{"id":186,"date":"2023-08-30T06:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-08-30T10:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ellagrace.blog\/?p=186"},"modified":"2023-07-23T09:38:38","modified_gmt":"2023-07-23T13:38:38","slug":"free-from-false-promises-mists-of-a-hurricane","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ellagrace.blog\/index.php\/2023\/08\/30\/free-from-false-promises-mists-of-a-hurricane\/","title":{"rendered":"Free From False Promises: Mists of a Hurricane"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Weekly Devotional<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

This devotional is part of a series of weekly devotionals posted each Wednesday and correlates to the Bible Reading Plan of the month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This month, the devotionals are all about Freedom.<\/strong><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the related Bible Reading Plan of the month that goes along with this devotional, click below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Monthly Bible Reading Plan<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Don’t forget to checkout a FREE downloadable smartphone wallpaper at the end of the page!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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In this last devotional on freedom for the month of August, we\u2019ll take a look at warnings against man-made freedoms that ensnare.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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They promise them freedom, but they themselves are slaves of corruption, since people are enslaved to whatever defeats them.<\/p>\n2 Peter 2:19<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Beware of Worldly Guidance<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In the second chapter of 2 Peter, Peter is giving stern warning to believers to be aware and cautious of false teachers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These false teachers were guiding people to follow false heresies, deny Jesus, and live an immoral lifestyle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unfortunately, Peter said that many would followed their depraved ways and the way of truth would be slandered because of these false teachings (v. 2).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They followed \u201cpolluting desires of the flesh and despised authority\u201d (v. 10) and tried to discredit God\u2019s pathway to freedom because they could not understand (v.12).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Trusting God’s Leading When You Don’t Understand<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

When we don\u2019t understand God\u2019s leading or don\u2019t trust the Holy Spirit to guide us, we fall back to what we know and to taking our lives into our own hands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We end up following things of the flesh instead of things of the spirit (Romans 8:5). And we follow people and leaders that promise to give us what our flesh desires as good and fulfilling, instead of using our God-given discernment to test the fruit of an individual\u2019s life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With God as our Good Shepherd, we His sheep know His voice and are not to be led astray by the voice of a stranger.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But if we don\u2019t take the time to get to know His voice through studying His Word, we increase the chances that we can be deceived by false teaching that sounds promising.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mists Driven by a Storm <\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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\u201cThese people are springs without water, mists driven by a storm.\u201d <\/p>\n2 Peter 2:17<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Early in 2 Peter chapter 2, Peter compares false teachers to a mist driven by a storm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When life is hard, heating up, and everything around us seems to be a trial and a struggle, we crave refreshment. We look to any form of cool \u201cmist\u201d that can relieve some of the pressures of life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In those moments, it can be easy to grab for whatever bit of water or source of coolness is in front of you for a taste of freedom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When we are desperately thirsty, we aren\u2019t too picky about what water we drink as long as it looks clean on the outside.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So when a false teacher or leader is in front of us offering any bit of freedom that on the outside appears good, it\u2019s easy for us to think that person\u2019s guidance is the path to life, that it\u2019s the living water we need.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Before we know it, we come to find that once refreshing mist is not so great after all because it\u2019s powered by a storm of sin and unrighteousness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Imagine the rain needed on a hot summer day and the relief one feels when the humidity and pressure is eased with every cool drop, only to realize the rain is actually the middle of a hurricane that can destroy your life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Freedom That Ensnares<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s the type of freedom false teachers enslaved by sin offer us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We find that the things that once seemed like freedom are actually bringing us to the middle of a storm where we don\u2019t know which way to turn to get out. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The type of water and refreshment found in distorted guidance is a dangerous drink that can destroy lives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Living Water <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

There\u2019s only one True Source of living water that will satisfy our souls and bring us the freedom we truly desire (John 4:14).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His guidance is the only one that will bring right direction into our lives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We can walk freely in an open place<\/a> when we follow His precepts (Psalm 119:45) and we can experience the freedom of resting in His peace and love.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Only God and His love for us can bring us true freedom, and He\u2019s come to proclaim freedom for those held captive by the lies of the enemy and false teachings and to release prisoners from spiritual darkness (Isaiah 61:1).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Takeaway<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Today, pray for the Lord to make His ways known to you, to teach you His paths, to guide you into real Truth, and to protect you from the deception of false teaching (Psalm 25:4-5).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Click below to download a FREE smartphone wallpaper!<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Download Smartphone Wallpaper<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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They promise them freedom. 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promise them freedom. This devotional is part of a series of weekly devotionals posted each Wednesday that correlates to the Bible Reading Plan of the month.","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ellagrace.blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/186"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ellagrace.blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ellagrace.blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ellagrace.blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ellagrace.blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=186"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/ellagrace.blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/186\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":237,"href":"https:\/\/ellagrace.blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/186\/revisions\/237"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ellagrace.blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/152"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ellagrace.blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=186"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ellagrace.blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=186"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ellagrace.blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=186"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}