Author: imikemedia

New Webster’s Dictionary & Thesaurus of the English Language define “masquerading” as “to wear a disguise, to put on a false outward show.” This word, along with the closely related word “mask,” both etymologically descend from Spanish derivatives. Thus, the familiar “masquerade ball” is an event where the participants all wear masks, such as became a popular scene in the infamous musical, “Phantom of the Opera.” For practical meaning, it alludes to “a false show for pretense or concealment of the truth” (p. 614). While masquerading might be fun recreationally, it becomes a serious problem when it enters the spiritual realm. The Bible describes those who spiritually masquerade, which causes terrible problems. Let us identify several cases.

Sinners masquerade as saints. It is very unfortunate that so many use the word “Christian” so loosely today. The term initially given to the saints at Antioch (Acts 11:26) was to describe those who followed the teachings of Jesus Christ and threw off the shackles of Judaism and Gentile heathenism. Yet, today so many sinners masquerade themselves as saints by wearing the divine name given to those who solely obey God and his word. Jesus said,

Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? And in thy name have cast out devils? And in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity. (Matt. 7:22-23) The difference between the true Christian and the masquerading Christian is in obedience (Matt. 7:21, 24-27).

The Old Testament taught in principle that unless a Gentile conformed in every way to the one true and living God, the Israelites were not to act as if they were one of the chosen people of God with all of the blessings and benefits found therein. They were to treat them with kindness and generosity, as they would have liked Pharaoh and the Egyptians to treat them when they were slaves in Egypt. Yet, at the same time, conversion was necessary before God gave privileges. The same thing is true today. Sinners must be converted to become saints—they should not simply masquerade as such by wearing names and worshipping falsely. Therefore, we are not to treat masquerading sinners as if they were saints. Only when they obey the gospel of Jesus Christ do we treat them as fellow saints.

False teachers masquerade as innocent lambs. Jesus said, “Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Ye shall know them by their fruits” (Matt. 7:15-16). “Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them” (Acts 20:30). They “have forsaken the right way, and are gone astray” (2 Pet. 2:15). Through deception (Matt. 24:4-5), they masquerade innocently with the motive of destroying the flock. This is one reason Christ left elders to oversee and protect His flock, the church.

Hypocrites masquerade as righteous children of God. They pretend to worship God righteously, but instead put forth religious performances (Matt. 6:2-5, 16-18). Such worship was vain (Matt. 15:7-9). Jesus did not hesitate to pull the masquerading mask from the scribes and Pharisees of His day (Matt. 23:13-29), knowing how destructive they were to the people.

Lukewarm Christians masquerade as hot Christians. Jesus sternly rebuked the church of Laodicea for masquerading as hot Christians, when they were nothing more than lukewarm (Rev. 3:14-22). Such a position made Christ utterly sick. He would rather His people be either hot or cold, but not lukewarm, and urges them to repent. We need to throw off this mask concealing apathy for souls and our work for the Lord and become a people once again described as “zealous of good works” (Titus 2:15). There is no greater work than the work of our Lord in evangelizing precious souls. Therefore, let us all seek to refrain from any form of masquerading! Sam Wilcutt

“GOD LOVES YOU AND I LOVE YOU AND THAT’S THE WAY IT’S GONNA BE!” – MIKE

A lot of what we accomplish in life depends upon our focus…

The story is told of the golfer Arnold Palmer, who, in the 1961 Master’s finals was approached by a friend and congratulated on his victory a few shots prior to his finish. Palmer is on record as saying that in that moment he lost his focus and he ended up losing by a point. It happens time and again; there is the football player who looks toward the goal line and drops the ball; the ice skater who falls and simply can’t recover to conclude the performance; the politician who misspeaks and ruins his political career all for a lack of focus.

Out of all of the kings of Israel, David was arguably the greatest; he had his problems, but he always ultimately sought to put his trust in the Lord. Nevertheless, because David was a man of war, his greatest desire, to build the Lord a house, could not be accomplished by him. David, however, purposed to do all that he could toward the construction of the temple prior to his death. He made agreements with nations for materials; he collected materials; he assembled workers. Before his death, David commanded the princes of Israel to help Solomon build the temple (1 Chronicles 22:17). He exhorted them, “Now set your heart and your soul to seek the LORD your God; arise therefore, and build ye the sanctuary of the LORD God, to bring the ark of the covenant of the LORD, and the holy vessels of God, into the house that is to be built to the name of the LORD” (1 Chronicles 22:19). Do we see the focus in the words, “Set your heart and soul to seek the Lord your God”? Because they focused upon seeking God, they were able to accomplish the task at hand.

Oscar Hammerstein II wrote the following lyrics in 1928:

Give me some men who are Stouthearted Men
Who will fight for the right they adore.

Start me with ten, who are Stouthearted Men
And I’ll soon give you ten thousand more, Oh!

Shoulder to shoulder and bolder and bolder
They grow as they go to the fore!

Then there’s nothing in the world can halt or mar a plan,
When Stouthearted Men can stick together man to man!

Where is our focus? Is it upon God or upon the world? John wrote, “And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him” (1 John 5:14-15). It is so often the case that we don’t accomplish the things that we desire to accomplish because we have not adequately focused upon God and His word in our lives. However, intensifying our focus upon God will bring us further along than any other thing.

So, do we find ourselves at our wits end because of the countless tasks that are before us? Focus on God. Do we fail to get anything accomplished due to the many distractions that come our way in life? Focus on God. Do we have godly goals and aspirations that we seek to accomplish? Focus on God. Whatever our situation is, we can improve it by focusing upon God and refocusing our life upon His priorities. Kevin Cauley

“GOD LOVES YOU AND I LOVE YOU AND THAT’S THE WAY IT’S GONNA BE!” – MIKE