Selfies - Why Christian Girls Post Seductive Selfies

"Satan tried to deceive Christ through flattery" RH, August 18, 1874 par. 18.

The Bible is very plain about this. Please turn in your Bibles to John 5:44 (KJV) which says, "How can ye believe, which receive honour one of another, and seek not the honour that cometh from God only?" Or in other words, "How can you believe if you accept praise from one another, yet make no effort to obtain the praise that comes from the only God?"

• • John 12:43 "for they loved praise from men more than praise from God."

  • Psalm 8:4 "What is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him?"

  • Isaiah 2:22 "Stop trusting in man, who has but a breath in his nostrils. Of what account is he?"

  • John 5:41 "I do not accept praise from men,"

  • 1 Thessalonians 2:6 "We were not looking for praise from men, not from you or anyone else. As apostles of Christ we could have been a burden to you,"

  • Romans 2:29 "No, a man is a Jew if he is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code. Such a man's praise is not from men, but from God."

  • Proverbs 29:25 "Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the LORD is kept safe."

  • Psalm 144:3 "O LORD, what is man that you care for him, the son of man that you think of him?"

  • John 7:18 "He who speaks on his own does so to gain honor for himself, but he who works for the honor of the one who sent him is a man of truth; there is nothing false about him."

  • Job 22:2 "Can a man be of benefit to God? Can even a wise man benefit him?"

  • Job 25:6 "How much less man, who is but a maggot--a son of man, who is only a worm!"

  • Job 17:14 if I say to corruption, 'You are my father,' and to the worm, 'My mother' or 'My sister,'"

  • Psalm 22:6 But I am a worm and not a man, scorned by men and despised by the people.

  • Isaiah 41:14 "Do not be afraid, O worm Jacob, O little Israel, for I myself will help you," declares the LORD, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel."

  • 1 Timothy 6:3-5 (KJV) "If any man teach otherwise, and consent not to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which is according to godliness; He is proud, knowing nothing, but doting about questions and strifes of words, whereof cometh envy, strife, railings, evil surmisings, Perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds, and destitute of the truth, supposing that gain is godliness: from such withdraw thyself.

  • Job 7:17 "What is man that you make so much of him, that you give him so much attention,"

  • Hebrews 2:6 "But there is a place where someone has testified: "What is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him?"

  • Job 7:17 "What is man that you make so much of him, that you give him so much attention,"

  • Job 14:3 "Do you fix your eye on such a one? Will you bring him before you for judgment?"

1 Timothy 1:17 "Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen."

Jude 1:25 "To the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen."

This is such an important subject, that I am putting this verse (John 5:44 ) below, so you can see various translations of the Bible for it....Hopefully it will help to make this verse crystal clear to you. If you want to be in Heaven, it is critical to believe in the TRUTH, which is GOD's law, ("thy law is truth." Psalm 119:142) and John 17:3 which says "Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the ONLY true GOD, AND Jesus Christ, whom you have sent." Also, see Jer 9:24!

John 5:44 in various translations:

1. Prepare our heart to want the truth. Pray for help

Psalm 25:4,5 David prayed,

"Make me know you own ways, O Jehovah, Teach me your own paths. Make me walk in your truth and teach me. For you are the God of my salvation. In you I have hoped all day long."

James 4:7,8 Draw close to God and He will draw close to you.

2. Recognize the Bible is God's Word. It is his truth, not ours to fit to our perceptions of what is truth.

John 4:23,24. God is looking for those to worship him with spirit and truth. Those worshiping him must worship with spirit and truth.

Interpretation of the Bible does not belong to us. It is God's word. It is his truth. We need his Holy Spirit to understand it.

1 Peter 1:20, 21 "For you know this first, that no prophecy of Scriptures springs from any private interpretation. For prophecy was at no time brought by man's will, but men spoke from God as they were borne

along by holy spirit."

3. Use all the scriptures. The Bible does not contradict itself. We need all the Bible to understand Jehovah's purposes and truth.

2 Timothy 3:16,17 "All scripture is inspired of God and beneficial for teaching, for reproving, for setting things straight, for disciplining in righteousness, that the man of God may be fully competent, completely

equipped for every good work.

4. Carefully examine the scriptures daily and prove to ourselves that truth.

Acts 17:11,12 The Beroeans "received the word with the greatest eagerness of mind, carefully examining the scriptures daily as to whether these things were so. Therefore many of them became believers."

(The Sadducees was a Jewish sect that did not believe in the resurrection. It could be that the Beroeans had believed there was not a resurrection and so when they heard Christ was resurrected it was not

something that they were familiar with. But regardless if that was the case, what they were being taught was different than what they had believed. But they diligently studied and were blessed with learning

the truth, believing and becoming early Christians and becoming part of the Christian Congregation {considered The Way} throughtout the region.)

5. Trust in Jehovah to answer our prayers for his help in learning the truth.

Proverbs 3: 5,6 "Trust in Jehovah will all your heart and do not lean upon your own understanding. In all your ways take notice of him and he himself will make your paths straight.

Satan will try his best to prevent us from learning the truth. He blinds people's minds and uses self interest to try to prevent us from responding to the truth. 2 Thess. 2: 9-12 If we don't love the truth we could get to

believing the lie. Zeal is not enough either. We can be zealous but seek to establish our own righteousness then we miss God's righteousness. Romans 10:2,3 We have to develop the qualities of humility and meekness to learn the truth. Zephaniah 2:3 "Seek Jehovah all you meek ones of the earth, who have practiced His own judicial decisions. Seek righteousness, seek meekness. Probably you may be concealed in the day of Jehovah's anger."

Matthew 28;19,20 Jesus gave us the command to "Go therefore and make disciples. . . teaching them to observed all the things I have commanded you. And look I am with you all the days until the conclusion of the

system of things." God's word will be taught by his people. We just have to make sure by diligent study that we are learning and obeying that will. A disciple is a taught one. Being meek means being teachable. Most of the time the truth is not the way we expected or thought it would be. That is why so many of the Jews rejected Jesus. They thought the Messiah would come as a powerful King and deliver them from the Roman rule, right when they wanted it. Because it didn't happen the way they expected it to, they actually killed the real Messiah and lost Jehovah's favor. Those that humbled theirselves and repented went on to be taught the truth and became disciples of Christ.

Put simply

1. Prepare heart, be humble. Pray

2. Recognize it is Jehovah's truth, not ours

3. Use all the Bible (don't pick and choose)

4 Carefully examine all the scriptures and prove God's will

5. Trust in Jehovah with all our hearts, don't lean on our own understanding.

If we do so, we will learn his truth. It will change our lives forever.

John 8:32 "You will know the truth and the truth will set you free."

Ephesians 5:20 "Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ;"

Colossians 3:17 "And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him."

2 Thessalonians 1:12 "That the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you, and ye in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ."

1 Corinthians 9:1 "Am I not free? Am I not an apostle? Have I not seen Jesus our Lord? Are you not the result of my work in the Lord?"

2 Corinthians 4:5 "For we do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake."

Philemon 1:8 "Therefore, although in Christ I could be bold and order you to do what you ought to do,"

Q. Are Christians too Dumb to Understand the Bible? Must the Bible be Interpreted for Rank and File Christians - by the Leaders of the Church?

A. This Bible phrase is often used - out of context - by the organized church to support the teaching that Scripture must be interpreted by an organization, a committee, or a group of scholars, a “church” and its leaders – if you will. No individual, it is taught, can interpret the Scriptures for himself, with just the help of the Lord.

Obviously, this is a self-serving doctrine for the churches in which the pastors, theologians, and Bible scholars have put themselves in the “driver’s seat” and the individual church member must go to the “leaders” for their knowledge and interpretation of the truths of the Bible.

But this text is erroneously translated in the King James version and just about every other version of the Bible.

Following is the literal translation of this passage from the original Greek as found in the Interlinear Bible.

“And we have the more established prophetic word, in which you do well to take heed (as to a lamp shining in a dingy place, until the day dawns and the morning star should be rising) in your hearts;

“Knowing this first, that every prophecy of Scripture did not come into being of its own interpretation;

“For not by the will of man was prophecy carried on at any time, but, holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit (God’s breath of holiness).” 2 Peter 1:19-21

This passage tells us plainly that prophecy is from God – and not from man - as God’s spirit moved on the hearts of the Bible writers.

This passage is not discussing the assumed need for supposedly educated and erudite “leaders” of the organized church to explain the meaning of the Bible to the “unwashed herd” of rank and file Christians.

On the contrary, the point of the passage is that prophecy – and the whole Bible - is from God – NOT man – and God moved by His spirit on the hearts of holy men to whom God spoke, to write the various books of the Bible.

In fact, the Bible clearly states that God/Jesus Christ is our Teacher.

"These things have I written unto you concerning them that seduce you. But the anointing which ye have received of Him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in Him." 1 John 2:26,27

"If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, without finding fault; and it shall be given him." John 1:5

In ways such as this, the organized church becomes a major hindrance to a member finding God because the church demands that everyone think like the church leaders think, and believe what the church leaders believe. This discourages independent study and independent thinking, and the “church” ends up being dumbed-down, the same thing that is happening in the schools.

The Bible says, “Study to show thyself approved unto God. . .” 2 Timothy 2:15

It is diligent, daily Bible study and prayer, alone in our room – just us and God – that puts us in a position to know God, up close and personal.