FAKE NEWS

"Beware of false prophets who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves."(Matthew 7:15)

Remember as kids we were told little white lies were no big deal? If you think back to those days, maybe you thought your "fibs" were not that bad. However, in time you might have gotten comfortable fabricating the truth, first to your parents in order to stay our of trouble, then as you grew up the white lies grew in size too, until you were comfortable with fudging your resume to get your dream job or telling an outright lie to your spouse as to why you got home from work so late. Lies, like all other sin grows and mutates and can become habitual when left unchecked reeking havoc in our relationships and lives. No wonder Satan is called the father of lies.

Deception is not confined to our own private lives, it is an invasive intruder, and over the years has crept into the very fabric of society eroding our trust at all levels including our marriages, parenting, national government and our source of information...the news media. The information we ingest has conditioned us to accept the broadcasters word as gospel although many times we are being fed propaganda making it almost impossible to tell truth from lies. To further complicate matters we now have AI altering the images we see for the purpose of  controlling the narrative. Why you might wonder would our leaders and journalists want to deliberately give us false information that manipulates our thoughts? Simply put...the wolf is in the sheep pen.

How are we to discern the signs of the times if we are constantly being gaslighted? How can we keep our families safe when our leadership does not have our best interest at heart? There is only one source of ABSOLUTE truth. Jesus said to those who believed Him "If you abide in my word, you are my disciples indeed. And you shall know the TRUTH and the TRUTH SHALL SET YOU FREE." (John 8:31-32)

God is saying when we accept His teaching, and obey the gospel message we will understand the truth and that wisdom will free us from error. If you have accepted Jesus as Lord and Savior, don't become discouraged by the evil that is surrounding us in the world. Get connected with a Bible believing church and allow God to fill you with the Holy Spirit, the source of all truth. 

The good news is...its never too late to get ourselves right with God. "If we confess with our mouth Jesus is Lord, and believe in our hearts God raised Him from the dead we will be saved." Romans 10:9

WHAT ARE YOU FOCUSED ON

 Our thoughts have incredible power. We think our minds are our own private space but whatever is going on in our heads eventually comes out in our words and actions exposing the demons we are trying to hide. 

If you have been focused on anger, bitterness or hatred at the way someone spoke to you or treated you and keep playing it over and over in your mind those feelings will take root, like an invasive weed in a flower garden, until it is almost impossible to pull out. There are countless other scenario's and you probably know first hand how these emotions lock you into a self made prison cell within your mind. 

So how do we get our negative thoughts, feelings and emotions to line up with positive action. 

The Bible calls it the Renewing of your Mind.  Simply put, we choose to let go of the offensive words and forgive the offender instead of holding onto it. Let it go. Think about how many things the Lord has forgiven you for and forgive on purpose. "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."  Hebrews 9:11 

Your bad attitude won't just magically disappear. It will raise it's ugly head over and over again but each time it does say a little prayer for the person who hurt you. When we take that small step of obedience, God takes care of the rest. When we focus on what God says in the Bible our lives find positive reinforcement. After all...It's easier to pick flowers than it is to pull weeds.

ACTIONS SPEAK LOUDER THAN WORDS

With all the news feeds, opinions, and op-ed's floating around the internet it's no wonder our minds are on information overload. The way we all tend to shoot off our mouths you would think we were the most informed, understanding and wise generation that ever graced planet earth with our intelligence.

All joking aside... the wisest people among us are not those who have thousands of likes and views on their social media feeds. They are not those of us who have spent years and years studying in the top universities to acquire their Doctorate. 

According to God, wisdom and understanding are something tangible, profound, and much more personal.

In James 3:13  God asks us us a point blank question..."Who  among you is wise and understanding? Let them show it by their good life, by deeds done in humility that comes from wisdom." 

God's wisdom has nothing to do with how many degrees we can list next to our names. The wisest people in the Kingdom of God are not those of us who are considered the smartest. Instead, wisdom is applied to the people who put God and others first in their lives. In the Bible humility has to do with servant hood. The verse goes on to say "wisdom is pure, peace-loving, considerate , submissive, full of mercy, good fruit, impartial and sincere." Wow! What an incredible list of character traits we should all aspire to.

God also tells us if we lack wisdom to ask Him for it and he will give it to us generously. We are to imitate God who is always ready to forgive us for our sins when we confess our failures and turn away from our transgressions. Because of his mercy and faithfulness he encourages us when we're down, leads us when we have lost our way, and loves us even when we don't deserve it. To boil it down, if you want to be considered wise,  "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." (Matthew 7:12) WISDOM IS LOVE IN ACTION.