Guarding Your Mind and Spirit

Scripture Reading

2 John 1:7-11

7 I say this because many deceivers, who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh, have gone out into the world. Any such person is the deceiver and the antichrist. 8 Watch out that you do not lose what we have worked for, but that you may be rewarded fully. 9 Anyone who runs ahead and does not continue in the teaching of Christ does not have God; whoever continues in the teaching has both the Father and the Son. 10 If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not take them into your house or welcome them. 11 Anyone who welcomes them shares in their wicked work.

Devotional

Today’s society doesn’t like to talk about religion except when it criticizes its followers by cherry picking scriptures without context to condemn Christians in particular. Have you noticed that most current tv shows portray Christians as crazy and harmful people? In fact, can you think of a single character on a show or movie who is Christian and not portrayed in this fashion? How about the news? Do you ever hear the words church or the Christian faith mentioned in a positive light or is it always associated with negative connotations? Although the US was founded on Christian principles, it is not longer fashionable to associate oneself with Christianity because following Jesus is counter to the direction of the world. Let’s take a look at John 15:18-19 that reads:

18 “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. 19 If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you.

Jesus warned people of his time all the way to current day that we would not fit in. His teachings were against the grain and people would not just have a moderate dislike for Jesus, but would hate him and his followers. People are so worried about what other people think about them and how their faith with affect them at work, school, and even at home that they stray away from Jesus. Here are some ways Christians have been doing this. I want to share a few things that I’ve heard people who claim that they are Christians say and I believe you’ve probably heard a few of these misguided statements as well.

Common Falsehoods from People Who Say They Are Christians

• Christianity is really just about doing good things.

• I show my faith through my actions, talking about Jesus isn’t necessary.

• A lot of other religions have similar teachings, maybe there are just universal truths to live by.

• I don’t think God would send anyone to hell if they’re a good person or if they were raised to follow another religion.

• I don’t know if Jesus is God, but I like to read his teachings.

• God is really just energy. There’s positive and negative energy all throughout our universe like yin and yang. The key is store positive energy and cleanse yourself and your house of negative energy.

• Life is short, do what you want.

• I follow Jesus, but I also like to dabble in Buddhism and new age teachings to better myself and to be more spiritual.

• I don’t believe everything in the Bible.

Let me just say that every single one of those statements are not of God and not supported by the Word. Why do I mention this then? Because as society continues to demonize the teachings of the Bible, which is God’s Word, people like you and me have a natural tendency to want to go with the flow. No one likes feeling like an outcast and so sometimes we may find ourselves watering down God’s Word. We may even transform it into something we think is more palatable to others and as we do that we turn into the enemies of God. This is really serious stuff. 2 John 1:7-11 can be summarized as a warning for us to guard our hearts and minds for sake of God and our salvation. Keys takeaways from today’s scripture are:

1. We should expect people to try to deceive us throughout our life.

2. Teachings that are not from God are against God.

3. Do not make room in your mind for false teachings because eventually they will take root. Cling tightly to the teachings of Christ and the Word.

4. Be careful who you listen to because they may mislead you even if it’s unintentionally.

If you’ve done or said any of things above, I would encourage you to bring it to God. You may have made a mistake in that moment, but the key is to learn, repent, and be better. Faith is a journey of refinement. We all fall down, it’s getting up that matters. Also, this may be harder for some than others, but we shouldn’t care what people think of us. We need to concern ourselves with what God thinks of us. He already told us we shouldn’t expect to feel welcomed by the world and in fact, haters are going to continue to hate. You just got to brush the metaphorical dirt off your shoulders and keep walking for Christ. And last but certainly not least, we should ground ourselves daily in the Word staying prayerful so that we are not led astray. Ephesians 6:10-11 reads:

10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.

Finally friends, keep your heart, mind, and soul aligned with God. Listen to the Holy Spirit. And guard your mind from teachings that deviate from the Word. God wants the very best for you and is calling you to stay alert and don’t be afraid to claim him like he’s claimed you. The world may stand against God, but we know the story ends with his victory. Let’s pray.

Prayer

Father God, thank you for the reminder that sometimes following you isn’t easy. Thank you for your message that I should have a heavenly mindset focused on you and not the world. I may be in the world, but I don’t need to be of the world. I pray that you would help guard my mind against deception and would give me a spirit of discernment. Lord, I pray that if I have spoken any mistruths or followed mistruths that you forgive me and bring me back on the right path. In Jesus’ name, Amen.