Don't ignore the fishy smell coming from that beautiful red apple.

If you want God to change your life read the Bible, if you want to change your own life read a "how to" book that tells you that you alone can change your life.  Just beware the fishy smell coming from those luscious apples in the pages of some of those self help books or speakers.

I'm not saying that you shouldn't read good inspirational books.  I'm saying that if you don't read THE Good Book you won't have a strong filter to sift out the stuff that looks good but has a suspicious odor.

I'm seeing far too many Christians "liking" authors that skew the truth and make it sound good--even siting a "creator" or "higher power". I believe that they are trying to make themselves sound good to Christians so that they can support their philosophy of "it's all about you and what you want in life--you just have to believe good things about yourself."

 Genesis 2 God spoke to Adam and Eve these words:

¹⁵ Then the Lord God took the man and put him into the garden of Eden to cultivate it and keep it. ¹⁶ The Lord God commanded the man, saying, “From any tree of the garden you may eat freely; ¹⁷ but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die.”

Adam and Eve could have had any other fruit from any other tree in the Garden. But then Satan came to Eve and said in Genesis 3 

 "“Indeed, has God said, ‘You shall not eat from any tree of the garden’?” 

Way back in the Garden of Eden we see the first clever way that Satan questioned and skewed the Words of God to convince Eve to believe that God really wasn't serious about His command to her.

Did Eve forget God's strong words to them? Or did the desire of her heart overcome the truth of God? 

Eve saw the "beautiful fruit" hanging from that forbidden tree but apparently she didn't smell the fishy odor coming from it and chose to eat that luscious looking fruit.

Many self help speakers and writers want to "empower you" to have unlimited  happiness when they are really asking you "did God really say that"? Does God really care what you do as long as you follow your own heart and are happy? Does he care what you do as long as you love Him and have good intentions? (of course pulling the definition of love out of your own dictionary).

Many writers (even Christian ones) tell us that we have the power to change our own lives when the scriptures clearly say that lasting change comes from surrendering ourselves to God and allowing Him and His Word to change us.  Surrendering our heart's desire to His--making them one.

Christians beware. Use the Bible as your first source and know it so well that you recognize the fishy smell that comes from some of those juicy red apples in other books.

Let's be good "apple pickers" by knowing what a good apple looks like AND smells like".

Romans 12 Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. ² And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may  prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.

Want to know what or who triggered this blog? Just ask :)

***In Christian Life Coaching we believe that asking powerful questions help the client "get out of the box" through the power of the Holy Spirit within them, allowing the Holy Spirit to to change their way of thinking.