Book 2 of Musings Mistakes

When you are serving the Lord He makes your mistakes work for good.

Sometimes when we are serving the Lord with all your might we will do some fool thing or another. Did that ever happen to you?

On some occasions it is more than a stupid mistake, it is Satan-inspired deception. The most sincere Christian can be deceived. Anyone who says he cannot be deceived is deceived already.

By definition, we do not know when we are in deception.

We can know the Bible, pray, attend church, give, serve, and still be deceived.

Really, the best defense against deception is to be carrying your personal cross, remaining as cheerfully as you can in the prison where you have been placed.

It is when we attempt to make this present life a happy, fulfilling, experience, in which we are treated fairly, that we become deceived. This present life is neither happy, nor fulfilling (except in Jesus), nor are we treated fairly.

Christians in time past have been treated like the Jews-sometimes regarded as the garbage of the earth. We were better protected against deception then than we are now. You are not likely to be in deception when you are standing in the middle of an arena and they are letting the lions loose.

The average American Christian of our time is deceived along several lines. First, the doctrine of the any-moment pre-tribulation rapture of the believers is a destructive deception.

Second, the idea that Divine grace is a substitute for a change in our character is a massive deception and has destroyed the moral strength of many if not most Christians.

Third, the notion that Christians are to be happy, treated fairly, always healthy, and financially prosperous is an American deception. This concept makes for silly, weak believers.

Fourth, American Christians have been taught to search for a relationship between illness and the their moral behavior. For example, getting rid of unforgiveness so we can be healed from asthma. We don't get rid of sin in order to be healed (although sometimes healing results when we put away our sins). Rather, we get rid of sin so we can have fellowship with God. If we then are healed, this is frosting on the cake.

But if we seek moral deliverance in order to perfect our health or our personality, we have become our own little redeemer. Jesus is out of the picture. We are engineering our own health, wealth, and wisdom. American Christians love this approach to salvation because they are not dealing with that awful, negative sin, but with their attitudes.

Fifth, the vision of God as a kindly old gentlemen in the sky somewhere who is looking benevolently on the world is a deception. The truth is, God is not a human being but a Spirit. Jesus is a Human Being, but God the Father is a Spirit. He has given us wrathful warnings as well as precious promises; but in America of today it appears we know only the precious promises.

There are other global Christian deceptions, such as the perception of the Day of the Lord as a gala event in which all Christians will be gathered together in one great Sunday-school picnic in the sky. The truth is, the Day of the Lord, the return of Jesus Christ to the earth, will be the most terrifying event to come upon the earth-far, far worse than the days of Noah. Jesus is coming with His mighty men of faith to execute the wrath of God-terrible vengeance on all those who destroy the earth.

Woe to you who long for the day of the LORD! Why do you long for the day of the LORD? That day will be darkness, not light. It will be as though a man fled from a lion only to meet a bear, as though he entered his house and rested his hand on the wall only to have a snake bite him. Will not the day of the LORD be darkness, not light-pitch-dark, without a ray of brightness? (Amos 5:18-20)

I would like to mention also our little personal deceptions. It is so easy for Satan to imitate the Holy Spirit that the most experienced of us have a difficult time telling the difference.

Whenever you have a burning, passionate desire for a relationship, thing, or circumstance, you are vulnerable to satanic deception. Your consuming desire is an idol, and that idol is in agreement with Satan.

Satan will play with your mind, suggesting that something you know to be wrong really is a gift of God to you. Satan moves exceedingly slowly, most of the time, and may hold this pleasure before you for several years.

When Satan feels you have become involved sufficiently, he may turn on you and tell you that you now have offended God and it is too late to go back.

Once you realize you have been deceived, confess your problem to your wife, or husband, or the elders of the church, or some mature Christian of the same gender as yourself who you are sure will not gossip about your confession.

Whatever you do, do not cross gender lines, when you confess your doubts, except with your wife or husband, unless you enjoy trouble and confusion.

Satan may tell you that you have dominion over the governing spirits of your locality; or that you are a great prophet or Elijah who is to come; or you are to leave your family and go somewhere to fast and pray, in the meanwhile bringing with you someone who attracts you; or you are to leave your job and spend all day in prayer and Bible reading; or you are to take off your clothes and walk down the street while you are prophesying, as God commanded Isaiah.

You can avoid such traps by meeting regularly with other Christians.

The moment you have an inkling you have been deceived, get help from another Christian, as I mentioned previously. Satan loves the darkness. His suggestions work at the subjective level. When you confess your doubts to another individual (and Satan will strive to prevent this), you bring the issue up to the light, to the objective level. Almost always the other person, unless it is some crony of yours who wants to please you, will know immediately that what you are confessing is not from the Lord.

It is not unusual for us Christians to be deceived; so if you are reading this, and you suspect that some experience you have had or are having now may not be of the Lord, don't faint with embarrassment. Get it out in the open. If it is doubtful it probably is dirty, like the collar of your shirt.

You may have some fences to mend, some apologies to make, and your pride is not going to enjoy this. But it is the only way, and you will feel so much better when you get this dark load off your personality.

So far I have mentioned foolish mistakes, such as a young pastor who drives people away needlessly, and also deception, which often afflicts believers in Christ.

Foolish mistakes grow less and less if we keep our heart right and learn from our experiences.

Deception is handled by confession and repentance, and is avoided by carrying our personal cross behind the Lord Jesus, accepting the sufferings that are part of the Christian life, and maintaining fellowship with fervent believers.

During our pilgrimage we do foolish things and sometimes we go through a season of deception. If we keep our heart right, do what we can to rectify our errors, and keep on pressing toward Jesus, He covers these errors. Not only does He cover them, He makes them work for our good.

We learn and grow wise from our mistakes. We are able to help others who have fallen into the same traps.

Most importantly we come to understand that salvation is of the Lord. We are not able to save ourselves. Only God can bring us through to victory.

Every fighter in the ring, every soldier in the field, every athlete in the games, can learn from defeat and become more capable. Defeat hurts, but the Lord sees our heart. If He understands we are doing our best, and not suffering from carelessness, spiritual laziness, or direct disobedience to His will, He will bring us safely through our painful experience and show us a better way.

So don't grieve over past mistakes. Once you confess and turn away from your error, God has completely forgotten it. Satan will attempt to whip you with it and injure your faith. Don't add self-pity to your problems. Pick yourself up off the mat and fight on harder than ever, using the wisdom you have gained.

It is the good fight of faith, not the good doctrine of faith. Faith that overcomes the world is a fight, and God loves to see courage and a fighting spirit in us. To such God gives the Kingdom. He is their God. They are His sons, and they shall inherit all He is making new.

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:28)

Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. (Phil 3:13-14)