Wolves in Sheep's Clothing

1 The enemies of Judah and Benjamin heard that the exiles were rebuilding a Temple to the Lord, the God of Israel.2 So they approached Zerubbabel and the other leaders and said, “Let us build with you, for we worship your God just as you do. We have sacrificed to him ever since King Esarhaddon of Assyria brought us here.”3 But Zerubbabel, Jeshua, and the other leaders of Israel replied, “You may have no part in this work. We alone will build the Temple for the Lord, the God of Israel, just as King Cyrus of Persia commanded us.”4 Then the local residents tried to discourage and frighten the people of Judah to keep them from their work.5 They bribed agents to work against them and to frustrate their plans. This went on during the entire reign of King Cyrus of Persia and lasted until King Darius of Persia took the throne.

Ezra 4:1-5 (NLT)

This may sound wrong but as I read this scripture there were just churches and people who popped into my mind. These are individuals and churches I pray for everyday because it seems like they are always under attack and it’s not from the outside. The ACLU is not harassing them or any other organization that would like to see religion and Christianity regulated to the home and out of the public life. It comes from those who claim to serve the same God that I do. Hope that makes sense. Scripture tells us that we are to love our brother and care for their needs; but scripture also warns us about who we should take council from. Not everyone who professes Christ will desire to see you succeed; I know it should not be that way but it is true. You see we may all be in the same race but we are not all running at the same speed. Let me illustrate this; when I was in the military we would do squadron runs; that was about 1000 people running down the road in formation. Now the Colonel would set the pace and we would begin running. But no matter where you were in the formation it was a delayed reaction when they began to run at the beginning of the formation. The idea was to set a pace that everyone could maintain for the three miles we would run.  But you would get this accordion effect (speed up and slow down) for most of the run. That was because not everyone could run as fast as the leader. Leaders need to understand what their followers are capable of they need to instill in them a desire to do better and more than they already do; to stretch themselves, but they also must be watchful for those who would undermine their leadership. It can and does create hardships sometimes but knowing who you can depend on in your ministry and your walk with God is the key to truly running this race and performing well. I challenge you to know those who you seek council from are seeking what is best for you and your walk with God. Don’t be led astray by sweet tickling words; turn to God’s word and walk in its light.