Pam Padgett ... teacher
Today I was reading in Matthew 16. Jesus
warned his disciples to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees … of
their doctrine.
Matthew 16: 6 Then Jesus said unto them,
Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees. 7 And
they reasoned among themselves, saying, It is because we have taken no bread. 8
Which when Jesus perceived, he said unto them, O ye of little faith, why reason
ye among yourselves, because ye have brought no bread? 9 Do ye not yet
understand, neither remember the five loaves of the five thousand, and how many
baskets ye took up? 10 Neither the seven loaves of the four thousand, and how
many baskets ye took up? 11 How is it that ye do not understand that I spake it
not to you concerning bread, that ye should beware of the leaven of the
Pharisees and of the Sadducees? 12 Then understood they how that he bade them
not beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and of
the Sadducees.
If we take in wrong
doctrines, they will grow like leaven, spreading and affecting various parts of
our lives and others. It is important
for us to be very careful about doctrines we take in, proving all things and
believing only those things that are true and right in the sight of God.
1 Thess. 5:21 Prove all things; hold fast
that which is good.
We prove the various
doctrines that come to us by turning to God and asking Him to show us truth
about the doctrine.
Years ago I worked with a woman who was a
vegetarian. She spoke of how wrong it is
to eat meat, since animals were killed to provide the meat. I am a big “animal lover” so, of course, I
was very drawn to what she said and wanted to believe it. But when I turned to God, I was reminded of
the Passover and how God had the children of Israel kill and eat a lamb. This proved to me that it was not wrong in the
sight of God to eat meat.
Exodus 12: 5 Your lamb shall be without
blemish, a male of the first year: ye shall take it out from the sheep, or from
the goats: 6 And ye shall keep it up until the fourteenth day of the same month:
and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the
evening. 7 And they shall take of the blood, and strike it on the two side posts
and on the upper door post of the houses, wherein they shall eat it. 8 And they
shall eat the flesh in that night, roast with fire, and unleavened bread; and
with bitter herbs they shall eat it. 9 Eat not of it raw, nor sodden at all with
water, but roast with fire; his head with his legs, and with the purtenance
thereof. 10 And ye shall let nothing of it remain until the morning; and that
which remaineth of it until the morning ye shall burn with
fire.
Another example … I once attended
a church group that allowed divorced women to remarry. Since the Catholic church taught against
remarriage after divorce, and God had shown me so many Catholic doctrines that
were not true, I wanted to automatically believe it was ok for divorced women to
remarry. But, when I looked in the
Bible, scriptures like Matthew 5:32 showed that if a divorced women remarries
she committed adultery, if a man marries a divorced woman he committed adultery,
if a man divorces a faithful wife he causes her to commit adultery if she
remarries.
Matt. 5:32 But I say unto you, That
whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth
her to commit adultery: and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced
committeth adultery.
I asked God to sort
through all of this for me. I was
concerned that I might still be affected by Catholic doctrines when I read
scriptures like Matthew 5:32.
About this time, the leader of the
singles group at that church told of a book that explained how the scriptures
show it is ok for divorced women to remarry.
I immediately ordered this book.
When I started to read this book, however, it blatantly twisted the
scriptures. Interestingly, this proved
the matter for me. If the scriptures had
to be twisted like this to prove that a divorced woman could remarry, the
doctrine based on this twisting could not be true.
This enabled
me to believe what the scriptures really show.
If a divorced women remarries she committed adultery, if a man marries a
divorced woman he committed adultery, if a man divorces a faithful wife he
causes her to commit adultery if she remarries.
God is able to establish us in His truth, as He wills.
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Joan Boney ... apostle/prophet
God wants us to live in truth ... even where secular things are concerned truth is important and often established by God.
I went to grocery yesterday to buy Blue Bell "light" ice cream. (Strangely, I just do not like the taste of regular ice cream. I like low fat milk.)
They did not have the "light" ice cream. And the young man who went to the freezer to get this for me returned and told me they would not be having any more light ice cream.
I was shocked to think there would be no more light ice cream. But then I "considered the source" telling me this. He did not seem to be anyone in authority. He was probably wrong.
Today I was at grocery and was able today to get one of the electric carts so I could go to ice cream area and check for myself. There was plenty of Blue Bell light ice cream.
Last year, around Christmas, a woman told me they stopped making 12"x12" A/C filters. She had been to two stores. When she told me they stopped making them, I really didn't believe this could be possible. Later I found them. This woman somehow assumed they stopped making them because they didn't have them at 2 stores.
This week, I was talking with a woman who lived in the same little village I lived in as a child. She began speaking of her brother. He had an accident when he in his 50's and they put a rod in his leg. She said it hurt him so much that he began drinking and drank until he died.
After we spoke, God reminded me that this woman's brother was drinking Vodka even when we were in high school. Then I was reminded of the scandal involved in his car accident when he was in his 50's. He was a policeman at the time and liquor was involved. He was in an elected position and could never be reelected after that. This woman wants to think of her brother in a "justified" way but it is just not the truth.
For those of us who belong to God and follow God, the truth in all things is important and I find often God reminds us of truth to clear things up so we will not believe lies for lies are of the devil.
Jesus speaking to "unbelievers" ... 43Why do ye not
understand my speech? even because ye cannot hear my word. 44Ye are of
your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a
murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there
is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for
he is a liar, and the father of it. 45And because I tell you the truth,
ye believe me not. Jn. 8
The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of truth. When he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth Jn. 16
God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. I Jn. 1
And we have the following remarkable passage in Jeremiah 9 concerning truth:
God says ...Oh that my head were waters, and mine eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people! 2Oh that I had in the wilderness a lodging place of wayfaring men; that I might leave my people, and go from them! for they be all adulterers, an assembly of treacherous men. 3And they bend their tongues like their bow for lies: but they are not valiant for the truth upon the earth; for they proceed from evil to evil, and they know not me, saith the LORD. 4Take ye heed every one of his neighbour, and trust ye not in any brother: for every brother will utterly supplant, and every neighbour will walk with slanders. 5And they will deceive every one his neighbour, and will not speak the truth: they have taught their tongue to speak lies, and weary themselves to commit iniquity. 6Thine habitation is in the midst of deceit; through deceit they refuse to know me, saith the LORD. 7Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts, Behold, I will melt them, and try them; for how shall I do for the daughter of my people? 8Their tongue is as an arrow shot out; it speaketh deceit: one speaketh peaceably to his neighbour with his mouth, but in heart he layeth his wait. Jeremiah 9
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