How many of you have experienced this in your walk? You were sinners, rejected by believers because you were not saved while no one in your circle of friends and family who were believers, spoke to you about Christ, out of concern for you eternity. In fact at family gatherings Christ was never mentioned even though the family were church goers and lived seemingly outward moral lives.
You were considered unworthy of love because you were in sin without Christ. You admired the Christians you knew, because they had all the "right" answers and lived "morally" or so you thought they were very good people.
After becoming born again God lifted the scales from your eyes and you suddenly saw them differently. They were self righteous, they hated you worse after you became born again because you grew "too intense" about the Scriptures. You wanted to talk about Christ and base everything you said and did on the Word of God. Much of what they said was unscriptural and worldly, when you would correct them, they would become angry, having no desire to check anything against the Bible. Their sense of superiority caused almost a mild rage to surface whenever they were challenged, being corrected by the person they looked down upon was more than they could stand.
Often pretenders have lived decent lives most of their existence, they didn't steal or murder or act immorally, allowing pride to develop in their hearts that couldn't tolerate even mildly, the suggestion that they might be wrong about something. In other words, they never saw themselves as sinners and were never broken over their sinfulness because their outer lives that people could see, were pretty good. But inside their hearts were just as black as those who were living wickedly. The difference is that the pretender lived wickedly in their hearts and the other sinners were living wickedly openly.
Psalm 51:17 "The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; A broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise."
Matthew 15:8 "'THIS PEOPLE HONORS ME WITH THEIR LIPS, BUT THEIR HEART IS FAR AWAY FROM ME."
The pretenders have regressed in their walk and accept things now that they would not have accepted earlier in their lives. They have maligned your reputation based on what they saw before you was saved, and maintained that view of you, that no longer exists. They prefer to keep you in a one down position by negating that Christ has made a change in you. Often pretenders love their superficiality, they maintain a facade of sorts, but lack the love that Christ commanded us to have for one another.
They have excluded you from fellowship by mixing with each other and leaving you out. I think we have seen the difference between those who are pretenders living morally to impress someone and the true believer who lives morally because they have been changed into a new creation by Christ.
Those who love Christ have a love for the brethren that surpasses human love. When they see that someone has been changed into a new creation, they recognize the change and rejoice with them feeling a new connection to them, that is a spiritual heavenly bond.
1 John 3:14 "We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love abides in death."
If you have experienced this, then you are in good company. Many born again blood bought believers who have been dramatically changed by Christ, are rejected more as a new believer, by church goers, than they were when they were unsaved. They feel safe with the unsaved, because those who are not born again don't expect anything out of them and they can appear superior to them.
A possible answer for this might be that pretenders are usually self righteous and arrogant. They PRIDE themselves on how good they are and look down their noses at the unsaved. However, when someone who is lost and becomes born again with a fire in their heart that surpasses the pretender, the pretender shuns, this "new you", it is convicting to them, jealousy emerges and forms of subtle revenge begin to rear its ugly head.
Everyone who has seen this happen knows what it looks like. Some may remember thinking that now that they have become born again, the believers will like them and they will be accepted into the body with great joy, often the reverse is true. Keep in mind that the world we live in now, if full of mostly pretenders. God says that most who claim to be believers have not trusted Christ and are living a lie. They are basing their Christianity on tradition and works that make them look good, there is little faith and much haughtiness.
Matthew 7:21-23 "21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ 23 And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’"
I write about this subject to encourage those who have been hit, in blindsided fashion, early in their walk with Christ, with dismissal from pretenders. I also write this to challenge those who might be pretenders to take a good look at their own heart to see if they have ever become born again.
May the Lord encourage the down hearted who have been rejected for their faith and removed the scales of the eyes of those who have an elevated view of their own importance.
Tuesday, March 31, 2015
Praise is For God
Many years ago the Lord warned me about the self esteem teaching that became standard operating practice in all the public school systems. When our children came home with papers talking about loving themselves, I quickly sprang into lecture mode to show them that loving themselves was not the objective in life. Sadly, we see that we have lost the next generation, they have been infected with the pride monster, the public schools managed to ruin an entire generation of people who now become angry when they are correct or simply not worshiped.
Even more disturbing than the public schools fostering this form of self worship, the churches began to teach it too, in many different forms, from excessive praise to absence of clear correction.
When I would explain to church goers that self esteem was not of God, they argued bitterly with me on the subject and treated me with contempt for the assertion that man was not created to love himself, but rather to love God. Before I was proficient in the Scriptures, I knew this self esteem teaching was evil and worse, devastating to spiritual well being. Those who knew the Bible better than I did, didn't seem to know this was wrong.
This morning I heard a secular "family expert", explaining all the damage this self esteem teaching has done to children and that it has created a firestorm of narcissism out of control. Sadly, the church has not learned this yet, but the secular counselors are coming to the conclusion based on what they are seeing in our culture. Those who are infected with the disease of narcissism are incapable of loving anyone, they lack empathy, kindness and self reflection.
Disrespect for authority and elders has become commonplace, while disregard for them entirely has increased.
For years we have been hearing "good job" every time a child performed the slightest act of obedience. If a child was told to tie their shoe, the were praised. When a child brought in the groceries, they were excessively praised and even rewarded with a special treat for doing what should have been an act of duty gone unnoticed. A simple thank you should have sufficed, but the parent desiring to be seen as an encourager, lavished excessive praise, notice it is more for their own good feelings than it is for what the child needs.
The children have learned to expect praise even when they do not perform as they should. Teachers have given good marks simply because the child turned in their work it didn't matter if the assignment was done well, only that it was done at all.
All of this excessive praise has created an attitude of entitlement. Many people expect to be noticed and praised for the slightest good deed or job done well. When I see the videos on Youtube, following a good deed doer around, filming this good deed doer taking care of the needs of the homeless, I feel ill. If a good deed doer really is concerned about the homeless, they will do it without anyone's notice and no fan fare.
We can tell when someone is loving genuinely, they don't wait for a special occasion or outward sign in front of others for their acts of kindness. Those who love the Lord feel no need to be praised for their deeds, they are content to just be in obedience to the Lord.
When praise is constant, the child tunes out the parents, not valuing the praise even becoming contemptuous of it because even a child knows when something is fake. Soon the child begins to distrust other things the parent says.
Think about it.....how many times do you hear "good job" in reference to a child in your town when you are out and about? I hear it all the time, it is becoming almost nauseating. Children need to be taught to do good acts regularly without being noticed. When they open a door for an elderly person, it should be enough for the child to know that they did what was right and blessed someone else.
The temptation to praise a child constantly is a demon we must resist. We have all been so brainwashed into what we call "encouragement" that we forget what true encouragement looks like.
It is encouraging a child when we teach the right thing to do and explain that they are capable of doing what is right, they must choose to do the right thing over following their own personal desires.
It is encouragement to tell a child "you can do a better job than that, go and redo it."
As a culture we have misunderstood praise as encouragement. Praise does not help those who are learning. When we instruct a child to do something and they do it, then we can say; "you did that right, keep going."
Teaching our children to love and expect praise is indulging their inner selfishness. Praise is like a drug, the more we get the more we want, it should be used sparingly with honesty and integrity.
We might want to do a Bible study on praise, I notice that all the verses concerning praise have to do with our attitude toward God, praising Him.
John 12:41-43
"41 Isaiah was referring to Jesus when he said this, because he saw the future and spoke of the Messiah’s glory. 42 Many people did believe in him, however, including some of the Jewish leaders. But they wouldn’t admit it for fear that the Pharisees would expel them from the synagogue. 43 For they loved human praise more than the praise of God."
Our culture has praised ad nauseam for many years now, not to help the child but to appear as a good parent in the eyes of the world. It was all about appearances for the parent rather than the well being of the child.
My hope is that believers will open their eyes to this deception before they ruin their children through the false teaching of self esteem.
The kindest thing we can do for our children is teach them confidence, that they can obey and follow Christ and the rewards from God that occur when they do this. They will live much more fulfilled lives when they are capable of learning if they are not arrogant.
Self esteem fosters arrogance and arrogance impedes learning, after all, if a child thinks they are already wonderful no matter what they do, they have no need to learn, they can just "follow their feelings." This thinking will cause them to be ignorant and foolish their entire lives.
Philippians 2:3 "Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves;"
Proverbs 12:1 "Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, But he who hates reproof is stupid."
Even more disturbing than the public schools fostering this form of self worship, the churches began to teach it too, in many different forms, from excessive praise to absence of clear correction.
When I would explain to church goers that self esteem was not of God, they argued bitterly with me on the subject and treated me with contempt for the assertion that man was not created to love himself, but rather to love God. Before I was proficient in the Scriptures, I knew this self esteem teaching was evil and worse, devastating to spiritual well being. Those who knew the Bible better than I did, didn't seem to know this was wrong.
This morning I heard a secular "family expert", explaining all the damage this self esteem teaching has done to children and that it has created a firestorm of narcissism out of control. Sadly, the church has not learned this yet, but the secular counselors are coming to the conclusion based on what they are seeing in our culture. Those who are infected with the disease of narcissism are incapable of loving anyone, they lack empathy, kindness and self reflection.
Disrespect for authority and elders has become commonplace, while disregard for them entirely has increased.
For years we have been hearing "good job" every time a child performed the slightest act of obedience. If a child was told to tie their shoe, the were praised. When a child brought in the groceries, they were excessively praised and even rewarded with a special treat for doing what should have been an act of duty gone unnoticed. A simple thank you should have sufficed, but the parent desiring to be seen as an encourager, lavished excessive praise, notice it is more for their own good feelings than it is for what the child needs.
The children have learned to expect praise even when they do not perform as they should. Teachers have given good marks simply because the child turned in their work it didn't matter if the assignment was done well, only that it was done at all.
All of this excessive praise has created an attitude of entitlement. Many people expect to be noticed and praised for the slightest good deed or job done well. When I see the videos on Youtube, following a good deed doer around, filming this good deed doer taking care of the needs of the homeless, I feel ill. If a good deed doer really is concerned about the homeless, they will do it without anyone's notice and no fan fare.
We can tell when someone is loving genuinely, they don't wait for a special occasion or outward sign in front of others for their acts of kindness. Those who love the Lord feel no need to be praised for their deeds, they are content to just be in obedience to the Lord.
When praise is constant, the child tunes out the parents, not valuing the praise even becoming contemptuous of it because even a child knows when something is fake. Soon the child begins to distrust other things the parent says.
Think about it.....how many times do you hear "good job" in reference to a child in your town when you are out and about? I hear it all the time, it is becoming almost nauseating. Children need to be taught to do good acts regularly without being noticed. When they open a door for an elderly person, it should be enough for the child to know that they did what was right and blessed someone else.
The temptation to praise a child constantly is a demon we must resist. We have all been so brainwashed into what we call "encouragement" that we forget what true encouragement looks like.
It is encouraging a child when we teach the right thing to do and explain that they are capable of doing what is right, they must choose to do the right thing over following their own personal desires.
It is encouragement to tell a child "you can do a better job than that, go and redo it."
As a culture we have misunderstood praise as encouragement. Praise does not help those who are learning. When we instruct a child to do something and they do it, then we can say; "you did that right, keep going."
Teaching our children to love and expect praise is indulging their inner selfishness. Praise is like a drug, the more we get the more we want, it should be used sparingly with honesty and integrity.
We might want to do a Bible study on praise, I notice that all the verses concerning praise have to do with our attitude toward God, praising Him.
John 12:41-43
"41 Isaiah was referring to Jesus when he said this, because he saw the future and spoke of the Messiah’s glory. 42 Many people did believe in him, however, including some of the Jewish leaders. But they wouldn’t admit it for fear that the Pharisees would expel them from the synagogue. 43 For they loved human praise more than the praise of God."
Our culture has praised ad nauseam for many years now, not to help the child but to appear as a good parent in the eyes of the world. It was all about appearances for the parent rather than the well being of the child.
My hope is that believers will open their eyes to this deception before they ruin their children through the false teaching of self esteem.
The kindest thing we can do for our children is teach them confidence, that they can obey and follow Christ and the rewards from God that occur when they do this. They will live much more fulfilled lives when they are capable of learning if they are not arrogant.
Self esteem fosters arrogance and arrogance impedes learning, after all, if a child thinks they are already wonderful no matter what they do, they have no need to learn, they can just "follow their feelings." This thinking will cause them to be ignorant and foolish their entire lives.
Philippians 2:3 "Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves;"
Proverbs 12:1 "Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, But he who hates reproof is stupid."
Monday, March 30, 2015
Consistency is Difficult When We Have Pet Sins
When we were in the ice cream business I sold ice cream from behind the counter to many people, some were living in sin, some were liars, some were blasphemers, some were thieves in one degree or another, some were homosexual, in other words, they were mostly sinners who were not born again because that is our culture.
Very few people are born again in our culture, if we were only going to do business with believers then we wouldn't do business at all.
1 Corinthians 5:9-10
"9 I wrote you in my letter not to associate with immoral people; 10 I did not at all mean with the immoral people of this world, or with the covetous and swindlers, or with idolaters, for then you would have to go out of the world."
There are some who believe, to make a wedding cake for homosexuals would be endorsing it, and they must follow their conscience, however I must ask a question. Do those who refuse to make a wedding cake for a homosexual couple also refuse to make a cake for an adulterous second marriage?
Just sayin!
Very few people are born again in our culture, if we were only going to do business with believers then we wouldn't do business at all.
1 Corinthians 5:9-10
"9 I wrote you in my letter not to associate with immoral people; 10 I did not at all mean with the immoral people of this world, or with the covetous and swindlers, or with idolaters, for then you would have to go out of the world."
There are some who believe, to make a wedding cake for homosexuals would be endorsing it, and they must follow their conscience, however I must ask a question. Do those who refuse to make a wedding cake for a homosexual couple also refuse to make a cake for an adulterous second marriage?
Just sayin!
Sunday, March 29, 2015
Don't Trust Translations Trust Christ
Don't trust any Bible version, trust Christ who is the author of the original texts. He has told me when things were not right and given me the correct understanding. It is Christ Who brings the truth, not pages with Words, He is called "The Word."
Let Go of Family and Go With God
Matthew 19:29-30
"29 And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name's sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life.
30 But many that are first shall be last; and the last shall be first."
At first it can be hard to leave that which is familiar to us. There is a sense of protection and companionship with those who have been a big part of our lives for years. However, when we finally do walk away from the worldly drama and senseless conflict, non-believer against believer, we realize how peaceful our lives can be. We think at first that we will be lonely and to some degree we feel that, but the peace and love of the Lord far outways that, and it is replaced with peace and harmony.
To be in a prison for our faith is far preferable to the company of those who would work to undermine our faith, driven by the devil to destroy us. Loneliness is much more desirable than continual jabs and polks that are a regular part of a relationship with an ungodly person. I have met many on facebook who have learned to enjoy their aloneness with Christ, while enjoying the virtual relationships of facebook. God was merciful in putting us together in this time of leanness of fellowship.
God clearly says "come out from among them and be ye separate" for a reason. Two cannot walk together who are not agreed. Often those who are not born again, interpret situations far differently from believers. What is important to the believer is foolishness to the non-believer. What is important to the non-believer is nonsense to the believer. There cannot be peace with those who do not understand our world of faith in Christ, it makes them angry.
In these last days we experience much jealousy and superficial Christianity, that strives to undermine what God is doing in us. The organized church is full of non-believers who think they are Christians, but have never been born again. They love this world and the things in it, while pretending to love God, they defy Him.
Matthew 15:8
"'THIS PEOPLE HONORS ME WITH THEIR LIPS, BUT THEIR HEART IS FAR AWAY FROM ME."
Next time we are tempted to feel lonely, remember what it was like when there was continual competition, meanness and strife with those who were not born again. Suddenly we will feel blessed once again, that God has freed us from all that turmoil. In order to avoid conflict with non-believers we have to remain silent, but we cannot do that because to remain silent is to endorse their view. There is no other option but to minimize contact with those who come against our God.
We can bring the gospel to the unsaved as God directs, but we are not to make unbelievers, who hate our God, or pretenders who claim Christianity but negate His Word, our constant companions, to do that would to try to mix oil and water.
We place many more problems on ourselves that are unnecessary by remaining with unsaved family and friends on a regular basis.
Let's pray to hear the voice of God and obey Him.
"29 And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name's sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life.
30 But many that are first shall be last; and the last shall be first."
At first it can be hard to leave that which is familiar to us. There is a sense of protection and companionship with those who have been a big part of our lives for years. However, when we finally do walk away from the worldly drama and senseless conflict, non-believer against believer, we realize how peaceful our lives can be. We think at first that we will be lonely and to some degree we feel that, but the peace and love of the Lord far outways that, and it is replaced with peace and harmony.
To be in a prison for our faith is far preferable to the company of those who would work to undermine our faith, driven by the devil to destroy us. Loneliness is much more desirable than continual jabs and polks that are a regular part of a relationship with an ungodly person. I have met many on facebook who have learned to enjoy their aloneness with Christ, while enjoying the virtual relationships of facebook. God was merciful in putting us together in this time of leanness of fellowship.
God clearly says "come out from among them and be ye separate" for a reason. Two cannot walk together who are not agreed. Often those who are not born again, interpret situations far differently from believers. What is important to the believer is foolishness to the non-believer. What is important to the non-believer is nonsense to the believer. There cannot be peace with those who do not understand our world of faith in Christ, it makes them angry.
In these last days we experience much jealousy and superficial Christianity, that strives to undermine what God is doing in us. The organized church is full of non-believers who think they are Christians, but have never been born again. They love this world and the things in it, while pretending to love God, they defy Him.
Matthew 15:8
"'THIS PEOPLE HONORS ME WITH THEIR LIPS, BUT THEIR HEART IS FAR AWAY FROM ME."
Next time we are tempted to feel lonely, remember what it was like when there was continual competition, meanness and strife with those who were not born again. Suddenly we will feel blessed once again, that God has freed us from all that turmoil. In order to avoid conflict with non-believers we have to remain silent, but we cannot do that because to remain silent is to endorse their view. There is no other option but to minimize contact with those who come against our God.
We can bring the gospel to the unsaved as God directs, but we are not to make unbelievers, who hate our God, or pretenders who claim Christianity but negate His Word, our constant companions, to do that would to try to mix oil and water.
We place many more problems on ourselves that are unnecessary by remaining with unsaved family and friends on a regular basis.
Let's pray to hear the voice of God and obey Him.
Friday, March 27, 2015
Obey Man When He Obeys God
There are many men who indulge privately in pornography, it is adultery not to mention filthy. Any man who wants a wife to look with him at these things is evil and must be resisted.
I was once told a story of a new believer whose unbelieving husband wanted her to watch this filth with him. Very foolish believers told her that she should obey him simply because he was the head of the household and that the Bible said to obey your husband. Porn is devastating to the soul of a woman and to the marriage itself, she cannot take part in it.
It is sin to counsel any believer to obey the authority over them when the authority is directing them to disobey God.
HUMAN AUTHORITIES DO NOT TRUMP GOD!
A godly woman might be able to win her ungodly husband by obeying God in all her ways. When she obeys the evil desires of her husband over God's will, then her husband is her god and her example is ruinous.
We win our husbands by our chaste life and our obedience to God. The husband sees our desire to live for God no matter what and is blessed by that.
We are never to obey someone who asks us to do evil. When a husband asks the wife not to spend any more money, she can obey that. When a husband asks her to clean the house today, she can obey that, however, if an ungodly husband asks her to kill the neighbor because he doesn't like him, the wife must say she cannot do that because it would disobey God. When an ungodly husband asks a wife to indulge in porn or become a prostitute for money, she has to say no to him.
Killing the neighbor, watching porn and becoming a prostitute are the extremes of the principle to obey God over man. When there are lesser sins that husbands do, such as watching movies with filthy language or the Lord's name in vain. A woman has an obligation before God to decline to see these things.
It becomes very hard to respect and honor a man who doesn't love and honor a wife enough to protect her from the things that will damage her emotionally and spiritually.
The teaching that a woman should obey a wicked husband to do evil, is itself wicked. When we obey a man over God, we are making that man a god to us, his desires become more important than God's Ways.
Acts 5:29 "But Peter and the apostles answered, "We must obey God rather than men."
When the apostles ran into the authorities that told them they could not preach the gospel, they disobeyed the authority to obey God.
We must be sure that if we disobey the authority over us it is a clear violation of God's will to obey the authority.
If we are seeking God on this, He will honor our desire to obey His principles. When we get before the Lord, we will not be asked "did you obey your husband and watch that porn?" NO!!! We will be judged according to our reward, whether or not we obeyed God.
Let no man destroy your innocence through his foolish actions. Let no man damage your spirit and your soul by allowing filth in your home.
I was once told a story of a new believer whose unbelieving husband wanted her to watch this filth with him. Very foolish believers told her that she should obey him simply because he was the head of the household and that the Bible said to obey your husband. Porn is devastating to the soul of a woman and to the marriage itself, she cannot take part in it.
It is sin to counsel any believer to obey the authority over them when the authority is directing them to disobey God.
HUMAN AUTHORITIES DO NOT TRUMP GOD!
A godly woman might be able to win her ungodly husband by obeying God in all her ways. When she obeys the evil desires of her husband over God's will, then her husband is her god and her example is ruinous.
We win our husbands by our chaste life and our obedience to God. The husband sees our desire to live for God no matter what and is blessed by that.
We are never to obey someone who asks us to do evil. When a husband asks the wife not to spend any more money, she can obey that. When a husband asks her to clean the house today, she can obey that, however, if an ungodly husband asks her to kill the neighbor because he doesn't like him, the wife must say she cannot do that because it would disobey God. When an ungodly husband asks a wife to indulge in porn or become a prostitute for money, she has to say no to him.
Killing the neighbor, watching porn and becoming a prostitute are the extremes of the principle to obey God over man. When there are lesser sins that husbands do, such as watching movies with filthy language or the Lord's name in vain. A woman has an obligation before God to decline to see these things.
It becomes very hard to respect and honor a man who doesn't love and honor a wife enough to protect her from the things that will damage her emotionally and spiritually.
The teaching that a woman should obey a wicked husband to do evil, is itself wicked. When we obey a man over God, we are making that man a god to us, his desires become more important than God's Ways.
Acts 5:29 "But Peter and the apostles answered, "We must obey God rather than men."
When the apostles ran into the authorities that told them they could not preach the gospel, they disobeyed the authority to obey God.
We must be sure that if we disobey the authority over us it is a clear violation of God's will to obey the authority.
If we are seeking God on this, He will honor our desire to obey His principles. When we get before the Lord, we will not be asked "did you obey your husband and watch that porn?" NO!!! We will be judged according to our reward, whether or not we obeyed God.
Let no man destroy your innocence through his foolish actions. Let no man damage your spirit and your soul by allowing filth in your home.
God Has Not Abandoned Israel
Romans 11:1-36
"11 I ask, then, has God rejected his people? By no means! For I myself am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, a member of the tribe of Benjamin.
2 God has not rejected his people whom he foreknew. Do you not know what the Scripture says of Elijah, how he appeals to God against Israel?
3 “Lord, they have killed your prophets, they have demolished your altars, and I alone am left, and they seek my life.”
4 But what is God's reply to him? “I have kept for myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal.”
5 So too at the present time there is a remnant, chosen by grace.
6 But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works; otherwise grace would no longer be grace.
7 What then? Israel failed to obtain what it was seeking. The elect obtained it, but the rest were hardened, 8 as it is written,
“God gave them a spirit of stupor,
eyes that would not see
and ears that would not hear,
down to this very day.”
9 And David says,
“Let their table become a snare and a trap,
a stumbling block and a retribution for them;
10 let their eyes be darkened so that they cannot see,
and bend their backs forever.”
Gentiles Grafted In
11 So I ask, did they stumble in order that they might fall? By no means! Rather through their trespass salvation has come to the Gentiles, so as to make Israel jealous.
12 Now if their trespass means riches for the world, and if their failure means riches for the Gentiles, how much more will their full inclusion[b] mean!
13 Now I am speaking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch then as I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry
14 in order somehow to make my fellow Jews jealous, and thus save some of them. 15 For if their rejection means the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance mean but life from the dead?
16 If the dough offered as firstfruits is holy, so is the whole lump, and if the root is holy, so are the branches.
17 But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, although a wild olive shoot, were grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing root[c] of the olive tree,
18 do not be arrogant toward the branches. If you are, remember it is not you who support the root, but the root that supports you.
19 Then you will say, “Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in.”
20 That is true. They were broken off because of their unbelief, but you stand fast through faith. So do not become proud, but fear.
21 For if God did not spare the natural branches, neither will he spare you.
22 Note then the kindness and the severity of God: severity toward those who have fallen, but God's kindness to you, provided you continue in his kindness. Otherwise you too will be cut off.
23 And even they, if they do not continue in their unbelief, will be grafted in, for God has the power to graft them in again.
24 For if you were cut from what is by nature a wild olive tree, and grafted, contrary to nature, into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these, the natural branches, be grafted back into their own olive tree.
The Mystery of Israel's Salvation
25 Lest you be wise in your own sight, I do not want you to be unaware of this mystery, brothers: a partial hardening has come upon Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in.
26 And in this way all Israel will be saved, as it is written,
“The Deliverer will come from Zion,
he will banish ungodliness from Jacob”;
27 “and this will be my covenant with them
when I take away their sins.”
28 As regards the gospel, they are enemies for your sake. But as regards election, they are beloved for the sake of their forefathers.
29 For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.
30 For just as you were at one time disobedient to God but now have received mercy because of their disobedience,
31 so they too have now been disobedient in order that by the mercy shown to you they also may now[e] receive mercy.
32 For God has consigned all to disobedience, that he may have mercy on all.
33 Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!
34 “For who has known the mind of the Lord,
or who has been his counselor?”
35 “Or who has given a gift to him
that he might be repaid?”
36 For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.
"11 I ask, then, has God rejected his people? By no means! For I myself am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, a member of the tribe of Benjamin.
2 God has not rejected his people whom he foreknew. Do you not know what the Scripture says of Elijah, how he appeals to God against Israel?
3 “Lord, they have killed your prophets, they have demolished your altars, and I alone am left, and they seek my life.”
4 But what is God's reply to him? “I have kept for myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal.”
5 So too at the present time there is a remnant, chosen by grace.
6 But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works; otherwise grace would no longer be grace.
7 What then? Israel failed to obtain what it was seeking. The elect obtained it, but the rest were hardened, 8 as it is written,
“God gave them a spirit of stupor,
eyes that would not see
and ears that would not hear,
down to this very day.”
9 And David says,
“Let their table become a snare and a trap,
a stumbling block and a retribution for them;
10 let their eyes be darkened so that they cannot see,
and bend their backs forever.”
Gentiles Grafted In
11 So I ask, did they stumble in order that they might fall? By no means! Rather through their trespass salvation has come to the Gentiles, so as to make Israel jealous.
12 Now if their trespass means riches for the world, and if their failure means riches for the Gentiles, how much more will their full inclusion[b] mean!
13 Now I am speaking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch then as I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry
14 in order somehow to make my fellow Jews jealous, and thus save some of them. 15 For if their rejection means the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance mean but life from the dead?
16 If the dough offered as firstfruits is holy, so is the whole lump, and if the root is holy, so are the branches.
17 But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, although a wild olive shoot, were grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing root[c] of the olive tree,
18 do not be arrogant toward the branches. If you are, remember it is not you who support the root, but the root that supports you.
19 Then you will say, “Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in.”
20 That is true. They were broken off because of their unbelief, but you stand fast through faith. So do not become proud, but fear.
21 For if God did not spare the natural branches, neither will he spare you.
22 Note then the kindness and the severity of God: severity toward those who have fallen, but God's kindness to you, provided you continue in his kindness. Otherwise you too will be cut off.
23 And even they, if they do not continue in their unbelief, will be grafted in, for God has the power to graft them in again.
24 For if you were cut from what is by nature a wild olive tree, and grafted, contrary to nature, into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these, the natural branches, be grafted back into their own olive tree.
The Mystery of Israel's Salvation
25 Lest you be wise in your own sight, I do not want you to be unaware of this mystery, brothers: a partial hardening has come upon Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in.
26 And in this way all Israel will be saved, as it is written,
“The Deliverer will come from Zion,
he will banish ungodliness from Jacob”;
27 “and this will be my covenant with them
when I take away their sins.”
28 As regards the gospel, they are enemies for your sake. But as regards election, they are beloved for the sake of their forefathers.
29 For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.
30 For just as you were at one time disobedient to God but now have received mercy because of their disobedience,
31 so they too have now been disobedient in order that by the mercy shown to you they also may now[e] receive mercy.
32 For God has consigned all to disobedience, that he may have mercy on all.
33 Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!
34 “For who has known the mind of the Lord,
or who has been his counselor?”
35 “Or who has given a gift to him
that he might be repaid?”
36 For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.
Thursday, March 26, 2015
A Symbol of God's Authority on Their Heads
I notice that nearly every other country of the world still practices this in the Christian churches. It is America that is in deep rebellion against God that has done away with this.
Those women who claim to be in submission to their husbands are not in obedience to God. They have made their husbands their gods, by following his disobedience rather than following Christ.
Women are to be silent in the church, not chattering to disrupt the service, and they are commanded to be covered when they pray and prophesy in the gathering.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SfoAus_slX0
Those women who claim to be in submission to their husbands are not in obedience to God. They have made their husbands their gods, by following his disobedience rather than following Christ.
Women are to be silent in the church, not chattering to disrupt the service, and they are commanded to be covered when they pray and prophesy in the gathering.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SfoAus_slX0
When a Man Leads in a Loving Way
When a man leads in a loving way, deeply concerned about the welfare spiritually and physically, of his wife, he will generate a strong bond between his wife and himself. When a man emotionally abuses a woman, demanding things, intimidating with mean looks and loud voices, he breaks down any sense of desire to follow him.
Many women live with meanness regularly, a woman will react with frustration and discouragement when she is treated with dismissiveness, negating her desires for the purpose of subjegating her.
Christ never at any time commanded a man to oppress or force his wife through manipulation or intimidation. These are ungodly traits used by pagan cultures, rather than the traits of a man submitted to Christ himself.
When a man has faith, he has no need to force, he merely instructs and prays with all gentleness and deep concern, and God will work His ways in his wife. Many men think they are dealing with a contentious women, and some are, but often they create the contention by their disrespectful attitude toward their wife.
It is easy to break a woman, just negate her, verbally abuse her, never encourage her in the things that she desire to do, you will be successful in destroying her creativity, ruining her walk with God and causing deep depression.
1 Peter 3:7 "You husbands in the same way, live with your wives in an understanding way, as with someone weaker, since she is a woman; and show her honor as a fellow heir of the grace of life, so that your prayers will not be hindered."
It is pagan cultures, such as Islam that train their men to emotionally and physically abuse their wives, relegating them to the level of property.
God says that the woman and man in marriage are "fellow heirs" in life, they are to work in tandem, while the man is the head, he is to consider her counsel, honor her decisions within the realm of responsibility as the "keeper of the home."
He is to see that the children honor her too, by upholding her rules of the household and conduct.
Proverbs 1:8 "Hear, my son, your father's instruction And do not forsake your mother's teaching;"
When you are in a church that almost completely negates the spiritual gifts of women and teaches the men to boss their wives to get them into line, then you are in a cult.
Islam is the ultimate extreme of this example of hateful oppression of the weaker vessel. Sadly, there are Christian denominations that teach this tyrannical domination. It is ungodly and narcissistic rule, that destroys the Christian witness.
What to do now? If someone finds themselves in a difficult marriage in which the husband is treating his wife disrespectfully, there is only one recourse for the wife, that is to seek to obey God in prayer, while upholding the example of obedience to God herself. Fighting with a leader who is tyrannical will only produce more conflict and worse consequences. God must work on Him, His own way.
Do not allow the antics of the disobedient leader to devastate or depress you. Those who are in rebellion will seek to destroy your confidence in the gifts and talents God has given you, see it as a challenge to learn to submit in difficult situations, if the submission does not disobey God.
If the husband is a born again believer, try to reason with him, if he will not listen take it to other wise men who are already treating their wives respectfully and ask them to speak to him. Do not take it to the elders if the elders are teaching oppression. It is always good to engage other godly women to pray for you. You need strength to resist the urge to fight bitterly, the devil will entice you to do it, only God can help you to resist this.
Remember, yes you are not perfect and you need work too, but when you can evaluate what is going on in truth, and you see that you are being treated unreasonably to control you rather than being loved, then you will know better how to pray and when to engage other godly people.
Women use this intimidation at times too, to control ladies in the church. I have seen it often, that those who believe in following man made rules will shun those who are not burdened for the same rules. There is nothing you can do about this except to treat them with love and respect even if they will not reciprocate. If you have an opportunity to get out of that oppressive and unloving environment, run like a rabbit. If you cannot, then be a joyful example of a spiritually free woman of God totally submitted to Him.
When we are stuck in an unpleasant situation that we cannot get out of, then we know the Lord has a purpose for our training. Focus on Him and learn the lessons well.
Many women live with meanness regularly, a woman will react with frustration and discouragement when she is treated with dismissiveness, negating her desires for the purpose of subjegating her.
Christ never at any time commanded a man to oppress or force his wife through manipulation or intimidation. These are ungodly traits used by pagan cultures, rather than the traits of a man submitted to Christ himself.
When a man has faith, he has no need to force, he merely instructs and prays with all gentleness and deep concern, and God will work His ways in his wife. Many men think they are dealing with a contentious women, and some are, but often they create the contention by their disrespectful attitude toward their wife.
It is easy to break a woman, just negate her, verbally abuse her, never encourage her in the things that she desire to do, you will be successful in destroying her creativity, ruining her walk with God and causing deep depression.
1 Peter 3:7 "You husbands in the same way, live with your wives in an understanding way, as with someone weaker, since she is a woman; and show her honor as a fellow heir of the grace of life, so that your prayers will not be hindered."
It is pagan cultures, such as Islam that train their men to emotionally and physically abuse their wives, relegating them to the level of property.
God says that the woman and man in marriage are "fellow heirs" in life, they are to work in tandem, while the man is the head, he is to consider her counsel, honor her decisions within the realm of responsibility as the "keeper of the home."
He is to see that the children honor her too, by upholding her rules of the household and conduct.
Proverbs 1:8 "Hear, my son, your father's instruction And do not forsake your mother's teaching;"
When you are in a church that almost completely negates the spiritual gifts of women and teaches the men to boss their wives to get them into line, then you are in a cult.
Islam is the ultimate extreme of this example of hateful oppression of the weaker vessel. Sadly, there are Christian denominations that teach this tyrannical domination. It is ungodly and narcissistic rule, that destroys the Christian witness.
What to do now? If someone finds themselves in a difficult marriage in which the husband is treating his wife disrespectfully, there is only one recourse for the wife, that is to seek to obey God in prayer, while upholding the example of obedience to God herself. Fighting with a leader who is tyrannical will only produce more conflict and worse consequences. God must work on Him, His own way.
Do not allow the antics of the disobedient leader to devastate or depress you. Those who are in rebellion will seek to destroy your confidence in the gifts and talents God has given you, see it as a challenge to learn to submit in difficult situations, if the submission does not disobey God.
If the husband is a born again believer, try to reason with him, if he will not listen take it to other wise men who are already treating their wives respectfully and ask them to speak to him. Do not take it to the elders if the elders are teaching oppression. It is always good to engage other godly women to pray for you. You need strength to resist the urge to fight bitterly, the devil will entice you to do it, only God can help you to resist this.
Remember, yes you are not perfect and you need work too, but when you can evaluate what is going on in truth, and you see that you are being treated unreasonably to control you rather than being loved, then you will know better how to pray and when to engage other godly people.
Women use this intimidation at times too, to control ladies in the church. I have seen it often, that those who believe in following man made rules will shun those who are not burdened for the same rules. There is nothing you can do about this except to treat them with love and respect even if they will not reciprocate. If you have an opportunity to get out of that oppressive and unloving environment, run like a rabbit. If you cannot, then be a joyful example of a spiritually free woman of God totally submitted to Him.
When we are stuck in an unpleasant situation that we cannot get out of, then we know the Lord has a purpose for our training. Focus on Him and learn the lessons well.
All Down Through History
All down through history women wore the covering because those who were born again knew the commandment of God to do so. It has only been since the 1960's that women have removed the covering from their heads, right in line with the beginning of liberal teachings in the church. Many women were not comfortable with not wearing a hat or scarf, they did it because it was tradition, sadly not because God commanded it. Because they did it out of tradition without understanding, it eventually fell away. When we do things without understanding they are not commitments but fashion.
Now we have two generations of people who are used to not doing it and think it is strange and for back in the Bible times as a cultural thing, but they think this because they are no longer processing the Bible in terms of God's commands, but reading into it what they want for their own personal comfort.
Many people who demand that a woman obey her husband, will also negate the covering, but the commands for both are in the same book and even the same chapters of the Bible. Why do they think the covering was for "back then", when they demand obedience to the other things in those same passages?
1 Corinthians 11:1-16
"1 Be imitators of me, just as I also am of Christ.
2 Now I praise you because you remember me in everything and hold firmly to the traditions, just as I delivered them to you.
3 But I want you to understand that Christ is the head of every man, and the man is the head of a woman, and God is the head of Christ.
4 Every man who has something on his head while praying or prophesying disgraces his head.
5 But every woman who has her head uncovered while praying or prophesying disgraces her head, for she is one and the same as the woman whose head is shaved.
6 For if a woman does not cover her head, let her also have her hair cut off; but if it is disgraceful for a woman to have her hair cut off or [g]her head shaved, let her cover [h]her head.
7 For a man ought not to have his head covered, since he is the image and glory of God; but the woman is the glory of man.
8 For man does not originate from woman, but woman from man;
9 for indeed man was not created for the woman’s sake, but woman for the man’s sake.
10 Therefore the woman ought to have a symbol of authority on her head, because of the angels.
11 However, in the Lord, neither is woman independent of man, nor is man independent of woman.
12 For as the woman originates from the man, so also the man has his birth through the woman; and all things originate from God.
13 Judge for yourselves: is it proper for a woman to pray to God with her head uncovered?
14 Does not even nature itself teach you that if a man has long hair, it is a dishonor to him,
15 but if a woman has long hair, it is a glory to her? For her hair is given to her for a covering.
16 But if one is inclined to be contentious, we have no other practice, nor have the churches of God."
If we are to say that the covering was for back in the Bible days then we must also say that the pecking order for leadership was also. God did not write about fashion, He wrote about truth. Do you believe Him or not?
Paul taught here in verse 16, that this has been the command from the beginning of the church and all the churches practiced it. There are some who have tried to change the wording to "we have no such custom", which is in the KJV, but is inaccurate according to the original languages.
It would make no sense for Paul to go on and on about the head covering and the pecking order for leadership in a passage and at the end, obliterate all that he said with one sentence, "but we don't do this."
God spoke of modesty in women too in His Word but gives no specific clothing style to follow, but he does give very specific direction for the head covering.
Now we have two generations of people who are used to not doing it and think it is strange and for back in the Bible times as a cultural thing, but they think this because they are no longer processing the Bible in terms of God's commands, but reading into it what they want for their own personal comfort.
Many people who demand that a woman obey her husband, will also negate the covering, but the commands for both are in the same book and even the same chapters of the Bible. Why do they think the covering was for "back then", when they demand obedience to the other things in those same passages?
1 Corinthians 11:1-16
"1 Be imitators of me, just as I also am of Christ.
2 Now I praise you because you remember me in everything and hold firmly to the traditions, just as I delivered them to you.
3 But I want you to understand that Christ is the head of every man, and the man is the head of a woman, and God is the head of Christ.
4 Every man who has something on his head while praying or prophesying disgraces his head.
5 But every woman who has her head uncovered while praying or prophesying disgraces her head, for she is one and the same as the woman whose head is shaved.
6 For if a woman does not cover her head, let her also have her hair cut off; but if it is disgraceful for a woman to have her hair cut off or [g]her head shaved, let her cover [h]her head.
7 For a man ought not to have his head covered, since he is the image and glory of God; but the woman is the glory of man.
8 For man does not originate from woman, but woman from man;
9 for indeed man was not created for the woman’s sake, but woman for the man’s sake.
10 Therefore the woman ought to have a symbol of authority on her head, because of the angels.
11 However, in the Lord, neither is woman independent of man, nor is man independent of woman.
12 For as the woman originates from the man, so also the man has his birth through the woman; and all things originate from God.
13 Judge for yourselves: is it proper for a woman to pray to God with her head uncovered?
14 Does not even nature itself teach you that if a man has long hair, it is a dishonor to him,
15 but if a woman has long hair, it is a glory to her? For her hair is given to her for a covering.
16 But if one is inclined to be contentious, we have no other practice, nor have the churches of God."
If we are to say that the covering was for back in the Bible days then we must also say that the pecking order for leadership was also. God did not write about fashion, He wrote about truth. Do you believe Him or not?
Paul taught here in verse 16, that this has been the command from the beginning of the church and all the churches practiced it. There are some who have tried to change the wording to "we have no such custom", which is in the KJV, but is inaccurate according to the original languages.
It would make no sense for Paul to go on and on about the head covering and the pecking order for leadership in a passage and at the end, obliterate all that he said with one sentence, "but we don't do this."
God spoke of modesty in women too in His Word but gives no specific clothing style to follow, but he does give very specific direction for the head covering.
Wednesday, March 25, 2015
Peace Maker or Peace Keeper
Written and posted back in 2010
As I pondered today, situations that I have encountered over the past few years, I was struck with the fact that so many people in our families and churches have succumb to the belief that godly peace is something we manufactured in our flesh to keep others happy with us.
In an effort to keep everyone happy we have minimized the scripture to the level of "feel good reading, when life is hard" rather than the source of wisdom for the living of our lives. When the Scriptures are not taken seriously, any good book on happiness will do for us.
This reminded me of an article I once read, that differentiated between the "peace keeper" and the "peace maker." I was intrigued by the title of the article because it seemed to practically scream out at me, "this is what you have been seeing, but couldn't put into words." So I read the article and was pleased to discover that I had been observing in relationships, whether in church or in family, just what God had been saying to me and now confirmed in writing by someone else. Sometimes we don't trust the inklings of the Holy Spirit, when we feel we are the only ones aware of the problem.
First let's see what a peace keeper looks like in terms of actions, then we will be more able to discern the attitude involved in peace keeping. The peace keeper is someone who seeks to smooth things over when a wrong has been committed. They pride themselves in keeping everyone feeling good and happy, while at the same time wining friends.
Peace keepers are hopeful that the problem will go away on it's own and then everyone will get over their hurt and be friendly to one another again eventually. Neglect never is a solution to a sore or injury in physical terms, why would we think that it would be a solution in emotional or spiritual terms? Not to mention that it is unbiblical.
The use of flattery, is one of the main technics of a peace keeper. They think if they flatter in some way, the truth will not be exposed about them. What does God say about flattery? Proverbs 29:5 says "A man who flatters his neighbor spreads a net for his feet."
I know a woman, we will call her Zelda, who was so much of a peace keeper that it was difficult to hold a conversation with her. When she visited with anyone, she would continually nod her head in agreement with an occasional "oh yes" to show that she was listening. Once in a while during the conversation, if one could call it that, she would get real chatty and say, "that's nice." It was like pulling teeth to get her to offer a comment longer than two words or an actual opinion about what was being said. I wondered if there was anything happening inside her head. If this had been only one encounter with her over a life time of visits, I would have thought something was on her mind, or that she was overwhelmed with another concern. I had encountered this woman several times myself and watched her with other women too, so I knew that it was not just me, but a pattern in her life.
Zelda, never confronted anyone about anything. Everyone loved her because she was like their faithful dog, Bowzer, who just accepted whatever anyone said or did without The challenge. She laid at their feet offering nothing but friendly short platitudes and adoring looks. She was the first one other ladies flocked to when they had a problem and needed someone who would listen, but remain silent and accepting. Her face was frozen in a permanent smile as her head swayed to and fro in total agreement with all that was shared.
Zelda was very careful to come across as in agreement, no matter what was being said. One day something unusual happened that confused me. Zelda was not herself that day. I witnessed her blow up in anger at someone who had confronted her about a sin in Zelda's life. Zelda shrieked in anger, stomped off while shouting as she left the room that she never wanted to see or speak to this woman ever again. Wow! What happened to our mild mannered shrinking violet?
From the book "The Subtle Power of Spiritual Abuse
" we find this quote, "For some, healing has been short-circuited: Jesus' precept, 'the truth shall set you free,' has been replaced by man's precept, 'to be nice is better than to be honest' and 'keep (false) peace at all costs."
This is entirely unbiblical.
Zelda, having been confronted about an offense she had committed against this woman, seemed to not be able to handle criticism to such a degree that she was willing to lose a friend to maintain her facade. She had evolved instantaneously from that dog eyed adoring puppy into a ravenous wolf. How could this be? Perhaps Zelda was never the adoring puppy dog at all, but inwardly has always been the wolf in sheeps’ clothing. Perhaps that waving head and sweet smile were nothing more than acting.
Once the play acting was over and Zelda's inner being was discovered, she now was impervious to spiritual growth as long as she was too prideful to admit her sin and be reconciled to those she had wounded. Her "peace keeping" was not so peaceful after all. It was only peaceful until she had to be accountable in some way to others. Then all that peace keeping unfolded into a war that would cause more devastation in the lives of others.
Peace keeping promotes a spirit of deception and lying. Showing forth a face of kindness to convince others that we are a spiritual person, is lying. Pretending to love, when we really are indifferent to the needs of others is the worst kind of fakery. We can get others to trust us and then use what they have said against them later, or worse, use what they have said to manipulate them into serving us in some way, even if it is only our egos that are stroked. This is spiritual blackmail.
Peace keepers lack integrity, they are self absorbed while attempting to deceive others into thinking they are deeply concerned. The concern does not reach a depth greater than the end of their lips. They withhold information for the purpose of maintaining their personal appearance. They do not say what they mean and they do not mean what they say. They are in a sense hiding themselves for their own advancement.
Another very disturbing trait of the peace maker is their uncanny ability to cover-up the sins of the people they like. I say like instead of love, because it is not loving to cover up the sin of an unrepentant person. It is not love of the sinner and it is not love of the victim.
There are rare occasions when the peace keeper may point out a flaw in another person, but only to defend themselves when they are approached about their own sin. The focus is still themselves.
In short, the peace keeper is playing a role, they are not authentic, they appear warm and gentle on the outside, but inwardly they are deceitful and contentious. They leave a wake of frustrated people where ever they go.
I knew of young woman we will call, Bunny, who was so jealous of another woman that she concocted lies and exaggerations about the object of her jealousy to the point where the victim lost friends and family, who believed the lies. Her tactics were to distort the events to the point that they were barely recognizable. This woman too, was a Zelda type, always appearing to others as the victim, when she was the perpetrator. When confronted with her sin, she, like Zelda, stomped off and isolated herself from anyone who required her to be accountable.
Had Zelda and Bunny reacted with humility and sadness at the discovery of their sin, we could have concluded that they were truly sorry for the trouble they had caused. But since there was violent anger, we can be sure there was guilt also. When a person is humble, they are embarrassed, not mad. When a person is not guilty, they are humble and not angry.
The explosion of anger in Zelda and Bunny was evidence that they were guilty and would fight in an effort to convince others they were not guilty when they knew they were. It is also an attempt to make the accuser look like the bad guy.
The peace keeper does not seek God honestly for their direction, but for justification of their sins. They may even use scripture to support and validate their sin, but it is taken out of context and misused.
The peace-keeper is a person who seeks to smooth things over for superficial peace that does not only mask the problem but exacerbates it in the long term, causing greater turmoil. As an author once stated "throwing a rug over a gasoline spill next to the fire only causes an explosion. Would we cover cancer with a band-aid, or a gapping head wound with a cap.
The peace-keeper relies entirely on their own desires and feelings, to evaluate life and friends. They are almost entirely motivated by self interest. This is a picture of a narcissist and a manipulator. In short, they do not make peace, they create devastation by ignoring God's principles of friendship and resolution of problems, to maintain an appearance. When that appearance is exposed as a sham, then they must put out of their lives anyone who knows the truth, rather than repenting.
Zelda is of this sort, she never offers lasting help to anyone. She never instructs, corrects, rebukes or teaches. She is nearly worthless in terms of a valued friendship to anyone.
Zelda would put a band-aid over cancer. She would pretend there wasn't a gapping wound in your head that needed stitches, but would help you on with your hat to keep the blood off her floors while pretending that it was to help you. Or worse yet, she would shout at others to come and help with something that she could have done. Doing, being and saying nothing is the trademark of the Zelda's of the world. If they say, do and be nothing, then in their mind they can be accountable for nothing.
Our church culture as a whole are peace-keepers. They look to the fast food fix, the quick easy answers and those that are pleasurable. In short, our church culture does not care deeply about people, but only about enjoyment materialism and financial gain.
After all the bad news concerning the peace-keeper, we need to reflect on the principles of the peace maker.
Peace makers desire a cure to the problem and are willing to walk the hard road to get to the place of safety.
The peace maker desires to do things God's way. They seek the scriptures for His principles to address the problems of life. They are deeply concerned about the well being of others. They are more concerned about the long term affect of a matter rather than immediate happiness.
If we love God first we will not fear mans' reaction to God's standard. We are merely the messenger who brings God's word for the solutions. When we will not speak the truth, we doom the hearer to a life of superficial phoniness that leaves them spiritual and emotional babies.
God says "By this we know if we love the children of God, when we love God and keep His commandments." God's command to love our brothers is summed up in loving God's commands. The most valuable things we can do for our brothers and sisters in the Lord is to LOVE HIS COMMANDMENTS. If we claim to love our brethren but do not love God's commandments, then we do not love our brethren.
If we love God's commandments then we will use them to instruct our brothers and sister in the Lord. We will hold fast to them and plead with our family to follow what God says.
God has given us the ten commandments as a guideline for knowing His will.
When we are peace keepers, this is what we do to the commandments of God:
1. Thou shalt have no other gods before Me.
If we are a peace keeper we violate this commandments, because we are placing the approval of people above God's commands.
2. Thou shalt make no graven images.
When we are a peace maker we are creating an image of God in our minds that is not truth.
3. Thou shalt not take the name of they God in vain.
When we are a peace keeper, we are emanating an air of godliness that is not true, we call ourselves Christians but do not find God's word sufficient for all things, then we are vainly using His name as ours.
4. Keep holy the Sabbath.
When we dishonor God in peace keeping, we are not concerned about holiness at all, let alone true worship. We can not
worship what we don't know.
5. Honor thy Father and they Mother.
When we live a lie, based on selfish ambition we dishonor our parents with our lives.
6. Thou shalt not kill.
God says when we hate our brother, it is the same as murdering him. When we are more concerned about our personal comfort and being accepted than we are about God's truth, we are hating our brother.
7. Thou shalt not commit adultery.
When we place other things and people above God we are committing adultery against Him.
8. Thou shalt not steal.
When we are peace keepers we are stealing the truth from our brother, keeping it from him that which would help him.
9. Thou shalt not lie.
When we are peace keepers we are telling a lie. We display loving kindness, when deep inside we have no love for others, only for ourselves.
10.Thou shalt not covet.
When we are peace keepers we are coveting the admiration of others rather than promoting the worshiping of God.
When we are peace makers this is what we do to the commandments of God.
1. Thou shalt have no other gods before Me.
We love to honor God above everything and everyone else, he gets all the glory while we serve Him and others.
2. Thou shalt make no graven images.
We do not place our trust in images made by human hands. We place the needs of others above our own desires.
3. Thou shalt not take the name of they God in vain.
We live a life dedicated to making God look good. We quote Him, we thank Him and we worship Him.
4. Keep holy the Sabbath.
We desire to worship with others collectively, keeping the day set aside for Him.
5. Honor thy Father and they Mother.
We have a deep reverence and love for our parents.
6. Thou shalt not kill.
We do not murder, nor do we hate. We love our fellow man to the point of self sacrifice
7. Thou shalt not commit adultery.
We do not betray a loved one. We honor those who love God.
8. Thou shalt not steal.
We do not take what is not ours and we do not have a sense of entitlement to anything. All things belong to God.
9. Thou shalt not lie.
We do not manipulate or lie to get our way.
10. Thou shalt not covet.
We do not want what others have, we are not jealous of others.
It must be said that all of us break the commandments regularly if only in our hearts. But as we grow closer and closer to the Lord, the more we hate dishonoring God. We hate the sin that we find in ourselves. We confess it and God begins a work of cleansing us. God will not do the work of cleansing if we will not confess.
How do we shed the life of peace keeping and become a peace maker? We confess what we are and ask the Lord to change us. He knows just what to do to help us change.
As I pondered today, situations that I have encountered over the past few years, I was struck with the fact that so many people in our families and churches have succumb to the belief that godly peace is something we manufactured in our flesh to keep others happy with us.
In an effort to keep everyone happy we have minimized the scripture to the level of "feel good reading, when life is hard" rather than the source of wisdom for the living of our lives. When the Scriptures are not taken seriously, any good book on happiness will do for us.
This reminded me of an article I once read, that differentiated between the "peace keeper" and the "peace maker." I was intrigued by the title of the article because it seemed to practically scream out at me, "this is what you have been seeing, but couldn't put into words." So I read the article and was pleased to discover that I had been observing in relationships, whether in church or in family, just what God had been saying to me and now confirmed in writing by someone else. Sometimes we don't trust the inklings of the Holy Spirit, when we feel we are the only ones aware of the problem.
First let's see what a peace keeper looks like in terms of actions, then we will be more able to discern the attitude involved in peace keeping. The peace keeper is someone who seeks to smooth things over when a wrong has been committed. They pride themselves in keeping everyone feeling good and happy, while at the same time wining friends.
Peace keepers are hopeful that the problem will go away on it's own and then everyone will get over their hurt and be friendly to one another again eventually. Neglect never is a solution to a sore or injury in physical terms, why would we think that it would be a solution in emotional or spiritual terms? Not to mention that it is unbiblical.
The use of flattery, is one of the main technics of a peace keeper. They think if they flatter in some way, the truth will not be exposed about them. What does God say about flattery? Proverbs 29:5 says "A man who flatters his neighbor spreads a net for his feet."
I know a woman, we will call her Zelda, who was so much of a peace keeper that it was difficult to hold a conversation with her. When she visited with anyone, she would continually nod her head in agreement with an occasional "oh yes" to show that she was listening. Once in a while during the conversation, if one could call it that, she would get real chatty and say, "that's nice." It was like pulling teeth to get her to offer a comment longer than two words or an actual opinion about what was being said. I wondered if there was anything happening inside her head. If this had been only one encounter with her over a life time of visits, I would have thought something was on her mind, or that she was overwhelmed with another concern. I had encountered this woman several times myself and watched her with other women too, so I knew that it was not just me, but a pattern in her life.
Zelda, never confronted anyone about anything. Everyone loved her because she was like their faithful dog, Bowzer, who just accepted whatever anyone said or did without The challenge. She laid at their feet offering nothing but friendly short platitudes and adoring looks. She was the first one other ladies flocked to when they had a problem and needed someone who would listen, but remain silent and accepting. Her face was frozen in a permanent smile as her head swayed to and fro in total agreement with all that was shared.
Zelda was very careful to come across as in agreement, no matter what was being said. One day something unusual happened that confused me. Zelda was not herself that day. I witnessed her blow up in anger at someone who had confronted her about a sin in Zelda's life. Zelda shrieked in anger, stomped off while shouting as she left the room that she never wanted to see or speak to this woman ever again. Wow! What happened to our mild mannered shrinking violet?
From the book "The Subtle Power of Spiritual Abuse
" we find this quote, "For some, healing has been short-circuited: Jesus' precept, 'the truth shall set you free,' has been replaced by man's precept, 'to be nice is better than to be honest' and 'keep (false) peace at all costs."
This is entirely unbiblical.
Zelda, having been confronted about an offense she had committed against this woman, seemed to not be able to handle criticism to such a degree that she was willing to lose a friend to maintain her facade. She had evolved instantaneously from that dog eyed adoring puppy into a ravenous wolf. How could this be? Perhaps Zelda was never the adoring puppy dog at all, but inwardly has always been the wolf in sheeps’ clothing. Perhaps that waving head and sweet smile were nothing more than acting.
Once the play acting was over and Zelda's inner being was discovered, she now was impervious to spiritual growth as long as she was too prideful to admit her sin and be reconciled to those she had wounded. Her "peace keeping" was not so peaceful after all. It was only peaceful until she had to be accountable in some way to others. Then all that peace keeping unfolded into a war that would cause more devastation in the lives of others.
Peace keeping promotes a spirit of deception and lying. Showing forth a face of kindness to convince others that we are a spiritual person, is lying. Pretending to love, when we really are indifferent to the needs of others is the worst kind of fakery. We can get others to trust us and then use what they have said against them later, or worse, use what they have said to manipulate them into serving us in some way, even if it is only our egos that are stroked. This is spiritual blackmail.
Peace keepers lack integrity, they are self absorbed while attempting to deceive others into thinking they are deeply concerned. The concern does not reach a depth greater than the end of their lips. They withhold information for the purpose of maintaining their personal appearance. They do not say what they mean and they do not mean what they say. They are in a sense hiding themselves for their own advancement.
Another very disturbing trait of the peace maker is their uncanny ability to cover-up the sins of the people they like. I say like instead of love, because it is not loving to cover up the sin of an unrepentant person. It is not love of the sinner and it is not love of the victim.
There are rare occasions when the peace keeper may point out a flaw in another person, but only to defend themselves when they are approached about their own sin. The focus is still themselves.
In short, the peace keeper is playing a role, they are not authentic, they appear warm and gentle on the outside, but inwardly they are deceitful and contentious. They leave a wake of frustrated people where ever they go.
I knew of young woman we will call, Bunny, who was so jealous of another woman that she concocted lies and exaggerations about the object of her jealousy to the point where the victim lost friends and family, who believed the lies. Her tactics were to distort the events to the point that they were barely recognizable. This woman too, was a Zelda type, always appearing to others as the victim, when she was the perpetrator. When confronted with her sin, she, like Zelda, stomped off and isolated herself from anyone who required her to be accountable.
Had Zelda and Bunny reacted with humility and sadness at the discovery of their sin, we could have concluded that they were truly sorry for the trouble they had caused. But since there was violent anger, we can be sure there was guilt also. When a person is humble, they are embarrassed, not mad. When a person is not guilty, they are humble and not angry.
The explosion of anger in Zelda and Bunny was evidence that they were guilty and would fight in an effort to convince others they were not guilty when they knew they were. It is also an attempt to make the accuser look like the bad guy.
The peace keeper does not seek God honestly for their direction, but for justification of their sins. They may even use scripture to support and validate their sin, but it is taken out of context and misused.
The peace-keeper is a person who seeks to smooth things over for superficial peace that does not only mask the problem but exacerbates it in the long term, causing greater turmoil. As an author once stated "throwing a rug over a gasoline spill next to the fire only causes an explosion. Would we cover cancer with a band-aid, or a gapping head wound with a cap.
The peace-keeper relies entirely on their own desires and feelings, to evaluate life and friends. They are almost entirely motivated by self interest. This is a picture of a narcissist and a manipulator. In short, they do not make peace, they create devastation by ignoring God's principles of friendship and resolution of problems, to maintain an appearance. When that appearance is exposed as a sham, then they must put out of their lives anyone who knows the truth, rather than repenting.
Zelda is of this sort, she never offers lasting help to anyone. She never instructs, corrects, rebukes or teaches. She is nearly worthless in terms of a valued friendship to anyone.
Zelda would put a band-aid over cancer. She would pretend there wasn't a gapping wound in your head that needed stitches, but would help you on with your hat to keep the blood off her floors while pretending that it was to help you. Or worse yet, she would shout at others to come and help with something that she could have done. Doing, being and saying nothing is the trademark of the Zelda's of the world. If they say, do and be nothing, then in their mind they can be accountable for nothing.
Our church culture as a whole are peace-keepers. They look to the fast food fix, the quick easy answers and those that are pleasurable. In short, our church culture does not care deeply about people, but only about enjoyment materialism and financial gain.
After all the bad news concerning the peace-keeper, we need to reflect on the principles of the peace maker.
Peace makers desire a cure to the problem and are willing to walk the hard road to get to the place of safety.
The peace maker desires to do things God's way. They seek the scriptures for His principles to address the problems of life. They are deeply concerned about the well being of others. They are more concerned about the long term affect of a matter rather than immediate happiness.
If we love God first we will not fear mans' reaction to God's standard. We are merely the messenger who brings God's word for the solutions. When we will not speak the truth, we doom the hearer to a life of superficial phoniness that leaves them spiritual and emotional babies.
God says "By this we know if we love the children of God, when we love God and keep His commandments." God's command to love our brothers is summed up in loving God's commands. The most valuable things we can do for our brothers and sisters in the Lord is to LOVE HIS COMMANDMENTS. If we claim to love our brethren but do not love God's commandments, then we do not love our brethren.
If we love God's commandments then we will use them to instruct our brothers and sister in the Lord. We will hold fast to them and plead with our family to follow what God says.
God has given us the ten commandments as a guideline for knowing His will.
When we are peace keepers, this is what we do to the commandments of God:
1. Thou shalt have no other gods before Me.
If we are a peace keeper we violate this commandments, because we are placing the approval of people above God's commands.
2. Thou shalt make no graven images.
When we are a peace maker we are creating an image of God in our minds that is not truth.
3. Thou shalt not take the name of they God in vain.
When we are a peace keeper, we are emanating an air of godliness that is not true, we call ourselves Christians but do not find God's word sufficient for all things, then we are vainly using His name as ours.
4. Keep holy the Sabbath.
When we dishonor God in peace keeping, we are not concerned about holiness at all, let alone true worship. We can not
worship what we don't know.
5. Honor thy Father and they Mother.
When we live a lie, based on selfish ambition we dishonor our parents with our lives.
6. Thou shalt not kill.
God says when we hate our brother, it is the same as murdering him. When we are more concerned about our personal comfort and being accepted than we are about God's truth, we are hating our brother.
7. Thou shalt not commit adultery.
When we place other things and people above God we are committing adultery against Him.
8. Thou shalt not steal.
When we are peace keepers we are stealing the truth from our brother, keeping it from him that which would help him.
9. Thou shalt not lie.
When we are peace keepers we are telling a lie. We display loving kindness, when deep inside we have no love for others, only for ourselves.
10.Thou shalt not covet.
When we are peace keepers we are coveting the admiration of others rather than promoting the worshiping of God.
When we are peace makers this is what we do to the commandments of God.
1. Thou shalt have no other gods before Me.
We love to honor God above everything and everyone else, he gets all the glory while we serve Him and others.
2. Thou shalt make no graven images.
We do not place our trust in images made by human hands. We place the needs of others above our own desires.
3. Thou shalt not take the name of they God in vain.
We live a life dedicated to making God look good. We quote Him, we thank Him and we worship Him.
4. Keep holy the Sabbath.
We desire to worship with others collectively, keeping the day set aside for Him.
5. Honor thy Father and they Mother.
We have a deep reverence and love for our parents.
6. Thou shalt not kill.
We do not murder, nor do we hate. We love our fellow man to the point of self sacrifice
7. Thou shalt not commit adultery.
We do not betray a loved one. We honor those who love God.
8. Thou shalt not steal.
We do not take what is not ours and we do not have a sense of entitlement to anything. All things belong to God.
9. Thou shalt not lie.
We do not manipulate or lie to get our way.
10. Thou shalt not covet.
We do not want what others have, we are not jealous of others.
It must be said that all of us break the commandments regularly if only in our hearts. But as we grow closer and closer to the Lord, the more we hate dishonoring God. We hate the sin that we find in ourselves. We confess it and God begins a work of cleansing us. God will not do the work of cleansing if we will not confess.
How do we shed the life of peace keeping and become a peace maker? We confess what we are and ask the Lord to change us. He knows just what to do to help us change.
Biblical Training In The Home
Many women face the dilemma of being married to a man who will not lead his family on any level. The wives in these marriages, have often asked their husbands to lead, but to no avail. Sadly many of these women are judged as usuring, when they have desired and even begged their husbands to lead but they would not.
When the wives would stop leading there would be no spiritual interaction in the home at all. The devastating effects of total lack of spiritual guidance over time is too great for them, they begin to lead again, hoping against hope that the little that they can do would make a difference in their children's lives, for the Lord
Many women have experience contempt on the part of their children, it is natural for unregenerate children to favor the spouse who requires nothing from them. There are no rules, no chastisements and little instruction in anything except academics.
Men lead automatically, without trying, either for God or against Him. Whichever way the father goes the children will follow.
Some ladies have seen success in the hearts of their children from their teaching, however most have seen rebellion in the hearts of their children no matter what they do, when the husband will not lead or when the father leads them in worldly thinking and worldly pleasures.
Especially when the father displays subtle or outward demonstrations of contempt for his wife's Biblical instruction, there will be dissention on the part of the children. An attitude of contempt that follows into adulthood.
When the father acts as though he is irritated at the spiritual bent of his wife, even in subtle ways, the children learn to be the same toward their mother.
Proverbs 6:20 "My son, observe the commandment of your father And do not forsake the teaching of your mother;"
Proverbs 1:8 "My son, hear the instruction of thy father, and forsake not the law of thy mother:"
God gave children two parents for a reason, the law of the mother is just as important as the instruction of the father. Notice that God tells the children to listen to the instruction of the Father, but tells the children to obey the law of the Mother.
When two people work in tandem to bring the children up in the Lord, the children learn to respect and love both parents, favoritism is not an issue because the children see that the parents walk together in one life purpose and that is to glorify God in their upbringing.
When the father negates the mother, refusing to uphold her mandates for conduct in the Lord, he fosters a rebellion against authority and against the mother, in the children.
The same is true of the reverse, when the Father is trying to lead in the Lord and the Mother will not support him, it is natural for the child to gravitate toward the one who allows disobedience and rebellion.
Sadly, far too many families operate in the realm of a father that will not lead, even those who will lead but misinterpret the Word to mean the woman has no say at all, are also unbiblical and fostering rebellion against the authority of the Mother in the hearts of the children.
The mandate from God is for the children to "listen to the instruction of their father and to obey the law of their Mother." To negate one of these actions or attitudes is to bring revolt against the godly party and ultimately against the teachings of God.
When a Mother makes a rule in the house, the Father should honor that and show the children to respect and honor their Mother. When the Father instructs the children in the Lord, the Mother is to uphold that. Notice I said "in the Lord", it is impossible for a Mother to endorse ungodly teachings of the Father, it would force her to disobey God. The Mother must uphold the standards of God when the Father will not.
To understand this principle we must take it to it's extreme. If a Father teaches a child to look at filth on television in the house, the Mother must teach against this. She is the keeper and protector of the home, if she does not stand against it she is guilty of participating in the sin.
Acts 5:29 "But Peter and the apostles answered, "We must obey God rather than men."
When the Father will not listen, then the wife is to remove herself from the event and pray.
May these teachings and warnings serve to cause young people to evaluate the values of their potential spouses, that they choose wisely when they marry and pray for God to warn them of unseen attitudes before they make a life long commitment to marriage.
http://www.amazon.com/Wanting-Follow-Forced-Elizabeth-Baker/dp/0842382798
When the wives would stop leading there would be no spiritual interaction in the home at all. The devastating effects of total lack of spiritual guidance over time is too great for them, they begin to lead again, hoping against hope that the little that they can do would make a difference in their children's lives, for the Lord
Many women have experience contempt on the part of their children, it is natural for unregenerate children to favor the spouse who requires nothing from them. There are no rules, no chastisements and little instruction in anything except academics.
Men lead automatically, without trying, either for God or against Him. Whichever way the father goes the children will follow.
Some ladies have seen success in the hearts of their children from their teaching, however most have seen rebellion in the hearts of their children no matter what they do, when the husband will not lead or when the father leads them in worldly thinking and worldly pleasures.
Especially when the father displays subtle or outward demonstrations of contempt for his wife's Biblical instruction, there will be dissention on the part of the children. An attitude of contempt that follows into adulthood.
When the father acts as though he is irritated at the spiritual bent of his wife, even in subtle ways, the children learn to be the same toward their mother.
Proverbs 6:20 "My son, observe the commandment of your father And do not forsake the teaching of your mother;"
Proverbs 1:8 "My son, hear the instruction of thy father, and forsake not the law of thy mother:"
God gave children two parents for a reason, the law of the mother is just as important as the instruction of the father. Notice that God tells the children to listen to the instruction of the Father, but tells the children to obey the law of the Mother.
When two people work in tandem to bring the children up in the Lord, the children learn to respect and love both parents, favoritism is not an issue because the children see that the parents walk together in one life purpose and that is to glorify God in their upbringing.
When the father negates the mother, refusing to uphold her mandates for conduct in the Lord, he fosters a rebellion against authority and against the mother, in the children.
The same is true of the reverse, when the Father is trying to lead in the Lord and the Mother will not support him, it is natural for the child to gravitate toward the one who allows disobedience and rebellion.
Sadly, far too many families operate in the realm of a father that will not lead, even those who will lead but misinterpret the Word to mean the woman has no say at all, are also unbiblical and fostering rebellion against the authority of the Mother in the hearts of the children.
The mandate from God is for the children to "listen to the instruction of their father and to obey the law of their Mother." To negate one of these actions or attitudes is to bring revolt against the godly party and ultimately against the teachings of God.
When a Mother makes a rule in the house, the Father should honor that and show the children to respect and honor their Mother. When the Father instructs the children in the Lord, the Mother is to uphold that. Notice I said "in the Lord", it is impossible for a Mother to endorse ungodly teachings of the Father, it would force her to disobey God. The Mother must uphold the standards of God when the Father will not.
To understand this principle we must take it to it's extreme. If a Father teaches a child to look at filth on television in the house, the Mother must teach against this. She is the keeper and protector of the home, if she does not stand against it she is guilty of participating in the sin.
Acts 5:29 "But Peter and the apostles answered, "We must obey God rather than men."
When the Father will not listen, then the wife is to remove herself from the event and pray.
May these teachings and warnings serve to cause young people to evaluate the values of their potential spouses, that they choose wisely when they marry and pray for God to warn them of unseen attitudes before they make a life long commitment to marriage.
http://www.amazon.com/Wanting-Follow-Forced-Elizabeth-Baker/dp/0842382798
Tuesday, March 24, 2015
The Storm is Raging and No One Will Shut the Window
Today was a hard day, attempting to show the pitfalls of accepting sins in the body of Christ, was met with contempt and name calling.
I am considered "judgemental", "harsh" and "mean" for saying that we should not endorse sin in the body through the celebration of it in party fashion.
I was accused of not being sinless, therefore I should never point out sin. I was told that because everyone has sin, I should be gentle and remain silent for the Holy Spirit to speak to them.
In short, every trick and manipulation in the book was engaged to bludgeon the one who was pointing out sin.
The one Bible account that was used against my arguments was that David sinned with Bethsheba. I pointed out that David was rebuked by Nathan the prophet for his sin and because of it, David became deeply convicted over it and repented. Even so, the consequences of the sin were not removed. God didn't allow David to build the temple because of bloodshed in his household and the baby by the adulterous affair died.
It is common for pretenders to know just enough of the Bible to use it against you through cherry picking verses. Without the entire passage we are led to believe the opposite of what the Scriptures are actually saying.
Sadly the next generation is Scripturally illiterate to such a degree that they believe sin is alright because every one has sin. They believe that no one should tell another person they are in sin, while they are telling us we are wrong for speaking about sin.
We are all wrong in sin, so sin is alright, but it is sin to rebuke someone of sin, but that is not alright.
Does anyone see the problem here?
When reasoning is going out the window there is no keeping out the storm.
I am considered "judgemental", "harsh" and "mean" for saying that we should not endorse sin in the body through the celebration of it in party fashion.
I was accused of not being sinless, therefore I should never point out sin. I was told that because everyone has sin, I should be gentle and remain silent for the Holy Spirit to speak to them.
In short, every trick and manipulation in the book was engaged to bludgeon the one who was pointing out sin.
The one Bible account that was used against my arguments was that David sinned with Bethsheba. I pointed out that David was rebuked by Nathan the prophet for his sin and because of it, David became deeply convicted over it and repented. Even so, the consequences of the sin were not removed. God didn't allow David to build the temple because of bloodshed in his household and the baby by the adulterous affair died.
It is common for pretenders to know just enough of the Bible to use it against you through cherry picking verses. Without the entire passage we are led to believe the opposite of what the Scriptures are actually saying.
Sadly the next generation is Scripturally illiterate to such a degree that they believe sin is alright because every one has sin. They believe that no one should tell another person they are in sin, while they are telling us we are wrong for speaking about sin.
We are all wrong in sin, so sin is alright, but it is sin to rebuke someone of sin, but that is not alright.
Does anyone see the problem here?
When reasoning is going out the window there is no keeping out the storm.
Pray Until God Says Stop
It is actually possible for the Lord to tell us to stop praying for someone, because He knows their heart and that they will either become born again or they have made the choice for eternity to reject Him.
I have had this sense lately about people that I have been praying for, for more than 40 years. Nothing changes in their attitudes, the pride still abound, even greater than it was when they were younger as though the culture helped them to lean into the popular enticing ways rather than fight against them.
When we see a "Christian" getting worse,more prideful, more arrogant, more superficial, instead of better as they grow older, we have a clue that they have either never been born again or they have allowed the culture to shape their mentality. Most have never been born again because they have not understood trusting Christ for salvation, they are still trying to be good, while trusting in themselves.
Mark 4:
1 He began to teach again by the sea. And such a very large crowd gathered to Him that He got into a boat in the sea and sat down; and the whole crowd was by the sea on the land.
2 And He was teaching them many things in parables, and was saying to them in His teaching,
3 “Listen to this! Behold, the sower went out to sow;
4 as he was sowing, some seed fell beside the road, and the birds came and ate it up.
5 Other seed fell on the rocky ground where it did not have much soil; and immediately it sprang up because it had no depth of soil.
6 And after the sun had risen, it was scorched; and because it had no root, it withered away.
7 Other seed fell among the thorns, and the thorns came up and choked it, and it yielded no crop.
8 Other seeds fell into the good soil, and as they grew up and increased, they yielded a crop and produced thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold.”
9 And He was saying, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”
2 Timothy 4:3
"For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires,"
Jeremiah 11:14
""Therefore do not pray for this people, nor lift up a cry or prayer for them; for I will not listen when they call to Me because of their disaster."
Jeremiah 7:16
""As for you, do not pray for this people, and do not lift up cry or prayer for them, and do not intercede with Me; for I do not hear you."
1 Corinthians 5:5
"I have decided to deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of his flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus."
Matthew 7:6
""Do not give what is holy to dogs, and do not throw your pearls before swine, or they will trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces."
This is a sad day when we realize we can do nothing to help those who have regressed or have never been born again. However, it is also a joyous day, because the burden of their foolishness no longer hangs on us, it has been given to the Lord and He knows exactly what to do.
1 Peter 5:7
"casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you."
God has recorded all my prayers over the past 40 years, they count for now and for eternity. Sometimes we beg God as though He must continually be reminded, I am tired and weary from the stress of the rebellion of my children, I have released them to Christ, He will do what is necessary in His timing!
In the mean time I am going to get on with my life, desiring to grow in the Lord with no one holding me back or distracting me.
Colossians 2:18
"18 Let no one keep defrauding you of your prize by delighting in self-abasement and the worship of the angels, taking his stand on visions he has seen, inflated without cause by his fleshly mind,"
Those who are in rebellion, thinking up reasons to treat us with contempt, refusing to resolve matters to enslave us to their petty quarrels, must be removed from our lives. They can keep us in a one down position, continually preoccupied with foolishness even ruining relationships because of their jealousy while manipulating to control us.
Let no one control you but Christ.
Galatians 5:22-23
"22 But the fruit of the SPIRIT (Christ) is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law."
2 Corinthians 5:14-15
"14 For the love of Christ controls us, having concluded this, that one died for all, therefore all died; 15 and He died for all, so that they who live might no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf."
I have had this sense lately about people that I have been praying for, for more than 40 years. Nothing changes in their attitudes, the pride still abound, even greater than it was when they were younger as though the culture helped them to lean into the popular enticing ways rather than fight against them.
When we see a "Christian" getting worse,more prideful, more arrogant, more superficial, instead of better as they grow older, we have a clue that they have either never been born again or they have allowed the culture to shape their mentality. Most have never been born again because they have not understood trusting Christ for salvation, they are still trying to be good, while trusting in themselves.
Mark 4:
1 He began to teach again by the sea. And such a very large crowd gathered to Him that He got into a boat in the sea and sat down; and the whole crowd was by the sea on the land.
2 And He was teaching them many things in parables, and was saying to them in His teaching,
3 “Listen to this! Behold, the sower went out to sow;
4 as he was sowing, some seed fell beside the road, and the birds came and ate it up.
5 Other seed fell on the rocky ground where it did not have much soil; and immediately it sprang up because it had no depth of soil.
6 And after the sun had risen, it was scorched; and because it had no root, it withered away.
7 Other seed fell among the thorns, and the thorns came up and choked it, and it yielded no crop.
8 Other seeds fell into the good soil, and as they grew up and increased, they yielded a crop and produced thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold.”
9 And He was saying, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”
2 Timothy 4:3
"For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires,"
Jeremiah 11:14
""Therefore do not pray for this people, nor lift up a cry or prayer for them; for I will not listen when they call to Me because of their disaster."
Jeremiah 7:16
""As for you, do not pray for this people, and do not lift up cry or prayer for them, and do not intercede with Me; for I do not hear you."
1 Corinthians 5:5
"I have decided to deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of his flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus."
Matthew 7:6
""Do not give what is holy to dogs, and do not throw your pearls before swine, or they will trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces."
This is a sad day when we realize we can do nothing to help those who have regressed or have never been born again. However, it is also a joyous day, because the burden of their foolishness no longer hangs on us, it has been given to the Lord and He knows exactly what to do.
1 Peter 5:7
"casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you."
God has recorded all my prayers over the past 40 years, they count for now and for eternity. Sometimes we beg God as though He must continually be reminded, I am tired and weary from the stress of the rebellion of my children, I have released them to Christ, He will do what is necessary in His timing!
In the mean time I am going to get on with my life, desiring to grow in the Lord with no one holding me back or distracting me.
Colossians 2:18
"18 Let no one keep defrauding you of your prize by delighting in self-abasement and the worship of the angels, taking his stand on visions he has seen, inflated without cause by his fleshly mind,"
Those who are in rebellion, thinking up reasons to treat us with contempt, refusing to resolve matters to enslave us to their petty quarrels, must be removed from our lives. They can keep us in a one down position, continually preoccupied with foolishness even ruining relationships because of their jealousy while manipulating to control us.
Let no one control you but Christ.
Galatians 5:22-23
"22 But the fruit of the SPIRIT (Christ) is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law."
2 Corinthians 5:14-15
"14 For the love of Christ controls us, having concluded this, that one died for all, therefore all died; 15 and He died for all, so that they who live might no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf."
Monday, March 23, 2015
If There is no Love, There is no Salvation
"Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love. In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another. No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us." (1 John 4:7-12 KJV)
Franklin Graham Told The Truth
Franklin Graham told the truth here, sadly though religious leaders came against him. It is no wonder our country is a mess, when the religious leaders don't know any better than to teach young people to disobey authority.
I completely agree with this, I have said it to my husband. I know I will not be shot by the police, because I am not in places where crimes are occurring and I do not resist authority. If an officer approached me to speak to me I would not fight back, act snotty or resist in any way. I would speak to him with respect calmly while answering everything he wanted to know.
No one can tell me that these rebellious young people who fight back are completely innocent. We don't fight back when we are innocent, we submit and explain things willingly and clearly.
I completely agree with this, I have said it to my husband. I know I will not be shot by the police, because I am not in places where crimes are occurring and I do not resist authority. If an officer approached me to speak to me I would not fight back, act snotty or resist in any way. I would speak to him with respect calmly while answering everything he wanted to know.
No one can tell me that these rebellious young people who fight back are completely innocent. We don't fight back when we are innocent, we submit and explain things willingly and clearly.
Sunday, March 22, 2015
Christ Did It All
It's all about Christ or nothing about Christ.
If you believe you can lose your salvation, you believe that you have to do part of the work in obtaining your salvation. This is blasphemy, to think that you have to help God save you.
Ephesians 2:10 "10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them."
If you think you have to work to maintain salvation then you are no different than every other pagan religion of the world.
Catholic, Muslim, Hindu, Jehovah Witness, Seventh Day Adventists and many others are all working their way to heaven. They depend on a particular work or set of works to earn their way into heaven. Some of them let God help them a little, but they continually camp on works as their propitiation instead of Christ.
None of these religions assure anyone of their salvation, just as those "Christians" who think they can lose their salvation. If you are working to keep your salvation then you agree with these pagan religions that part of the work is yours, Christ didn't do it all and you cannot know if you have salvation until the day you die, because you don't know if you will sin big enough to lose it tomorrow. You don't know how many sins you have to commit for the Holy Spirit to fly out of you.
Those who believe they can lose their salvation do not trust Christ because of all the promises He made about saving us, changing us and keeping us, are ignored as though He never said them. The excuse they use is that we can walk away from Him, meaning part of our salvation is up to us.
When they say they believe we are saved by grace, they live and breathe as though they are not. Grace is grace for obtaining salvation as well as keeping but they deny the keeping part.
The truth is that there is deep pride that makes them want to maintain some of the control, while bragging that they can do it.
I am here to tell you, no one can keep their own salvation by following the Law or any other good deeds. Many will get to heavens gate and hear these terrible words, "I NEVER KNEW YOU." They will hear them because they placed their trust in themselves rather than completely on Christ. Here is what they will say:
Matthew 7:21-23
"21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ 23 And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’"
Don't think you will get to heavens gate and be able to tell the Lord that you kept the commandments, it won't get you in.
When I get to heaven I will tell the Lord that I trusted in His Son Jesus Christ, and that will get me in, nothing else, nothing added.
If you believe you can lose your salvation, you believe that you have to do part of the work in obtaining your salvation. This is blasphemy, to think that you have to help God save you.
Ephesians 2:10 "10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them."
If you think you have to work to maintain salvation then you are no different than every other pagan religion of the world.
Catholic, Muslim, Hindu, Jehovah Witness, Seventh Day Adventists and many others are all working their way to heaven. They depend on a particular work or set of works to earn their way into heaven. Some of them let God help them a little, but they continually camp on works as their propitiation instead of Christ.
None of these religions assure anyone of their salvation, just as those "Christians" who think they can lose their salvation. If you are working to keep your salvation then you agree with these pagan religions that part of the work is yours, Christ didn't do it all and you cannot know if you have salvation until the day you die, because you don't know if you will sin big enough to lose it tomorrow. You don't know how many sins you have to commit for the Holy Spirit to fly out of you.
Those who believe they can lose their salvation do not trust Christ because of all the promises He made about saving us, changing us and keeping us, are ignored as though He never said them. The excuse they use is that we can walk away from Him, meaning part of our salvation is up to us.
When they say they believe we are saved by grace, they live and breathe as though they are not. Grace is grace for obtaining salvation as well as keeping but they deny the keeping part.
The truth is that there is deep pride that makes them want to maintain some of the control, while bragging that they can do it.
I am here to tell you, no one can keep their own salvation by following the Law or any other good deeds. Many will get to heavens gate and hear these terrible words, "I NEVER KNEW YOU." They will hear them because they placed their trust in themselves rather than completely on Christ. Here is what they will say:
Matthew 7:21-23
"21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ 23 And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’"
Don't think you will get to heavens gate and be able to tell the Lord that you kept the commandments, it won't get you in.
When I get to heaven I will tell the Lord that I trusted in His Son Jesus Christ, and that will get me in, nothing else, nothing added.
Seek Truth Through Prayer
Why do so many people believe that doctrinal error is alright as long as everyone agrees that each decides for himself what he wants to believe. This reminds me of the scripture that says;
"In the last days everyone did what was right in their own eyes"
When there is doctrinal disagreement, we need to go back to scripture, using the original languages if need be, to come to a CORRECT understanding of what God meant.
The problem is that too many people love their cultural traditions and things taught by men, they just can't let go of them. No matter how clear the message from the word is, they refuse to see the truth.
How can someone fight so bitterly to defend that which God condemns or fight bitterly to avoid obeying what God commands, if they are seeking Him?
The only answer to the previous question is that many even most of those claiming to be believers are not seeking God, they are heaping up for themselves teachers that give them the answers that they like rather than what is truth.
The admonishment here is to actually go to prayer when you are challenged about a matter. Seek truth not personal desire or comfort.
"In the last days everyone did what was right in their own eyes"
When there is doctrinal disagreement, we need to go back to scripture, using the original languages if need be, to come to a CORRECT understanding of what God meant.
The problem is that too many people love their cultural traditions and things taught by men, they just can't let go of them. No matter how clear the message from the word is, they refuse to see the truth.
How can someone fight so bitterly to defend that which God condemns or fight bitterly to avoid obeying what God commands, if they are seeking Him?
The only answer to the previous question is that many even most of those claiming to be believers are not seeking God, they are heaping up for themselves teachers that give them the answers that they like rather than what is truth.
The admonishment here is to actually go to prayer when you are challenged about a matter. Seek truth not personal desire or comfort.
Do Not Grieve The Holy Spirit
Ephesians 4:30
"Do not GRIEVE THE HOLY SPIRIT of God, by whom you were SEALED for the day of redemption."
1 Thessalonians 5:16-21
"16 Rejoice always; 17 pray without ceasing; 18 in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. 19 DO NOT QUENCH THE HOLY SPIRIT; 20 do not despise prophetic utterances. 21 But examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good; 22 abstain from every form of evil."
Ephesians 1:13-14
"13 In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, 14 who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory."
Galatians 5:17
"For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please."
It is clear from the above passages that believers do sin, they do grieve the Holy Spirit at times but within them is the power of Christ to resist, because when we became born again our desires within our spirit changed, we hate the sin that dwells in our bodies, however our Spirit battles against the flesh that is still fallen.
When we die as believers our spirit goes to be with the Lord, because it is holy through the blood of , but our bodies stay behind because no sin can enter the presence of God. Our body will be changed in a flash, then it will be holy and acceptable to unite again with our Spirit in the presence of God.
1 Corinthians 15:52
"in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed."
Romans 7:15
"For what I am doing, I do not understand; for I am not practicing what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate."
Hebrews 12:6
"FOR THOSE WHOM THE LORD LOVES HE DISCIPLINES, AND HE SCOURGES EVERY SON WHOM HE RECEIVES."
God has to continually teach, train and spank us to bring us back into line with His principles. If we are truly born again believers, we do not fight against the chastising of the Lord, but rather lean into it, thankful that He is working in us.
Anyone that claims to be sinless after they are born again, doesn't understand that the flesh has not been made into a new creation and will not until the rapture of the body. The Spirit is made a new creation at the moment of salvation. Those who think we can lose salvation after Christ changes us, has to deny the working of discipline in our lives. They must not recognize the need for chastisement in the life of a believer, if they do not think they sin, or if they think sin can cause the Lord to remove His Holy Spirit from us. They also have to deny the promise of God to never leave us or forsake us.
Hebrews 13:5
"Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”
If God is the One Who saves us through grace, a free gift, then how could we ever think that we have anything within ourselves that would keep us where we should be? When we know that Christ is the Righteousness in us, then we know that we have no righteousness to offer on our own behalf.
If we think our own attempts at sinlessness have any part of the salvation through grace then it is not grace at all but works. Those who think they can lose their salvation must believe that God never disciplines His children as He said He does, but merely casts them away at the slightest infraction of His Law.
In every encounter I have had where I have asked the questions; 1. How many sins does it take for the Holy Spirit to leave us and 2. How big do the sins have to be? No one has an answer for me. Because Christ never leaves a true believer and we cannot turn ourselves back into the old creation, then we can say that our salvation is based on our trusting Christ, knowing that He paid for our sin with His own blood on the cross.
IT IS PAID IN FULL!!!! Read Hebrews chapter 9 to discover that it had to be the shedding of blood to cover our sin. No number or size of good works or lack of bad works will atone for sin, only the blood of Christ the sinless Lamb of God would do that. Since we cannot shed even our own blood to atone for our own sins, then what would make us think merely doing good works or avoiding bad ones would make any difference at all. When we see it this way, the salvation that would be atoned for by Christ could not be lost, it was paid for in full at the cross. How silly to think anything you do could save you or lose the salvation you didn't earn in the first place but had to be paid for by the shedding of blood of the perfect Lamb. You are not perfect and you have not shed your own blood for your sins, what makes you think you can earn your salvation by mere deeds?
PAID IN FULL!!!!!
1 Thessalonians 4:16-18
"16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord. 18 Therefore comfort one another with these words."
1 Corinthians 15:52
"in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed."
When we became born again, God changed our heart and sealed us with the Holy Spirit. After salvation we hate the sin we used to do and we hate the sin we do now. God disciplines us to help us return to obedience, we learn from that and grow in holiness. God never just throws us away because we don't measure up, He knows we could never measure up. Perhaps those who think God throws us away because we don't measure up are interpreting their version of salvation in terms of their understanding of our culture. That's what man does, man throws people away who don't measure up, so some think God does the same thing.
There are those stubborn believers, who are born again by the shed blood of Christ, but do not avail themselves to the discipline of Christ, ignoring His Holy Spirit, grieving Him as Ephesians 4:30 speaks of, these people are born again, but they will have consequences in this life and lost rewards in the next.
1 Corinthians 3:15
"If any man's work is burned up, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire."
For those who think you are working your way to heaven, or have any part in keeping the salvation you didn't earn, must ask the Lord if you are born again. Anyone who understands the sacrifice that was required to pay for their sin, could never think they have any works that would measure up to the shed blood of Christ.
"Do not GRIEVE THE HOLY SPIRIT of God, by whom you were SEALED for the day of redemption."
1 Thessalonians 5:16-21
"16 Rejoice always; 17 pray without ceasing; 18 in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. 19 DO NOT QUENCH THE HOLY SPIRIT; 20 do not despise prophetic utterances. 21 But examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good; 22 abstain from every form of evil."
Ephesians 1:13-14
"13 In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, 14 who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory."
Galatians 5:17
"For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please."
It is clear from the above passages that believers do sin, they do grieve the Holy Spirit at times but within them is the power of Christ to resist, because when we became born again our desires within our spirit changed, we hate the sin that dwells in our bodies, however our Spirit battles against the flesh that is still fallen.
When we die as believers our spirit goes to be with the Lord, because it is holy through the blood of , but our bodies stay behind because no sin can enter the presence of God. Our body will be changed in a flash, then it will be holy and acceptable to unite again with our Spirit in the presence of God.
1 Corinthians 15:52
"in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed."
Romans 7:15
"For what I am doing, I do not understand; for I am not practicing what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate."
Hebrews 12:6
"FOR THOSE WHOM THE LORD LOVES HE DISCIPLINES, AND HE SCOURGES EVERY SON WHOM HE RECEIVES."
God has to continually teach, train and spank us to bring us back into line with His principles. If we are truly born again believers, we do not fight against the chastising of the Lord, but rather lean into it, thankful that He is working in us.
Anyone that claims to be sinless after they are born again, doesn't understand that the flesh has not been made into a new creation and will not until the rapture of the body. The Spirit is made a new creation at the moment of salvation. Those who think we can lose salvation after Christ changes us, has to deny the working of discipline in our lives. They must not recognize the need for chastisement in the life of a believer, if they do not think they sin, or if they think sin can cause the Lord to remove His Holy Spirit from us. They also have to deny the promise of God to never leave us or forsake us.
Hebrews 13:5
"Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”
If God is the One Who saves us through grace, a free gift, then how could we ever think that we have anything within ourselves that would keep us where we should be? When we know that Christ is the Righteousness in us, then we know that we have no righteousness to offer on our own behalf.
If we think our own attempts at sinlessness have any part of the salvation through grace then it is not grace at all but works. Those who think they can lose their salvation must believe that God never disciplines His children as He said He does, but merely casts them away at the slightest infraction of His Law.
In every encounter I have had where I have asked the questions; 1. How many sins does it take for the Holy Spirit to leave us and 2. How big do the sins have to be? No one has an answer for me. Because Christ never leaves a true believer and we cannot turn ourselves back into the old creation, then we can say that our salvation is based on our trusting Christ, knowing that He paid for our sin with His own blood on the cross.
IT IS PAID IN FULL!!!! Read Hebrews chapter 9 to discover that it had to be the shedding of blood to cover our sin. No number or size of good works or lack of bad works will atone for sin, only the blood of Christ the sinless Lamb of God would do that. Since we cannot shed even our own blood to atone for our own sins, then what would make us think merely doing good works or avoiding bad ones would make any difference at all. When we see it this way, the salvation that would be atoned for by Christ could not be lost, it was paid for in full at the cross. How silly to think anything you do could save you or lose the salvation you didn't earn in the first place but had to be paid for by the shedding of blood of the perfect Lamb. You are not perfect and you have not shed your own blood for your sins, what makes you think you can earn your salvation by mere deeds?
PAID IN FULL!!!!!
1 Thessalonians 4:16-18
"16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord. 18 Therefore comfort one another with these words."
1 Corinthians 15:52
"in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed."
When we became born again, God changed our heart and sealed us with the Holy Spirit. After salvation we hate the sin we used to do and we hate the sin we do now. God disciplines us to help us return to obedience, we learn from that and grow in holiness. God never just throws us away because we don't measure up, He knows we could never measure up. Perhaps those who think God throws us away because we don't measure up are interpreting their version of salvation in terms of their understanding of our culture. That's what man does, man throws people away who don't measure up, so some think God does the same thing.
There are those stubborn believers, who are born again by the shed blood of Christ, but do not avail themselves to the discipline of Christ, ignoring His Holy Spirit, grieving Him as Ephesians 4:30 speaks of, these people are born again, but they will have consequences in this life and lost rewards in the next.
1 Corinthians 3:15
"If any man's work is burned up, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire."
For those who think you are working your way to heaven, or have any part in keeping the salvation you didn't earn, must ask the Lord if you are born again. Anyone who understands the sacrifice that was required to pay for their sin, could never think they have any works that would measure up to the shed blood of Christ.
Saturday, March 21, 2015
Let Go Of Your Own Control!
God changes us into a new creation when we become born again, it is His work.
To say that we could lose what God did in us, would be like saying you are more powerful than God, He's the one that transforms us into a new creation. But there are those who think we can untransform ourselves by our mere deeds.
To say that we could lose that is saying we can overpower God, that God is supject to us rather than us being subject to Him.
We cannot undo what God does, it is His power not ours that makes us a new creation. It is His power that keeps us, therefore we have no power to obtain our salvation through our own effort, nor do we have power to maintain our salvation through our own effort.
2 Corinthians 5:16-19
"16 Therefore from now on we recognize no one according to the flesh; even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him in this way no longer.
17 Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.
18 Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation,
19 namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation."
Ephesians 2:10
"For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them."
What part of "HIS WORKMANSHIP" do we not understand?
All those who think they are working hard to keep what they did not earn, are not resting in the arms of Jesus, but struggling daily to be sure they can do or be enough to please God.
No one can do enough to please God, that's why Christ had to die to cover our sins, it took the shedding of blood of the only Righteous Perfect Lamb of God to do this. And we think our measly little feeble efforts and attempts to be good would be more than what Christ did? How incredibly silly is that!
Let's call it what it is to think we can keep what we did not earn, it is pride, we like to think we did something to help God. Many like to think they have power over their own destiny, they don't want to let go of their own power over this life or over eternity.
True faith is trusting Christ for salvation and for everything after that. We like to make salvation complicated so that we can maintain some of the control. Until we see our helplessness before Him, we cannot fully trust Him.
To say that we could lose what God did in us, would be like saying you are more powerful than God, He's the one that transforms us into a new creation. But there are those who think we can untransform ourselves by our mere deeds.
To say that we could lose that is saying we can overpower God, that God is supject to us rather than us being subject to Him.
We cannot undo what God does, it is His power not ours that makes us a new creation. It is His power that keeps us, therefore we have no power to obtain our salvation through our own effort, nor do we have power to maintain our salvation through our own effort.
2 Corinthians 5:16-19
"16 Therefore from now on we recognize no one according to the flesh; even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him in this way no longer.
17 Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.
18 Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation,
19 namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation."
Ephesians 2:10
"For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them."
What part of "HIS WORKMANSHIP" do we not understand?
All those who think they are working hard to keep what they did not earn, are not resting in the arms of Jesus, but struggling daily to be sure they can do or be enough to please God.
No one can do enough to please God, that's why Christ had to die to cover our sins, it took the shedding of blood of the only Righteous Perfect Lamb of God to do this. And we think our measly little feeble efforts and attempts to be good would be more than what Christ did? How incredibly silly is that!
Let's call it what it is to think we can keep what we did not earn, it is pride, we like to think we did something to help God. Many like to think they have power over their own destiny, they don't want to let go of their own power over this life or over eternity.
True faith is trusting Christ for salvation and for everything after that. We like to make salvation complicated so that we can maintain some of the control. Until we see our helplessness before Him, we cannot fully trust Him.
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