Let No One Keep Defrauding You

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Let No One  Keep Defrauding You

It’s no fun  being cheated.     Being cheated  leaves one shocked,  shamed,  and devastated.     It repeatedly happens  that one buys something,  imagining  that it is the best  on the market  and will bring happiness,  but it does nothing of the kind.    Hopes are dashed  and money gone.

The very worst fraud  that will cheat many  out of eternal life  is the twisting  of God’s eternal word,  so that people will imagine  that they will be saved  through all sorts of “self-abasement”,  the “worship of angels”,  the “visions”  seen,  and anything else  along these lines.     None  of this stuff  brings anyone closer  to God,  makes anyone more holy,  or brings eternal salvation.

People fast,  go on pilgrimages,  pray to the saints,  wear certain apparel,  go through certain motions,  do penance,  and lead very strict lives  with many rules,  ceremonies,  and restrictions.     None of this  can bring them  one step closer  to the heart  of God.     And,  those who teach  that we must live  in all these ways  are “defrauding” us.

Paul warns us against  such fraud  by saying in Colossians 2:18-19,

Let no one keep defrauding you  of your prize  by delighting  in self-abasement  and the worship  of the angels,  taking his stand  on visions  he has seen,  inflated without cause  by his fleshly mind,  and not holding fast  to the head,  from whom the entire body,  being supplied  and held together  by the joints  and ligaments,  grows  with a growth  which is  from God.

We must hold tightly  “to the head”  —  Christ Jesus.     He is  the only way  to eternal life.     All of the man-made rules  of what we cannot eat  or touch  will perish  with this world.     They might seem  so good  and religious,  but they are worthless  for an honestly godly life  that glorifies God.

If we want  to be godly,  we need to grow  in a true faith,  hope,  and love.     With that  our daily living  can serve God rightly.     In the freedom  of Christ’s love,  we say,  “Hallelujah!     LORD,  thank You  for leading us  in Your word.”

Love,
Margaret

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A Christian devotional  to glorify  the LORD of lords  and GOD of gods.

 

Pray for our country.

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… Handel’s Hallelujah Chorus …

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The LORD  made this day, let us rejoice  and be glad  in Him.

Psalm 118:24

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The word of the LORD is tried;

He is a shield  to all  who take refuge  in Him.

Psalm 18:30

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Sing for joy  in the LORD,  O you righteous ones;

Praise is becoming  to the upright.

Psalm 33:1

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How blessed are those  who dwell  in Thy house!

They are ever praising Thee.

Psalm 84:4

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Just as a father  has compassion  on his children,

So the LORD  has compassion  on those who fear Him.

Psalm 103:13

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O give thanks  to the LORD,  for He is good;

For His lovingkindness  is everlasting.

Psalm 107:1

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Glory in His holy name;

Let the heart  of those who seek the LORD  be glad.

Psalm 105:3

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Not that I have already obtained it,  or have already  become perfect, but I press on  in order that  I may  lay hold  of that for which also  I was laid hold of  by Christ Jesus.

Philippians 3:12

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