—man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart.–1 Sam. 16:7
Whether currency or Christianity, counterfeits are common. For every genuine thing there are copies. There are “knock-offs” for nearly every designer item– from pens to purses, from sweaters to sneakers. If it is of value you can bet that someone will make a fake. However, as bad as this is, it is much more serious when it comes to the matter of religion.

Here’s a fact you need to keep in mind–Many who profess Christ do not possess Christ. Although many are simply confused, many are not. They know they are unsaved, they have no peace of mind that comes from knowing heaven is their home, yet they pretend that all is well. And since none of us have perfect knowledge we can’t always tell the fake from the real thing. Not all the actors are in Hollywood. Many are quiet skillful when it comes to pretending to be a Christian. In fact, sometimes the outward display is even more impressive than what you see in some true believers. Only the Lord knows the truth about these deceivers– they fool everyone except God.

But this is a fools game. Pretending to be a Christian isn’t something any sensible person would do– but it’s evident that a lot of folks aren’t sensible. They are spiritually dead and blind. The threat of hell does not frighten them and the glories of heaven do not attract them. They refuse to believe the Bible. In their mind you die like a dog, unconscious of anything. To them the Bible is just another book, Jesus is just another religious leader, and one religion is just as good as another. So the game goes on. They keep pretending– content in their choice, but corrupt in their heart and covetous in their spirit because they are unfulfilled in life.

Dear friend, if this describes you, may I ask, what do you hope to gain? What is your reasoning? Just what has your guise of godliness gained you? What if you are wrong? Your “choice” of religion may be “Christianity”, but it is of no benefit whatsoever without a personal relationship with Christ. It provides neither safety nor satisfaction. Why do you cling to it? Whitewash won’t strengthen a fence, and your religion won’t help you in the day of judgement. If you if have been living under the guise of godliness, it’s time for you to come clean about your condition, get clean through a spiritual conversion, and stayed clean by way of consecration to Christ. Only then will you be truly content.

This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.–1 Tim. 1:15

On the museum wall of the concentration camp at Dachau is a large and moving photograph of a mother and her little girl standing in line for the gas chamber. The child, who is walking in front of her mother, does not know where she’s going. The mother, following behind, looks knowingly but is helpless to stop the tragedy.

In her helplessness, she performs the only act of love left to her. She places her hands over the child’s eyes so she will at least not see the horror to come. When people come to the museum, most don’t whisk by this photo hurriedly. Instead, they pause and almost feel the pain. Deep inside, they say to themselves, “O God, don’t let that be all there is.”

Hopelessness and helplessness are all that remain. God provided a way out by sending His Son to earth as a child so that He could one day save the sins of mankind through Christ’s shed blood on the cross. The apostle Paul said in 1 Timothy 1:15, “This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.”

If our greatest need had been information, then God would have sent us an educator. If our greatest need had been technology, then God would have sent us a scientist or engineer. If our greatest need had been money, God would have sent us an economist or financial advisor. If our greatest need had been pleasure, God would have sent us an entertainer. But instead of all of these things, God knew our greatest need was forgiveness, so He sent us a Savior.

—Thank God for sending Jesus to save you from helplessness and hopelessness in this life. Praise Him for giving you joy and peace that passes all understanding. –Senior Living

We often say, “We are our own worst enemy”, and I doubt that many would deny that. Although our enemies might be many we are the worst of the lot. Others might trouble us on occasion, but we are a threat to ourselves at all times. Satan might lay the snare, but we put our foot in it. Others might hurl insults at us, but we pull a curse down upon our own heads. Others will seek to do us harm, but we hurt ourselves. Here is a good explanation of this from the pen of A.W. Tozer as to why it is true:

“A lifetime of observation, Bible reading and prayer has led to the conclusion that the only thing that can hinder a Christian’s progress is the Christian himself.

The true child of God can live and grow in circumstances that are wholly unfavorable to such life and growth. Outward circumstances can help little or none in a Christian’s spiritual life. The whole philosophy of the spiritual way requires us to believe this.

For this reason, it is always bad to blame anyone or anything for our spiritual or moral failures. God has so ordered things that His children may grow as successfully in the middle of a desert as in the most fruitful land. It is necessary that this should be so, seeing that the very world itself is a field where nothing good can grow except by some kind of miracle. The old hymn asks the rhetorical question, “Is this vile world a friend to grace, to help me on to God?” And the implied answer is no. Grace operates without the help of the world.”

Dear friend, as Christians we have no excuse for our failures. We have no one to blame but we ourselves. God, through Christ, has provided everything we need to face anything victoriously.

And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God—Ephesians 4:30

Pastor Stephen Davey writes, I received an unwanted surprise in the mail not long ago. At first I didn’t understand why someone was sending me pictures of my Ford F-150, but it suddenly dawned on me that I had received a notice from the Cary Police Department.My beloved town had installed cameras at key intersections that were designed to take photographs of drivers in the act of running red lights. Doesn’t technology just warm your heart?——

But that got me thinking: what if we were to go to our mailbox tomorrow and find a surprise letter filled with snapshots of all the things we had done the day before, including facial expressions and captions of the words we had spoken. I wonder how many of the photographs would bring us embarrassment or chagrin.

The Apostle Paul encourages us not to “grieve the Holy Spirit, by whom we have been sealed for the day of redemption.” 

The truth is, wherever we go we take God’s Spirit with us. Whatever we say in private, He hears. Whatever thoughts we think that no one else can see, He sees. I imagine we must grieve Him often.

Unfortunately, we don’t have the motivation to stop sinning because we see our sin caught on camera. Frankly, there aren’t cameras powerful enough to capture the gossip, pride, and rebellion that can escape our lips and occupy our hearts every day. But God sees it all . . . and it grieves His heart.

So, let’s start today by praying that God will open our eyes to see what He sees and give our hearts a sensitivity to even the smallest transgression that might otherwise slip by unnoticed. 

Maybe it’s not such a bad idea to pretend there’s a camera following us . . . or should I say dwelling inside us!—-

As you begin or end this day in God’s Word, pray for God to give you an awareness of His abiding presence with you. Then pray as the Psalmist often prayed for God to give you clean hands and a pure heart.

“And Moses made an end of speaking—.” Deuteronomy 32:45

So we all shall do some day. Moses knew it was the end for him; we may not know when our end is at hand. Any word of ours, spoken amid glee and merriment, may be our last!! If we always thought of this—would it not make us more careful? Would we ever say an unkind word to a friend, if we felt that we may never have an opportunity to unsay it or repent of it? Would we ever utter an angry, untrue, or unclean word—if we only remembered that it may be the last utterance our lips shall give forth?

We want to have beautiful endings to our life, to leave sweet memories behind us in the hearts of those who love us. We want our names to be fragrant in the homes on whose thresholds our footfalls are accustomed to be heard. We want the memory of our last words in our friends’ ears—to live as a tender joy with them as the days pass away. We can be sure of all this—only by making every word we speak beautiful enough to be a last word. For with any sentence—we may come to the end of our speaking.–J.  R. Miller