hearing lies and are living sensitive to the Holy Spirit, He will make you feel all sorts of uncomfortable when you are hearing lies. Everything from feeling cranky and like you have ants in your pants, to feeling like somebody gave you a physical nudge or even sometimes a good, solid shove. For me it can run the gamut, depending on the situation. There have been times when it was a niggling feeling that wouldn't leave for days, to something as loud as a fire alarm and with the exact same response. I got up out of my seat and immediately vacated the premises.
Remember Jesus wants you to know the truth too because it sets you free. If you desire that too and have a good relationship with the Lord, then He will keep you from being duped. He even made sure to have it written down thousands of years ago in the Bible so that you would be forewarned and protected. He's not going to leave you floundering now. But if you are not hearing God or rarely hearing from Him, then you have a problem in your relationship that needs tending to. But that is an issue for another day and another post.
But the Bible and the Holy Spirit are the keys for those of us who know Jesus because it is how we communicate with Jesus and Him with us. At least ... for now....... (insert goosebumps here!)
Thanks for stopping in. I hope this helps, my Friends.
Speaking the truth, with love,
Always, Laura-Lee
If you don't have a relationship with Jesus I want you to know that it is possible. I used to believe that there was a God but He was some vague person who lived up yonder somewhere. Certainly not anywhere near me. Until somebody told me that He was very close and actually waiting for me to invite Him to come into my life. I was desperately lonely and was basically willing to try anything at that point. So I spoke to Jesus and told Him that if He wanted a "shot with my life" he had it. That was 43 years ago! And my relationship with Jesus has been the core of my life ever since. And so I am passing on the same news to you right now.
Life is so massively hard, but you don't have to live it alone and feeling desperate and abandoned. Jesus dying on the cross paid the debt for all our sins and allows us access to God. We go from being guilty of all our sins and unable to pay for them ourselves, to being relieved from that debt and gaining access to God again, when we ask Jesus to forgive them.
You don't need to understand what this is all about. I certainly didn't understand it all at the beginning. You just need to know,
"The wages of sin is death." (Romans 6:23)
If you ask Him to come into your life and forgive you, he hears you and will do it.
I am living proof of it.
"If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. " (Romans 10)
My email is in the right column if you wish to write to me. LL🙋🏻♀️
