The biggest problem with most people

What is the biggest problem in today's world? The Iran crisis, the economy, health-care crisis, war, cancer? What is the biggest problem with most people? Greed, selfishness, fear, hatred? Jesus nailed the issue on the head in Mark 12:24 when he answered a group of "worldly" people who came to test him about the ressurection of the dead. You see these people (Sadducees as they were called) didn't believe in anything spiritual. They typlified the thinkers of our day, the scientists, the logicians, the people who don't believe in anything they can't see. They asked Jesus a specific question about the ressurection of the dead, thinking they would trap him, trick him into admitted there was no ressurection. Instead, Jesus answered them by pinpointing their exact problem. He said.

Jesus replied, “Your mistake is that you don’t know the Scriptures, and you don’t know the power of God"

He then went on to answer their specific question and to prove to them through the Scriptures that there is indeed life after death.

But I got to thinking about this one statement. How true it is! Think about all the problems people have. Every single one of them would be solved by knowing the Scriptures and believing in God's power. It's not enough to know the Bible. Many scholars know the Bible. But you must also believe in the power of God. You must believe He is who He says He is in the Bible. Otherwise it's just a bunch of words in a book.

I've seen countless Christians struggle with problem after problem in their lives. They lead a defeated life, always under some new tragedy. I'm not talking about persecution from the world or the struggles God sends our way to teach us. I'm talking about problems people bring on themselves or problems they continually deal with because they truly, deep in their hearts, don't believe God can help them.

How different the world would be if even the people who call themselves Christians would spend time in the Scriptures everyday and then believe what they are reading! I believe we could change the world. Why? Because then the world would see a people who not only talk the talk, but walk the walk.

Do yourself a favor today. Make a deal with God to study His Word daily and ask Him to increase your faith. But, be careful, your life will be transformed and you'll experience things other people only dream about!

Winner of Forever Richard by Sue Dent is ....

Kalisse!!


Thank you all for entering! For those of you who didn't win, I encourage you to go online and purchase Forever Richard.

Have a great weekend everyone! Enjoy time with your family, friends, and don't forget to spend time with your heavenly Father.

List of reasons people put a book down

I thought you might be interested to see the list of responses to my question about what makes you put a book down.

Lots of long paragraphs of description
Don't care about or can't relate to the main character
Slow moving
Too much detail
Unbelievable happenings or circumtances
Bad language
Not hooked by page 50
Insulting the reader's intelligence
Boring plot that doesn't move forward
Can't relate to characters
Villian is stupid or one-dimensional
Poor writing

So for us authors I should assume that what makes a good book for a reader is

Fast paced, interesting plot that has a point
Deep fascinating characters (including the villain)
Just enough description to make you feel as though you're there, but not too much
Main characters that are human with human desires and flaws that people can relate to
A story grounded in reality (unless it's a Sci Fi!)
Don't tell the reader. Let the reader see what's going on

And I would add
A solid theme that is interwoven throughout the story
The main character should have a main goal he or she is trying to achieve
Conflict--there should be conflict and tension on every page

Now, can you think of books you have read that have all these elements? Please don't list mine. I'm not looking for accolades. But I'm really interested in hearing from you what books you consider your all time favorites.

The Fear of Man

What is the fear of man? It is when we care more about what people think of us than anything else. It is worrying about what people will say about what we wear, say, the way we act, the things we like. It is living your life in such a way to win the approval of people.

Let's face it, everyone wants to be liked by others. That's a natural desire. But it becomes an unhealthy obsession if you change your behavior or try to become someone you're not just to make a friend or be popular, if everything you do is aimed at gaining the accolades, the approval of others.

Jesus warned against trying to seek the approval of man:

When you pray, you are not to be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners so that they may be seen by men Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full Matt 6:5

I have to admit I was very much like this in High School. I wanted to be in the popular crowd so badly, I would have done anything. This desire to be popular followed me around most of my life and caused me to do things I would have never done, just to fit in.

As God says: The fear of man brings a snare,But he who trusts in the LORD will be exalted. Prov 29:25

You know what I discovered? The crowd is fickle. One minute they'll like you and the next, they're onto someone else. You can never please all of them, you can never do enough, be nice enough, be pretty enough. It's an illusive dream. And even if you do make it to the top, even if you are the most popular kid at school or the most popular person at your work or you have a million friends, then what? What does it mean? Does it give you value as a person? If that's how you get your value, then what will happen when your friends abandon you? or when they speak bad things about you, as inevitably they will?

When I finally stopped trying to be popular and fit in, when I finally turned my life over to the Lord and received my value from Him, that's when I found true peace. I can't say that I don't care at all what people think of me any more, but I'm well on my way. And it is so freeing. Love people as God commands but don't try to impress them. Instead try to impress God. He's the only one that matters.

And a person with a changed heart seeks praise from God, not from people. Romans 2:29

Win a free copy of The Red Siren tomorrow!

as well as tons of other books at the



Remember to Visit http://www.thechristianpulse.com/ tomorrow on June 23, 2009 for a chance to win a free autographed copy of my book The Red Siren.

The Great Escape Summer Reading Contest - 22 books, 22 reviews, 22 winners, weekdays during the month of June exclusively at http://www.thechristianpulse.com/.

The Great Escape Summer Reading Contest provides you the opportunity to explore Christian authors from a variety of genres including non-fiction, fiction, romance, and suspense. Authors featured have won a variety of awards including the 2008 Christy Award, 2008 IWA Writer of the Year, 2008 Gayle Wilson Award of Excellence and the 2008 Winter Rose Contest.

HOW TO ENTER: NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. To enter, send an email to
contests@thechristianpulse.com on each day you want to participate in the contest. The email subject line should be the book title for the day you are entering. Include your name, email address, mailing address, and phone number in the body of your email entry. All entries must be completed and received on or by the closing date announced for each contest. Incomplete entries will be disqualified. All entries shall become the property of TheChristianPulse.com. TCP is not responsible for lost, misdirected or delayed entries. Entries received by telephone, fax, courier or personal delivery will not be accepted.

Is death natural?

Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned. . . but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, so that, as sin reigned in death, even so grace would reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Romans 5

Yesterday, I had to put my precious cat Sniffles down. It was one of the hardest things I've had to do. We had her for 19 years. But in my grief, I got to thinking about death. Here are my thoughts on the subject:

People say death is natural. It’s a natural part of life. I don’t believe that. Death is the most unnatural thing anyone could experience. It’s wicked and vile and comes from the deepest parts of hell—a thief intent on taking what is not his. If it were natural, it would happen smoothly and gracefully like the budding of a new flower or the sprinkle of a spring rain, but if you’ve seen anyone you love die, you know that’s not true. It is torturous and miserable as the person writhes in agony caught in an eternal struggle with some unseen demon who has come to rip their soul from them. It’s nasty and unpleasant and carries a most putrid stench, and when it is over, it leaves those behind with a mound of open, festering wounds which never truly heal.

Sorry to be so morbid, but as I continued pondering it, I realized something. Death was NEVER part of God's plan. It came into being at the fall of man. It truly is an entity ruled by Satan. But Jesus came to set us free from death! As it says in Isaiah 25:

He will swallow up death for all time, And the Lord GOD will wipe tears away from all faces,

and in 1 Corinthians 15

Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?

Someday, we believers will live in a world where no one dies, not even our pets. What a wonderful world that will be!

What causes you to put a book down?

Lately, I've read a lot of books that I have struggled to finish. How about you? I know each of us is different in likes and dislikes of what we like to read and what we find interesting, but I think there must be a common thread of things which frustrate each one of us in books. So, I thought I'd ask all of you since most of you are probably avid readers.

I'll start. For me the number one thing that causes me to put a book down and not finish it is

I don't care about the main character. I don't care what happens to him or her.

For me, the plot can be slow, the dialogue lousy, the story boring, but if I have connected in some way with the main character and I really care what happens to him or her, I'll stick it out.

What about you?

Does God really love me?

Recently, I've run into several people who have trouble truly believing in God's love. These are wonderful people who have been Christians all their lives, who know the Scriptures, who attend church regularly and give to the poor. They believe God loves other people, and they believe God loves "the world", but they have difficulty when it comes to them personally.

As I got to thinking and praying about this, I had to admit that I have also struggled with this from time to time, especially in my early years as a believer. I wondered why so many people have trouble with this wonderful truth. Here's a list of people who might struggle with this.

• People who grew up in an abusive or non-loving home have no concept of loving parents and therefore cannot relate to an all loving God as Father
• People who grew up in the church and never had an extreme salvation experience in which they repented of gross sins and received the boundless mercy and grace of a loving God who forgave them.
• People who have a very worldly idea that love equals "good things happening to you" and anger or hatred = "bad things happening to you"
• People who carry around a heavy burden of guilt
• People who don't understand that Satan will do everything he can to make you believe God doesn't love you because he knows once you truly believe that, your life will change.

As a woman who grew up without a father, my concept of Dad was basically someone who didn't want anything to do with me. I grew up thinking I wasn't good enough, smart enough, pretty enough to make my Father want to spend time with me. So, when I became a Christian, I wondered if God would be the same way.

Guess what? He isn't! But it took years for me to understand that, to get it from my head to my heart. I could quote you a hundred Scriptures that tell you how much God loves you. I could recite to you the story of calvary, but what really made the truth of His love sink in was spending time with my Lord. Think about it. If you have someone in your life who you love, maybe a spouse, a sibling, a parent, a friend, but you never spend anytime with that person, and all you had were some old love letters, after awhile you may begin to doubt their love, Especially if there's another person who is continually telling you that the other person doesn't love you. (aka Satan)

When I say spend time with God, I'm not talking about bringing Him your lists of requests and then leaving. I'm talking about sitting in His presence and having a 2-way conversation. It's not easy. Our minds wander so much. It takes practice, but it is well worth it! I'm not saying I'm there yet, but I'm on my way and I feel like I am beginning to really know the Lord.

I encourage you to talk to Him today and allow Him time to answer. Tell Him your fears, your worries, leave your guilt at his feet, ask Him to show you His love.

Perfect Love Casts out all Fear 1 John 4:18

There is GREAT power in believing in God's love. That is why Satan is always trying to convince you that God doesn't love you. The biggest benefit for me in believe God loves me unconditionally and has my best interest at heart, is complete and utter freedom from fear. No worries, no anxieties, no sleepless nights. Nothing can touch me or my family that God doesn't allow for our ultimate good.

What Freedom is found in that perfect love!

Book giveaway - Forever Richard by Sue Dent

Werewolves and Vampires from a Christian perspective! In the wake of the hit series Twilight, I challenge you to try Sue Dent's acclaimed book Forever Richard. She's even willing to throw in a free copy of the first book in the series to whoever wins!

Recently I picked up a batch of highly unusual books published by the The Writers Cafe Press. These are books that you would never see in the mainstream Christian market. That doesn't mean they aren't good. It only means that the stories do not fit into the market's very tight acceptable box. (A box that now excludes pirates of all things--say it isn't so!) However as Ms. Dent pointed out to me, these books have been approved as quality Christian reading so you needn't worry they have anything unacceptable in them. Anyway, I haven't read these books, and doubt I'll have time in the near future, so I decided to give them away and allow others to enjoy them. This first story is a Christian tale about vampires and werewolves! If you'd like to be entered into a drawing, just leave a comment telling me why you would be interested in reading this book. Oh, and I just talked to Sue Dent and she is willing to throw in the first book in the series, Never Ceese too!


Here's a blurb about the story.


The saga of redemption and spiritual triumph readers enjoyed in Never Ceese continues in Forever Richard. Cassie Felts, graduate student and reluctant believer of such things as vampires and werewolves, couldn't be happier for Richard and Ceese Porter. Their curses lifted and after hundreds of years apart, they can now celebrate being brother and sister once more. Even Rodney, Cassie's college roommate and former nemesis, shares her relief. But will the faith that saved Richard and Ceese be enough to defeat the new evil that threatens them all? Cassie learns that Dr. Clayton Henderson, the corrupt stem-cell researcher, has acquired the vampire's curse and has managed to transfer it to Rodney's troubled, drug-addicted buddy Josh. Addict or vampire, Cassie can see Josh isn't handling his new cravings for blood any better than he did his old habit. Their best hope seems to be taking Josh to Richard's isolated country estate in England. There, Josh can learn to temper his desire to curse another while they try to figure out how to deal with the impossible-to-kill Dr. Henderson. Their mission becomes more complicated when they find a new vampire inhabiting Richard's castle, a malevolent werewolf stalking Ceese, and a long-lost relative who shows up carrying a sawed-off shotgun and an ancient knife he claims has supernatural powers. Will the faith that redeemed two lost souls before be enough to overcome the wicked forces that now threaten to destroy them all?

Even if you're not crazy about werewolves and vampires, I'm sure you know someone who is!

Anyway, if you want to get to know Sue Dent better, you can find her on her blog

http://www.suedent.blogspot.com/
or
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Sue-Dent/19442155757

I'll choose a name in 2 weeks on the 26th.

Sniffles the pirate kitty

You may perhaps remember my one-eyed cat, Sniffles. Last year, I ran a contest to name the pirate kitty for the book I'm currently writing, The Raven Saint. Angela Robinson won that contest with the name Spyglass. You'll have a chance to meet Spyglass when The Raven Saint releases in January 2010.

Sniffles is now 19 years old. (which is 92 in people years!) She seemed to be having trouble with her mouth lately, so I took her to the Vet last Saturday, thinking that maybe her gums were infected. Well, it turns out that the cancer that took her eye has now returned to claim her mouth.

My family was very upset to hear this news. Sniffles has been a part of our family for so long, it will seem so empty without her. Let me tell you about this great cat. Last month, she went completely blind (in her other eye) and completely deaf. We thought about putting her down then, but after a few days of bumping into furniture and walls, she has been able to find her way to her cat box and to her food and water dish, and then back to her heating pad. Without a single accident!

On Saturday, the doctor wanted to put her down immediately, but I know my Sniffles. She wasn't ready yet, so we brought her home and she's been eating and purring and finding her way to her cat box just fine. Her resilience, courage, and joy in the midst of pain astound me. I wish more people could be like my Sniffles.

Regardless, I know her time is short. At the first sign of pain or inability to eat, I'll release her to my Heavenly Father and she can join the brood of beloved pets waiting for me in Heaven.

Grace, works, and losing salvation

Happy Monday! I thought it best to add an addendum to my post on Can you lose your salvation? The purpose of that post was simply to list scriptures from the Bible on both sides and allow you to read, ponder, pray, and decide for yourself. I think the problem with many of these issues is we've been indoctrinated in church to believe a certain way, and we never really take time to study the Bible for ourselves. There are many great Bible teachers in this country, but the best one of all is the Holy Spirit. So, if you have a question or a confusion, open your Bible and call upon Him.

There are dangers for believing either way. If someone believes that once they are saved, they can never lose that salvation, it gives them license to do anything they want, lie cheat, steal, murder. It doesn't matter. They will still end up in Heaven. Of course they won't receive any rewards when they get there, but is that enough incentive to keep fallen man in line?

If you believe you can lose your salvation, you run the risk of getting ensnared in legalism, trying to earn your way to Heaven by doing good works and always worrying if you will make it. Jesus came to set us free from this type of fear.

So which is it? Perhaps it's somewhere in the middle. I encourage you to search the scriptures I already gave you and find your own and then have a conversation with God about it. He will let you know the truth as far as we can understand it. Perhaps in our limited human minds, we simply can't grasp it.

You may ask what the big deal is? Why am I bringing this up? Because it is one of my biggest fears that many Christians who believe they are going to Heaven because they said a prayer once, answered an alter call, go to church on Sunday and believe in Jesus, are the ones Jesus is speaking about in Matthew 7:21-23

Not everyone who calls out to me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Only those who actually do the will of my Father in heaven will enter. On judgment day many will say to me, ‘Lord! Lord! We prophesied in your name and cast out demons in your name and performed many miracles in your name.’ But I will reply, ‘I never knew you. Get away from me, you who break God’s laws

Or James

But someone will say, “You have faith, and I have works.” Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe—and tremble! But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead James 2:18-20

On a personal note, as many of you, this topic touches deep in my soul. I have children and other close relatives who once said a prayer of faith but who now are living away from God. I pray with ALL My HEART that once saved always saved is true, for their sakes. But if it isn't, if I can wake up one slumbering Christian, one person who professes to know Christ but who is living a life of sin, if I can encourge them to come back to the narrow path by my books or this blog, then I am one Happy lady!

That is the reason I write novels and my motivation for these posts.

Does God still speak to us?

When I read the Old testament, I'm always jealous of the way God spoke to the prophets. The Word will say "God told Moses" or "And the Lord spoke to Elijah". It never really says how God spoke to them, just that He did. I wonder if it was in an audible voice or a tiny whisper, was it just a feeling they had inside or simply a "knowing." Yet, however He spoke to them, they always knew and understood what He said.

Wouldn't you like that ability? How many times have you pleaded with God for an answer only to receive silence in return. What I wouldn't give for an Email from God laying out the plan for my life or at the very least the answer to one of my questions.

But the truth is, God does still speak to us. The problem is. We aren't listening.

The most amazing thing happened to me yesterday morning. Every morning I spend time reading the Bible. I usually read a couple of chapters in the Old Testament and then a couple of chapters in the New. Right now I'm going through Isaiah and Revelation. I was reading in Revelation about the 7-fold Spirit of God and it said "the sevenfold Spirit of God that is sent out into every part of the earth" Rev 5:6. I remember reading this verse before and wondering, what is the sevenfold aspect of the Spirit? I know this is mentioned in other parts of the New Testament but it never describes what these seven different characteristics of the Spirit are. I grew really curious so I asked God. "What does this mean? I want to understand it." Then I sat quietly, and I "heard" a voice say "You just read about that in Isaiah" Now when I say I heard, I don't mean in an audible voice but one that I heard inside me. Does that make sense? That's all the voice said, so I flipped back to Isaiah. Now, I'm the kind of person who doesn't usually remember details of what I've read, especially if it was a few days ago. But, I went back several chapters in Isaiah and scanned the text and there it was!

"And the Spirit of the Lord will rest on Him, the Spirit of Wisdom and Understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might. The Spirit of knowledge and the Fear of the Lord. He will delight in obeying the Lord." Isaiah 11:2-3

I was astounded. I would have never thought to look in Isaiah. I fell on my knees, so thankful to hear from God, so humbled that He cared to answer one of my questions.

From this experience, I believe there are 2 keys to hearing from God

1. You must be truly following Him, truly submissive to Him

2. You must be quiet.

How many times do we rattle off our string of requests during prayer time, then say Amen and get up and leave. I do that all the time! How many of your friends would put up with that for long? Yet God does day after day. Why don't we give Him a chance to share with us? Be quiet. If you don't hear anything, start reading the Bible asking Him to show you something. If you still don't hear anything, don't give up. Try again each day. And believe that He will speak to you somehow. He's your Father and He loves you. Why wouldn't He want to speak to you. I don't know about you, but I'm sure going to try this new approach to prayer.

Be still and know that I am God.

Can you lose your salvation?

I find this question fascinating and one that also invokes quite a few emotional responses in people. I can understand why. We all want to feel that our own salvation and that of our loved ones is secure. It gives us a sense of peace and control. The two opposing theologies, Arminianism and Calvinism have been battling this for years. For the answer, I went to the greatest authority of all, the Word of God. Here's a list of scriptures that may help clear this up. I'd love to hear your thoughts on this!

We are saved by grace (Eph. 2:8,9) For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast.

But we can fall from grace (Gal. 5:2-4).
For if you are trying to make yourselves right with God by keeping the law, you have been cut off from Christ! You have fallen away from God’s grace

Dear friends, if we deliberately continue sinning after we have received knowledge of the truth, there is no longer any sacrifice that will cover these sins (Hebrews 10:26) That's pretty plain, isn't it?

We are justified by faith (Rom. 5:1)
Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have[ peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ
But our faith can become shipwrecked and cease to exist (Lk. 8:13; Rom. 11:19-23).
Cling to your faith in Christ, and keep your conscience clear. For some people have deliberately violated their consciences; as a result, their faith has been shipwrecked (Tim 1:19)

But the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, who believe for a while and in time of temptation fall away (Luke 8:13)

Notice how God is both kind and severe. He is severe toward those who disobeyed, but kind to you if you continue to trust in his kindness. But if you stop trusting, you also will be cut off (Romans 11:22)

We are not under the law (Rom. 6:14, 15)
Sin is no longer your master, for you no longer live under the requirements of the law. Instead, you live under the freedom of God’s grace. But if you live according to the sinful nature you will die (Rom. 8:13).
For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.

Dear friends, if we deliberately continue sinning after we have received knowledge of the truth, there is no longer any sacrifice that will cover these sins (Hebrews 10:26)

Paul taught against legalism (Gal. 5:3,4)
For if you are trying to make yourselves right with God by keeping the law, you have been cut off from Christ! You have fallen away from God’s grace

But he also taught that no immoral, impure or greedy person has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God (Eph. 5:5-7).
You can be sure that no immoral, impure, or greedy person will inherit the Kingdom of Christ and of God. For a greedy person is an idolater, worshiping the things of this world.
6 Don’t be fooled by those who try to excuse these sins, for the anger of God will fall on all who disobey him. 7 Don’t participate in the things these people do.

We are not saved by works (Eph. 2:8,9)
God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. 9 Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it

But to reap eternal life and not destruction you must sow to please the Spirit and not the sinful nature (Gal. 6:8,9).
Those who live only to satisfy their own sinful nature will harvest decay and death from that sinful nature. But those who live to please the Spirit will harvest everlasting life from the Spirit

God is faithful to us If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9)
No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.(1 Cor 10:13)

But we must be faithful to him to the very end of our lives to escape the lake of fire or second death (Rev. 2:10,11)
Don’t be afraid of what you are about to suffer. The devil will throw some of you into prison to test you. You will suffer for ten days. But if you remain faithful even when facing death, I will give you the crown of life. 11 “Anyone with ears to hear must listen to the Spirit and understand what he is saying to the churches. Whoever is victorious will not be harmed by the second death.

God surely loves us

(For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16)

Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death? 36 (As the Scriptures say, “For your sake we are killed every day; we are being slaughtered like sheep.”[a]) 37 No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.
38 And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,[b] neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. 39 No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 8:35-39)

But those who inherit the kingdom of God love God and to love God means to obey his commands
Listen to me, dear brothers and sisters. Hasn’t God chosen the poor in this world to be rich in faith? Aren’t they the ones who will inherit the Kingdom he promised to those who love him (James 2:5)
If you love me, obey my commandments (John 14:13)
For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome (1 John 5:3)

We have freedom in Christ (Gal. 5:1)
So Christ has truly set us free. Now make sure that you stay free, and don’t get tied up again in slavery to the law.

But this freedom is not to indulge the sinful nature (Gal. 5:13)
For you have been called to live in freedom, my brothers and sisters. But don’t use your freedom to satisfy your sinful nature. Instead, use your freedom to serve one another in love
For you are free, yet you are God’s slaves, so don’t use your freedom as an excuse to do evil (1 Peter 2:16)

The House of the Interpreter - Pilgrim's Progress

Finally Christian has entered through the narrow gate and is on his way toward the Celestial city. But first he must visit the Interpreter. He knocks on the door and when the Interpreter answers, he questions Christian about his purpose, confirming that he is a true believer (Something we should all do more often) before he allows him entrance. Then, the Interpreter lights a candle and proceeds to show Christian several different scenes.

The Interpreter as you might guess is the Holy Spirit. It is the Holy Spirit's job to draw us to Jesus. Without him, none of us would have ever come on our own. The candle light represents the Word of God. For it is the Holy Spirit's job (among others) to instruct us and teach us.

But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. John 14:26

The first thing Christian sees is a man in great travail with a Bible in his hands, his eyes looking upward to heaven, the law of truth written on his lips, the world behind his back, and a gold crown hung over his head. He pleaded with men to hear the truth of the gospel.

The Interpreter explains that this man is one in a thousand. He is a true pastor who has led many people to Christ and who also instructs and teaches them in the Way. He has rejected the world and the things of the world because of his love and devotion to his Master's service. The crown represents the reward that is sure to be his in the next age.

What struck me here is that the Interpreter says this man is one in a thousand. In other words, for every 1000 pastors, there is only one with this kind of devotion. He goes on to explain that this is the ONLY type of man whom God has authorized to be our guide in all the difficult situations that we may encounter on our journey. He further warns Christian to be careful when choosing who to go to for spiritual help as some may pretend to lead him along the right path, while in reality they will lead him to death.

How true this is today! I know so many Christians who revere their pastors as if they were god themself. Or how many Christians go to secular counselors? or even Christian counselors? I'm not putting down counseling at all, but I'm saying we need to be VERY careful who we get advice from. There is only one kind of advice that will really solve your problem, and that is advice that comes straight from God and from His Holy Spirit. If you aren't hearing from God, then by all means seek out some help, but make sure it is someone just like the man described above. Someone who loves the Lord first and foremost and whose life's devotion is to do God's will. Sadly, I don't know too many people like that.

Isn't this the very problem with cults? One charismatic man or woman with a powerful message that leads many people away from the truth? And it can be a very subtle lie, a very small change from the real truth that would be hard for someone who isn't reading the Bible on their own to detect. There are so many people out there who rely on pastors and Bible study leaders to give them the message from the Word. But how will you know if it's the truth unless you are reading the Bible on your own too? This really scares me because I see so many Christians in this situation. And I personally know Christians who have been led astray by one tiny lie piled up on one tiny lie, and before you know it the entire gospel has been preverted. We must be so careful not to put all our faith in one man or woman. Humans are fallible and weak and sinful.

Test everything and everyone against the Word of God.