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Clean Out The Closets Of Your Heart

       So many in the Body of Christ have become proficient in either mixing their traditions with God's Word or substituting their traditions for God's Word. One must be discerning in these times to recognise the differences and run from them so as not to be ensnared by them! 
       I can only imagine how pained the LORD Jesus Christ was when he replied to the Pharisees and Scribes when they complained that His Disciples were not diligently following the traditions of the elders as they do: "He replied, “Rightly did Isaiah prophesy about you hypocrites (play-actors, pretenders), as it is written [in Scripture], ‘These people honor Me with their lips, But their heart is far from Me. They worship Me in vain [their worship is meaningless and worthless, a pretense], Teaching the precepts of men as doctrines [giving their traditions equal weight with the Scriptures].’ You disregard and neglect the commandment of God, and cling [faithfully] to the tradition of men.” He was also saying to them, “You are experts at setting aside and nullifying the commandment of God in order to keep your [man-made] tradition and regulations" (Mark 7:6-9, AMP). 
       This is still true in our time and even more so in the last couple of years. We saw the increase of strange teachings that sought to lay aside God's commandments in order to uphold evil, subjective man-made doctrines. The sad part of this development is many of the proponents know quite well they are wrong, but to justify the evil they have descended into and allowed, they propagate the evil doctrines and lifestyles. 
       A brother remarked a few days ago that if not for the Holy Spirit, he would have fallen victim to the erroneous teachings of his Pastor. According to him, what his Pastor is teaching sounds like the truth as it looks as if it aligns with God's Word, yet the conclusion of his teaching negates God's Word. Many teachings look and sound right, taking their premise from the Word of God but their conclusion is anything but. For instance, he continued, if God's Word says God is love, and He is Pure, while in the same Bible, He warns us against homosexuals and sodomy, at what point does the same-sex attraction 'love' become pure and godly, he asks? 
       One thing is certain, according to the Scriptures, many that condone this evil and justify it is because they are equally partakers of it: "Although they know God’s righteous decree and His judgment, that those who do such things deserve death, yet they not only do them, but they even [enthusiastically] approve and tolerate others who practice them" (Romans 1:32, AMP). 
       Beloved, as the year draws to a close, we need to go through the closets of our hearts and sweep out all man-made beliefs that look and sound godly that have hindered our growth through the year. If you do not know them but are sure that you did not grow as you should, then it is time to take it to the LORD in prayers so you can renounce them! The mistake many make is they fail to realise that a little leaven, leavens the whole batch. When you allow a lie into your heart, it does not stop there until it infects every aspect of your life: "A little leaven [a slight inclination to error, or a few false teachers] leavens the whole batch [it perverts the concept of faith and misleads the church]" (Galatians 5:9, AMP). 
       The Bible tells us: "Now the Pharisees and some of the scribes came from Jerusalem and gathered around Him" (Mark 7:1, AMP), seemingly to learn from Him. There are many around Jesus today, and it looks like they are set to learn from Him; rather, they are around Him to look for justification to live the way they are living and believe what they intentionally and erroneously believe. The onus is on you and I to examine ourselves to make sure we are running the race set before us. To make sure the doctrine we are holding on to is the truth, not a contrived idea by a mere man: "See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception [pseudo-intellectual babble], according to the tradition [and musings] of mere men, following the elementary principles of this world, rather than following [the truth—the teachings of] Christ" (Colossians 2:8, AMP). 
       Beloved, do a stocktaking of your life. How much of God's Word do you have, how much have you obeyed? If He comes now, can you stand boldly before Him and not be ashamed? "May my heart be blameless regarding Your statutes so that I will not be put to shame" (Psalms 119:80, HCSB). 
       Jesus Christ is coming back again, and He is coming with His reward to give to every man what they deserve based on what they had done! Beloved, on that Day, there will be no excuses. Look through your heart, and decide from this moment to start walking in His undefined TRUTH! May the New Year herald an amazing walk with the LORD for you, in Jesus Christ name! God bless you! Happy New Year!!!

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