Thanks for the feedback. For the past 2000 years all the errors of the Church have been rolling down hill and come to rest in the 21st century. Discerning Christians of today are the ones who have to deal with the garbage, and it will be very difficult.

If we can’t discern the really obvious errors, like Bentley, how will we find our way through the the really crafty stuff of the Devil. The conscience of a true regenerated believer should be the first alert we get to our spirits. But, if that conscience has been hardened, seared, or clouded by the believers indulgence in the world: T.V., material things, debt, sex, politics, and even family, then our conscience will not be trustworthy. The enemy of error is truth. If we want to be the “city on a hill that can’t not be hid,” then we not only have to fill ourselves with truth, but it has to be experiential truth; we have to “do” the truth, as Jesus commanded us. There is no way we can verify the truth except through experience. Jesus said in Jn. 7:17 “If any man will do His will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself.” Simply put, love is displayed through obedience. When we have done the obedient part then we can trust our conscience to give us correct intuitive knowledge of what we should do in any situation. But, if there is still a question, then we look to see if what our conscience says squares with the “word.”

Evil is present in all of creation, evil is present in every Church, and evil is present in every meeting. Evil is alway trying to get a foothold, wherever it can, as the saying goes, “a little leaven, leavens the whole lump.” Today the whole lump is leavened. We cannot therefore, at this critical time, overestimate the importance of believers having ready minds to “examine all things” they have thought, and perhaps taught, in connection with the things of God. All the “truths,” theories, phrases, and expressions that have come to us down through the ages must be put under a microscope and re-examined, because the cost at this time is too great, and deception is rampant. Deception is just that, it deceives, and the one deceived thinks he alone has understood correctly. Rick Warren and Todd Bentley should be the easy stuff. It is the little stuff in our lives and the Church that should really concern us. Most Pentecostals will not put on the display of a Lakeland, and they may even condemn the activity there, while they readily accept their prophecies and words of knowledge regarding people with headaches and lost car keys. All of our little secret sins we hide away out of sight, like storing up for retirement, our shady business dealings, our little peep shows on the internet, R-rated and GP-13 rated movies, and our insatiable desires to have all the latest cars and homes and trinkets; these things are the costly deceptions that are getting ignored while we point our fingers California and Florida.

Is it any wonder that Jesus commented whether or not He would find faith on the earth when He returned? Has it become clear why the gate is so narrow and the way so strait (difficult), and why very, very few will find the way? Have we really questioned whether it is “us” who Jesus alludes to when He said that”many in that day will say Lord, Lord…?

The whole world has now become Vanity Fair, and only the truly committed, sold out, born from above ones, separated, and made holy by a sanctified life, have any right to feel secure. The rest of us better be checking our ticket. Paul even told Timothy not to rest, that even he could come undone and begin to drift away. These are not times to feel secure. These our times that we should fear the return of the Lord, that He will find us undone and deceived.

Steve Blackwell

I honestly used to worry about people I knew becoming entranced with all the new philosophy, neo-mystical, and contemplative shenanigans that abound these days. I still worry, but I also realize that people who love the truth will not be deceived. The Bible is clear and says that those who are deluded are those who wish to be.

My wife recently told me she feels that the reason many people (including so-called Christians) don’t care to investigate things or search for truth is because they don’t want to know! They are afraid of what God will say or ask of them. As Jesus said, they love the works of darkness more than the light of the truth.

While God’s true revivals do not occur in a corner, they always start in a closet…of prayer.