Weekly Devotional: Gems From Pastor Jim 3/23/2020

by Jim Hughes

Jer. 17:5 This is what the Lord says, “Cursed are those who put their trust in mere humans and turn their hearts away from the LORD…..”

This verse reminds us of a very real danger in the church today. There are a lot of people today that gather a following solely based on who they come across as being. Because of the technology available to us, people with a lot of charisma are easily noticed. People with strong personalities can gain a following fairly easily. People can be put on a pedestal without a lot of problem and with very little real scrutiny. People follow people, many of whom are dangerous people to follow.

Whenever churches are built around individuals, there is a real danger of people being led away from the Lord. Most people are not students of the Word and will believe whatever they hear without examining whether or not it lines up with the Scriptures. When error is cloaked in truth there is a weakening of faith. Soon a stand is taken on things that simply are false teachings. It then is an easy step to turn away from the Lord, all in the name of truth. No one should be believed unless what is proclaimed is the truth of the Gospel.

We must be vigilant caretakers of the truth. We must never allow anything but the truth of the Gospel to be taught and proclaimed in the church. We must quickly challenge those whose message is not sound Biblical teaching and if the message is not changed to line up with the Scriptures, the messenger must be removed immediately from leadership in the church.

It is also imperative that we be very careful about what we read from popular pastors and leaders in the church. Just because someone has a following and is in a prominent position does not mean that what they write is true or edifying. Many hearts are turned away from the Lord by digesting the writings of so-called leaders in the church.

Our allegiance must always be to the Word of God, not the messenger of it. God declares that those who follow man rather than the Word are cursed because their hearts are turned away from Him. Fix your eyes solely upon the Lord, the author and finisher of our salvation. Flee from those who draw people to themselves. Flee from those who clamor for the spotlight. Don’t let anyone or anything turn your heart away from the Lord.

About the Author:

Spending his formative years in Ft. Wayne, IN, Jim followed the love of his life to southeast Iowa where they married and have spent the majority of their lives. Jim has pastored several churches throughout his life and has worked many years in local factories to help support his family. The father of two married adult children and one son still at home, Jim is a first-time author.

C Through Marriage came into being through many years of pastoral and life experiences. The book first took on a life of its own over 20 years ago when I sought to address the much publicized moral failures of prominent leaders in the church. In the chapter on Chasity, I include the guideliness that I developed then to protect one's self from such failures.

I am a firm believer in order to make sense out of life you have to use much common sense. We need to get back to the basics of what has worked for many, many generations. If is isn't broke, why try to fix it? I strive to return to the basics of what really works in all my writings.