Shame is no Longer

Most people have become so accustomed to sin that they don't even think it's sin anymore, no matter what it is.

Jeremiahs 6:14-15 "…14"They have healed the brokenness of My people superficially, Saying, 'Peace, peace,' But there is no peace. 15"Were they ashamed because of the abomination they have done? They were not even ashamed at all; They did not even know how to blush. Therefore they shall fall among those who fall; At the time that I punish them, They shall be cast down," says the LORD. "

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How Did Satan Do It

There was a day in history when the government didn't get involved in education. It was the town counsel made up of parents who hired the teachers and wrote the mandates for teachers conduct and curriculum.

Since those in power refused to involve the parents, promoting only the "experts" as they see them, be the ones to decide all this without the parents consent, has led to the formation of the "Home School" movement. Parents wanted a return to control over the education of their own children.

The state has no business dictating who teaches and the curriculum they wanted for their own children.

AND, guess what, the children during the time when the parents determined the education of their own children, the children became more educated at a much younger age than we see today.

My father went through the sixth grade only and had a better education than a high school graduate today. The vocabulary was better, the math was higher and their ability to write a report on a subject was far better than what we see now.

The more the state inserts it's nose into the education system the worse the education is and the more power they have over the family unit.

I see clearly more now than ever what happened to our own children. Because they were educated in public government schools, they viewed the teachers as their authority while the family were just the people they happened to live with, school was their authority.

When our children stop thinking of us an the authority in their lives, we cannot be an influence to them. Everything we say and do will be measured according to the culture and the culture wins when that is the major influence in their lives.

The question that is often asked these days is; "how did the culture get like this", my answer is that public education system, church gatherings by people educated in the public schools and extended family who were products of public education all influenced and pressured our children to conform to the society as a whole. In short, many families lost the battle in their fight to retain true family and Biblical values.

There is only one hope for our children and grandchildren, that is to pray that the Lord undo the faulty and damaging thinking of that indoctrinated our children received. Then begin to pray that God would work miracles in the lives of our grandchildren to think beyond the faulty indoctrination of all these elements that fight to dominate them.

Satan is working on every level to destroy all that God loves and inculcate into the culture everything that God hates. And, sadly he has done a good job destroying all that Believers hold dear and all that God created.

Don't misunderstand, there have been some good teachers who have tried to do what is right, but I think they are few compared to the many who have been educated in the liberal colleges.

1 Peter 5:7-9 "…7 Cast all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you. 8 Be sober-minded and alert. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. 9 Resist him, standing firm in your faith and in the knowledge that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kinds of suffering.…"

Misunderstanding the Nature of Love

The problem with our culture is that we associate happy feelings with goodness. However, love is not based on whether or not someone feels good about what we say. Love is telling the truth for the well being of the other person. It is not helpful to make people feel good about their bad behavior.

Bad behavior should bring shame, so that the desire to change one's actions and attitudes will be what motivates change.

Love is the full range of speech and actions that help a person to desire a change in their heart.

We are called to "rebuke", "admonish" and "correct", one another daily. We should be speaking truth to one another every day as necessary.

The lie that we should not "lecture" people does not come from the Bible, is it humanistic psychology that promoted this idea of "feelings first" and thinking and pondering last if at all.

Many people have been taught to "go with their feelings", pretending that feelings are more important, when just the opposite is actually true. Feelings misguide us, it is reason and good sense based on Scriptural principles that should guide us in spite of our feelings.

Romans 15:14
"And concerning you, my brethren, I myself also am convinced that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge and able also to admonish one another."

Colossians 3:16
"Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God."

Psalm 141:5
"Let the righteous smite me in kindness and reprove me; It is oil upon the head; Do not let my head refuse it, For still my prayer is against their wicked deeds."

Luke 17:3
"Be on your guard! If your brother sins, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him."

1 Thessalonians 5:14
"We urge you, brethren, admonish the unruly, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with everyone."

2 Timothy 3:16
"All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness;"

Commitment Christ's Way

Living with a woman before she is married to you is the ultimate disrespect toward her.

Living with a man before he is married to you is also the ultimate disrespect toward him.

If someone wants to move into your home or into theirs, without committing to you for a lifetime, that is the only clue you need to know this person is a narcissist, and mean spirited jerk. Get away from them as fast as you can, they do not love you.

Someone who loves, shows it by caring more about your long term welfare more than he/she does about their own fleshly desires.

Marriage is a commitment, if someone has no desire to commit to you the rest of their lives through all the hard stuff as well as the happy things, they don't love you. They also don't deserve the perks that marriage affords.

When we love someone we delight in serving them, we delight in helping them and we delight in their happiness. SEE THAT, it's all about THEIR welfare.

We should be careful not to allow others to manipulate us into disobeying God. If a potential spouse is constantly working to undermine your walk with Christ, then they are not for you.

You have to make a choice, "do you want to walk with Christ or do you want to chain yourself to someone who refuses to respect your walk"?

The man of god who walks with Christ would never ask you to do anything that would destroy your soul by mocking your Christian principles. It is a form of mocking to ask us to do things, or live ways, that would cause us to diminish in our spirit as we disobey our God.

Ladies and Gentlemen, ignore your infatuation in someone's appearance, to think clearly about who they are as a person. Look to their character, their desires and how they live them, to see if this is husband or wife material.

Do not listen to the foolish people who tell you to "follow your heart." Our hearts deceive us, the heart focuses on the feelings of security, happiness and personal enjoyment, rarely do our feelings ponder the character of someone.

Superficial dating for fun is a disaster waiting to happen. When we connect with someone over pleasure it is very hard to detach from a bond like this. Letting go from pleasure is sort of like a gambling addiction, even though someone may know they should stop, the pleasure and the thrill keeps them in bondage to that addiction. The same can be true of a relationship that is based on pleasure.

When the pleasure ends and the real life situations are no longer fun, then is when hearts get broken because things are no longer fun anymore, those who use others bolt.

True friendship is based on love, love as defined by commitment and devotion to a person no matter what the struggle. We want to be involved in the struggles of those we love to be helpful. A narcissist hates to have to forego their own things to help anyone else.

Christ was committed to mankind but mankind wasn't to Him. Christ bled and died for others, even healing them and their response to Him was to call Him a liar and murder Him.

When we see how Christ responded to mankind, out of the deepest kind of love, warning them, healing them and dying for them, then we can see how we should be for others.

When others are not interested Christ walked away, but the offer still remains, confess and there is forgiveness available, unless those who reject remain rebellious, then they will die in their rebellion and end up in hell.

Abuse of Women Will Increase

If Sharia law comes to this country, we can count on widespread abuse of those who are Christians. We can also see the abuse of women explode, not only on the part of Muslims but on the part of ungodly men who think it's good to be able to abuse their wives.

There are many men in America who would love to be able to express their contempt toward women without consequences.

It is the law and rejection by the culture that keeps some if not many men from expressing their anger through abuse of women. We know this because of the narcissistic attitudes that emerge when they can do it without being exposed and without reproach.

Right now in America, many men show their contempt toward women through mocking, demeaning and covertly picking on them when no one else can see. I am not saying "all" men, only a lot of them. We also know this because men will readily use a woman by living with her, while refusing to commit to these women in marriage. The ultimate disrespect to woman is the suggestion on the part of a man to be able to have all the perks of marriage without having to marry them. Using others is common today in our culture. When all the restraints are removed concerning abuse, many men will fall right in with the Muslims in the practice of spousal abuse, even rape of women will become more common.

Women generally want to get married and have families, it is a natural bent of the women. However, nowadays, many women think they have to live with a man to keep the men from leaving them. They know that if they ask to be married the men would flee at the prospect of being "tied down" as they see it.

Women would have better husbands if they refused to be used outside of marriage, the men who want to be responsible and do not use others, will be those who honor a woman by committing to them in marriage.

1 Timothy 1:9-10 "9 We realize that law is not enacted for the righteous, but for the lawless and rebellious, for the ungodly and sinful, for the unholy and profane, for killers of father or mother, for murderers, 10 for the sexually immoral, for homosexuals, for slave traders and liars and perjurers, and for anyone else who is averse to sound teaching…"

Chain Letter, Prayer Chain What's the Difference

There is another form of the "chain letter" that is present in the church.

The expression of a "chain" is the "prayer chain."

I see nothing in the Scriptures that describes this "prayer chain" that many churches have adopted.

When we add to the Bible by implementing human ideas to God's Word has it's pitfalls.

There are those who will place pressure on others to engage in something that has no basis in the Word of God. This pressure alone is legalism, when we have expectations of others that God never mandated, then we are walking in legalism.

There was a prayer chain in which I was involved, that placed so much burden on others to avoid "gossip" by requiring the person who heard the request to repeat back the exact words that were mandated by the elders. If there was any deviation from those words on any level the person who changed the wording was chastised for not following the rules.

I changed two words in a prayer request on that prayer chain, was chastised by someone half my age, while treated as though I did something terrible by not obeying the elders.

I do not condemn the "prayer chain", I condemn the legalism of pressure on others to participate and the staunchness of the leadership of the elders to demean someone who expresses themselves without the permission of the elders.

Needless to say, I have declined to be a part of any "prayer chain." If someone wants me to pray for them or others they know then please, by all means come to ask me to pray, I would be happy to do that, but do not place me on any list laden with rules on how the Holy Spirit should operate in me, the Holy Spirit will tell me how to pray and when to pray.

Too often man tries to dictate things to people that belong only to the Holy Spirit. It is the Holy Spirit that leads in these things, when man begins to dictate their own rules, they are usurping the authority of the Holy Spirit.

Those who lack faith must make rules to dominate others. If we believe the Holy Spirit can lead others, then we feel no need to pressure them to follow unBiblical rules.

John 16:13-14 "13 However, when the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all truth. For He will not speak on His own, but He will speak what He hears, and He will declare to you what is to come. 14 He will glorify Me by taking from what is Mine and disclosing it to you."

Matthew 23:6 "They love the places of honor at banquets, the chief seats in the synagogues,"

Luke 20:46
"Beware of the scribes. They like to walk around in long robes, and they love the greetings in the marketplaces, the chief seats in the synagogues, and the places of honor at banquets."

Christ Heals Body and Spirit

Christ is more about healing souls than He is about healing bodies, even though He does heal both, the soul is far more important than the body.

The infirmities of the body can bring spiritual healing through the desire to turn to Christ when we realize we cannot help ourselves.

It is through trial and illness that God gets our attention.

Most people, if not all, only learn when they have no other place to turn but to Christ.

1 Peter 5:10
"And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you."

James 1:12
"Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him."

Romans 12:12
"Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer."

1 Corinthians 10:13
"No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it."

John 16:33
"I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”

Exodus 14:14
"The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.”

James 1:2-8
"Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. ..."

Trump May Ignite Things

This has been my question, "will Trump ignite the world through his strong leadership style."

Narcissists hate to be told what they can and cannot do, they rage while remaining in a state of revenge.

When we are dealing with bombastic and vengeful narcissism on an epidemic scale in our own country coupled with this same attitude worldwide, we are going to see a rebellion all over the world against anyone who will attempt to bring the anarchy under control.

To say "NO" to the narcissist is to invite rage, rebellion and lies against the one who attempts to lead with authority. We should not say that anyone should appease the narcissist. The narcissist should not be catered to as one would cater to a spoiled child. However, continuing to operate as we should under the guidance of the Bible will increase the rebellion of the narcissists.

The world, including our country hate to be told what they should do, that's the reason Christianity is so hated and the reason many are attempting to stomp it out.

This is why I expect the world to erupt in horrific rebellion in the comings months as our president works to bring reason and logic to the world.

Everyone (figuratively to mean "most") are rising up in anger on some level or the other, whether on a global level or a personal family level. This world refuses to see things in reality, their minds have been twisted by the devil to cause this chaos that we are experiencing.

1 Peter 4:11-13
11 If anyone speaks, he should speak as one conveying the words of God. If anyone serves, he should serve with the strength God supplies, so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory and the power forever and ever. Amen. 12 Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial that has come upon you, as though something strange were happening to you. 13 But rejoice that you share in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed at the revelation of His glory.…"