June 01, 2017

Spiritual Virus

I clicked on an internet forward and immediately receive a virus warning saying Armageddon would begin if I turned off my computer. The warning instructed me to immediately call the Microsoft help center and I handed the laptop over to Bill who spent the next 30 minutes wavering between whether or not it was a scam. When the “Microsoft” representative wanted to take total control of the computer Bill hung up on the deceiver and it took another 30 minutes of talking to a real Microsoft representative to undo the few changes made to the computer. I’m reminded that believers must guard against a spiritual virus — cults, new age philosophy and modern day culturalism. Paul warned, “But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ. For if someone comes to you and preaches a Jesus other than the Jesus we preached, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it easily enough” (2 Cor 11:3-4 NIV).

1 comment:

Steve Corey said...

Gail;

-----Viruses must gain entry into the cell and trick its reproductive processes into reproducing viruses. Even though they do not look like the body’s legitimate production-message bearers, they carry molecular keys which do unlock the cell portals and turn on the reproduction processes. We so focus on those keys that we fail to consider what big eyes grandma has which she never used to have, what a big nose, and what big teeth. The beneficial thing about Jesus and His Holy Spirit is the truth. You can always recognize their call by paying attention to the truth. Indeed, keys are part of the truth, but admittance to your reflective system should never happen if any other part of the proposal does not match the truth, too.
-----”I have applied all this to myself and Apollos for your benefit, brethren, that you may learn by us not to go beyond what is written, that none of you may be puffed up in favor of one against another.” (I Cor 4:6) This verse is anti-virus software for the Church. I have never found “It’s not about you” in scripture. I never found scripture condemning hymns, excusing homosexuality, or elevating women. The church has a long list of ailments contracted by the refusal to download the Bible’s anti-virus software into its belief system. Although every virus comes with an operable key, it also comes with a discernable wart. Yet the church wasn’t even out of the cradle before it began sneezing, then choking, on warty ideas beyond what’s written. Today, a church that should be harmoniously and passionately proclaiming the imminent return of Christ is gasping and wheezing worse than great-grandad. I’m afraid it’s too late for the anti-virus program.
-----I also got the fake Microsoft virus. Mine told me that my computer had some sort of worm that collected all my information and was about to spread it on the internet. It warned me that if I did not call Microsoft to deal with the worm immediately my machine would infect the entire internet. It assured me that risk was so too big to accept that if I tried to navigate away from the warning or to shut down my system that Microsoft would take over! I never knew Microsoft to use such tactics. Those eyes, nose, and teeth were just too big for what I knew of them. And it made no sense to me at all that my computer, which supposedly got the worm from the internet, was the sole threat to the internet. That was not only beyond what’s written, it was beyond simple reasoning. So I did the “control-alt-delete” and used my process manager to select “End Program”. “End Program” is like the big, hulky Islamist with the razor sharp scimitar. When “End Program” swings its scimitar, the computer does not so much as twitch another wire or scintillate another electron by that program. The program hit’s the ground rolling.
-----Studying the Word looks good. Obeying it pays.


Love you all,
Steve Corey