True Forgivness - article Let's Be Thankful - article What Keeps Us from Blessings -article Secret Power of Being Thankful - article Life is better when you find companionship Ask questions, listen to answers Hope sees what faith will produce Should innocent party be punished? Are you sabotaging yourself? Have we covered up idolatry in our lives? Survival tactics for spiritual growth Get free by changing what you think Writers respond to "Divorced People Bad Risk" Exactly what does she mean by "secure"? Make a list of what you want in a partner What if "Love" makes you sick? Can your relationship pass the test? The beginning and the end of all love stories Toxic faith, new area of treatment Finding God's plan and purpose "Divorced people are a bad risk" Loneliness may open door to abuse Even if people reject you, God will not The glory is a revelation of Jesus What is being a doer of the Word? We change our lives with words Is your low-fat diet working for you? Who do you say Jesus is? It's dangerous to be foolish Give thanks with a grateful heart The sacrifice of thanksgiving God had antidote for depression Will He be able to say "Well done"?

Have we covered up idolatry in our lives? The Apostle Paul in I Timothy 6:6 says that godliness with contentment is great gain. Paul also said, "I've learned to be content in whatsoever circumstance I find myself." (Phil 4:11) Clearly God has called us to contentment and to peace. Too many of us are desiring more, reaching out for something that continually eludes us. Discontent and unhappy, we are restless and cannot enjoy what we have for always lamenting what we don't have. John Bevere in his new book, Thus Saith the Lord, says this attitude is really the sin of covetousness. It is usually masked as a searching after God. We are promised in the Word that if we seek the Lord diligently with all our hearts we will find Him. We cannot be seeking after God in our restlessness and discontent. If we were, we would find Him and be satisfied. But in truth our search is after signs and wonders, after the spectacular, after personal power and position. These pursuits become idols, and we fall into the sin of idolatry along with our covetousness. Idolatry then brings deception and darkness into our lives. We cannot hear what God is really saying any more. All we can hear is what ministers to that covetous desire in our hearts. God allows us to hear the things we desire to hear, whether from the flesh and emotions or from a spirit of divination. When we stop hearing from the Spirit of God, we will never have light again until we realize how far we have fallen, repent, and begin to seek God for Himself alone. We have to come to the realization that God Himself is enough and anything else we are seeking after is an idol in our hearts. God Himself, for Himself, not for His blessings, is all we need. Let's desire Him alone and be content in Him and wherever He has us at this point in our lives. Any other desire leads only to deception and away from God. ********************* Bevere tells how to judge prophecy   In his latest book, Thus Saith the Lord, John Bevere addresses a problem common to all Christians today who attend Pentecostal or Charismatic churches. How do you tell when God is really speaking to you through someone else? The author says over the years he has personally received hundreds of prophecies, but "only a handful have proven to be truly words of God. If I had heeded a lot of them today I would be one confused individual and most likely detoured from the will of God." How can a gift intended to bless people get so far off track? Bevere says it is the difference between the spirit and the flesh. "Flesh reproduces flesh and therefore speaks directly to the desires of man. Spirit reproduces spirit and therefore speaks forth the desire of God." Bevere says the purpose of his book is to help us discern the voices. "For though the words of the flesh may be pleasant to our ears, they will lead us into defilement, destruction, or possibly death. Words of the Spirit," he adds, "even if initially unpleasant, lead you to the heart of God." Bevere says in these last days we are living in an era of widespread deception from false prophets. People who know the Word would not be deceived by false Christs. But false prophets look just like other Christians. Yet their appearance is deceptive because their motives are entirely self-seeking. They are not following after God but after their own agenda. And most dangerous of all, they are often totally convinced that they are following God and serving only Him. Bevere's book is a treasure trove of experience, wisdom, knowledge from the Word, and warnings to the church today. Here are some of the quotes preceding each of the chapters: "We have been so afraid of despising prophecy that we have neglected judging it." "The more readily we recognize the real, the less vulnerable we are to the false." "Telling people what they want to hear at the expense of what they need to hear weakens the church." "The true prophetic word of God will build and strengthen us to stand against the storms of life. Counterfeit or soulish prophetic teaching or prophesying builds lives also, but it builds them on an unsure foundation." "Contentment and covetousness are opposing forces. Contentment moves us away from idolatry and closer to the heart of God while covetousness distances us from God and drives us to the altars of idolatry." "False prophecy defiles people and this defilement makes them barren and useless." "It takes spiritual fortitude to reject what would bring happiness in order to embrace what is difficult." "We open ourselves up to trouble when the church tolerates what God has not ordained." "Appointment by God is so necessary that even Jesus did not assume His position of leadership but was appointed by the Father." "Without God-given authority, you must usurp authority through deception." "A false prophet uses his God-entrusted gifts to draw others to himself. A true prophet draws them to the heart of God." "The love of truth sharpens our discernment and keeps us error free." "If we hear words in our mind or are given words from another without a witness of peace, the word should be rejected. The witness of peace is the umpire or decision maker." Thus Saith the Lord is available at your local Christian bookstore or you can order it from us.   Send Comments Return to HOME   Copyright 2000, by Singles Scene/Spirit & Life Reproduction without permission prohibited