If it’s true that you can judge a man by the company that he keeps, than this bodes well for the Ranger Leadership of the Southern Idaho District. Several of us had an opportunity to travel to Yakima, Washington, where, in keeping with the Royal Ranger mission to evangelize, equip, and empower lifelong servant leaders in boys and young men, your Ranger district staff undertook additional training called Ranger Essentials. This unique training, brought by the ministry team of the Northwest District, brought a new approach to training Commanders and leaders alike. Based on the timeless principles of Johnnie Barnes, this fresh approach once again emphasized that we are most effective in reaching boys for Jesus when we build relationships through mentoring and decipleship. The Excellence Initiative, written by our National Director, Doug Marsh, teaches that excellence is not a one time event, rather it is a commitment to continual improvement. Doug goes on to say that so often we overestimate what we can do in one year, but underestimate what we can accomplish in ten! With this in mind, the leadership in Royal Rangers has established some goals that we believe are worthy of listing here.

We want Royal Rangers to be the premier, most sought after, church ministry for the next generation of men in America-period!
We want Royal Rangers to be affordable and practical, so that every family and church can participate.
As we grow, we want to remain quick and responsive to learn and adapt to our changing society.
We want to inspire men and women to be trained to mentor young men in Christlike manhood; young men will be empowered to assume leadership of Royal Rangers, making it a boy led adult facilitated ministry.
We want personal and spiritual growth to be fun, hands-on, and experiential; friendship will charge our ministry atmosphere.
We want to reach every boy and young man by creative methods; every Ranger will be eager to serve a God-given cause greater than self.
We want Pastors, church leaders, mentors, parents, boys, and young men to be proud to be associated with Royal Rangers!

This is the leadership challenge that we continue to build on, modeling our Ranger pledge- “With God’s help, I will do my best”. Our purpose is to inspire and prepare Ranger Leadership to continually improve the Royal Ranger Ministry so we influence more boys and young men than ever, more effectively than ever. The leadership Initiative, though written primarily with Rangers in mind, is quickly becoming an essential learning tool for all leaders in the church today. It’s application takes a broad, but unique approach, touching the lives of every leader who desires to make a difference in the lives of young people.

Pastors, church leaders, and Laity, I believe it is time again to consider this ministry in your church. Men, all across this district have dedicated and rededicated their ministry efforts to be trained most effectively in how to build relationships with one another, with boys and young men, and within their own personal families. A young man that traveled with us, wept at the altar, as he realized that, in the change of his heart, he could go home to a family that had witnessed a miracle in his life, as he was able to find forgiveness and seek it at home. Another, traveling all the way from Utah, recognized the value of this training, and an opportunity to strengthen relationships with men who have the same vision. We joined with men from the 6 state region of the Pacific Northwest and declared that we are united in our purpose, our vision, and our mission. Please prayerfully consider standing with us and allow Ranger Ministry to be a part of your church body. Many strong visionary leaders in the church today, can trace their roots back to a time in Royal Rangers. Help us to grow this ministry, so that our church leaders of tomorrow can do the same!

With Royal Ranger National Council now behind us, the men of the Southern Idaho District found many opportunities to put into practice the premise for how we mentor the boys and young men of today. We reaffirmed that our vision is to disciple young men in such a way that they will grow with Christlike caracter, while developing in servant leadership. Standing on the strength of our mission, to evangelize, equip and empower the next generation, Royal Rangers developed the Johnny Barnes Excellence in leadership and Ministry Initiative. This ongoing instruction, while meant for todays leaders, stressed that excellence is not a onetime event, but rather a commitment to continual improvement. So often we overestimate what we can do in one year, but underestimate what we can do in ten. Wisely, someone once said, “Being male is a matter of birth; becoming a man is a matter of choice.” Too often families and churches leave that choice to chance. Royal Ranger leaders partner with parents, and caregivers to lead boys to make that decision and to grow in their relationship with Christ. The decision to become a man does not take place at a certain age, but when a boy or man accepts responsibility for his life by first recognizing his need of a Savior. As Royal Ranger Leaders we have the exciting priveledge of leading boys to Christ, instructing them in Christ like manhood, and modeling it for them to emulate. Royal Rangers is much more than a ministry that takes boys camping, in many outpost across the nation, men give of their time just so they can build a solid relationship with boys by doing a variety of fun projects. Sure, it is our spoken goal that boys would come to know their Savior in a real and more personal way, but we have learned that a strong trusting relationship, built over a lifetime, not only challenges and blesses the boys, it provides inmeasurable benefit to men who can pass on much needed skills and wisdom that, through our commitment to servant leadership, can make a difference in the life of a boy. And why not? Today, we live in a fatherless society, where a boy, at his own peril, and eventually his own children, face the disasters of bad choices, poor relationships, and eventually eternal damnation. How ruthlessly the enemy has attacked, knowing that he can lay claim to families by deception and lies spoken to young men when they are most impressionable, and suseptible. The selfishness of our society penetrates his heart and mind and turns both to stone. How is it that we can turn a blind eye and deaf ear to the cries of a boy who simply needs a father in his life that will provide the guidance necessary to help him understand right choices, loving relationships, and the saving grace of Jesus Christ? Paul said in 1 Corinthians 11:1,”follow me as I follow Christ”. Wouldn’t it be awesome if more men were to give that as instruction? Let’s do it! Let’s make that commitment right now! Involve yourself in your church, get off the back pew and move up front, taking boys of all ages with you. Shed the selfish mantle of me first, and instead, become a Christlike man yourself and journey with those boys from start to finish. Are you not quite there in your life? Admit that to God and ask for his help. Boys don’t need to see men that are perfect, but men who are eager to be perfected by God’s grace and help!

How Great Thou Art – The History of the hymn
The history of the hymn How Great Thou Art begins with Mr. Carl Gustaf Boberg (1859-1940). He was a Swedish pastor, editor, and member of the Swedish parliament. Mr. Boberg was enjoying a nice walk when a thunderstorm suddenly appeared out of no where. A severe wind began to blow. After the storm was over, Mr. Boberg looked out over the clear bay. He then heard a church bell in the distance. And the words to How Great Thou Art begin to form in his heart — O Lord, my God, When I in awesome wonder, consider all the worlds Thy hands hath made. . . Can you imagine what Boberg felt as he formed these words? There was such calmness after the fierce storm he could only utter those words of peace.

This poem, titled O Store Gud (O Great God) was published in 1891 in Witness of the Truth, the weekly newspaper that Boberg edited. It was later translated in German. In 1927, it was published in a Russian version of the German text.

How Great Thou Art – Translated by Stuart K. Hine
How Great Thou Art was translated by Stuart K. Hine, the English missionary to Ukraine. He found some version of the Russian text and sang it at an evangelistic meeting with his wife. He then translated the first three stanzas into English, which was sung at an evangelistic meeting in England during World War One. He published the first three verses (in both English and Russian) in 1949 in Grace and Peace, a Russian evangelistic paper which Hine edited. He later wrote the fourth verse as a triumphant message of life eternal.

Of the hymn’s importance he said: “When we reach that heavenly home, we will fully understand the greatness of God, and will bow in humble adoration, saying to Him, O Lord my God, how great thou art.” May we all live in such a way that we will be ready when Jesus Christ appears to receive the saints. Our heavenly home awaits us, all of those who have received Christ in obedience.

Dr. J. Edwin Orr of Fuller Theological Seminary, is said to have brought the hymn to America. After hearing it sung in India, he introduced it to various Christian groups in America. In 1954, Dr. Cyrus Nelson of Gospel Light Publications copyrighted and published the song.

How Great Thou Art – Sung by George Beverly Shea
How Great Thou Art was sung by George Beverly Shea at the London Crusade of the Billy Graham evangelistic team in 1954. He later sang this song over 100 times during a revival in New York at a Billy Graham Crusade. This caused the hymn to receive new attention in Sweden and America and be published in several songbooks.

Today millions across the world continue to sing this beautiful song. Giving God all praise, glory, and honor for who He is — the Creator of this universe.

How Great Thou Art – The Lyrics

O Lord my God, When I in awesome wonder,
Consider all the worlds Thy Hands have made;
I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder,
Thy power throughout the universe displayed.

Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art.
Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art!

When through the woods, and forest glades I wander,
And hear the birds sing sweetly in the trees.
When I look down, from lofty mountain grandeur
And see the brook, and feel the gentle breeze.

Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art.
Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art!

And when I think, that God, His Son not sparing;
Sent Him to die, I scarce can take it in;
That on the Cross, my burden gladly bearing,
He bled and died to take away my sin.

Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art.
Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art!

When Christ shall come, with shout of acclamation,
And take me home, what joy shall fill my heart.
Then I shall bow, in humble adoration,
And then proclaim: “My God, how great Thou art!”

Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art.
Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art!

To many of us, this hymm, these lyrics, are timeless and eternal. Just stop, pause and think for a moment, at all the worship, and all of the prayer opportunities that are blended into this song. Who can deny, that after the recitation of these words, the awesomeness of the Father? Who does not feel the closeness of his presence when you survey the majesty of his handiwork? On any given day, we can see it first hand, the abundance of his love, and the saving grace of his Sacrifice. Be still and KNOW that he is God!
Moses, writing in the book of Deuteronomy, says; ” Hear oh Israel, the Lord our God is one God! There is to be no credit given to another. There is no reason for confusion and fear! The mighty hand of God, so amazingly displayed throughout the universe, can bring about the same wonderment and beauty in our lives. When we take time to acknowledge the Father, commit to doing his will, and seeking a life of obedience to his ways, we will be able to join in the chorus; “Then sings my soul, my Savior, God to thee, how great thou art, how great thou art!

In today’s social internet mediums there are many who dwell on and use fear as a way of conveying a message that is disparaging to Christian believers, the Salvation message, and the deity of Jesus Christ. Such mediums are full of videos playing ominous voices surrounded by short sound bites and graphic pictures all designed to grab your attention, and steal your time away from your most effective weapon, prayer.

By successfully dominating a person’s mind with an endless barage of helter skelter, there are those who start people running from crisis to crisis, quickly pushing prayer to the back of their minds, and using it only as a last resort. Prayer is not a crisis ministry, it is a relationship ministry!

Recently, we were priveledged to have with us a guest evangelist who used his time with us to speak on the biblical principals of effective prayer. Never, I believe, has there been a greater urgency to come to prayer, and remain committed to it. Leaders of the church were questioned as to what they had recieved out of the evenings messages, and most agreed that we needed to learn how to pray. I found this somewhat surprising, and thought about those answers, and came to this conclusion that for most of us who have been in the church, and for some of us who have been raised there, we should already know how to pray. Our failure has been to remain faithful and committed to prayer. James 5:16 says, “the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.” [KJV]

Our evangelist begin by pointing out that we cannot effectively pray until we scriptually pray. John 15:7 says; ” if you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you.” [NIV] 1 John 5:14 adds, “This is the confidence we have in approaching God; that if we ask anything according to HIS WILL, he hears us.” In Ephesians, Phillipians, and Collossians, Paul prayed effectively for the brethren of the churches, giving thanks for them, and recognizing their faith and love for all the saints, and remembering them in his prayers.

Once we establish scriptural prayer as our foundation, we need to discipline ourselves to pray thoroughly. “We must learn to develop a prayer habit that is constant in scope, with the intent to develop all the various types of prayer explained in God’s word” [Brewer] I will list those here.
1. Adoration-profound or idolizing devotion, to worship, revere, and hold in high esteem.
2.Thanksgiving-where we continually express our appreciation and gratitude to the Father.
3.Confession-an admission, often formally and directly dealing with sin and wrongdoing.
4.Petition-to earnestly entreat our Father to act on ours or others behalf.
5.Intercession-to personally and purposefully stand in for another on their behalf.

Committing ourselves to these 5 areas of prayer will establish in us an effective prayer life.We soon discover that the flesh is weak, that our mind begans to wander, and alas, prayer becomes a sleep aid. There is no greater need than right now for all Christian believers to unite, stand firm and arm ourselves with God’s Word and the power of prayer. The effectiveness of this will require perserverance and obedience, overcoming all obstacles in our way as we finish the race. The eminent return of our Savior is at hand. Will he find us praying, or will he find us in fear.

There are over 2 billion people, by some estimates, that have never heard the salvation message that Jesus Christ died not only for their sins, but became the sacrifice necessary so that each one of us would have erternal life with our heavenly Father. What then, should our responsibilty be? Often times we see this type of staggering number in print and believe that these people can only be found in far out of the way places, where one can only travel primitive style to reach them and bring the Gospel message. It comes as a great surprise to many of us that the ones we can most effectively reach is our neighbor next door. Vast resources flow out of our country to bring the Light to a lost and dying world, while our neighbors in our community are never even spoken to. I continually am amazed to find that in the community where I have lived for almost 21 years, people still do not know each other, and most times the distance that separates them is less than a mile. Yes, Jesus command in the Great Commission is to “Go and make disciples of all nations”, and he does instruct us to travel to the utmost parts of the earth to do this, but many times we walk past our neighbor to take this journey. I have often suspected that this long distance discipleship ministry allows us to keep ourselves from being held accountable, while establishing and developing a relationship with our neighbor exposes more of our own shortcomings and undermines our mantra of “that’s just who I am.” We fear the failure of exposure, for no one truly wants to live in a glass house, especially when we find that our neighbor is armed with a hammer. The commitment to establish a daily prayer life is a daunting task, and yet their are many Scriptures that encourage us to do so, and explicitly point out the benefits of doing so. How many of us can say that we personally have led a neighbor and friend to Jesus, that we followed up with a commitment to them, that we would walk with them in this journey, just as Christ did for us? Have we taken the time to bend our knees before God and lift our neighbor up in prayer, believing that Christ died for all and that none should perish, and believing that our continued intercessary prayer would make a difference in their lives? Yes, there are many left to be reached with this incredible “Good News” but more often than not, the center of a lost and dying world is right next door.

This time of year inevitably evokes thoughts of Christ. All over the earth, Christmas is a time to dwell on the mystery of the incarnation. Believers and unbelievers alike will most likely find themselves pondering the life of Jesus at some point or another during these yearly festivities and rightly so, for it is in memory of His coming, His incarnation, and His birthday that people stop to dwell on this mystery—Immanuel, God with us.

But I always wonder if we truly grasp the implications of the incarnate Lord. To stop and think, to ponder, to consider or reflect is not sufficient to truly grasp the weight of God’s redemptive plan for all of mankind. Eternity’s cumulative expression is voiced now in one little helpless baby boy. This is a miracle, not merely a historic happenstance to be remembered once a year at Christmas. The reality of this miracle is as powerful now as it was to those shepherds and wise men on that evening in Bethlehem over 2,000 years ago.

Imagine with me for a moment what this means. A baby born to one of the weakest clans in Israel, to a poor family of the least tribe, said to be conceived by the Holy Spirit, born in an oppressed nation during an era of foreign domination at the hand of pagan Rome, considered by His peers as an illegitimate child, He was forced to flee with his humble family because a murderous tyrant was seeking His head. Fast forward through His life as a young child and teen. As a young man He had no reputation, no prospects, no wealth, and considered Himself homeless for He had nowhere to lay His head. He was ostracized by the religious leaders of His day in a country where religious status meant everything, and He came claiming Messiahship—as the savior of Israel—only to be scorned, rejected, mocked, and eventually crucified as a trade-in for a murderer; all of this simply because He was being obedient to His Father.

The company He held was with the most despised class of people; namely, prostitutes, the sick, tax collectors, sinners, and vagabonds. All the hopes of Israel, from her first prophet all through her turbulent history, spoke of this man. All Israel’s expectations for a king for thousands of years and here Jesus is, claiming to be that man. One begins to wonder that had we been His contemporaries, would we have clung to our confession of Him as we do now, post cross and resurrection.

Do we really understand what He did? The cross was not a brief moment in time for Him. The cross was His entire life, from humble birth up until His extravagant passion. At every moment in His life He was driven by one thing—the will of His Father and joyfully submitting His life as a living sacrifice.

Christmas is not just a celebration of His birth, but of the nature, character, humility, and culmination of that birth and the life of exemplary love that followed it. As we celebrate Him this Christmas season, let us think and pray over what His incarnation means. And we will likewise declare with the apostle Paul, “Let this mind be in you which also was in Christ Jesus, who being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Phil. 2:5-11).

Nathan David Wood, 12/20/2009

James 1:19,20,21

Dear brothers take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry, for man’s anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires. Therefore, get rid of all the moral filth that is so prevalent, and humbly accept the WORD planted in you, which can save you.

There are four basics steps to praying with scripture, and listening to God speak it into your life. They are listed here.

1: Read the scripture slowly and meditate on it. Ask yourself; ”What jumps out at me?

2: Read the scripture again, and notice any life connections, and ask; ”How does this connect with my life”?

3: Read the scripture a third time, and tell God what you are thinking and feeling, and then ask; ”What message do I hear in the passage”?

4: Read the scripture once more, and then be quiet. Listen for God in the silence, and ask; ”Father, what are you calling me to do?

Most of us who use this practice have come to it informally, where, in our own searching and desire to hear God’s word, we take pause. Whenever we seek to hear God through the scripture, this method flows naturally, and helps to keep us focused. The depth to which we can go, utilyzing this approach is immeasurable. After all, in our desire to build a more lasting relationship with God, we must commit ourselves also to the listening part. The scriptures is one way that God uses to speak to us, and when we stop to contemplate what he has to say, we allow his spirit to encourage us to listen. It is very difficult, and near impossible to have any kind of communication when only one is doing the talking. I had found in my prayer life,  I was very consistent at asking for God’s help and guidance in my life, but as the Spirit began to deal with me in the matter of listening, I found that I was challenged to do more. It no longer was enough for me to continue to ask, I was encouraged to act. Starting out small and unsure, I began to make commitments in my prayer life, that would have immediate impact. Instead of saying; ”help me Father to do this thing”, I began to say; ”Father I commit myself to doing this thing, that which you would have me to do”. A new challenge area was awakened in me, and in the natural inclination of life, I found that I did not want to disappoint my Heavenly Father. Extra effort was now being made to, ”watch how I speak”, to,” take notice of how I treat someone”, and to honor the commitment that I had made. The life that we lead, the things that we do, and all that we say, are all on the line every day, and noticed by many around us. What message does it send to those in our families, and in our communities? Stop, take a moment to listen to God! Take in the full flavor of his involvement in your life. His redeeming qualities cannot take hold until we listen, make a full commitment to do his will, and allow his light to shine through us. I challenge each and everone one of you to listen, and commit to that which God would have you do. It is not enough to talk about it, we must live it, and we must hear, for if we are his flock, we will know his voice.

What does it mean to pray without ceasing, and how should we develop it into our lives? In 1Thessalonians 5: 16-18, Paul encourages us to rejoice always, pray unceasingly, and in everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.

The reality here is that throughout our day we are not going to keep our heads bowed with eyes shut, and our hands folded as we pray uninterupted.

In these scriptures, the Apostle Paul provides the Holy Spirit’s two fold desire for Christian prayer. First and foremost, our entire Christian walk should submit to the Word and will of God. In this commitment, the strength and desire to keep prayer in our hearts and on our lips moves to the forefront of our lives. Prayer comes naturally, and talking to, and listening to the Father is heightened by our desire to know more of him. Prayer does not provide for us to get our way, but for us the opportunity to be alligned with God’s way. Our prayer does nothing to change God’s mind, it needs to change ours, so that our will is bent, and if need be, broken, to fit his perfect will.  To often, we want God to be a prayer vending machine, where we can pop in a petition and he drops our order into our hands. The great part of “prayer without ceasing” is that our daily lives personifies reverent, submissive and thankful attitudes toward our Heavenly Father, trusting that in all things his will be done. We also need the regularity of prayer, where beyond our tendencies to seek for ourselves the provisions we believe God should provide, we spend more of that time thanking him for what he HAS provided. Prayer is not a one way dialogue, but rather a two way communication where we have opportunity to listen and be given direction for our daily lives. Each day provides many reasons to be thankful, to ask for forgiveness, and to intercede on the behalf of others, including those who may be our enemies by their choice. Are we listening to the Father, because if we are,  it will bring growth in our prayer life, and this growth will produce the fruit by which we should be known. This being the fruit of the Spirit, which is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfullness, gentleness, and self control. The maturity of this fruit will cause us to proclaim, ” Oh taste and see, the Lord is good!

 

 

 

John 5: 1-5

Every one who believes that Jesus is the Christ, is born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves his child as well. This is how we know that we love the children of  God: by loving God and carrying out his commands. This is love for God: to obey his commands. And his commands are not burdensome, for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world? Only he who believes that JESUS IS THE SON OF GOD!

We cannot be overcomers in this life while still denying Jesus Christ and the power of the cross. The attacks on Christianity is an attack on the Father himself, for it was by him that the Son committed himself to complete obedience and ushered into this world the way to eternal life. There is great danger for those who continue to malign the foundations of the Christian faith, not only for themselves, but for all who fall prey to their deceptive practices. Jesus Christ blood was THE atonement for all of our sins, and by ignoring this truth, great risk comes on us as we near our eternal destination. In the book of Jude, the Author tells us that certain men, whose condemnation was written about long ago, have secretly slipped in among us, and they are Godless men who change the grace of our God into a licence for inmorality and deny Jesus Christ as our only sovereign and Lord. He goes on to say that these men are blemishes at your love feast, eating with you without the slightest qualms- shepherds who feed only themselves. Scripture after scripture continues to warn us of the deception that is all around us. Signs are everywhere, using trickery and twisted words in the hope of planting confusion. Stand firm, delve deeper into the scripture daily, set aside more time each day for intercessory prayer, not only for our own families and those that we love, but also for the leaders of our great nation, that before it is too late, they will spark a revival like there never has been before. Christ wants to come back for a victorious church, one without blemish, one that holds the line, defying against all odds, the deciever and those that would help him.

 

 

 

2 Peter 2: 1-3

But there were false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies,even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them-bringing swift destruction on themselves. Many will follow their shameful ways, and will bring the way of truth into disrepute. In their greed these teachers will exploit you with stories they have made up. Their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their distruction has not been sleeping. v 17: These men are springs without water and mist driven by a storm. Blackest darkness is reserved for them. v 18: For they mouth empty, boastful words, and by appealing to  the lustful desires of sinful human nature,they entice people who are just escaping from those who live in error. v19:  They promise them freedom, while they themselves are slaves of depravity-for a man is a slave to whatever has mastered him.

1 John 2:22

Who is the liar?  It is the man who denies that Jesus is the Christ. Such a man is the antichrist-he denies the Father and the Son. v 23: NO ONE WHO DENIES THE SON HAS THE FATHER, whoever acknowledges the Son has the Father also.

The deceptor is every where, always asking questions as the temptor did to Eve, where he said,” Did God really say,’you must not eat from any tree in the Garden’?” For you see, in the enemies attack, he likes to attempt to plant doubt, by presenting questions so as to confuse those who may not be well grounded in the word. As Paul writes to Timothy in his first letter to him, he urges him to stay where he is at, and to stand firm, commanding those who who would teach false doctrines, myths and endless geneologies to put an end to it. These types of people were, and still are, promoting controversies rather than God’s work. Paul goes on to say that these violators have wandered away and have resorted to meaningless talk. What is the fruit of their labors? What are the results of one whose desire is to corrupt and spread discord among Christian believers? Many may be persuaded by slick arguments, especially those who have not taken the time to search the Scriptures as God would have us to do. We must be on our guard, and pay more attention so that we do not drift away. John tells us that we must test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets  have gone out into the world. He further instructs on how to do this. EVERY spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh, is from God. For those that won’t, BEWARE! This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming, and even now is already in the world!