Duped

The definition of duped:

a person who is easily deceived or fooled; gull. a person who unquestioningly or unwittingly serves a cause or another person. I think I can safely say that I was duped when I went shopping this week. I called in the shopping centre in Derby and couldn’t resist all the signs in one of my favourite shops. SALE, everything must go, I didn’t check to see if this meant that everything was in the sale, I just assumed, I was wrong to do so and came out of the shop with my purse £18 lighter than when I went in. You see I am a sucker for a bargain, especially if that bargain is craft. It would appear that almost everything I bought wasn’t in the sale, I think there were just two items.

I thought about this from a Christian view point, and how scripture warns us to test all the spirits. I should not accept something just because someone has attached the word Christian to it. There are plenty of things we shouldn’t be as Christians, we shouldn’t be duped, deluded, or deceived. We should be discerning, seeking the truth, we should be testing everything, that is everything man has written, spoken, or sung. Books written and films made can have the appearance of being truth but when you test them with scripture you find there is only an element of truth, the rest is fabrication or downright lies.

Black is black, white is white, you can’t call them anything else, you can call white blue if you want to, but that won’t make it blue, you can add some blue colour to it if you like, but then you won’t have white anymore, you will have pale blue. God’s truth is absolute, the moment you add anything to it, or alter it in anyway, or take anything away, then you no longer have truth. As Christians, if we say we love the Lord, then we will obey His word and stand for the truth.

1 John 4:1

Beloved, do not believe every spirit, 

but test the spirits to see whether they are of God, 

for many false prophets have gone out into the world.

Watch Your Step

My friend and I recently had a day trip to York, we had a wonderful time walking round the city, visiting the shops and the Christmas market. Lots of goodies there!!! I was looking for the river as I wanted to take some photos but it seemed to elude us. Then suddenly we came upon it, there was just one problem, as you went down the path toward the river it got muddier and muddier. My friend being a wise lady stayed put, I continued determined to get my picture and was slipping about all over the place.

As you can imagine, no one else was foolish enough to go through the muddy patch, but it was too late for me, I was in the middle of it. My friend commented to a passerby that should I fall she would not be able to help, as she has a problem with her knee, so she would have been down with me!

I did manage to get a couple of pics, but they weren’t too good as I felt so unstable. As I turned around to head back, I continued slipping. I wondered what I would have done had I slipped down, I had on an off-white coat and off-white trousers, oh my, they would have looked a site, I don’t think the coach driver would have been too pleased with me, getting on the coach looking like I had been mud wrestling!! Finally, I arrived on firm ground after some very dodgy moments, my trousers and coat still clean, but my shoes were caked in mud, I had to wipe them on the grass, was it worth it, you may ask, not really. They had a good clean and polish when I got home!

The path we walk on as Christians is firm, solid and narrow and it is when we walk off this path that we find ourselves in difficulty. Our footing definitely starts to slide, and before long we can find that we have stumbled. David in the Psalms mentions path a number of times, as does Solomon in proverbs. David came off the path of righteousness when he sinned with Bathsheba but he repented of his sin and his relationship was restored when he received forgiveness. Solomon in his old age, despite all his wisdom sinned when he went off the way of righteousness by worshipping the gods, and idols of his pagan wives. There would be consequences to this which we can read about in 1 Kings 11 

No one can say that they have always kept on the path of righteousness, if we are honest with ourselves we oft times slip, and stumble and come up looking filthy, but God in His grace and mercy forgives us when we have a contrite heart, and humbly repent.We soon realise, it just isn't worth it as our relationship with the Lord suffers, and our witness for Him becomes ineffectual,

My friend would not have been able to help me had I fallen in the mud, but fortunately when I acknowledge that I have sinned there is one who will help, it is not a natural friend, it is not a priest, vicar, pastor, or pope. It is not the church, or a denomination, it is not a rite, ritual, or baptism. The only way I can get help, forgiveness, and my relationship restored with the Father, is through Jesus Christ, who is our advocate with the Father.

1 John 2:1-2 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world.

Proverbs 4:14

Do not enter the path of the wicked,
And do not walk in the way of evil.