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See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ. – Colossians 2:8

There once was a man who was so lazy he would scarcely roll out of bed. One day he sat under a tree on the edge of the savannah and watched all the antelope go by. He wished he had one to eat but he couldn’t be bothered to actually get up and shoot, for he felt it was simply too hot. But as he continued to sit, he observed a cheetah on the prowl. It slowly, patiently worked its way closer and closer to the herd until in one impressive burst of speed it leaped upon the back of a hapless antelope and dragged it down. “What an incredible creature!” The lazy hunter thought. “If only I had such a creature to hunt for me, so that I would not need to put out the effort!” Then a wicked plan occurred to him. While the cheetah was busy with its hunt, he hurried to its den and stole a cheetah cub. He planned to raise it and train it to hunt for him. But as is the way of wild creatures, when the cheetah cub grew up, it turned on the lazy hunter and killed him. We mock the lazy hunter, but are unusually prone to his sin. Thinking for ourselves is hard work and we like having people do it for us. Anchormen don’t just tell us the news but what to think about it. Politicians make our decisions for us. Pastors and priests tell us what the Bible says. We hardly ever do the research ourselves. Though most of us own one, we rarely pick up a Bible and study it.

Unfortunately, however, there are many wicked and unscrupulous people out there who would love nothing better than to turn on and use us. Peter warns (2 Peter 2:1-3) that in their greed, they will exploit us with false words. Jude (vv.4-13) describes them as “hidden reefs…” Jim Jones was a Methodist pastor before starting the People's Temple. David Berg had been a Christian Missionary Alliance minister before founding the Children of God. Hobart Freeman was a highly respected Bible scholar and seminary professor before he started the Faith Assembly movement. Jim Bakker had a popular TV program that tens of thousands watched. David Koresh, a personable young man who could quote huge passages of Scripture verbatim, was raised in the Seventh Day Adventist Church. But education, religious upbringing, personality and charisma are irrelevant. Jesus said that what matters is the person’s heart and that we can determine the contents of people’s hearts by their actions (Matthew 7:15-20; Luke 6:43-45). We are explicitly commanded to test the concepts others try to teach us (1 John 4:1). We dare not let anyone think for us.

"Voice of Inspiration" from Andy Castro

Pretzel Love-Psalms 91:14