Our Hope is in Christ Alone

I heard a wonderful motivational speech tonight, that anyone could love, sadly I heard nothing about abortion, homosexual sins or any other sin that America should be repenting from. Trump is a master at manipulation, flattery and showmanship, this speech had it all, right down to the happy sob stories of some of the people in the audience.

The president's speech was lovely to listen to, too lovely. These are the kinds of things the anti-christ will promise that will cause the populous to be all atwitter about, peace and safety, just as we heard tonight from our president.

I heard nothing of repentance for the sins of pornography, abortion, adultery or any other sin that is prominent in our culture today. The speech was designed to make us encouraged about all the things we can obtain, prosperity and safety, sounded a lot like the "Health, Wealth and Prosperity" televangelists.

1 Thessalonians 5:3 "…2 For you are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. 3 While people are saying, “Peace and security,” destruction will come upon them suddenly, like labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. 4 But you, brothers, are not in the darkness so that this day should overtake you like a thief.…"

It is clear how easily the "elect" will be fooled by the cleverest of promises and flattery that are a part of the rhetoric of every motivational speaker.

Proverbs 29:5
"A man who flatters his neighbor spreads a net for his feet."

Psalm 5:9
"For there is no truth in their mouth; their inmost self is destruction; their throat is an open grave; they flatter with their tongue."

Proverbs 27:6
"Faithful are the wounds of a friend; profuse are the kisses of an enemy."

We must look to Christ, keeping focused on His principles to be able to discern those who are using manipulation to flatter us into believing whatever they say.

Our hope is not in our president nor is it in this country, our hope as believers in Christ Jesus is in our Lord alone.

John 14:1-3 "1 “Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me.
2 “In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you.
3 “If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also."

This is our hope brothers and sisters!

Standing For Christ in the Family

So much is being said about standing for God in the government and the community and that is good, however, how can that happen when these same people who assert this, will not stand for righteousness in their own families.

It seems that our culture will demand things from the community that they don't practice in their own homes.

So many people will claim to follow the Bible but ignore and minimize divorce and remarriage when it is their children, parents or close friends even extended family who are engaging in the sin.

The favored sins of divorce and remarriage are being ignored and even embraced by those who would claim they love the Bible.

It has been my experience in recent years that those who tell the truth to bring righteousness and holiness to situations in the family, are the ones who are devalued and mocked, even lied about, while revenge is exacted against them.

The favorite mantras used against truth tellers are as follows:
1. You don't know my heart.
2. You should not judge.
3. You are mean spirited.
4. You have sin in your life.
5. Your too sensitive.
6. You are self righteous.

Notice the absence of focus on themselves when dealing with a sinning brother or sister. It is common for those who have been told they are in sin or even corrected in minor ways, to flip the script for the focus to now be the truth teller. There is almost never an admission that the sinner needs to change or is saddened by their own sin, they must blame others or change the focus to another, in order to take the spot light of truth off of themselves.

The response of a humble person when told they may be in sin or error, is to feel ashamed and admit they need to change their behavior or attitude even asking forgiveness for their offenses.

A prideful person rages, blames and accuses others, but what they never do is admit anything.

This is now the world we live in, mankind has progressed to the point of no return, even those in the church, with the exception of a small handful who are tender hearted toward God and others.

Those who speak truth to help another human being will be accused of starting trouble, when those who refuse to listen are the trouble makers. Even when we expose a mean actions toward us or others, we are accused of trouble making. The trouble maker and his flying monkeys expect everyone to remain silent while they work their evils toward others. In their mind we are mean for exposing their evil.
Sadly often those looking on, believe the real trouble maker because he is more bombastic in his response.

Psychology has caused this mess by asserting that the response was caused by someone, therefore whoever confronted the evil doer was unkind by correcting or confronting him.

I heard a news caster today say that the Presidents speech tonight will be judged on style as well as content. Since when do we judge a speech on style, it is the content that matters. This is typical of narcissists, no matter whether the content is true or not they will accuse our delivery.

Laughing Out Loud....I was once told that "it was the way I said it", on facebook when most of what I wrote was scripture to answer their assertions. This is insanity!!!

When we attempt to bring the accuser back to the content to answer the validity of that content, they refuse to address it and continue the attacks to mock and demean. These people refuse to engage in dialogue about the issues, preferring to focus on how we made them feel, but even that is not about what we said or how we said it, it was about how they felt about it. Remember when I have written many times about "feelings" being inaccurate based on our perspective rather than truth? Those who hate to be seen as wrong or sinful will fight tooth and nail to defend their stance by demeaning and devaluing the one who confronts them.

The bottom line is this, those who hate truth will fight not against the truth itself but against the messenger. The purpose is to discredit the messenger in order to feel justified in rejecting the truth. It is not possible to count the number of times I have encountered this very thing, even when it wasn't I who spoke, only me repeating what God said.

When we know these tactics we do not have to experience false guilt for the reactions to our attempts to help someone enjoy freedom from sin and guilt by repenting.

Galatians 5:1
"For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery."

1 Peter 2:16
"Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God."

Galatians 5:13
"For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another."

John 8:32
"And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

2 Corinthians 3:17
"Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom."

2 Timothy 1:7
"For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control."

When we discover that those who are in sin will not listen, we have no recourse except to walk away leaving that person to Christ to deal with. We are not responsible for the results as we seek to help others, only obedience to Christ.

Then, after our attempts to encourage in the way of righteousness have been rejected, pray that the Lord will work in that person's life as we remove ourselves to allow God to do what He knows best to do. This frees us from the responsibility of remaining with those who will continually combat us, even resent the life we choose for ourselves because it is a conviction to them, even if we say nothing, they hate what we are. Until God works in their heart, we must leave them alone.

Their Attitude, Not My Fault

I have determined that when people act badly in response to my opinion they are being childish, it's not about me, but it is about them.

I don't take it seriously, if it happens enough times I withdraw from them until they grow up. LOL

No One Gets Away With Sin

Believers can sin badly, their actions do not determine their salvation. However their actions will determine their reward in heaven and even possibly very difficult consequences in this life for their discipline.

Do not think that God overlooks our sin, He does not!

1 Corinthians 3:13-15 "…14 If what he has built survives, he will receive a reward. 15 If it is burned up, he will suffer loss. He himself will be saved, but only as one being snatched from the fire. 16 Do you not know that you yourselves are God’s temple, and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?…"

Hebrews 12:5-7 "…5 And you have forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons: “My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, or lose heart when He rebukes you. 6 For the Lord disciplines the one He loves, and He chastises everyone He receives as a son.” 7 Endure suffering as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father?…"

We Have Misused Our Freedom

How is all that "freedom" that we worship as a nation, working out for us?

We have a higher divorce rate, more suicide in all ages, destroyed family unit, filth in the movies and reading material, heresy filling our Christian book stores, immorality on every front, less love than ever before while claiming none of it is bad.

And, now our children are being encouraged to believe they can and should choose their own gender. Not to mention no one knows any longer which bathroom they should use in the public establishments.

Perhaps we are no different from the days in Israel when God gave them great blessings, only to misuse the freedom and beauty they had to follow their own wicked hearts.

With freedom comes responsibility, perhaps we have thrown away the sense of responsibility in order to engage in every sin imaginable.

YES, I think this has been the case here, with all this comes an attitude of superiority, fostering unreasonable thinking. It is not possible to reason with a twisted mind that ignores science of the body to claim something that can never be true.

Here is where we are folks:

2 Thessalonians 2:10-12 "…10 and with every wicked deception directed against those who are perishing, because they refused the love of the truth that would have saved them. 11 For this reason, God will send them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie, 12 in order that judgment will come upon all who have disbelieved the truth and delighted in wickedness.…"

How is that Freedom Working Out for You!

The best way to pray for our country is for everyone to repent as a nation, that our government move in the direction that Christ wants.

Our nation needs repentance more than anything and we know it will only come through hardship.

That "freedom" thing, has not worked out for bringing convicted spirits. The only way for people in our country to become convicted is if all their pleasure and materialism is removed.

2 Corinthians 7:10 "10 Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation without regret, but worldly sorrow brings death."

Anarchy in the Government and in the Church

Matthew 15:7-9 "…7 You hypocrites! Isaiah prophesied correctly about you: 8 ‘These people honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me. 9 They worship Me in vain; they teach as doctrine the precepts of men.’”…"

I am convinced that Trump was not elected to "save America", but to show us the depravity to which we have sunk, by exposing the heart of those in rebellion.

Even the slightest rational actions to recover a measure of safety has sent this country into deep division.

We think that division is because of the liberals, but it is not, consider the rebellion believers meet with everyday from fellow believers over the simplest matters, merely because they are incensed at any form of instruction or correction.

The churches are full of divorced and remarried couples who would fight bitterly to defend their sin, while others who don't divorce and remarry would fight for the right of others to do it. Only just 80 years ago no one who was a believer in Christ divorced and remarried, only those on the radical fringe of society who did not attend church.

Nearly everyone taught their children that marriage was for the rest of ones life until death separated them.

Now many church gatherings have several shack up couples who are accepted in the gathering without challenge? They are not convicted about their sin because those in the body embrace them without batting an eyebrow, all in the name of love, but not God's love, the human love that promotes and embraces sin.

Ephesians 5:6-13
"6 Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience.
7 Therefore do not be partakers with them;
8 for you were formerly darkness, but now you are Light in the Lord; walk as children of Light
9 (for the fruit of the Light consists in all goodness and righteousness and truth),
10 trying to learn what is pleasing to the Lord.
11 Do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but instead even expose them;
12 for it is disgraceful even to speak of the things which are done by them in secret.
13 But all things become visible when they are exposed by the light, for everything that becomes visible is light.

Our new president is not an example for the believer to follow, being on his third marriage with a woman half his age, is a clue about him. Why do so many people miss the clues? How can a leader in this state of sin ever promote "the family", God's way.

Families remain broken, more every day, while our new president kisses babies and promotes "the power of positive thinking", concepts that give the populous warm fuzzy feelings, without holy substance, but appeals to the superficial "feelings" oriented non-thinkers.

Yep, kiss a few babies, tell us our borders will be protected, jobs will return to our country, health care will be as we want it to be, but the marriages remain broken, the porn shops grow as never before, the movie industry continues to distribute filth to the masses, materialism is rampant and there is little love to be found anywhere. YEP, this is the state of our modern godless culture.

Christians make up their own doctrine in this country and punish anyone else who exposes it for what it is, anarchy against Christ, right in the so called houses of God.

Remember, the anarchy and rebellion we see in the streets is no different from the anarchy that is in the hearts of those who sit in pews every week. One form of anarchy is conservative but rails against the Bible and the other is anarchy against the government and rails against it, but both defy the principles of God while having little to no respect for His Word or Christ.

Matthew 15:7-9 "…7 You hypocrites! Isaiah prophesied correctly about you: 8 ‘These people honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me. 9 They worship Me in vain; they teach as doctrine the precepts of men.’”…"

Many believers will say "we believe in the Bible", while living their life as against the Word of God. Words are not enough, sayings are not enough, we must want to read it to obey God.

Think about it!!!

Rebellious Hearts Grow Harder

The more restriction we impose on a rebellious heart, the harder that heart becomes.

Does this mean we should not have restrictions and boundaries for those who are rebellious? Sometimes we cannot know that someone is rebellious until we place a boundary or consequence on them.

When we speak truth to the rebel they cannot endure it, their response is often rage or revenge or both to assert themselves against any restriction or correction that would expose their heart or restrict their activities.

America has elected a man who is attempting to place restrictions on certain sins that he perceives as destructive to the country. However, other sins that are devastating to the souls of Americans, he is not addressing. The restrictions he promotes have more to do with the physical and monetary safety of the United States, without addressing the sinfulness and depravity of the heart.

Imagine the outcry and hatred that would emerge if the president were to outlaw divorce and remarriage, since half the couples in the churches across this nation are in this state.

What if the president removed the option of abortion completely, or disallowed the production of pornography and movies that promote promiscuity, what would be the response?

I am convinced that our president was not installed by God to "save America" nor to "make America great again." What has been happening is strong evidence of what I say, the increasing rioting in the streets, the attempts to ruin any efforts of our president to make us safe are being met with great rebellion.

What if the president spoke against publications such as "the Shack", or movies such as "the Passion of the Christ", produced by a drunken Catholic movie star. Books and movies that have terrible doctrine in them have been widely accepted by the Christian community.

When I have exposed the false Catholic doctrine promoted in the "Passion of the Christ", or the book "The Shack" as heresy, those who attend church every week have called me names and accused me of heresy for exposing these evils.

We know the pulse of America when there are reasonable and logical restraints on foolishness, that bring rioting in the streets as well as continual lying against those who will place restrictions on behavior.

Our country as a whole is not only lawless against the government but also and more importantly against God's principles, yes and even the Christian churches.

I am hearing more and more "Protestants" calling "Catholic" Christian, without even knowing what the Catholic church actually teaches.

We have more rebellion in this country than we realize, on every level.

God placed an ungodly man in office to bring about a few restrictions that have nothing to do with godliness and the country is rising up against him in alarming numbers. Doesn't this show us that the country, even believers, would rise up when their favorite ungodly books and movies would be removed?

When a believer will demean and mock another believer for exposing their favorite book or movie, imagine what they would do if their freedom to use these things were removed!

The rebellion against God is enormous on all fronts, liberals and conservatives alike, stand in opposition to Christ, every day growing more hostile.

2 Timothy 3
"3 But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come.
2 For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy,
3 unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good,
4 treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5 holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power; Avoid such men as these.
6 For among them are those who enter into households and captivate weak women weighed down with sins, led on by various impulses,
7 always learning and never able to come to the [e]knowledge of the truth.
8 Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so these men also oppose the truth, men of depraved mind, rejected in regard to the faith.
9 But they will not make further progress; for their folly will be obvious to all, just as Jannes’s and Jambres’s folly was also.
10 Now you followed my teaching, conduct, purpose, faith, patience, love, perseverance,
11 persecutions, and sufferings, such as happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium and at Lystra; what persecutions I endured, and out of them all the Lord rescued me!
12 Indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.
13 But evil men and impostors will proceed from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.
14 You, however, continue in the things you have learned and become convinced of, knowing from whom you have learned them, 15 and that from childhood you have known the sacred writings which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.
16 All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness;
17 so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work."

How Deep Does the Deception Go

The "name it and claim it" or "blab it and grab it" crowd have done more to facilitate the monstrous doctrine associated with speaking something into existence, just as Norman Vincent Peale and others have been promoting in their positive thinking assertions.

The emphasis on getting our way to be happy by the "name it and claim it" group, has led to a selfish pleasure oriented culture.

Because there are so many people now who believe all they have to do is "say" something to make it truth, many have managed to believe things that are scientifically irrational and ungodly.

The assertion that all a person has to do is declare they are male or female and that alone makes it so. The gender identity mess was just the next step in the "name it and claim it" agenda.

See where heresy leads? It leads to the most insane and monstrous teachings that promote abominations.

Many people say, "Make America great again", but they don't understand what greatness is in terms of God's economy. In my estimation greatness doesn't have to do with finances, pleasure or happiness, but rather it has to do with holiness brought about by Christ working in the lives of people.

Guess what! We are not going to see this in our country ever again, if in fact it really ever existed in the nation as a whole. There have been pockets of Christians here, probably more Christians than any other nation of the world, but most of the Christianity we have seen has been superficial "religion" based on rules and standards, not necessarily from the Bible, but human mandates to appear holy.

Since the Christianity has been skin deep it is easily eroded by the slightest cultural pressure. We will see many people who call themselves Christian who will be giving into the homosexual and transgender agenda to, as they say, "remain relevant for today."

Mark 7:13 "13 Thus you nullify the word of God by the tradition you have handed down. And you do so” in many such matters. "

There have been many doctrines in the church today that are not in the Word of God, man made doctrines that discourage those in the body from obeying Christ to obey men.

Acts 5:28 "29 But Peter and the other apostles replied, “We must obey God rather than men."

When we walk with Christ, we will be asking continually for Christ to show us truth through the Scriptures, discarding anything we have been taught that does not line up with God's Word.

Goats and Sheep

A goat can only pretend to live like a sheep for a time, then when they get tired of the work of pretending, the real self will emerge to expose them.

Don't Boast of Your Good Deeds

I am no longer going to watch videos of people being generous or helping others. I cannot be party to taking away their reward in heaven by advertising their good deeds.

John 12:43 "43 For they loved praise from men more than praise from God."

Proverbs 29:5 " 5 A man who flatters his neighbor Is spreading a net for his steps."

It's one thing to speak about ministry where someone becomes born again, then we can all rejoice, but these canned and planned efforts to feed the poor or give to others while making sure everyone else sees what they are doing, is becoming rampant and sickening really.

Wonderful, do good deeds, but do not tell anyone and do not display it on facebook, bragging is a sin and that's all these videos do. Also, do not video others doing good deeds, let them alone to serve God without the fanfare.

Matthew 6:2-4 "…2 So when you give to the needy, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be praised by men. Truly I tell you, they already have their reward.
3 But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing,
4 so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.…"

Let God be the one to bless someone for their good deeds.

God Made Them For Us

When a couple live together outside marriage they are basically saying they don't love the person enough to commit their entire life with them. They are not willing to go through all phases of life with someone, only as long as the good stuff keeps coming.

Their aim is to use the person until things get a little rough then they will bail out leaving a ravaged heap of emotional trash, while moving on to do the same thing to someone else.

I have seen the devastation because of the cavalier attitude about something that should be sacred and serious. The children are the ones who are the most damaged from these shack up relationships.

Come on folks, when is this next generation going to grow up and realize God made His principles for a reason, to protect everyone involved.

Our Idols are Ourselves

Yes, this is so true! An elevated view of our own importance makes us a god to ourselves, it is idolatry.

“Humility pleases God wherever it is found, and the humble person will have God for his or her friend and helper always. Only the humble are completely sane, for they are the only ones who see clearly their own size and limitations. Egotists see things out of focus. To themselves they are large and God is correspondingly small, and that is a kind of moral insanity.”
– A. W. Tozer

Something Wrong with Our Christianity

“There is something wrong with our Christianity and spirituality if we carelessly presume that if we do not like a Biblical doctrine there is no harm done. Commandments which we have received from our Lord cannot be overlooked or ignored. God has never instructed us that we should weigh His desires for us in the balance of our own judgment, and then decide what we want to do about them.”
– A. W. Tozer

Seek Christ Not Man

When God makes a couple, a man and a woman, one, no man can separate that bond. The connotation in the Scripture, of the bond, is a gluing together, even divorce by a piece of paper according to the law of man cannot dissolve the glue that holds a couple together.

That's why there is such violence in the soul that happens when a couple divorces.

Malachi 2:15-16 "…15"But not one has done so who has a remnant of the Spirit. And what did that one do while he was seeking a godly offspring? Take heed then to your spirit, and let no one deal treacherously against the wife of your youth.
16"For I hate divorce," says the LORD, the God of Israel, "and him who covers his garment with wrong," says the LORD of hosts. "So take heed to your spirit, that you do not deal treacherously."

Our culture does not understand how serious divorce is in His eyes. It is a violent ripping away that tears at the soul to such an extent that the couple never recover unless there is forgiveness and reconciliation.

1 Corinthians 7:10-11 "…10 To the married I give this command (not I, but the Lord): A wife must not separate from her husband. 11 But if she does, she must remain unmarried or else be reconciled to her husband. And a husband must not divorce his wife."

Our culture treats with flippancy the marriage bond, just as flippanly as it treats child rearing while parents neglect the important teachings of the Word of God to their children.

As a Christian culture we have minimized the Words of God through the twisting of Scripture when it suits us, even denying principles of God to be able to live as we please.

Is it any wonder that most adult children today lack spiritual maturity and discernment?

The Bible has been treated as "the Good Book", but one that our culture does not read nor does it heed when it is read.

I knew of a Catholic woman who did not allow her children to touch the family Bible, it was an icon to be looked at and dusted but never to be opened or discussed in the home.

Since Catholics were taught, as I was that the Bible was not for the common man to read, only the priest should do that, then when the papacy decided the meaning of the Words in the Bible, those words could be interpreted any way they wanted to and the parishioners would believe whatever the priests told them.

This is why values changed over the years, they were interpreted in terms of what the culture was doing rather than what God meant by them. Sadly many "Christians" in the Protestant church are doing the very same thing in various matters.

Mark 7:13 "13 Thus you nullify the word of God by the tradition you have handed down. And you do so” in many such matters."

If you are a born again believer it is time to get in a quiet place, reflect on what you were taught by man while reading the Word with prayerful heart to understand God's meaning.

Man has always figured out ways to make the masses happy when determining righteousness and it has lead to apostasy. Those who want truth and only truth are most often mocked and demeaned today, as they walk through life lonely and rejected, they experience even what our Lord and the apostles did 2000 years ago.

Shame on those who proclaim falsehood loudly to "appear" righteous, while demonstrating the exact opposite.

Matthew 15:7-9 "…7 You hypocrites! Isaiah prophesied correctly about you: 8 ‘These people honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me. 9 They worship Me in vain; they teach as doctrine the precepts of men.’”…

Stop all the hypocrisy, seek the Lord in His Word the Bible, and pray for the understanding.

James 1:4-6 "…4 Allow perseverance to finish its work, so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. 5 If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. 6 But he must ask in faith, without doubting, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.…"

Halleluljah! Christ Guides Me

Amen !! "For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end."- Jeremiah 29:11 KJV

Man's Tradition or Christ, You Choose

Far too many believers are following men rather than Christ. They are placing their trust in those who have "formal education" instead of seeking Christ Who lives in them.

It is one thing to share truth with one another to be iron sharpening iron, it is quite another to manipulate and intimidate others into obeying man made traditions that God never mandated.

Acts 5:29 " 29 But Peter and the other apostles replied, “We must obey God rather than men."

Political Liberals are the Epitome of Narcissism

Narcissists do the very things they accuse others of doing, the others are not but the Narcissists are.

They are liars hell bent on frustrating anyone who will not agree with them.

Hell-bent because it is the devil that motivates them.

2 Timothy 3:1-5
"3 But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. 2 For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, 4 treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5 holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power; Avoid such men as these."

The One Who Loves

1 John 2:9-11
"9 The one who says he is in the Light and yet hates his brother is in the darkness until now. 10 The one who loves his brother abides in the Light and there is no cause for stumbling in him. 11 But the one who hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going because the darkness has blinded his eyes."

Who is More Important than Christ?

The more we stand for truth, the less we care about the responses of others to it. Why? Because we are walking so closely with Christ that what He thinks is all that matters to us.

Sodom and Gomorrah Lives Again

I stopped at a Burger King one day this week to use the rest room. YEP, they did it, they changed the two bathrooms, one that was for women and the one that was for men, both into "unisex" rest rooms.

Inside was a stall with a commode and a urinal on the wall outside the stall.

I walked into the bathroom thinking that I would lock the main door so that no one would walk in on me. Thankfully there was a lock on that main door, but it was disturbing when I heard the door rattle, as someone was trying to come in, I was sure glad for that lock.

When I left the bathroom there was a man waiting on the outside to come in. It went through my mind what a horrible thing if I had not locked that outside door, I would have found myself in the bathroom with a strange man.

How do people reconcile a married woman and a strange married man in the same rest room? It flabbergasts me that less than one percent of the population can rattle their chains so loudly that everyone else has to endure their indignities. 99.9 percent of the rest of the population has to bow to those who chose to live in perversion.

I have never even met a "transgender" person my entire life. If I had met one I might not have even noticed, since it is not something, in the past, that even crossed my mind. It's one thing to see them in the restaurant at the next table and quite another to be in the same bathroom with them.

If someone wants to live in sin, it is monstrous that everyone else must be forced to accept them, even in our speech, we are told what we can say and what we should think. There truly is a "thought" police in our country now. If that isn't bad enough, we are being forced to interact with them in places that were once very private.

From now on I will only go into restaurants that still adhere to the separation of the genders in their restrooms. I had already stopped shopping at Target and Starbucks a couple of years ago. These businesses were not satisfied with serving their customers, they just had to punish those who do not want to think as they do.

This is what liberals and narcissists do, they manipulate, intimidate and punish anyone who will not bow to their personal desires. They are not satisfied to just do their own thing, they have to be accepted by everyone else too.

I call it insanity when a business who used to have a motto; "the customer is always right", now changing their motto to; "think our way or we will punish you."

There may come a time when the world is just like Sodom and Gomorrah when going to the market isn't safe anymore for anyone, not even an angel from God.

In the account of the angel from God in Sodom, the sodomites were struck blind by God for wanting to go after the angel they thought was a man. The Sodomites were offered Lot's daughters and didn't want them, they wanted the angel they thought was a man. But get this, they were so perverted that after they were blind they continued to grapple for the door to get that angel.

Yes, it can get worse, but I say it's bad enough right now to make a person's skin crawl.

OSAS This Explains It

https://www.bereanbiblesociety.org/that-explains-it/

Believers are Sealed Forever

For those who think that you no longer sin after becoming born again, must take a look at what God says in His Word.

Romans 7:14-25
"14 For we know that the Law is spiritual, but I am of flesh, sold [m]into bondage to sin.
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.
16 But if I do the very thing I do not want to do, I agree with the Law, confessing that the Law is good.
17 So now, no longer am I the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me.
18 For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the willing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not.
19 For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want.
20 But if I am doing the very thing I do not want, I am no longer the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me.
21 I find then the [n]principle that evil is present in me, the one who wants to do good.
22 For I joyfully concur with the law of God [o]in the inner man,
23 but I see a different law in [p]the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner [q]of the law of sin which is in my members.
24 Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from [r]the body of this death?
25 Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, on the one hand I myself with my mind am serving the law of God, but on the other, with my flesh the law of sin."

When we do sin, God loves us so much He disciplines us as a Father would a son.

Hebrews 12:5-7 "…5 And you have forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons: “My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, or lose heart when He rebukes you. 6 For the Lord disciplines the one He loves, and He chastises everyone He receives as a son.” 7 Endure suffering as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father?…"

God does not give those who belong to Him a pass if His children sin, they are disciplined, miss rewards and suffer the consequences in this life of disobedience, just as an earthly father would do to bring his children back into obedience. That's just how much He loves us.

God said this to His children whom He will never leave or forsake.

1 John 1 was written to believers who have already been changed into a new creation, those who have been sealed with the Holy Spirit of Promise as a guarantee of our inheritance.

1 John 1:8-10 "…8 If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say we have not sinned, we make Him out to be a liar, and His word is not in us.…"

Ephesians 1:13-14 "…13 And in Him you were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, having heard and believed the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. 14 The Spirit is the pledge of our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession, to the praise of His glory. "

Test All Things!

To reject the Word of God, the Bible, on any level, is to reject Christ. When we have been taught wrong teachings by those who rely on their human desires more than we seek Christ for understanding then we will come up with false renderings, rejected by God even though men like to make them rules over others.

Seek Christ on everything, all the time, ready to reject man's teaching to obey God.

1 Thessalonians 5:20-21 "…20Do not treat prophecies with contempt, 21but test all things. Hold fast to what is good. 22Abstain from every form of evil.…

Do You Think You Have Not Been Influenced?

As a nation we seem to have been manipulated and intimidated by the news media and the movies that influence our thinking, otherwise they couldn't exist.

Think about it!

God the Father Calls God the Son, "God"

Jesus Christ is referred to by God as "The Word", He is the very essence of His Word as conveyed in the Scriptures. To reject the Words of God is to reject Christ Himself.

John 1:1 "1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God."

John 1:14
"The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the one and only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth."

1 John 5:7 For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, …

God the Father calls God the Son, "God."
Hebrews 1:8-13 But to the Son he said, Your throne, O God, is for ever and ever: …

Our Father is Pleased with Us!

Do you, as a believer want to have a close walk with Christ Who lives in you?

Here's how to do it, resolve that you want to know His will, when you know His will, obey it!

How do you find His will? Easy, read the Bible, pray to Him for the understanding with the intent on believing Him for purposes of spiritual growth.

It does no good to know what is right only to refuse to live it. God will not answer the insincere prayer of someone who is only mouthing words without any intention of obeying Him.

Romans 1:5 "5 Through Him and on behalf of His name, we received grace and apostleship to call all those among the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith."

John 15:14 "14 You are my friends if you do what I command."

Christ can give us the desire to be what we know is right in His eyes. The more we seek Him, the greater our desire for His principles to be demonstrated in our lives.

When we are mature in an area, it will not be something we have to work at, it will be second nature to us the same way breathing and eating is second nature. In fact, the height of maturity is when we don't even have to think what the right things to do might be, it comes naturally without much thought.

If we have to talk ourselves into giving back the extra dollar the clerk accidentally gave us at the store, then God still has work to do in us. It should come so naturally that we automatically bring it to the attention of the clerk without further thought of it throughout the day and without the need to tell someone how good we were in doing the right thing.

Our natural reactions to things will surprise others because the culture as a whole doesn't do what is right.... often, that does not mean that we were special, it only means we were obedient to God. The greatest reward of our obedience ought not to be the praise men may give us, but rather the joy we have that our Father is pleased with us.

Spiritual and Emotional Abuse

Why do I write so frequently about this?

I write about the matter of spiritual abuse often because we are living in times when most, if not all, true believers are encountering unjust attacks on a regular basis.

Left with the feeling that they must have done something wrong, however, when they have searched their heart to find out what they would have done to offend someone, they cannot figure it out what it could have been. If they ask the offended one, they are met with more antagonism without a clear answer as to the offense. This is becoming more common than most realize.

When we are falsely accused, ready and willing to say we are sorry for whatever it was, there is a part of us that is convinced that we "must" have done something to make someone so hostile and contemptuous toward us.

Our culture of psychology has taught that if someone gets angry, someone must have made them thus, simple because no one gets angry without provocation. According to the Bible an evil mans needs no provocation for their contempt, merely loving Christ is enough to cause rage from those who hate righteousness.

Proverbs 13:5-6 "5 A righteous man hates falsehood, But a wicked man acts disgustingly and shamefully. 6 Righteousness guards the one whose way is blameless, But wickedness subverts the sinner."

Psalm 97:10 " 10 Hate evil, you who love the LORD, Who preserves the souls of His godly ones; He delivers them from the hand of the wicked."

Amos 5:10
"They hate him who reproves in the gate, And they abhor him who speaks with integrity."

Proverbs 29:10
"Men of bloodshed hate the blameless, But the upright are concerned for his life."

Psalm 34:21
"Evil shall slay the wicked, And those who hate the righteous will be condemned."

When we are emotionally secure in Christ, knowing He has our back and that everything we go through has purpose for us and maybe even for the other person, we do not have to come unraveled when others mock and demean us.

Proverbs 14:8-10 "8 The wisdom of the sensible is to understand his way, But the foolishness of fools is deceit. 9 Fools mock at sin, But among the upright there is good will. 10 The heart knows its own bitterness, And a stranger does not share its joy.…"

Do you know the real reason we get upset when someone treats us with contempt unjustly? The reason is that a part of us wants that person to like us, we are hurt and angry that someone doesn't think well of us.

Why would we care if an evil person doesn't like us? Because of our own pride and need to be appreciated by man. What does God say about this;

Proverbs 29:25
"The fear of man lays a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is safe.

Hebrews 13:6
"So we can confidently say, “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?”"

God told us to be joyful when we are mistreated:

Luke 6:22-23 " 22 Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude you and insult you and reject your name as evil because of the Son of Man. 23 Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, because great is your reward in heaven. For their fathers treated the prophets in the same way.…"

Principles for the Godly

God gave us principles to follow when dealing with mean or destructive people.

When we know that a soft answer or no answer at all gives the manipulators no power.

Proverbs 15:1-2 "1 A gentle answer turns away wrath, But a harsh word stirs up anger. 2 The tongue of the wise makes knowledge acceptable, But the mouth of fools spouts folly.…"

Proverbs 18:2
"A fool takes no pleasure in understanding, but only in expressing his opinion."

Proverbs 29:11
"A fool gives full vent to his spirit, but a wise man quietly holds it back."

Proverbs 1:7
"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction."

Proverbs 18:6
"A fool's lips walk into a fight, and his mouth invites a beating."

Proverbs 29:9
"If a wise man has an argument with a fool, the fool only rages and laughs, and there is no quiet."

Proverbs 18:7
"A fool's mouth is his ruin, and his lips are a snare to his soul."

Proverbs 10:23
"Doing wrong is like a joke to a fool, but wisdom is pleasure to a man of understanding."

Proverbs 14:7-9
"Leave the presence of a fool, for there you do not meet words of knowledge. The wisdom of the prudent is to discern his way, but the folly of fools is deceiving. Fools mock at the guilt offering, but the upright enjoy acceptance."

I see more clearly than ever now that when we follow Christ's mandates in dealing with those who want to harm us, we avoid the pitfalls and remain free of a tormented conscience.

God didn't tell us to remain with people who do evil to us or others, but if we have to be around them, we don't have to feed their attempts to cause us to sin. Instead we display kindness, giving and diligence in their presence and pray that God use what they see in us.

Often our good actions convict the foolish man, they work hard to make us do what they know we don't want to do, then they can feel justified in their own sin toward us.

Bottom line: When with a fool whose dedication is to ruin others, remove ourselves if we can, if we cannot then we should obey God not to do anything vengeful or in anger toward the one who wants us to fail in our walk with Christ.

Grace, What is it?

God gives us grace "not to sin", the grace is not there to allow sin, but to give us freedom from it. When we do sin, the grace is extended to us as forgiveness for those who confess their sin and desire to be freed from it. Those who claim we can sin without consequences because of grace, have forgotten the scripture that tells us what God does when believers sin.

Hebrews 12:5-7 "…5 And you have forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons: “My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, or lose heart when He rebukes you. 6 For the Lord disciplines the one He loves, and He chastises everyone He receives as a son.” 7 Endure suffering as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father?…"


Often the excuse, "we are under grace" is spoken to justify sin, these people are not forgiven of their sin because rather than confessing it they brag about it and excuse it.

God will discipline His children until they come to this place of confession.

Maturity Shows

A mature person is able to quickly admit when they don't know something or when they are wrong, an immature person must pretend to know everything and cannot admit when they are wrong, to keep self on the throne.

Philippians 2:3 "Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves."

Real Love God's Way

"Falling in love" is nothing more than infatuation. We can fall in love instantly because we are focused on appearances, personality that we think we see and mutual interests.

However real love is deeper than these superficial things, it goes to character, the character that emerges during difficult times or times of disagreement, will be the test of what is real within a person.

In order to achieve "real" love, we must choose to do what is best for the other person. Love is a choice, not a feeling, it is also actions, not words only.

1 Corinthians 13:4-8
4 Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, 

5 does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, 

6 does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; 7 bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
8 Love never fails; but if there are gifts of prophecy, they will be done away; if there are tongues, they will cease; if there is knowledge, it will be done away.

It's An Illusion of Monumental Proportions

The leadership in our country today may seem wonderful in the short term, but it is not about spiritual well being, only physical and emotional safety for the country.

When our president has only been in office short of a month, why are so many people assuming that we have already gotten everything we want? I say "watch out for a trick."

Too many times I have placed my trust in someone who appeared to be everything good, only to find out later they were nothing of what I thought they were. Not that they were not perfect, no one is, but that they were actually opposite of what I expected. Clever manipulators and especially motivational speakers can get us to believe we are getting what we want, while they only deliver an illusion that makes us think so.

2 Timothy 4:2-4 "…2 Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and encourage with every form of patient instruction. 3 For the time will come when men will not tolerate sound doctrine, but with itching ears they will gather around themselves teachers to suit their own desires. 4 So they will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.…"

Isaiah 30:9-11 "…9 For this is a rebellious people, false sons, Sons who refuse to listen To the instruction of the LORD; 10 Who say to the seers, "You must not see visions"; And to the prophets, "You must not prophesy to us what is right, Speak to us pleasant words, Prophesy illusions. 11"Get out of the way, turn aside from the path, Let us hear no more about the Holy One of Israel."…"

A true leader of God places holiness and spiritual matters above the physical ones. With those things in order the other will follow.

I cannot get excited about "The Lord's Prayer" being recited by the first lady, since it happens all over this country every Sunday in the apostate churches. This is not a sign of spirituality, but rather a sign of "religiosity."

Our president, as well meaning as he is, is not about pleasing God, but rather "peace and safety" on a human and materialistic level without God. He has a form of religion but denies the real source of our help, that is the Lord Jesus Christ. His goal is to bring us back to the days when prayer was in the schools, the pledge was recited and nearly every family went to church, the morals were there, the rules were in place, but the hearts were still far from God.

I grew up in a family that attended church every week, but in the home there was little resemblance of devotion to God, no Bible reading and a canned prayer, using the exact same words every time, said at every meal, without enthusiasm, only by rote, mechanical and dead prayers out of tradition or guilt.

America has diluted itself into thinking this has been a Christian nation, but in fact often most people followed rules to be accepted by the community. They believed in the rules, just as the Muslims believe in their rules but it wasn't about loving God, it was about the rules and living in the world's version of decency.

I know this because I saw so many people over the years who attended church every week, but we never heard the name of Christ mentioned outside the church building in our homes. We heard rules about conduct, but no example of godliness in the home. There was little love there, most things were based on performance rather than character.

Religiosity has been the rule of thumb in our country for many years. Our communities honored God with their lips but their hearts were far from Him.

Matthew 15:7-9 "…7 You hypocrites! Isaiah prophesied correctly about you: 8 ‘These people honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me. 9 They worship Me in vain; they teach as doctrine the precepts of men.’”…"

When the American Christian wants back what they thought they had as children, they are not seeing in reality what it was "back in the day" that made them "feel safe."

Most people had Bibles in their homes but never read them, they knew just enough to appear righteous, but in their hearts in many ways they ignored Christ, except when they needed Him in a crisis.

Proverbs 1:27-29 "…27 When your dread comes like a storm And your calamity comes like a whirlwind, When distress and anguish come upon you. 28 "Then they will call on me, but I will not answer; They will seek me diligently but they will not find me, 29 Because they hated knowledge And did not choose the fear of the LORD.…"

The prosperity preachers believe God answered their prayers about Trump, what they don't realize is that He did, but not for the reasons they think, not the prosperity and freedom in their mind, but rather to further accelerate the end times events leading to the tribulation.

When we see the prosperity false preachers behind someone in leadership, we can be sure that it is not going to be a Christ-centered work, but a worldly work of the devil that only looks very good, but in fact is not for good, only for evil.

2 Thessalonians 2:10-12 "…10 and with every wicked deception directed against those who are perishing, because they refused the love of the truth that would have saved them. 11 For this reason, God will send them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie, 12 in order that judgment will come upon all who have disbelieved the truth and delighted in wickedness.…"

We can see through this last election how easily the professed Christians are going to be fooled by the anti-christ. Some Christians such as myself voted for Trump because he was the only "conservative" left, the ones we would have rather voted for were out of the race and Hilary seemed an unthinkable option. We did not vote for Trump because we thought he was the best, but because he was all that was left. However, God knew this and I believe he is going to use Trump for His purposes, not the way many may think but to bring on the end of the end times.

This seems more like a test run for me, as things unfold the clues and deception becomes clearer, but the blinded eyes will not see, nor will they listen. With an idol of their own making, they want a leader who will save them from high health care costs, better jobs, a wall to keep out trouble makers and all the freedom they want to do whatever they want.

BUT WHERE IS THE TALK ABOUT HOLINESS, REPENTANCE AND SEEKING CHRIST???? It is not there!

Leaving Out Letters Doesn't Hide Sin

I just read an article describing how our President Trump spoke to the governor of California. People, it is a clue....do we not get it yet....the language of our President shows the inner character of the man.

I cannot even repeat what he said to governor Brown. I am not a fan of the California governor, but I am also not happy with the verbiage our President used to express his dismay with Brown.

I am noticing how common it is now for Christians to think it is alright to use the first and last letter of a filthy word, thinking they can use it as long as they leave out a couple of the letters.

DO YOU NOT UNDERSTAND THAT WHEN EVERYONE KNOWS WHAT IS SAID IN THE TWO MISSING LETTERS, THAT THE PICTURE AND FILTH STILL GOES INTO THE MIND OF THE HEARER. !!!!

DO YOU NOT UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU REVEAL ABOUT YOURSELF, HOW MUCH TELEVISION YOU WATCH AND HOW WORLDLY YOUR HEART IS WHEN YOU USE THE SAME WORDS THAT WICKED PEOPLE USE TO DESCRIBE SINFUL ACTS?????

The Temporary Reprieve is a Deception

I know it is hard to believe, but I am convinced that God has turned us over to our sin, by allowing a deception of "temporary reprieve" from trouble, all the while the storms continue to hit the land, the babies continue to be murdered and divorce and remarriage is higher than ever among those who claim to be Christian. There is a growing acceptance of sin everywhere we look as well as contempt for those who warn and rebuke.

Sandra Destiny Grant says:
"Throughout scripture, everytime Gods people failed to obey His commands, He turned away from them.. This is a divine warning to us."

The Food Exists, But We Don't Ingest It

We have more Bibles in our country than ever before, but there is a famine in the land of the Word of God.

The Bible is not being read, or it is being read with wrong motives dividing it in error. It is being lied about, ignored and mocked by the very people who own them. Yes, there is a famine in the land of the Word, not because it does not exist here, but because of the attacks against it.

Amos 8:11 ""Behold, days are coming," declares the Lord GOD, "When I will send a famine on the land, Not a famine for bread or a thirst for water, But rather for hearing the words of the LORD."

The President's Spiritual Adviser an Heretic

Paula White is President Trump's spiritual adviser, this is a clue folks.

President Trump and Paula White are of the same stripe, they are motivational speakers adept at getting people to do what they want and making the people think it was their own idea.

I have heard motivational speakers who can mesmerize their target audience into liking them, while getting their target to think they are getting something spectacular for you.

I am not saying White and Trump are deliberately deceiving people, I do think they believe what they do is good, even though it is not of God.

I am saying that Trump is necessarily doing anything wrong, I am merely stating that we need to wait and see where everything goes.

Paula White can "charm the pennies off of a deadman's eyes", while praising him for how great he is.

Paula Whites message: you are wonderful, worthy of great wealth and good times.

President Trump's message: "We are going to be great again" "America is number one", just like at those ball games we used to attend in high school, only now it is the whole nation.

Pride is at the root of the movement to "make America great again." The definition of "great" to motivational speakers and televangelists is usually associated with wealth and personal pleasure. Rarely do their messages have to do with repentance and holiness, or should I say....never, since President Trump believes, according to his own words, that he doesn't believe he has anything to repent from.

2 Timothy 4:2-4 "…2 Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and encourage with every form of patient instruction. 3 For the time will come when men will not tolerate sound doctrine, but with itching ears they will gather around themselves teachers to suit their own desires. 4 So they will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.…"

Isaiah 30:9-10 "…9 For this is a rebellious people, false sons, Sons who refuse to listen To the instruction of the LORD; 10 Who say to the seers, "You must not see visions"; And to the prophets, "You must not prophesy to us what is right, Speak to us pleasant words, Prophesy illusions."