Four year old Silas and I were visiting one of the rooms depicting the ten plagues during Vacation Bible School. Number seven was hail with thunder and lightning and fire running along the ground, the robed narrator told us as he stood before drawn curtains. The lights were dimmed, one of the curtains pulled open, and suddenly white hail fell from the sky, and glowing fire ran along the floor. The children oohed and aahed and squealed with delight. Then the curtain was drawn again, but not quite before the lights came up and I saw white ping-pong balls scattered all over the floor. The narrator quickly continued the tale, moving onto the plague of locusts depicted behind the other curtain in the room.
Several minutes later we left for the next stop on our “journey” and, as we did, I leaned over and whispered to Silas, “Wow! Did you see that hail?”
“Yes,” he said, and then added, “Hail looks a lot like ping-pong balls, doesn’t it?”
I wasn’t about to ruin the magic of the evening for him. The point of the week was to learn that God was the only God and He protected His people, and the church was doing an admirable job of it. Me? I never would have even thought of using ping-pong balls.
But sometime in the future it will be time to teach Silas this lesson: if someone tells you it’s hail, but it looks like ping-pong balls, check it out yourself! Do you know how many people have been deceived by false teaching, even though the truth was plainly in front of them, just because they wouldn’t question their “pastor,” their “elder,” their “reverend,” or their “priest?” Keith and I each have held studies where the student said, “Yes, I can see that, but that’s not what my _______ says.” Before much longer, the studies stopped. Why do we think our leaders are infallible?
Look at Acts 6:7. So the word of God continued to spread, and the number of disciples in Jerusalem continued to grow rapidly. Even a large number of priests became obedient to the faith. The priests were teachers of the Jewish faith. Yet even they could see when they were wrong and convert to the Truth. Why not your leader, whatever it is you call him? Instead, Keith was told one time, “How dare you argue with a priest!”
Paul was a man well-educated in Judaism, a man who lived “in all good conscience,” yet even he was convinced that he needed to change. He was also a Pharisee, one who respected the Law and knew it inside out. Many others Pharisees were also converted to Christianity (Acts 15:5). Despite their advanced knowledge, they discovered they were wrong about something and had the honesty to change.
God will hold you accountable for your decisions, for your beliefs, and for your actions. Anyone who taught you error will also pay a price, but their mistake won’t save you. Jesus said, If the blind guide the blind, both shall fall into a pit, Matt 15:14.
Don’t believe everything you hear. If it looks like ping-pong balls instead of hail, check it out yourself. Don’t fall for a lie because of who told you that lie. Doing so means you love that person more than you love God and His Truth.
With all deceit of unrighteousness for them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God sends them a working of error, that they should believe a lie: that they all might be judged who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness. 2 Thes 2:10-12.
Dene Ward
Several minutes later we left for the next stop on our “journey” and, as we did, I leaned over and whispered to Silas, “Wow! Did you see that hail?”
“Yes,” he said, and then added, “Hail looks a lot like ping-pong balls, doesn’t it?”
I wasn’t about to ruin the magic of the evening for him. The point of the week was to learn that God was the only God and He protected His people, and the church was doing an admirable job of it. Me? I never would have even thought of using ping-pong balls.
But sometime in the future it will be time to teach Silas this lesson: if someone tells you it’s hail, but it looks like ping-pong balls, check it out yourself! Do you know how many people have been deceived by false teaching, even though the truth was plainly in front of them, just because they wouldn’t question their “pastor,” their “elder,” their “reverend,” or their “priest?” Keith and I each have held studies where the student said, “Yes, I can see that, but that’s not what my _______ says.” Before much longer, the studies stopped. Why do we think our leaders are infallible?
Look at Acts 6:7. So the word of God continued to spread, and the number of disciples in Jerusalem continued to grow rapidly. Even a large number of priests became obedient to the faith. The priests were teachers of the Jewish faith. Yet even they could see when they were wrong and convert to the Truth. Why not your leader, whatever it is you call him? Instead, Keith was told one time, “How dare you argue with a priest!”
Paul was a man well-educated in Judaism, a man who lived “in all good conscience,” yet even he was convinced that he needed to change. He was also a Pharisee, one who respected the Law and knew it inside out. Many others Pharisees were also converted to Christianity (Acts 15:5). Despite their advanced knowledge, they discovered they were wrong about something and had the honesty to change.
God will hold you accountable for your decisions, for your beliefs, and for your actions. Anyone who taught you error will also pay a price, but their mistake won’t save you. Jesus said, If the blind guide the blind, both shall fall into a pit, Matt 15:14.
Don’t believe everything you hear. If it looks like ping-pong balls instead of hail, check it out yourself. Don’t fall for a lie because of who told you that lie. Doing so means you love that person more than you love God and His Truth.
With all deceit of unrighteousness for them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God sends them a working of error, that they should believe a lie: that they all might be judged who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness. 2 Thes 2:10-12.
Dene Ward
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