The other day, my husband was laying in the recliner after his latest surgery (we are also hoping this is the last surgery for a while!) As he lay there watching TV, he caught a bit of movement. Moving his eyes downward, he saw a mouse that had apparently crawled out from beneath the gas fireplace. It scurried back to safety when it realized there were people in the room.

We live in the country at the edge of a field and this is the time of year these little creatures are searching for a warm place to live. We were not really surprised.

I never actually saw it and I remember thinking we should set a trap but we then both kind of forgot about it. Until the next night.

We had settled down for the night and I just couldn’t seem to get comfortable on the sofa and didn’t feel tired. So I just lay there reading for a good hour or two. Suddenly, I heard a soft rustling sound coming from the kitchen. Uh oh. The big dog was in her dog bed just a few feet away and the little dog was on the sofa with me. It wasn’t the dogs. It had to be the mouse.

We had gotten some take-out for dinner and the bag was still on the counter, waiting to be taken out with the rest of the trash the next morning. I realized the mouse was in the bag.

I got up and turned on the lights and walked back to the kitchen. Of course, our little visitor had disappeared by then. So I went back to the sofa and continued reading.

A few minutes later, the rustling started again. What a brave little thing.

Again, I hopped up off the sofa. First, I took the bag from the counter and placed it on the floor in the mud room and shut the door. Then I went into the laundry room and retrieved two mousetraps. At 1:30am, my husband was smearing peanut butter on traps and setting them and I was placing them in the kitchen.

At that point, my husband told me he’d be fine if I wanted to sleep in our bed upstairs. I decided if there was any hope of me getting any sleep at all, I’d probably need to do that. So after making sure he was okay and had everything he needed, I headed upstairs. I wasn’t laying in my bed for very long when I heard a loud SNAP! I knew we’d gotten our little home invader and finally drifted off to sleep.

Someone said later how mice can be so cute. And I agree. They actually are if you really look at them. But you can’t let them in your house. They leave so much dirt, they destroy things, and they multiply like crazy. You have to remove them from your home if you don’t want a bigger problem down the road.

In fact, they are a little like false teachers.

False teachers seem pretty innocent with their big smiles and kind, fluffy words. They don’t seem as if they could hurt a fly. But if you allow them into your mind or welcome then into your home or church, they will show their true colors. They will bring a lot of dirt (bad spiritual fruit), they will destroy relationships (they cause division in churches), and they will multiply (let one in and more will come).

It’s interesting to me that we would never even consider letting a rodent take up residence in our home. We understand that this will lead to future problems. And yet we lovingly invite spiritual “rodents” into our homes and even our churches, welcoming them with open arms and attacking anyone who would say, “hey, wait a minute, don’t they teach this wrong thing…?”

I wish we could all just take a step back and see the Big Picture. I wish we could see—really see—the destruction that has been wrought on the church because of these spiritual rodents.

I can’t find anywhere in scripture that we are to just ignore false teachers or, worse yet, to welcome them. Instead we see that we are to spot them and avoid them (Romans 16:17), we are to turn them from our doors (2 John 7-9), and we are to prove all things and hold fast only to what is good (I Thessalonians 5:21-22).

I know it is not popular to bring attention to false teachers. I also realize that most Christians prefer to focus on the “good things” of the Bible. It is a hard world to live in and we want to read pleasant things that will uplift our spirits and give us encouragement to keep going.

But to only focus on the “good” leaves us vulnerable to so much danger. This is why God lovingly told us to beware and to remove them.

We need to teach and speak the whole counsel of God. We all need to do this, not just bloggers, speakers, or authors. If we truly love our fellow siblings in Christ, we all need to speak all of God’s Word, not just the happy things.

False teachers will pick and choose their scriptures, but true servants of God will teach all of it, both the positive and the negative. As you choose who to read and listen to, be sure they teach the whole counsel of the scripture.

And as we are given opportunities to share and speak up, may we speak the whole truth of God’s Word and not just what people want to hear.

And when we run into someone who is not doing this? Well, then it’s time to be remove “the mouse from the house”. Take that false teacher from the residence of your mind for they will cause much spiritual damage in the long run.

For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works. (2 Corinthians 11:13-15)

Yesterday, as I was scrolling through social media, a reel popped up. It was the story of a mom who had lost her baby. I am not sure why I kept listening, but it was both heartwrenching and soul-touching so I kept listening.

This mama started out by telling her listeners how much this precious girl was wanted. They had had a healthy boy who was now a preschooler and then they had had a miscarriage. Finally, they were pregnant with this little girl. And all was well…until…

That 20 week ultrasound, where they found out their little girl had a missing kidney and multiple other very serious problems.

“We can just end it right here,” said the doctor.

The mom shared her gut-wrenching grief and deep-seated offense at this suggestion.

So far, so good. I kept watching in order to find out what had happened to this tiny baby girl?

In a few seconds, the reel took an unexpected turn. I still recoil at the words I heard this mom say.

After a week or two of appointments with many doctors, in which they were told the baby had zero chance to live and would be in pain for any moments she did live, they decided to pray. Great, prayer is great idea, right?

But do you know what ”God” told this couple to do? Supposedly, he gave them peace to end this baby’s life in her womb!

Yes, this couple made the decision to end this precious baby’s life.

This made me think of all of the brave couples who choose NOT to do this. And there are so many of you godly young couples who have made this choice. I know some of you.

To do such a terrible thing under the guise of a “feeling of peace” from a god made up out of their own imagination is unconscionable, in my opinion.

Why do I share this? I share this first to express my respect and admiration for those parents who choose to allow God to control the timing in a situation like this, despite the pressure to end their baby’s life that comes from the doctors. I can’t imagine the grief or the sorrow that accompanies such a decision as you wait to see what will happen.

I know that these babies often defy the odds and are born normal. Some have mild issues or even severe issues that bring a lifetime of challenge. And some live only a few moments, just as the doctor had predicted. No matter what the outcome, God is sovereign and these precious lives are part of His plan and given for good in the lives of those whom the baby’s life has touched. He uses it to grow them stronger and to conform them into the image of Christ (Romans 8:28-29).

The choice to end a pregnancy that does not appear to have a good outcome is the easier choice. Far harder is the heart-wrenching choice to see the pregnancy through and trust in the Lord, despite knowing there will, most likely, be no happy ending.

Second, I share this to remind us that we can’t make decisions or choices based on our emotions. That young lady’s story was filled with tears and heart-wrenching emotion. She had obviously convinced herself that she was doing what is right. But she wasn’t.

We have to decide what is right or wrong based on God’s Word. If we rely on our feelings, anything can look right or wrong, depending upon how it is presented.

These days, we are being taught (brainwashed) in both the secular world and in the church world, to make moral decisions based upon how we feel. Even if it means twisting scripture, taking it out of context, or changing a doctrine that has been clearly preached and understood since the inception of the Church.

Oh, may we turn from this kind of decision-making and use the Bible as our grid as we face many decisions every day. We may not ever have to make the heart-wrenching decision of life or death. But every day we are faced with choices. Will we base them on our feelings or on what God has to say in His Word?

When I think about this, I am reminded of how easy it is for me to base so many choices on my feelings, rather than what I know is right in the Bible. It’s quite a convicting thought. At least for me.

I am thankful for God’s tremendous grace and abundant mercy on my poor soul. Without it, I would be lost. We just keep going and we keep learning and we keep growing. Thankfully, we can rest in His love and grace as we learn and grow.

On Monday, I received a text from a friend. Would I be interested in flying in a hot air balloon with her? Her friend, a hot air balloon pilot, was giving her this to her as a birthday gift. Now, just to be clear, I am not really one for heights, per se. While I can do it, I would mostly choose not to. So last year when she asked me to join her, I said no. This year, I said no again. Why take the chance? I had visions of balloons and electric wires dancing in my head.

And then–and I am not sure why–I had this thought: Is this who you are going to be for the rest of your life? Stuck in status quo, not willing to try anything new? And I realized that I had to do it, if for nothing more than overcoming my fear and trusting the Lord in this one thing. It is so easy as we grow older to just sink comfortably into what we know and be perfectly content in never stretching ourselves to learn something new or to take opportunities like this. (I know there are so many of you who have absolutely no idea what I am talking about but I also know there are some of you that can relate perfectly to what I just wrote.)

So I told her I would go.

And so on Wednesday, after a rough night with little sleep (I have to be honest and admit there was some anxiety for me surrounding this decision), I got in my car and drove to the address she gave me. It was close by and as we prepared the balloon, excitement began to mix with the nervousness I felt. The Balloon pilot and his crew were friendly, as well as very experienced, and this did much to calm my fears.

As we floated up and over the town I’d lived in for almost twenty-five years now, I took it all in. It was incredibly lovely, especially at this time of year with the fall colors. As I peeked over the basket, I saw tractors, trains, and cars that looked like toys. I saw well-manicured front yards as well as tidy backyards. I saw deer bounding through a field, along with two foxes separately running across the same fields. There was a miniature tractor beside tiny hay bales, waiting for the next harvest step in the farming routine. I saw a huge quarry filled with water that I didn’t even know was there (well, I knew there was a quarry but I had no idea how big it was nor that it was filled with water.) I saw the enormous graveyard of a local church. It was far more enormous than I realized. As my eyes soaked in all that I was seeing, I forgot to be anxious. It was an incredible experience. I loved every minute of it.

Well, almost every minute of it. There was a touch of anxiety as we prepared to land but our pilot knew exactly what he was doing and the weather was perfect. I had the perfect first balloon ride.

I couldn’t help but think about my view from up above my town, compared to my normal horizontal view. From up above, I could see things that I normally can’t see. I became aware of activity and areas that I didn’t even know about, even after living here for so many years. And I had to think about God and what He can see that we just can’t see.

He can see every little thing that is happening on the earth. He can see all that has gone on and all that will go on. He sees perfectly and in every infinitesimal detail what IS, what WAS, and what WILL BE. While my eyes were limited to the present goings-on of just one small area as I gazed at the world below me, His are not.

At one point, I glanced down at a school parking lot and saw someone drive in the “DO NOT ENTER” side of the lot and park their car. And I had to think–that is just like us. We will make a decision “against the law” and think we get away with it, but God, looking from heaven above, always sees. God sees even the hidden sins. He sees the “little” sins…the bad attitudes, the unkind words we speak at home, our prideful responses, the ungodly entertainment we feed our minds. He sees all of it all the time. It was a sobering reminder for me.

As I considered this idea of all that I just couldn’t see on ground level and all that God can see from His perspective, I had the thought that this is especially relevant to us in how we approach people. You see, God knows exactly why they are the way they are. He knows why they have made the choices they have made and why they have the opinions they do. He understands them perfectly, unlike us, who can only go off of our “ground level” experiences. It was a reminder to me of the tremendous grace we need to have with each other. We are so narrow-minded and self-centered in our dealings with others (myself included here…I am convicting myself here probably more than you, my reader!) I think this is why it is so important to obey God’s Word in how we treat others, where we read that we are to love, to forgive, and to have so much grace. This is why, as believers, we should look so different than the world in how we approach and treat others.

God sees what we can’t see and, based on that, He has written guidelines and commands for us for all of life. We obey God’s Word because He has a view from above that we don’t have (Isaiah 55:9). We obey God’s Word because He wants our best (Romans 8:28-29). We obey God’s Word because, at the end of the day, He is God (Psalm 46:10).

As the balloon drifted back down to the ground, I was so glad that God had given me the courage to go on the ride. Would my life be a lot different if I had not? Not really…not from anyone who was looking from the outside. But, inside, I was different. For I had taken a step of faith and God had met me there. Such a tiny, and perhaps even unnecessary, step of faith and yet so significant. For this will serve to remind me that I can do the things I am uncomfortable with. That I can step outside my comfortable routine and try something new. And, finally, that there is great joy in enjoying the world that God has given us. Just because we are older, doesn’t mean we need to get stuck in our ways. Physically OR spiritually. May we continue to grow and embrace life–always with our priority being the Bible and what is written within its pages–no matter how old we are.

As I was studying for a speaking engagement this morning, I came across the following in H.A. Ironside’s commentary on Jude. I wanted to share it with you because I realized that I cannot be the only one who has been discouraged by the state of the visible church. All around, we see an unbelievable lack of discernment and an astounding disregard for what the Bible says. Even in churches that have historically stayed true, we see this falling away. It can be so disheartening and yet! Ironside reminds us why this is not disheartening but rather strengthening and encouraging. But why? He reminds us of an important truth–

*Well it is for the soul who seeks to be guided by Scripture to remember that nothing which he beholds on every side was unforeseen by God. Unbelief and apostasy may abound, but nothing takes Him by surprise. Long since, the apostles of the Lord Jesus Christ had warned us that the last days would be characteristically days of spiritual declension and departure from the truth. The coming of mockers, walking after their own unholy desires, has been foretold from the beginning.

For the simple believer there is both strength and encouragement in this. If he look about him and see, as it were, star after star falling from heaven, teacher after teacher apostatizing from the truth, the love of many waxing cold, with error proudly defiant and apparently carrying all before it, he is apt to be overcome by fear and gloom. Like the prophet, he will be ready to cry, “Truth is fallen in the street, and equity cannot enter. Yea, truth faileth; and he that departeth from evil maketh himself a prey” (Isa. 59:14, 15). But he may forget to add, with the same prophet, “The Lord saw it, and it displeased Him that there was no judgment.” But let him remember that all that is so solemn in the on-rushing tide of evil has been foreknown and foretold long ago by Him who knows the end from the beginning, and he at once begins to take heart. He realizes that he is not to expect anything else. Therefore what he sees but the more firmly establishes him in the truth of Scripture. And, more than that, it is in the time of the end all this iniquity is to come to its height, before being forever overthrown by the personal appearing of the Living Word as King of kings and Lord of lords. Therefore he finds encouragement in the very darkness of the scene to expect soon to behold the shining-forth of the Morning Star, and later the rising in glory of the Sun of Righteousness.

This is the value of prophecy, which is as a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the daystar arise in the heart (2 Peter 1:19). Led on by this sure and steady gleam, the humble child of God will not be dazzled by the pretensions, nor disheartened by the evil influence, of these haughty resisters of the truth, who set themselves apart as a select circle, who have attained to what the commonalty of Christians have not yet reached. There is a spiritual and carnal separation. The former is separation from evil at the call of the word of God, when to longer continue in some particular association would be unfaithfulness to Christ. The latter is a walking apart in fancied superiority, led on by pride and vainglory.

Yes! What a wonderful reminder. Prophecy is a light, given to us for such a time as this. What we are seeing has been foretold and we can take great encouragement in this. May we, as Jude encourages us, build ourselves up in holy faith and keep ourselves in the love of God, helping others along the way as God gives us opportunity.

*Ironside, H. A.. An Exposition of the Epistle of Jude (Ironside Commentary Series Book 44) (p. 44). CrossReach Publications. Kindle Edition.

Sometimes life can be annoying. It’s not that we are facing some major trial or anything. It’s just that things aren’t going our way. The weather isn’t cooperating with our plans; someone says something hurtful to us; we have to do something we just didn’t want to do; sickness comes at the worst possible time… these kinds of things can be so frustrating!

And, the truth of the matter is: We show our character by how we respond.

Each one of these little, seemingly insignificant, events are not random things that have happened but are allowed by God very specifically, giving us the opportunity to practice a right response as His growing child. Each one gives us the opportunity to practice surrendering our will to God’s; to respond with joy rather than a complaining heart; to trust that God will work all things out for His glory and our good.

We also get many other opportunities to grow in these “unimportant” happenings that we experience each and every day. Opportunities to practice humility and patience and rejoicing and forgiving others; to learn to be diligent rather than lazy; to choose not be so offended all the time; to love our enemies; to turn from envy and choose contentment. God uses the random circumstances of our lives to shape and mold us into His image. They aren’t random at all.

Have you noticed that we tend to have our default response to these “little” events in our lives and very rarely examine our responses?

But how we respond to these little things prepare us for how we will respond in the big ones. Oswald Chambers puts this so succinctly—

The very character we exhibit in our present surroundings is an indication of what we will be like in other surroundings.

If we are proud now in the little things, then pride will be our response when it really counts and can potentially destroy a relationship. But if we learn to be humble now, then that will be our response when the cost of a prideful response is so terribly high.

Or another example: If we can train ourselves, by the Holy Spirit, not to complain in the little things, then as we age and life becomes filled with aches and pains and unexpected challenges, we will have already learned to respond correctly. We will have learned that complaining doesn’t help a thing but that it will turn us into grumpy old men and women that no one wants to be around.

God has allowed all things in our lives for a purpose. We are reminded of this in these well-known verses—

And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. (Romans 8:28-29)

Let’s remember some important facts that we find in these verses. First, this promise is only to those who love God. This is for the redeemed child of God and not for the unredeemed. We cannot assure that unsaved friend that God is working all things out for their good because God never promises that in His Word.

Second, we know from these verses that God’s ultimate goal for us is that we be conformed to the image of His Son. This being the case then gives us insight into why certain things are allowed. Notice that God’s goal for His children is not ease of life or popularity or good health or lots of money. No, it’s one thing: To be like Christ. Every single thing that comes into our lives gives us an opportunity to respond like Christ or to respond in the flesh. Each little thing gives us a choice. If we look at it from this perspective, then every random circumstance takes on more significance, doesn’t it?

Oh to remember that each little thing is ordained by God and, as such, has a purpose. We are (at least I am) simply too quick to complain and to wonder “why me” and to rebel against what God has allowed, instead of remembering the above verses and God’s eternal purpose for me.

But we can change. We can learn to respond as scripture encourages. We can—and we should—be growing in the fruits of the Spirit.

As we respond to each seemingly random happening, we are given the wonderful opportunity to grow in love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, and faith (Galatians 5:22-23).

But a key to growth is to leave our status quo, default responses and to really think about what we are doing. No easy task in a world where life is busy and distractions come at us 24/7.

Maybe a first step for us all is to put down our phones, turn off our tvs or music, and just really give ourselves time to reflect, study scripture, and pray. If don’t give ourselves time to do this, then right response is unlikely, for we have nothing to draw from.

So may we all remember today that the random event that is causing us so much frustration or discontentment is not random at all but given to us by our loving Heavenly Father who desires that we be conformed to the Image of His Son.

Many years ago, while in high school, I was with two friends and we were talking about what it meant to be saved. One of us was living a very worldly life, devoid of any spiritual fruit or desire to walk with God. I had been trying to share the Gospel with him. As we talked, he mentioned that he had been baptized as an infant. Upon that statement, my other friend suddenly piped up with passion that he was definitely saved then!

I can still remember the bewilderment I felt when my Christian friend (or so I thought) made this declaration. Our other friend went on to live his life (I have no idea where he is now) with the belief that baptism had saved him and he could live his life however he wanted, assured he had his “golden ticket” to heaven.

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Octavius Winslow (1808-1878) does not mince words when it comes to this lie from our enemy—

We do not hesitate to pronounce the doctrine of “baptismal regeneration” to be the paramount lie of Satan–the most subtle and fatal weapon which this arch foe of our race ever forged for the destruction of men’s souls in eternal perdition!

Do not build your hope of glory, upon your baptism.
You are lost to all eternity if you do.
You must be born again if ever you enter the kingdom of Heaven.

If you plunge into eternity clutching the airy fiction, the fatal notion that you passed from spiritual death into spiritual life in your baptism; that in baptism you were regenerated, adopted, justified, made holy and saved–then you have staked your eternal happiness upon the most fatal lie!

In many instances, the unhappy victim of this delusion passes away, undeceived until the deception is too late to rectify!

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Any time that we are told we can have salvation without transformation, we can be sure it’s of the devil. You see, Satan caters to our fleshly demands. We want our cake and to eat it, too and so he has cleverly provided a way that deceives us into thinking we can have both a love for self and a love for God.

Those who are deceived by this lie are deceived because they aren’t really interested in Jesus (other than as perhaps an example and a buddy) but they are interested in going to heaven when they die (because we all know down deep inside that there is an afterlife). And so baptismal regeneration assures us that we can live for self and still get that ticket to heaven.

Through this lie, they are assured that they can continue living the life they want to live; to watch and listen to and read what they want to without concern for anyone but self. They believe they can choose their own path and chase after their own dreams, without concern for the will of God. In fact, some take this to a whole other level, calling for the blessing and miraculous intervention of God in their selfish pursuits, praying and treating Him like their personal genie in the sky whom they can manipulate to do their will (such sacrilege!)

But the very nature of true, biblical salvation is that all of this just naturally changes after we are saved. God takes our selfish hard heart of stone and turns it into a heart that beats for Him. Oh, we aren’t instantly living for God without regard for self. But we become aware that we must decrease and God must increase (John 3:30). We become spiritually alive and begin a journey of sanctification that continues our whole lives. Our conviction of sin changes and stems from our love for our Lord rather than from an outward moral code.

We don’t change in this way in order to be saved, we change because we are saved.

No work —including baptism—will ever be able to accomplish that supernatural change of the heart that only God, through the Holy Spirit, accomplishes in the one who seeks Him and turns to Christ alone for salvation.

So, yes, we must conclude that baptism does not save. This is a lie that has led many to believe they are headed for glory when they, according to scripture, clearly are not. Oh, the terrible deception!

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For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through Him might be saved.

He that believeth on Him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.

(John 3:16-19)