Daily Bread 7-26-17

2 Timothy 3:8-12

8 Now as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, reprobate concerning the faith.

9 But they shall proceed no further: for their folly shall be manifest unto all men, as theirs also was.

10 But thou hast fully known my doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, long-suffering, charity, patience,

11 Persecutions, afflictions, which came unto me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra; what persecutions I endured: but out of them all the Lord delivered me.

12 Yea, and all that will live Godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.

ref. - Ex 7:11 - Then Pharaoh also called the wise men and the sorcerers: now the magicians of Egypt, they also did in like manner with their enchantments.

Ex 8:18 - And the magicians did so with their enchantments to bring forth lice, but they could not: so there were lice upon man, and lice upon beast.

Ex 9:11 - And the magicians could not stand before Moses because of the boils; for the boil was upon the magicians, and upon all the Egyptians.

Ac 13:14 - But when they departed from Perga, they came to Antioch in Pisidia, and went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and sat down.

Ac 14:2 - But the unbelieving Jews stirred up the Gentiles, and made their minds evil effected against the brethren.

Mt 16:24 - Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.

Ac 14:22 - Confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the faith, that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God.

There is so much to learn from this scripture. Let us touch on the many points that are brought to us as children of the most high God, followers of Jesus Christ, and partakers of the Holy Spirit. First, we must know that there are many imposters out there who are trying to take our eyes off of Christ and they will try to replicate or copy the things that Christ can do. They will use deceit and trickery to try to make us think that they have the same gifts as those who possess true gifts from God. They will even try to direct us away from Christ and toward themselves or other Gods. This will be short lived as God will prove it in front of all men that these false prophets and sorcerers are nothing more than con men, without any true gifts from God or any true knowledge of how the Spirit of God operates. They will come to an abrupt end and the men of God will march on. Not that these men will perish, but they will be marked and avoided. But there are good men, and honest men, who will go through any fire to get this pure clean gospel out to the world. If we are in this group of men it will be clearly evident as there will always be opposition. However, we must just stay our course, and press forward. Not using our own powers and our own wisdom but that of Jesus Christ. Depending on him for our defense and also our offense. Offense being the aggressive movement forward with the gospel that we have been given, not the other offense, which means sin or acts against others. There will be many who dwell around the Church and wander in and out of the Church and from Church to Church that will bring persecution to what God is doing. These are nothing more than pawns of the enemy trying to draw souls away from Christ. They will speak evil of the men who have been put in authority and try to pull us away from the structure that is in Jesus Christ and the Church in which we have been called. But, hold on Brothers, with the power of Christ we can overcome anything. These persecutors do not belong to Christ as they are in disagreement with anything that he is doing. But they will be around, nonetheless, until we see Christ come again. They will be trouble makers, naysayers, debaters, and those who despise government and structure in the Church. There will always be a negative attitude around them when they are in our presence. This being because they know that what we have comes from the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. They have no power over us. So they will fight and all will soon see who they are and what they stand for. They will remain fruitless in their actions and schemes as they are operating under the wrong Spirit. Now, in order to be in the winning team, the one that is Jesus Christ, the word of God says that we will suffer persecution. We will also have to sacrifice worldly things and become Spiritual people. They who tell you that you can have the best of both worlds are incorrect. Jesus said, deny ourselves, pick up our crosses, and follow him. Will we need help with this? Jesus had help to drag his cross up the hill didn't he? But in order to stay on the good side of God and on the winning team of Jesus Christ we must be able to identify false prophets, endure through persecution for our beliefs and our savior, and work diligently to carry the cross that we have been given. He says his burden is light and his yoke is easy, we must believe it. So, today, we have good news for the true followers of Christ in that we will see Jesus one day and be with him, and bad news for the imposters in that....your days are numbered and soon all will see you for who you really are. Lets march on knowing that the only way to effectively serve God and be able to endure through the hardships that this world is going to throw at us is with Jesus Christ.

John 15:4 - Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.

Have a great day!!!