As a Christian woman, you are instructed to read the word, speak the word, obey the word, meditate on the word, and STUDY the word for yourself. The Bible tells us in 2 Timothy 2:15, “Study to shew yourself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”

When you study the word, this pleases God. And not only that, but when you share the word with others you will know what you’re saying, and you won’t be ashamed. In my opinion, there is no greater embarrassment than echoing error to someone who is looking for the truth and you’re off. So before you start preaching to someone, writing to others about the word, witnessing Christ with Scriptures, or posting something on social media with the word, make sure you KNOW what you’re saying first.

And the best way to NOT be ashamed, embarrassed, or be deceived in these last days, is to study the Scriptures out for yourself. Learn to rightly divide it. The Holy Spirit will help you. This way, you won’t teach error to someone else or be deceived when someone else is teaching it to you. Reader…pay attention. We are indeed living in the last days, and the Bible warns us that there will be many false teachers among us teaching error, empty philosophies, man-made traditions and doctrines.

Colossians 2:8 alerts us saying, “Don’t let anyone capture you with empty philosophies and high sounding nonsense that come from human thinking and from the spiritual powers of this world, rather than from Christ.” And Jesus told the religious Pharisees, “And why do you, by your own traditions, violate the direct commandments of God?” (Matthew 15:3) There are too many who are teaching and preaching their own agendas, false doctrines, and causing many to reject Christ because they themselves cannot live out what they preach or say. And THAT my dear sister…is hypocrisy. The devil eats it up like HOTCAKES!

Okay…let’s get serious again. So…in order to NOT be deceived, you have to read the word of God and study it for yourself. You are not alone. Remember, the Holy Spirit will guide you. He will lead you to the right people who will teach you the whole truth and nothing but the truth. 🙂 And He will give you knowledge, understanding, wisdom and revelation when you pray and ask for it. Sometimes, the Lord will just supernaturally give you revelation knowledge of His word in one sitting!

I LOVE it when that happens!

I echo the words of Beth Moore who writes in her book Children of the Day, “We are blessed to have limitless opportunities to study under many pastors and teachers but, if we do not go diligently to the Scriptures for ourselves, the question is not whether we’ll be deceived, but how often.”

So I beckon you, as we await the return of Christ, DO NOT just go sit and hear a word from someone, and not take the time to go back home and study it out for yourself. It’s totally okay. Remember the opening verse 2 Timothy 2:15. Also, in the book of Acts this was written, “And the people of Berea were open-minded than those in Thessalonica, and they listened eagerly to Paul’s message. They searched the Scriptures day after day to see if Paul and Silas were teaching the truth.” (NLT) And they were! Praise God! Because there are great teachers, preachers, televangelists, bloggers, and authors who are teaching the truth.

But then Peter comes back to say, “…those who are ignorant and unstable have twisted his letters to mean something different, just as they do with other parts of Scripture. And this will result in their destruction. I am warning you ahead of time, dear friends. Be on guard so that you will not be carried away by the errors of these wicked people and lose your own secure footing. Rather you must grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” (2 Peter 3:16-17 – NLT) So be on guard my sister.

The major point here is that it’s okay for you to make sure that you are not being deceived in this last hour. Because some words are true and some are taught in error. Some words are genuine and some are twisted. Pray for spiritual discernment (meaning knowing the difference between right and wrong, truth from error).

Now, before I close this very important post, I need to tell you why this point is so crucial for today. It’s a dangerous thing because wrong teaching, man-made doctrines, or incorrect instruction of God’s word will cause many to disobey God’s actual word, yield to man’s viewpoint or doctrine over what Scripture states clearly (which Jesus warned about earlier), and ultimately fall away from the faith. It’s dangerous to your spiritual health and others when you don’t study the word for yourself. So I encourage you to be sober and alert my sister and study.

It’s not by chance that you’re reading this post today. It is my job to preach the word, instruct, encourage, correct, rebuke (in Jesus name), and warn. God wanted you to know the truth. I pray that you receive it, because it will make you free.

Remember, Jesus is coming back soon. And those who endure unto the end, shall be saved. Let’s get ready from the Inside Out.

~Courtnaye

Any questions? Feel free to leave a comment or email me directly @ insideoutwithcourtnaye@gmail.com today.

*Also, don’t forget to JOIN me for my “LIVE” call Let’s Talk on Tuesday, April 5, 2016 @ 8:30pm (CST) – Check your time zone. The topic will be “Get Ready for Battle – A Message on Spiritual Warfare.” *I highly recommend this message for women in ministry or leadership. Don’t miss it! SAVE THE DATE and jot down the number to call: 218-936-3436, FREE Access Code: 12345#. Talk to you soon!

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