Getting to a familiar portion of code for a job and appreciating our walks on the beach. We drop off the boys to their schools in the morning and head to the beach for a semi-rigorous walk along the shore before heading home to shower and plug away at our respective keyboards. This particular morning, the fish were jumping like crazy! Maybe another Jubilee is coming!
Oh, man! I seriously just saw a squirrel jump an easy 7-8 feet to a nearby tree! (Literally, ‘squirrel’! )
Still, this was in my reading, this morning:
“I know what you do, how you work hard and never give up. I know you do not put up with the false teachings of evil people. You have tested those who say they are apostles but really are not, and you found they are liars.” – Revelation 2:2
How do people miss this? You would think that with 2000 years worth of warning, we would have the little hairs on the back of our neck rise when someone walks into our church claiming to be an apostle.
Here’s another rub for me. The word ‘apostle’ means ‘one sent out’ where we get our inspiration for ‘missionary’ (an ‘office’ that is still very much alive!). I’ve also been very blessed to serve a few of the greatest examples of ‘apostolic’ (going to other places and starting churches) pastors ever!
This is not that and here’s the ire for me, and I have experience with this. These ‘apostles’ don’t go and start something new, like in the New Testament, they come into our already existing churches to say they are apostles and… …wait, there’s a verse about this, too:
“…and will act as if they serve God but will not have his power. Stay away from those people. Some of them go into homes and get control of silly women who are full of sin and are led by many evil desires. These women are always learning new teachings, but they are never able to understand the truth fully.” – 2 Timothy 3:5-7
Yeah, that’s the verse. So, instead of starting something new, they go into homes (churches) like those guys who prey on disenchanted married women, who ‘…never understand the truth fully’ and whisk them away into affairs.
Please, ‘understand the truth fully’. Please read God’s Word.
Don’t be ‘control’led by these ‘new’ apostles.
“25 Jesus called all the followers together and said, “You know that the rulers of the non-Jewish people love to show their power over the people. And their important leaders love to use all their authority. 26 But it should not be that way among you. Whoever wants to become great among you must serve the rest of you like a servant. 27 Whoever wants to become first among you must serve the rest of you like a slave. 28 In the same way, the Son of Man did not come to be served. He came to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many people.” – Matthew 20:25-28
