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4 ... the false brethren secretly brought in, who had sneaked in to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, in order to bring us into bondage. 5 But we did not yield in subjection to them for even an hour, so that the truth of the gospel would remain with you.

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Lord, will there always be “false brethren?” I mean, when Paul was at Jerusalem, with Peter and the main group of Apostles, eventhere, at the very beginning, some people came to a “church business meeting” under false pretenses. Father, so many of Your servants have felt the fear of coming to a church business meeting and seeing it unexpectedly well-attended, and recognizing the signs of evil intent and self-righteous hardened hearts. Please give to all of Your “good shepherds” the courage to withstand them well, and move Your congregations to rally against those who would pervert the “Body of Christ” for their own purposes.

Paul saw strangers who wanted to reinstate a legalistic bondage to Mosaic laws. He saw sincere religious people opposed to Jesus Himself, and the freedom He gives to those who walk with Him. Even now, many people who consider themselves to be “good” Christians are quick to obstruct the presence and direction of Your Holy Spirit over temporary things like buildings, music, finances, and sometimes even over misunderstood doctrines. The conflict Paul experienced is still going on, just in a different form. Please help me to recognize it, to stop it, to disarm it, to deny it an opportunity, and remain focused on the “liberty which we have in Christ Jesus.”

Please keep me from ever doing anything like this. It would be so easy to take it upon myself to try to fix something at church which I thought was wrong by casually forming a group to assert pressure on a church’s leadership to move in a certain direction. Please protect my own congregation from any such conflict, and help me to be sensitive to Your Spirit so that I will never be caught off guard.

For the sake of the Truth of the Gospel, please give victory to Your servants when they are opposed by those who don’t know You as well as they think.