Today's Passage - 2 Thess 2:9-12

2 Thessalonians 2:9-12 The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with how Satan works. He will use all sorts of displays of power through signs and wonders that serve the lie, and all the ways that wickedness deceives those who are perishing. They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie and so that all will be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness. Paul says the coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with how Satan works. He will use all sort of displays of power through signs and wonders that serve the lie. In the spiritual realm, the work of evil spirits can be very effective too. In the past, when I was preaching in villages in Taiwan, the villagers will tell me how effective it is to pray in certain temples. There are thieves who would go to that temple to pray because when they pray to that particular god, they will not be caught stealing. I thought to myself, is your faith only based on whether something comes true? True faith is about whether something is consistent with the truth or not. 1 John 4:1 says, "Do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God. In this generation, there are a lot of false prophets. Hence, we can see that the work of the evil spirits can be effective too. We need to be able to discern whether something is from God or from the devil. A true religion needs to be balanced between truth and reality, and cannot be separated. Many traditional churches only focus on preaching the Word, turning God's Word into legalism, hence causing their faith to be without power. If there is no power to heal or to set free, the law becomes something that keeps people in bondage. I once read a book titled "Walking out of Christianity". The author did not want people to walk out of Christianity, but wanted Christians to walk out of the legalism. In the past, he was held in bondage by all kinds of church regulations and he thought that he had walked out of Christianity. The truth is he has merely walked out of the legalism. The church today faces a big crisis, which is the focus on the truth more than the focus on God. Of course, we cannot emphasize on signs and wonders because experiences can be misleading and we often see many incidents which do not line up with the truth, which brings about the wrong results. True faith needs to worship the true God. This true God is a God who has the truth as well as the ability to change the reality. May the Lord change our hearts so that we will return to Him, to read His Word and by the power of the Holy Spirit, experience the reality of the power of God's Word so that people may surrender to Christ Jesus. Pray with Pastor Tong Lord, you are not only the God of truth, but the God over reality. Your Word brings power and will not return void. May the Lord help us to experience the reality and truth of your Word each day. Help us to walk out of legalism and a faith that is based solely on experience. Let our faith be active and full of life. I thank you and pray in the victorious name of Jesus, Amen! Shekinah Glory - ROLCC Building Expansion Project - We have almost reached our Phase I Target!  Click here to donate online.