by Darnell Whitfield

The Merriam-Webster Dictionary describes a liar as, ‘one who tells lies.’ Synonyms for liar are fibber deceiver, perjurer, false witness and fabricator.

I think you see where I am going with this.

Liars are bad and yet people believe the lies in some churches, they can’t get enough of them.

Christians today want to be entertained, and the church has become a breeding ground for getting away from the truth of God.

It is sickening how the church has become a platform for some of the most disgusting behaviors, and the attendees get excited over the lies being presented because they do not know the truth and have become accustomed to the worldly actions before their eyes.

Some people will believe in anything.

God wants us to be wise, and satanic forces want us to dumb down our beliefs and our walk with God.

We must do as God commands through the Apostle Paul and that is to study the word, live the word and share the word.                                 

The definition for the word study is, ‘the devotion of time and attention to acquiring knowledge on a subject, especially by means of books.’ Synonyms for the word study are learning, education, examine, inspect, consider, regard and observe.                                                 

The command to study God’s word is found in, 2 Timothy 2:15 (NIV) “15 Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.’ Many of you may be more aware of the KJV: “15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”

To study is not a choice, but a command from God.

Why does God want us to study? The answer is simple: knowledge is power.

Knowledge of the Scriptures bring us awareness of God’s purpose in our lives, the purpose for Jesus death, burial and resurrection, and last the final state of man however you won’t know God’s purpose in your life unless you learn about Him.

Matthew 11:29 (NIV) records Jesus as saying, “29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

I listen to the liberal churches of today that allow everything to go on in the church that is anti-Christian. Anyone, whether the pastor, bishop, apostle, prophet, prophetess and parishioners alike must take responsibility for the direction of their soul, and stop allowing rock star preachers who are no more than false prophets to permeate the body of Christ and destroy it like a cancer that eats away at the living tissue until it is dead.

I know that many of you want the blessings that God promises us, however, we must realize that we must work toward the blessing. We must resolve that we must come in line with God’s word.

Think about this: Suppose you bought something that had to be assembled before you could use it.

You could do what many have done by refusing to look at the instructions and try to put it together.

When you finish, you find that there are many leftover parts, so then you start over by going to the instructions and assemble the item the correct way, and when you are finished you are happy with the results.

Much in the same way God wants you to serve Him the right way, so that He can bless you.

God will not bless disobedience or chaos.

You will not get what you want from God’s treasure trove of blessing by kissing the feet of the pastor, or tossing money at his feet, or buying him/her a brand new car with hundreds of thousands of dollars.

You get your blessing by believing in God, in the name of Jesus Christ.

Easter is upon us, and we will be going to church somewhere, just make sure that the church you attend believes totally in the word of God.

Stop being bamboozled by the flesh in the church where the word has been watered down to mere slogans, where the word is preached for 20 minutes yet the praise dancers, the clowns, the comedians lasts an hour or more.

Stop being bamboozled by preachers who try to convince you that by giving to them you will get from God.

Stop being bamboozled by preachers who take on the world’s way by tattooing themselves, by cussing like the world, preachers who have affairs with women in and out of the church.

Stop being bamboozled by churches that entertain rather than inform.

The devil is like a roaring lion seeking the weak. Stop being weak-minded. Build yourself by the word, pray, fast sometimes and live this life as a true saint of God, and remember Revelation 21:8 (NIV:) “8 But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars — they will be consigned to the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.”

Live your life in truth, because the truth shall set you free.                                                        

Happy Easter and a Blessed Resurrection Day!

May God richly bless you, by the movement of the Holy Spirit in the name of Jesus Christ!

DARNELL WHITFIELD is senior pastor of Diamond Grove Baptist Church in Franklin. Contact him at 742-1343 or revwhitfield@me.com.