May 2
Judg 15:1-16:31 | PS 103:1-22 | Prov 14:17-19 | John 2:1-25
Who are you allowing to disciple you? What are those sources and who are those leaders that you are permitting to shape you and your children? To state that you are not influenced by outside sources, that you are your own man or woman is the epitome of arrogance and naivete, and you are in more danger than you realize. Everything from our environment, our news sources, social media, our families and friends, all of those we permit into our minds shape the person that we are. That is why I emphatically state over and over again that if one wants to be God's disciple, they need to be in His Word daily and in its entirety. As a physician, we have weekly Grand Rounds, by "experts", thought leaders to groom us. This past month one lecture was titled, "Training the Next Generation After Dobbs" which is training the next generation of physicians to navigate their environment and any impediment to push forward the abortion agenda. Another lecture was by an "expert" detailing the newest techniques of gender-affirming surgery. Though I choose not to attend, the medical students, residents, and full-time hospital faculty are required to attend. Understand, people are being lulled slowly and methodically, as we see in the tragic end of Samson's life in Judges 16:19-21, "Delilah lulled Samson to sleep with his head in her lap, and then she called in a man to shave off the seven locks of his hair. In this way she began to bring him down, and his strength left him. Then she cried out, “Samson! The Philistines have come to capture you!” When he woke up, he thought, “I will do as before and shake myself free.” But he didn’t realize the Lord had left him. So the Philistines captured him and gouged out his eyes. They took him to Gaza, where he was bound with bronze chains and forced to grind grain in the prison." Samson was lulled and made a choice, his hair was the outward event, but he left God, and sadly the Lord left him. What happened during the pandemic still is shocking as so many became disciples to the nonsense spewed out from so-called "experts" which made absolutely no sense. If you went against this you were labeled and marginalized. There is a war for your mind, and we all make choices, what will you allow in today?
There are many who go to church on occasion, or even weekly. Perhaps they pay attention, perhaps they don't. These same people will often force their children to go as well. Church is a good thing but understand one hour a week cannot combat 40 hours of influence at work, 35 hours of influence at school, life consumed in the 4+ year "college experience", countless hours in front of a television set or on social media. Even church and the pastor/priest may or may not reflect God's Word. Consider the response to Jesus' first public miracle, the turning of water into wine at the wedding feast in Cana, as we read in John 2:11, "This miraculous sign at Cana in Galilee was the first time Jesus revealed his glory. And his disciples believed in him." Who wouldn't be excited and moved by such a miraculous display of power from Jesus? But we read soberly in John 2:23-25, "Because of the miraculous signs Jesus did in Jerusalem at the Passover celebration, many began to trust in him. But Jesus didn’t trust them, because he knew all about people. No one needed to tell him about human nature, for he knew what was in each person’s heart." Being Jesus' disciple is much more than an emotional moment; it is a life invested in and surrounding yourself in Him.
There is a war daily inside us as we read in Galatians 5:16-17, "So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves. The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions." You had a great day yesterday with the Lord, fantastic! How about today? How about now? You failed yesterday, you spent the day without the slightest thought of Him, you lived yesterday completely for yourself immersed in godless activity (which is not necessarily evil activity it simply has nothing to do with God), feel secure in these words by David in Psalm 103:11-14, "For His unfailing love toward those who fear Him is as great as the height of the heavens above the earth. He has removed our sins as far from us as the east is from the west. The Lord is like a father to His children, tender and compassionate to those who fear Him. For He knows how weak we are; He remembers we are only dust." Yesterday is gone, today is here, and for all we know tomorrow might not happen for us on earth. So, today, and for that matter every day that God blesses us with air in our lungs, may we allow ourselves to be discipled by Him. May we cling to Him, be guided by Him, listen for Him, see opportunities for Him, consume ourselves by Him. This does not mean we become so heavenly minded that we are no earthly good. This means that we choose not to exclude Him from any aspect of our daily lives.
Messages from Pastor Lloyd Pulley: