Beware The Swift River Current

Years ago, I had a very disturbing dream. 
 

In the dream, I was standing along a great river that was at flood stage. It was a perilous river, and I was standing in a small jut in the embankment. The waters where I stood were only a few inches deep and there was only a slight swirl in the waters. But if I had only stepped forward a few steps, I would have quickly been swept away into the fierce, deep, treacherous current and drowned. 

There is no way I could have resisted the destructive force of the swift river current.

More important than the sight of the river was the sense that I was being warned by God against getting caught in the currents of popular religious trends. I had no doubts whatever that the dangerous river represented the popular but unbiblical and undoctrinal practices that were sweeping away Christians by multitudes. I knew that if I got caught in the current of popular religious trends, I would not survive. I would lose my bearings and be lost forever.

I know of only one way to interpret the dream.

STAY OUT OF THE RIVER OF POPULAR RELIGIOUS TRENDS.

They are deadly. They are overcharged with carnality, worldliness and Satan's most sophisticated spiritual deceptions. Once you get caught in the heavy current of popular trends, it will be as if you have no control over yourself. Do not risk your eternal soul by being swept away by unscriptural, unholy teachings of men and women who do not even know the great Truths of the Bible.

The story of my life is one of spiritual warfare - trying to survive and rise above the countless errors of religion. If you are indiscriminate about your religion - if you do not put your religion to the rigorous test of true Bible doctrine - then it is almost 100% certain that you will be lost.

You cannot afford to measure your Church by its popularity, by the popularity of the Preacher, by the size of the crowd, by the amount of money that is coming into it, NOT EVEN by the signs, wonders and miracles that may be performed. (The Bible is exceedingly clear that there will be FALSE workers in the last days who are able to imitate and emulate all the signs, wonders and miracles of true believers).

 
“Now as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses [also turning their rods into snakes], so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, reprobate concerning the faith,” 2 Timothy 3:8.

So, miracles do not prove that a Church is on the right track. Beware, and be prepared to abandon ship.

ONLY the Bible and true Bible doctrine can legitimize a Church, a Preacher or a Saint.

If your doctrine is wrong, you had better get it right. And fast. Time is running out. We are fast approaching the end of the age.

I am watching entire movements fall into the abyss of false doctrines and heresies. I am watching Pentecostal people turn away from Pentecostalism and embrace non-Pentecostal beliefs. That is the ultimate slam against the Book of the Acts of the Apostles - and a grand slap in God's face.

I see multitudes walking away from holiness and separation from the world in cold-blooded denial of Paul's admonition that without holiness, "NO MAN shall see the Lord," (Hebrews 12:13).

I even see, for the first time in the history of the world, Christians embracing and approving of homosexuality - which for thousands of years has been known as an abomination in the eyes of God.

Too many religious leaders have created a FALSE DEFENSE of doing what they do in the name of evangelism and winning the lost. They have deceived themselves into thinking that God cares more about larger numbers than in obeying His commandments and doing His will. They use a phony, pretentious assault on "legalism" to sear their consciences of any convictions against worldliness and carnality.

There is a ghastly error there.

When the Church ceases to stand firm for TRUTH, RIGHTEOUSNESS, and HOLINESS, it has completely lost its mandate from God.

You cannot save the lost with false doctrine, lies, carnality and worldliness.

You cannot make a Church better by adding football, dramas, concerts, high-tech websites or any such peripherals. For all practical purposes, you make it worse, because you begin to rely on carnal activities and manifestations rather than spiritual.

If we can't produce a revival with the preaching of Truth, then we will just have to forgo the revival, because a LIE cannot and will not ever produce a real revival.

Carnally-minded leaders cannot lead men to a godly spiritual destination.

Disobedient men cannot be trusted to teach obedience.

Men who are in error cannot be trusted to be vendors of Truth.

God sends His ministers to preach TRUTH. But He also sends seducers and deceivers to stumble every man and woman who does not love Truth, but has pleasure in unrighteousness.

"And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness," 2 Thessalonians 2:11-12.

Any time you discover that the minister is not adhering to sound Bible doctrines, it is time to abandon that minister and that Church - regardless of how many ties you may have or how long you have been associated with it. (That of course requires that you KNOW what the Bible says. If you do not know what the Bible says, it is nearly impossible that you will not be taken in by every whim of false doctrine and deception.)

Paul taught Timothy that many are caught in "the snare of the devil," and are "taken captive by him AT HIS WILL," 2 Timothy 2:26. If you are not well-versed in the true Word of God, you are Satan's easy prey. Deliver yourself from his snare before you fall into it.

It is better to live for God FRIENDLESS than to maintain a friendship with someone who will certainly lead you to hell. In my sixty years, I have had to walk away from many friends and associates on several occasions because of my concern for my eternal soul. AND... I will do it again and again, if and when it ever becomes necessary.

I owe no allegiance to anybody who will lead me to Hell.

ONLY the Bible is infallible. We read too many non-Biblical books and listen to too many neo-Christian and pseudo-Christian voices. If we spent as much time reading the Bible, praying, and living a holy life as we spend reading other points of view, and listening to non-Biblical voices, we would soon discover just how deceived we have been.

Do NOT take your cues from "contemporary" leaders with fancy methods and messages.

Popular movements are not holy. Holy movements are not popular.

There is no reason for a man of God to take his cues from pseudo-Christian or neo-Christian voices. There is more than enough Gospel to preach – STRAIGHT FROM THE PAGES OF THE BIBLE!

The best place for a man of God to get his message and his ministry is on his knees with his Bible open.

A man of God must know the Word of God, and PREACH the Truth, the whole Truth, and nothing but the Truth.

Stand on solid ground.

Stay out of the swift river current!



- - -



For thousands of pages of FREE Bible Studies on every subject, including PROPHECIES about the last days, visit kenraggio.com now!

The Lost Lessons of Pinocchio

Do you remember seeing Disney's 1940 movie "Pinocchio" when you were a kid? It was only the second full-length animated movie that Walt Disney ever produced. When I first saw it on "The Wonderful World of Disney" on TV one Sunday evening in the 1950s, I was fascinated, mesmerized and horrified.

The story was about a puppet-maker named Geppetto who created a wooden puppet he named Pinocchio. One night, on the way to bed, Geppetto saw a falling star and made a wish that his puppet, Pinocchio, would become a real, live boy. After Geppetto fell asleep, a Blue Fairy came and brought Pinocchio to life. She gave him a conscience to tell him right from wrong in the form of a little side-kick named Jiminy Cricket. If Pinocchio proved to be brave, truthful and unselfish, he would be transformed into a real boy.

Geppetto was beside himself with joy when he awoke in the night to find that Pinocchio was alive. The next morning, he sent Pinocchio off to school to get his education. But on the way to school, Pinocchio was met by two villainous characters who, when they realized that he was alive, tricked him into working for Stromboli, a puppeteer. They lured him with the promise that he would be rich and famous.

The Lure and The Trap

Surely enough, Pinocchio's performance with Stromboli was wildly successful and they made a lot of money, so the two went to dinner to celebrate. But Stromboli turned out to be an evil fellow, and locked Pinocchio in a cage to make sure that he continued performing for him. In the nick of time, Jiminy and the Blue Fairy came on the scene.

The Blue Fairy scolded Pinocchio for his bad choices, and Pinocchio began to tell lies to cover up his error. His nose began to grow longer with each lie. Jiminy pleaded with the Blue Fairy to help Pinocchio escape, which she did, warning Pinocchio that she could only do that once.

But before he could arrive home at Geppetto's, Pinocchio's tricksters, Honest John and Gideon, intercepted him again. The old villains convinced Pinocchio that he was sick and needed a vacation to Pleasure Island. In no time, Pinocchio found himself in a coach full of other boys being transported out to Pleasure Island. He did not know that Pleasure Island was a cursed place where boys were finally sold into slavery and forced to work in the salt mines and circuses.

The Consequence

Pinocchio got caught up in the maddening crowd of raucous, mischievous boys who utterly desecrated the whole place. Before he realized what was happening, Pinocchio found himself and his friend Lampwick smoking and drinking in a dungy old pool hall in the dark of night. Jiminy, trying to be a good conscience, confronted the two boys for their bad behavior. But it was to no avail, so Jiminy finally stormed out in exasperation.

While playing pool, Lampwick was suddenly transformed into a braying donkey, a not-so-subtle lesson in how mischievous boys make fools of themselves. Pinocchio looked on in horror as his friend was transformed, but even more so, when he began to grow donkey's ears and found himself braying.

There was much more to the story, and many more frightening episodes before Pinocchio came to his senses and showed himself to be brave and unselfish, and was turned into a real boy.

A Generation takes the Lure

But the lessons of Disney's Pinocchio have been lost on this generation. In fact, there are few entities on earth who have worked more feverishly than Disney to turn an entire generation of young people into fools. With the very same promises of riches and fame, Disney has lured millions of young people into dancing and laughing their lives away. The deeply moral lessons cameoed in the story of Pinocchio seem to have been the last time Disney ever visited morality.

And so we now have a generation of young people who are taken to Pleasure Island every day of their lives via television, theaters, iPods, websites, and every conceivable venue of entertainment, music, song and dance. Even in our Churches, now, kids seem unable to sit and listen to a man of God preach the Gospel anymore. They only want to be entertained with more song and dance. It is a treacherous descent into spiritual, moral and mental slavery.

Nobody seems to remember anymore that “There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death,” Proverbs 16:25.

I will never again trust Disney – or ANY of their kind. They have perfected the art of turning our kids into donkeys.

Just look at how all their child stars have turned out.

We Must Deliver Ourselves

That is why we must ABANDON the practices of allowing Hollywood to teach our children. That is the job of godly preachers and godly parents.

We need to turn off our televisions, stay out of the movie theaters, and go to a Church where true men of God teach the unadulterated Word of God. Then, and only then, can we have real confidence that our children are going to learn the ways of God.

Hollywood cannot be trusted to teach anything right.

Just like Stromboli, Honest John and Gideon, Satan walks about like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. Satan and his minions will use any and every trick in the trade to lure you into the slavery of sin.

Resist him in Jesus' name.

If you truly want to survive...

You simply MUST get back to the Bible. 

- - -



For thousands of pages of FREE Bible Studies on every subject, including PROPHECIES about the last days, visit kenraggio.com now!