2 PETER 3:17

“You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, be on your guard so that you are not carried away by the error of unprincipled men and fall from your own steadfastness,” 

Okay, you’ve got to go back and read verse 16 to understand verse 17. I’ll wait. Did you do that? People will distort the Scriptures. Now that you know that, Peter says be careful, guard yourself. They will attempt to lead you astray. Peter says they are in error. They are lawless and unprincipled. They don’t care where you end up, as long as it is far away from the truth.

I’ve always said the devil doesn’t care if you go to church. He doesn’t care if you give a little money to the church and read your Bible. He just doesn’t want you to live for Jesus. He’s okay with you acting like a Christian as long as you don’t love like one. He will send people into your life to lead you astray. And in today’s world that can be done through tv, internet or social media.

APPLICATION

Let’s play a blindfold game with our kids. Go outside and set up a simple obstacle course which will require them to maneuver through. Blindfold your child and have them stand at one end of it. On your instructions have them walk the course. Purposely direct them entirely wrong. Make them bump into stuff (safely I might add). Take them way off the course and then have them remove their blindfold.

Now, take them back to the beginning of the course, remove their blindfold and have them walk through it. Nothing to it, right? What an illustration. We can’t go through this life with blinders. We have to be able to see the truth of our journey. That is only possible when we follow Jesus. We may only see a little of the journey at a time, but that’s okay. Others can lead us astray if we don’t know where we’re going. That’s a lesson worth teaching.

Are you walking around with blinders? Are you letting someone else lead you in your thinking about Scripture? Dig in yourself. But Pastor Carl, I don’t know how to study. There are hundreds of great study guides available today. Ask your Pastor for a recommendation. But dig it out yourself. Go deep with God.

Father, help me go deep with You. I don’t want to be led astray by others. I want to know Your truth and apply it to my life daily.