Don’t Be Fooled!
Some weeds are so eye-catching, it’s easy to mistake them as beautiful plants or even flowers. But they often fool us!
Toadflax
Yellow-and-white toadflax (also called wild snapdragon) is a “showy” weed. Its creeping roots quickly push out the other plants in your garden.
Blue-Purple Cornflower (also known as Bachelor’s Buttons)
If you find this weed in your garden, remove it quickly. It will reseed fast and completely take over your backyard and any other grassy area on your property.
Hemlock
Even in tiny amounts, poison hemlock is highly toxic to animals and people. As myth goes, it was a poison hemlock tea that was used to assassinate Greek philosopher Socrates.
Poison hemlock can grow as tall as 10 feet. It’s a weed you want to stay away from.
When I think of beautiful weeds such as these, I’m reminded of the apostle
Paul’s warnings regarding false teachers.
They’re “pretty.”
Articulate.
Dynamic.
They often have magnetic personalities.
But the gospel they preach isn’t the gospel of the Bible.
They peddle a watered-down version of a convenient Jesus who wants to help us become more popular, always healthy, and even have more money.
False teaching.
“The prophets are telling lies in my name. I didn’t send them or tell them to speak or give them any message.
They prophesy of visions and revelations they have never seen nor heard; they speak foolishness concocted out of their own lying hearts.” (Jeremiah 14:14 LB)
And in contrast, I think of Mother Teresa.
And the early disciples.
And so many genuinely dedicated Christ-followers I’ve met
who are not always healthy, nowhere near wealthy, and not always
popular—because what they preach is absolute Truth.
“Dearly loved friends, don’t always believe everything you hear just
because someone says it is a message from God: test it first to see if
it really is. For there are many false teachers around.” (1 John 4:1 LB)
If you hear teaching or preaching that isn’t grounded in Scripture,
you’re listening to the wrong teacher.
It may sound good,
smell good,
look good,
and feel good—
but just like a pretty weed in a garden, it’s deceptive and dangerous.
Ask God to use His Holy Spirit to help you discern truth
from false teaching.
He’s probably going to tell you to read the Bible!
The best way to recognize counterfeit teaching
is by knowing the Truth inside and out.
“Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.” (Psalm 119:105 NIV)
You are loved!
Susie
