This tweet came across my feed yesterday.
“You lose me the second you say “The Lord told me.””
This person is not one that I follow.
While there are people who mishear from the Lord,
God still speaks to us in many different ways.
My sheep hear My voice, and I know them and they follow Me. John 10:27
We serve a Living God and we each have our own relationship with Him.
Just like any relationship, you have individual moments
that are not shared with anyone else.
This writing is not to focus on how Jesus talks to each of us,
but to recognize that statements such as the one above
can bring out the accuser in people and start out as offensive to Christ.
The accuser of the brethren stands before the Lord
accusing God’s people day and night.
There will be a day when Satan is cast down, but until then,
he is lurking around, looking for ways to accuse us:
And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven,
Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God,
and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down,
which accused them before our God day and night. Revelation 12:10
Satan went before God to accuse Job of not being righteous
and “Job’s Comforters” carried the torch instead of speaking righteously:
And the Lord said unto Satan, Whence comest thou?
Then Satan answered the Lord, and said,
From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it.
And the Lord said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job,
that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man,
one that feareth God, and escheweth evil?
Then Satan answered the Lord, and said, Doth Job fear God for nought?
Hast not thou made an hedge about him, and about his house,
and about all that he hath on every side?
thou hast blessed the work of his hands,
and his substance is increased in the land.
But put forth thine hand now, and touch all that he hath,
and he will curse thee to thy face. Job 1:7-11
As you know, the history of the Book of Job,
Job was found to be blameless before the Lord
and suffered greatly and lost almost everything.
He was stripped similarly
as I believe the Lord allowed Simon Peter to be sifted:
And the Lord said,
“Simon, Simon! Behold, Satan hath desired to have you,
that he may sift you as wheat.
But I have prayed for thee,
that thy faith fail not; and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.
Luke 21:31-32
The difference here will be to remember when God is speaking to you,
it will bring you closer to Him.
He may correct you, teach you something from His word,
but it is not a condemnation or pointing at you.
to tell you how terrible you are, but rather to lift you closer to Jesus Himself.
Not to lift you up in the world, but to draw you closer to Him,
to take your burdens, cleanse your sin
or otherwise something that is reflected in the word of God.
It is the goodness of God that leads to repentance.
He has come to for those who need healing in their relationship with God.
Ignore the Accuser of the Brethren
and don’t allow yourself to be used as such.
Additional Scriptures:
Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness
and forbearance and longsuffering;
not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?
Romans 2:4
When Jesus heard it, He saith unto them,
They that are whole have no need of the physician, but they that are sick:
I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.
Mark 2:17