Not Fooled
Revelation 20: 4 Then I saw thrones, and
those who sat on them were given the power to judge. I also saw the souls of
those who had been executed because they had proclaimed the truth that Jesus
revealed and the word of God. They had not worshiped the beast or its image,
nor had they received the mark of the beast on their foreheads or their hands.
They came to life and ruled as kings with Christ for a thousand years. 5 (The
rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were over.) This
is the first raising of the dead. 6 Happy and
greatly blessed are those who are included in this first raising of the dead.
The second death has no power over them; they shall be priests of God and of
Christ, and they will rule with him for a thousand years.
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Being gullible was a problem I faced. I took what was said as
face value. I repeated some of the words without checking whether the
information was right or wrong. “Do you know what you are saying?” someone
challenged me.
- I was saying things that contained half-truths.
- I believed in what people said without checking their character.
- I was fooled quite easily, because I wanted to be part of a crowd.
John, the disciple JESUS loved, saw thrones of people given
power to judge. They had not been fooled by the beast or the false prophet or
Satan. All things that looked glamorous but took people away from CHRIST, did
not penetrate their hearts and they remained followers of JESUS, even unto
death.
My Observations:
- It takes prayer to not be fooled.
- It takes giving up “my” desire to have a kingdom to hear the truth from GOD.
- It is worth losing the world and gaining my soul.
Relative truth can fool me into deep problems. I mean, when
something sort of makes sense, but has a slight dab of lie mixed in, I
sometimes cannot tell what is the real truth. Then my desires blind me further
to want to believe in lies more than the truth. BUT GOD gave me a way to know
the truth.
JESUS is the Way, the TRUTH and the life. Following HIM
means getting to know HIM. It means I love HIM more than I love “being known”
for studying HIM and becoming a Pharisee. It also means that the world has
nothing to offer me, BUT JESUS has everything I need. I gladly give up the
world’s lies for the TRUTH.
Challenge
- What does the writer mention about the “first raising of the dead?”
- Has life gotten so difficult that you are willing to believe in a lie?
- Will you seek the truth yourself by reading the Bible without someone else’s interpretation so GOD can speak to you through HIS word today?
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