Sunday, March 1, 2015

Satan Points the Finger

Satan is good at accusing the brethren of things he is doing but the brethren are not. Lies are his biggest weapon, twisting the minds of people his continual ploy.

Revelation 12:10 "Then I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, "Now the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren has been thrown down, he who accuses them before our God day and night."

Should I Apologize?

Should I apologize for my continual negative outlook on life, as someone on Facebook once told me?

It is hard for me to feel gooey or ignore the truth about the world. When drugs, alcohol and gambling have destroyed families, when children are being murdered by the millions by their own mothers, while more than half the babies that are born are out of wedlock, teen suicides are on the rise, domestic violence has increased dramatically in the last few years, 70% of marriages end in divorce while remarriage is causing devastating anger in the children of these circumstances.

Then there are the beheadings of believers in the middle-east, our president is facilitating the increase in Islamic activity in our country, for more persecution of believers here.

Most people who claim to be “Christian” are living as worldly as they ever did before they became Christians, demonstrating that they were never changed into a new creation, they have no victory over anything and no interest in the things of the Lord, while they exhibit hostility toward those who would attempt to help them grow or become born again.

Pride reigns in nearly everyone, narcissism has grown exponentially in the past five years, unchecked, unchallenged and even promoted.

Yes, I can be more positive, focusing on the “love” of God, if I want to be artificial. Making happiness my goal, enjoying my life my way, would certainly make me feel better, until I am faced with the next wickedness coming down the pike. I could feign happiness, pretending that the world is a fun, cheerful easy going and exciting place to be, in a sort of “Pollyanna” fashion.

This “Pollyanna” outlook is fine for those who don’t care about anyone or anything else. Those who have the love of Christ cannot ignore the truth of this world, nor can they remain silent while millions of people head down the wide road to hell. Our silence would prove our selfishness.

The happy-go-lucky mentality of this world is destroying people, giving them a false sense of safety when they are moving toward hell, without concern for their eternity. Payday is coming, many who thought they were headed toward heaven will hear those frightening words from our Lord, “I NEVER KNEW YOU, DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACITICE LAWLESSNESS.”

Matthew 7:21-23
“21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. 22 Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many [a]miracles?’ 23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.’

Don’t think for one minute that you can do more good deeds to keep out of hell. We have a sinful nature, nothing we could do would ever keep us out of hell.

Isaiah 64:6 “But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousness’s are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.”

If you want to be saved from hell, it is very simple, admit that you are sinful and in need of a Savior, Christ will see your heart desires to be changed by Him into a new creation, then His shed blood for our sins will cover our sinfulness and He will begin to cleanse us from our unrighteousness. He will send the Holy Spirit to live in us to be our righteousness for us. Without repentance (changing our mind) about our sin, we cannot ever see heaven.

John 3:16-17 ““For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.”

Ephesians 2:8-9 “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”

Romans 5:8 “But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

Romans 10:8-10 “8 But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); 9 because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.”

Isaiah 55:6-7 ““Seek the Lord while he may be found; call upon him while he is near; let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the Lord, that he may have compassion on him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.”

Haters Will Come, Let God Handle Them

Have you had people who have told you they don't respect you and countless others who act as though they don't?

Those that are respected by the unsaved, are those who bring no challenge to them on any level, but rather elevate them, no matter how wrong they are. They are coddled, pampered and messaged to think well of themselves, when in fact they are opposed to Christ.

After spending time with the Lord concerning this matter of disrespect, the Lord showed me that it is not the believer who is maligned, but Christ Who lives in us they hate, even though they believe it is us they dislike so intensely.

Those who have demonstrated disrespect, have been hostile to the Word of God, either through indifference to it or through hostility toward God, in one way or another. These same people are predisposed to lying, they must, to negate the Word of God, while discrediting His messenger to quell the feeling of guilt in their own hearts. There is deep conviction of sin, their response to it is to exact revenge toward God's people in various ways, mostly covertly so they can maintain their appearance to others.

Satan is the father of lies, busy everyday twisting the minds of those who have not submitted to Christ, even those who claim to be His.

Matthew 15:8 "'THIS PEOPLE HONORS ME WITH THEIR LIPS, BUT THEIR HEART IS FAR AWAY FROM ME."

Those of you who have been treated disrespectfully because you care deeply about the Word and the correct use of the Word, can count it all joy that you do not fit in with those whose mindset is that of the world.

Matthew 10:16 "Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; so be shrewd as serpents and innocent as doves."

Many of the people who claim to be Christians, have little interest in knowing the principles of God, or if they have a little interest, it is in twisting it to fit their own desires or worldly mentality.

2 Timothy 2:15 Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth."

Many phony Christians become hostile and vengeful when corrected or challenged as to their deliberately inaccurate use of the Word to justify their sinful attitudes. The hardest people to reach with correction are those who have Bible school or seminary degrees, they come out of those institutions believing they have special knowledge no one else can have and that they are special themselves.

Pride overtakes many men who go to institutions to be indoctrinated, rather than to be taught by the Holy Spirit. These men often trust their Bible school training, acting as though they don't need the Holy Spirit, they have already been validated by men and that is enough for them. The Holy Spirit plays a small role in their guidance.

We see clearly an attitude or mentality through the things they love, the things they talk about and the things they defend. Usually it is not the Word they defend, nor God's principles but their own appetites.

We can see why the church has become apostate and why most Christian men say, do or be nothing about Christ in their interpersonal relationships. They are more interested in "appearing" good, than in growing in holiness.

Often these self appointed clerics judge people, not on the basis of their spiritual growth but on all the outer things they do that look good to others. They make rash judgments about many things that mean very little to God, but that feed their own pride and narcissism.

2 Corinthians 11:3 But I am afraid that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds will be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ."

2 Corinthians 4:18 "while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal."

Matthew 7:15 "“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves."

2 Corinthians 5:16 "From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer."

Remember, those who are walking fleshly, even those who claim to be believers, will attempt to ruin our witness through covert and stealthful craftiness. We do not need to be concerned about them, only aware of them. When we know they are there, doing their dirtiest against us, we will be better equipped to deal with them.

"Forewarned is Forearmed." We can be armed continually with the Scriptures, to stop mouths and remain strong. God will take care of all the rest.

Pray for those who persecute you, that God will show them their own heart, and that He will work in us to handle whatever comes our way, His Way!