Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Friend or Foe?

We spotted this dragonfly on our rose bush, and began wondering what he was doing there. I didn't think dragonflies used pollen like other insects. After investigating the diet of the dragonfly further, we think this cute little guy was hanging out to pounce on the next unsuspecting fellow.

This got me to thinking...hmmm...

How often are we taken prey by the world ,the prince of the power of the air, or even, dare I say, false teachers? Many unsuspecting people, even with good intentions, are not prepared for the wolf that can come in sheep's clothing. The Bible makes it very clear that we need to know Scripture and be on the lookout for those that would come to steal, kill, and destroy.

Matthew 7:15 warns us, “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits.”

Just as the dragonfly sat on that rose waiting patiently for his prey, Satan desires to reel in those who may be easily deceived by a false gospel.

Thankfully Jesus promises, in John 10:11-14 , “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep. But a hireling, he who is not the shepherd, one who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees; and the wolf catches the sheep and scatters them. The hireling flees because he is a hireling and does not care about the sheep.”

So our job is to be so familiar with the Word of God that we can smell that "dragonfly" from a mile away. We don't need to study the counterfeit to know the real thing. We must study His precious Word and, thereby, be confident in the truth.

How are you doing in your digging in? To be honest, I have really struggled since mom passed away. But I exhort myself, as I encourage you...be a good Berean. We are admonished in 2 Timothy 2:15 to "Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth."

Be on guard today!

3 comments:

Stacey said...

Boy oh boy oh boy, did you ever hit the nail on the head! Everything you say ~ so true. We must always remember that Satan never looks like the "baddie" we make him out to be. He looks like something good, like the deceiver and liar that he is. Wonderful post! Thank you for that.

Trish said...

Do we ever need to be on guard...even from ourselves.

Thank you for your words of encouragement today.

Blessings.

BARBIE said...

This is so good! We always must be aware that the enemy lurks behind every corner, waiting to pounce. I l left you an award on my blog. I hope you will stop on over and pick it up.