Diligent to the End

"With flattery he will corrupt

those who have violated the covenant,

but the people who know their God

will firmly resist him."

Daniel 11:32

"A lot of churches have not moved with the times."

"It's God's will for you to live in prosperity not in poverty."

"If you want financial blessings you need to sow financially."

"You can make some mistakes but that doesn't make you a sinner."

These are some quotes from a popular pastor and author.  He is very charismatic and his message sounds good on the surface.  For those who are following Jesus and rooted in His Word, however, red flags are waving madly in the air.  There is something off. It isn't quite right.   I must be careful.

I am inundated with positive and inspiring messages on a daily basis.  I am told I can have my best life now, that God is just waiting to send over a truckload of money if only I would believe, and that my destiny is in my hands if I would only follow my heart.  It is easy for me to get off track and start following a belief system that is contrary to God's Word.  The message may be attractive and appealing, it may help to make me feel better about my life, or even serve to bring me out of a time of struggle, but if it's not the truth then I should not be adhering to its principles.

As I read the Bible, I learn that I will be faced with many false teachers in the end times.  It is important for me to be capable of recognizing the falsehoods so that I will be able to resist accepting their teachings as truth and stay diligent to God's ways to the end.  

Rightly Related

I used to own one of those hose reels that conveniently keeps the outdoor hose rolled up on a wheel.  There is a small section of hose that hooks to the faucet and then the longer length of hose connects to the reel.  If that small section is not lined up perfectly with the spigot, it will leak like a sieve, spraying water all over the place.  But, if I carefully align the hose with the spout, it spills not one drop of water. 

In a similar way, I must be rightly related to God in order to receive the flow of living water.  Many times, though, I get off track by following other people, fertilizing an area of sin in my life until it grows so large that it blocks the light of my Savior, or neglecting to pay attention to Him. Placing Him in the proper position as Lord of my life means that everything else will fall into place.  At least it will end up the way He wants it, not the way I imagine it should be.


Lining my life up with God's means desiring Him as my highest priority.  There are many times in my life where doing things for him becomes more important than hanging out with Him, but as Martha found out, "Only one thing is needed." (Luke 10:38-42)  That "thing" is making Jesus my most desirable pursuit. 


How effortless I find myself sliding into a state of perpetual toil for Jesus' sake instead of sitting at His feet.  It is important that I remove all things that distract me from simply living in right relationship with my God.  As Oswald Chambers said, "If you want to be of use to God, get rightly related to Jesus Christ and He will make you of use unconsciously every minute you live."


Living my life connected to the Source is important; not only for production of His fruit, but also for strength to stand strong against deceptive teachings. 


Keeping myself aligned with God gives me the strength to stay diligent to His ways until the end.

Seek to Know Him 

I recently read that employers are utilizing social networking sites to help in their quest to hire quality workers.  Sometimes a perspective employee looks good on paper and in person, but their personal life leaves much to be desired.  The way a person lives their life tells a lot about their values and integrity, inspiring human resource personnel to do a little research.

Much in the same way, if I want to know about God, I need to spend some time doing some digging.  He makes it easy by providing the Bible with all it's teachings and guidance.  Even more, though, God is available to us as followers of Christ.  He does not play games with us, but is readily available to those who are truly trying to find Him.  As He told the people of Israel through the prophet Jeremiah, "You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all of your heart." (Jeremiah 29:13)

In order for me to truly know God, I must trust Him, live my life in tandem with Him, or as David said,  taste Him and see that He is good.  Henry Blackaby, pastor and author of Experiencing God, put it this way.  " You will never be satisfied just to know about God.  Really knowing God only comes through experience as he reveals himself to you."

Although employers vicariously become a part of perspective employees lives through the Internet, I cannot do the same in my relationship with God.  Rather, it is my calling to concretely and tangibly invite Him into every part of my life, melding Him into my being so that His Spirit and mine are indistinguishable.  

Seeking to know God intimately is important in my quest to please Him and stay true to Him to the end.

Do What He Says

A professional student is one who loves learning so much, he stays in college indefinitely, earning degree after degree without ever embarking on a career path.  The security of their life as a student is comfortable, making it tempting to continue the learning forever.  Studying and learning new things is wonderful, but it is always with the intention of using the knowledge in some tangible way in the future.  

James talked about the importance of not remaining simply a student of God's Word, but to also put it into practice.  "Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves.  Do what it says." (James 1:22)

God's Word is useful for many things: teaching me, reprimanding me, correcting my ways and training me in His ways.  (2 Timothy 3:16)  These are all action words, propelling me into deed, not simply an exercise in intellect.  My mind processes the lessons and my body carries them out.  In order for this to happen, I must be fully committed to Him; anything less and I will argue my way out of it, find an excuse to wait until later or justify my present condition.  

Sometimes its easier to do things for God and call it good.  That reminds me of the time a king made a sacrifice to God in order to make up for his disobedience.  When the priest arrived, God gave him the following message: "To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams." (1 Samuel 15:22)

In order to please God, I must take Him seriously and follow His ways faithfully.  Then I will be able to distinguish between His and counterfeit teachings.

Doing what God says keeps me too busy in His Kingdom to get distracted by false teachers.

Resisting all the phony messages from teachers who claim to follow God is important in this day and age.  To do so, it is vital that I stay rightly related to God, that I spend my life seeking to know Him, and that I don't just learn but put His lessons into practice.  Then I will be able to firmly resist the corrupt and stay diligent to Him to the end.

As I begin this day it is my prayer that I will be able to stand firm against all the alluring, ungodly messages inundating my mind.

In what areas am I most susceptible to influence?

When do I seek to do more for God rather than seek to know Him?