The Corruption of Truth

Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not. Matthew 24:23.
Before the last developments of the work of apostasy there will be a confusion of faith. There will not be clear and definite ideas concerning the mystery of God. One truth after another will be corrupted.
After the truth has been proclaimed as a witness to all nations, every conceivable power of evil will be set in operation, and minds will be confused by many voices crying. “Lo, here is Christ; lo, He is there. This is the truth, I have the message from God, He has sent me with great light.” Then there will be a removing of the landmarks, and an attempt to tear down the pillars of our faith. A more decided effort will be made to exalt the false sabbath, and to cast contempt upon God Himself by supplanting the day He has blessed and sanctified. This false sabbath is to be enforced by an oppressive law.
In the future, deception of every kind is to arise, and we want solid ground for our feet. We want solid pillars for the building. Not one pin is to be removed from that which the Lord has established. The enemy will bring in false theories, such as the doctrine that there is no sanctuary. This is one of the points on which there will be a departing from the faith.
There will be false dreams and false visions, which have some truth, but lead away from the original faith. The Lord has given men a rule by which to detect them: “To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them” (Isaiah 8:20).
As we near the end of time, falsehood will be so mingled with truth, that only those who have the guidance of the Holy Spirit will be able to distinguish truth from error. We need to make every effort to keep the way of the Lord. We must in no case turn from His guidance to put our trust in man. The Lord’s angels are appointed to keep strict watch over those who put their faith in the Lord, and these angels are to be our special help in every time of need. Every day we are to come to the Lord with full assurance of faith, and to look to Him for wisdom. . . . Those who are guided by the Word of the Lord will discern with certainty between falsehood and truth, between sin and righteousness.
Maranatha p. 192
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Prayer Requests
—–My heart is heavy and broken tonight! My great-great niece, Abigail, who turned 1 year old on 3-3-15 [passed away yesterday.] Please pray for her Momma, Kaitlin, grandma, Kathy, great- grandpa, Jim, my Mom, great-great grandma, along with many more grandma’s, grandpa’s, sisters brothers, aunts, uncles and the list goes on. Thank you for lifting us all up in your prayers. Diane
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Dear Friends, 
When my grandfather was a little boy (He was born in 1884), he greatly feared his father. He hated to see him come home from work. My great-grandfather often came into the house, made the boys (Edwin and Harold) come to him for their punishment. He had no idea if they had done something wrong or not. He was very sure that they had to deserve punishment just because they were boys.
First, he would make Harold lie across his knees and the spanking would start. It was not a gentle spanking: it was way too hard. Harold had a way of coping with this injustice. After about two or three swats, he would start crying loudly. Satisfied that he had been punished enough, his father let him go.
Then it would be my grandfather’s turn. Even though he knew that by crying he could escape quickly from his father’s hand, he would not make a sound. Soon the spanking would turn into a beating. Still my grandfather would not cry. Finally his father would tire of this and let him go. Because of this, he ran away from home at age 10 and spent much of his teen years roaming the forests of the eastern United States, eating the wild plants his grandmother had taught him were safe and the fish he could catch. He spent days with the homeless men who roamed the country learning their tricks for survival and riding the rails with them.
Because of his father’s harsh treatment, my grandfather turned his back on religion especially his father’s religion.  Although he had forsaken his Heavenly Father because of his earthly father, God had not forsaken him.  Many hard and miserable lessons he had to learn before he finally returned to God and to church.  Even then, he probably would not have, had he not married my grandmother who was a staunch Baptist.  God used her to lead him back to Him.
How careful we must be in our dealing with children.  By our treatment of them, we can so easily turn them away from the One Who loved them so much that He gave Himself that they might dwell with Him for all eternity.  Mercy and justice must blend in our dealings with them just as mercy and justice is extended to us by our Heavenly Father.  In Jesus, “mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other.”  Ps 85:10 
When He was upon this earth, He taught His disciples this valuable lesson.  “At the same time came the disciples unto Jesus, saying, Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven? And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them, And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoso shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me. But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea.”  Matt 18:1-6  Think of that last statement.  If we, by precept or example, by our treatment or aloofness, cause a child to turn from their Elder Brother, He will not take it lightly.  In our dealing with children, they must have discipline, but it must be done in love.  They must see this love in our interactions with them.  Paul tells us, “Children, obey your parents in all things: for this is well pleasing unto the Lord. Fathers, provoke not your children to anger, lest they be discouraged.”  Col 3:20, 21
Of course, this does not mean to allow the children to grow without discipline, to let them have their own way.  No!  Instead, we are to lead them, guide them, with love even when they must be punished just as our Heavenly Father loves us with an everlasting love and with lovingkindness draws us to Himself.  (Jer 31:3)  There are times when He must chasten us just as there are times when we must chasten our children.  Paul speaks of this, “children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him: For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons. Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live? For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness. Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.”  Heb 12:5-11
May we ever remember that true love is not permissiveness but a teaching of the obedience that works because of love.  May our life point the children around us to their Heavenly Friend.  May we, ourselves, come to Him with all the love, all the faith, all the trust of an unspoiled child is my prayer.
Rose