Most of the time the prophets didn't bring positive messages to the people, rather they brought messages of warning, time after time they warned and pleaded with the people to repent, each time they were met with mocking and even martyrdom.
Mankind is stubborn, always wanting everything their own way. Now here we are in the last days, returning to the same mentality as was in the days of Noah. They mocked Noah as they continued their daily lives as though Noah was an insane man. After a time, the Lord said, that's it, it's done, all the people have been warned and only one family will be saved.
The same was true in Sodom and Gomorrah, the warnings came and went and then the end of those cities came. There was no chance of changing their mind or rescue, and one family was saved.
We are in those same end times predicament now, only one family will be saved, that is the family of God, everyone else will be destroyed. The first group in the family will leave in the rapture and the second group will be the final group who became saved during the tribulation. In each case only one family is saved from the wrath of God.
Matthew 24:37-39
"37 But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
38 For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark,
39 And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be."
Wednesday, August 16, 2017
Evaluate Feelings
We can admit our feelings, but we should not base our actions on them. Feelings have a tendency to be inaccurate depending on our biases or our mental condition on any particular day.
It is best to evaluate our feelings in light of the Scriptures to discern whether or not they match with God's Word.
We can learn things from our feelings, one thing we can learn is that perhaps they reveal a wrong perspective. When our "feelings" do not match with the mandates of the Bible, then it is the feelings we ignore, not the Bible.
Feelings are like an itch, they come and go and just exist, we pay attention to it but we do not allow it to guide our actions or attitudes.
James 4:6-8 "6 But He gives us more grace. This is why it says: “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” 7 Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.…"
I see no verses in the Bible that encourage us to ponder, dwell on or encourage feelings.
It is best to evaluate our feelings in light of the Scriptures to discern whether or not they match with God's Word.
We can learn things from our feelings, one thing we can learn is that perhaps they reveal a wrong perspective. When our "feelings" do not match with the mandates of the Bible, then it is the feelings we ignore, not the Bible.
Feelings are like an itch, they come and go and just exist, we pay attention to it but we do not allow it to guide our actions or attitudes.
James 4:6-8 "6 But He gives us more grace. This is why it says: “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” 7 Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.…"
I see no verses in the Bible that encourage us to ponder, dwell on or encourage feelings.
It's the Heart of the People
Righteousness or unrighteousness is in the hearts of people, no statue, no flag or no plaque determines the direction or heart of a nation.
It is the hearts of men that determine the course of a nation, not it's idols or it's history. If all our history were wiped away, we are still going to have left in this nation the heart of the people.
If the condition of the heart of man were dependent on physical icons, then we are in a very sad state indeed.
Each individual must determine in their own heart to follow Christ or not to follow Christ, this determines the path of any nation.
If we have placed our trust in the displays of artifacts, we are lost. When our faith is in Christ we have no need of counterfeit strength, plaster saints or cement figurines. Nor should we place our trust in any man to deliver us.
Psalm 146:3 "…2 I will praise the LORD while I live; I will sing praises to my God while I have my being. 3 Do not trust in princes, In mortal man, in whom there is no salvation. 4 His spirit departs, he returns to the earth; In that very day his thoughts perish.…"
Psalm 20:7
"7 Some boast in chariots and some in horses,
But we will boast in the name of the Lord, our God."
It is the hearts of men that determine the course of a nation, not it's idols or it's history. If all our history were wiped away, we are still going to have left in this nation the heart of the people.
If the condition of the heart of man were dependent on physical icons, then we are in a very sad state indeed.
Each individual must determine in their own heart to follow Christ or not to follow Christ, this determines the path of any nation.
If we have placed our trust in the displays of artifacts, we are lost. When our faith is in Christ we have no need of counterfeit strength, plaster saints or cement figurines. Nor should we place our trust in any man to deliver us.
Psalm 146:3 "…2 I will praise the LORD while I live; I will sing praises to my God while I have my being. 3 Do not trust in princes, In mortal man, in whom there is no salvation. 4 His spirit departs, he returns to the earth; In that very day his thoughts perish.…"
Psalm 20:7
"7 Some boast in chariots and some in horses,
But we will boast in the name of the Lord, our God."
Fighting and Dying for Statues is Idolatry
To fight and die or to kill someone else over a statue or flag is downright foolishness.
The only history we should be preserving is the History of the Bible.
And God is doing a great job of preserving that which He wanted preserved.
Nothing in this world is worth preserving other than the Word of God, and HE is in charge of that.
The only history we should be preserving is the History of the Bible.
And God is doing a great job of preserving that which He wanted preserved.
Nothing in this world is worth preserving other than the Word of God, and HE is in charge of that.
The March of Fools
Brothers and Sister in Christ, in any people group, don't get involved in that petty marching or rioting stuff!
Preach the gospel, when people become born again they will not be racist on any level, they will be able to think logically and rationally without caring if anyone else follows them. Their concern is about the eternity of all those people. If you must go to the marches, go to pray and speak of the Lord.
Don't fight over statues, plaques or flags, they are irrelevant in this world and will soon be destroyed by Christ at the end of the tribulation. These symbols are meaningless in the vast configuration of things. They will all be destroyed by Christ, all of them, all of them.
May the Lord lead believers to ignore all the hoopla about race and preach Christ crucified.
We have no business parading in the streets to defend monuments and other symbols of idolatry. When Christ is our focus, no statue is worth bleeding and dying for nor is it worth taking someone else's life over. These marches are foolishness, may the believers understand this and remain neutral toward the marches but on fire for Christ.
Preach the gospel, when people become born again they will not be racist on any level, they will be able to think logically and rationally without caring if anyone else follows them. Their concern is about the eternity of all those people. If you must go to the marches, go to pray and speak of the Lord.
Don't fight over statues, plaques or flags, they are irrelevant in this world and will soon be destroyed by Christ at the end of the tribulation. These symbols are meaningless in the vast configuration of things. They will all be destroyed by Christ, all of them, all of them.
May the Lord lead believers to ignore all the hoopla about race and preach Christ crucified.
We have no business parading in the streets to defend monuments and other symbols of idolatry. When Christ is our focus, no statue is worth bleeding and dying for nor is it worth taking someone else's life over. These marches are foolishness, may the believers understand this and remain neutral toward the marches but on fire for Christ.
Don't Forget the Mothers
Let's not forget the mothers in the training of the children.
So often home school families stress the father over the mother as though the mother is insignificant. It creates a favoritism toward the father while negating the mother. This is sinful, causing strife in the family rather than unity of purpose.
Not always, but from my lengthy experience with home schooling families, I see this a lot. The mother's advice is diminished while the father's is upheld. The mother is often disdained and mocked because she is not the father. No other reason except, since she is not "THE leader", she is treated as a peer rather than significant teacher and instructor ordained by God to be so.
I have witnessed mothers who were diminished and ignored because she was "not the leader", but what many people fail to understand is that the father and mother are both important and should be honored with the same respect.
What is respect? Respect is when someone is valued because of their position in the family as a teacher or instructor. The position of instructor, protector and trainer, is one that was given by God.
Christians today tend to honor those who make them feel special and diminish those who correct or teach them things they would rather not face. They defy the word of God by their rebellion against authority, if they will not honor parents who have been placed by God over them, then they will never obey God they cannot see.
Respect is not a matter of sending flowers on holidays, it's a continual mentality of deference and appreciation for the honored one. Those who refuse to listen to their instructor, teacher or trainer, are in rebellion and cannot be expected to be blessed by God.
Narcissists often believe in order to honor one person they must diminish the other. But the truth is that God commands children to honor BOTH father and mother, not one more than the other.
The response of the narcissist is to honor the one that praises them while dishonoring the one who teaches and trains them in righteousness. Narcissists hate to be instructed but love to be stroked.
Proverbs 1:8-9 "8 Hear, my son, your father's instruction And DO NOT FORSAKE YOUR MOTHER'S TEACHING; 9 Indeed, they are a graceful wreath to your head And ornaments about your neck.…"
Exodus 20:12 "12 Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be prolonged in the land which the LORD your God gives you."
Father's who negate the mother in the presence of the children, even in subtle ways, create rebellion in the hearts of the children. Fathers need to be upholding the authority of the mother as just as important as the fathers.
When the father is not obeying God, the children will see this and enjoy him, it allows them to disobey God too. The father has much influence in the family, he has the ability to unify the family or tear it apart through his obedience to God or disobedience.
Which ever way the father goes, most often the children go too. There is greater chance the children will go the way of the Lord if the father upholds the law of God and supports the mother in her quest for holiness in the home.
When the father disobeys God and diminishes the law of the mother, the children will act in rebellion, also going the way of the father in his own rebellion.
1 Peter 3:7
"Likewise, husbands, live with your wives in an understanding way, showing honor to the woman as the weaker vessel, since they are heirs with you of the grace of life, so that your prayers may not be hindered."
A rebellious husband has the ability to not only destroy the spirit of a woman through his disobedience, but will also turn the children away from their mother, his wife, as they grow older. Some men love this "special" position with their children, they too are narcissists.
A godly man will protect, love and attempt to understand his wife, upholding her as an authority in the eyes of her children, fostering a love for their mother.
Which kind of father are you going to be, the one that tears down the wife in the eyes of the children, or one that builds her up, protecting her, nurturing her in the word and encouraging her in her attempts to bring righteousness to the family?
God is watching, yes He is!
So often home school families stress the father over the mother as though the mother is insignificant. It creates a favoritism toward the father while negating the mother. This is sinful, causing strife in the family rather than unity of purpose.
Not always, but from my lengthy experience with home schooling families, I see this a lot. The mother's advice is diminished while the father's is upheld. The mother is often disdained and mocked because she is not the father. No other reason except, since she is not "THE leader", she is treated as a peer rather than significant teacher and instructor ordained by God to be so.
I have witnessed mothers who were diminished and ignored because she was "not the leader", but what many people fail to understand is that the father and mother are both important and should be honored with the same respect.
What is respect? Respect is when someone is valued because of their position in the family as a teacher or instructor. The position of instructor, protector and trainer, is one that was given by God.
Christians today tend to honor those who make them feel special and diminish those who correct or teach them things they would rather not face. They defy the word of God by their rebellion against authority, if they will not honor parents who have been placed by God over them, then they will never obey God they cannot see.
Respect is not a matter of sending flowers on holidays, it's a continual mentality of deference and appreciation for the honored one. Those who refuse to listen to their instructor, teacher or trainer, are in rebellion and cannot be expected to be blessed by God.
Narcissists often believe in order to honor one person they must diminish the other. But the truth is that God commands children to honor BOTH father and mother, not one more than the other.
The response of the narcissist is to honor the one that praises them while dishonoring the one who teaches and trains them in righteousness. Narcissists hate to be instructed but love to be stroked.
Proverbs 1:8-9 "8 Hear, my son, your father's instruction And DO NOT FORSAKE YOUR MOTHER'S TEACHING; 9 Indeed, they are a graceful wreath to your head And ornaments about your neck.…"
Exodus 20:12 "12 Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be prolonged in the land which the LORD your God gives you."
Father's who negate the mother in the presence of the children, even in subtle ways, create rebellion in the hearts of the children. Fathers need to be upholding the authority of the mother as just as important as the fathers.
When the father is not obeying God, the children will see this and enjoy him, it allows them to disobey God too. The father has much influence in the family, he has the ability to unify the family or tear it apart through his obedience to God or disobedience.
Which ever way the father goes, most often the children go too. There is greater chance the children will go the way of the Lord if the father upholds the law of God and supports the mother in her quest for holiness in the home.
When the father disobeys God and diminishes the law of the mother, the children will act in rebellion, also going the way of the father in his own rebellion.
1 Peter 3:7
"Likewise, husbands, live with your wives in an understanding way, showing honor to the woman as the weaker vessel, since they are heirs with you of the grace of life, so that your prayers may not be hindered."
A rebellious husband has the ability to not only destroy the spirit of a woman through his disobedience, but will also turn the children away from their mother, his wife, as they grow older. Some men love this "special" position with their children, they too are narcissists.
A godly man will protect, love and attempt to understand his wife, upholding her as an authority in the eyes of her children, fostering a love for their mother.
Which kind of father are you going to be, the one that tears down the wife in the eyes of the children, or one that builds her up, protecting her, nurturing her in the word and encouraging her in her attempts to bring righteousness to the family?
God is watching, yes He is!
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