When is the Proper Time?

How about this week we believers in Christ take our brains out of the closet, dust them off and begin to think and act for ourselves.

If we find ourselves beginning to think like the world then it is time to go to prayer, ask God to show us nothing but truth, no matter what we have to face in order to think like Christ. We must stop allowing the world to dictate our thoughts, actions and words.

Sadly many people in our country think that every gathering is just not the time to speak about Christ. Let's take a look at that statement: "It's a birthday party, now's not the time." "It's the ball game, we're here to have fun, it's not the time", "It's our friends wedding, it's just not the time", "it's Grandpa's funeral, not the right place or time."

It seems that most Christians today think they only time to speak about Christ is in the church building and only the pastor from the pulpit should be doing it.

Most of us could insert our own event into that list of places we shouldn't speak about Christ. The authentic believer can't help but mention Christ no matter where they are, a part of them relates everything they hear and everything they do to the principles of Christ.

2 Timothy 4:2-3 " 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.…"

It is interesting that every time we are with people, the office or family members it's all about "the event", there is no time we feel comfortable to speak of the Lord. Perhaps the problem is that we are spending too much time with either unbelievers or superficial believers who are all embarrassed at the mention of Christ's name, so they intimidate us into silence.

Isn't time that believer pray for more boldness and more fervor in the things of the Lord. Something to think about.

The Law is for the Lawless

The Law is for the lawless, only those in rebellion need law to restrain them. Those who are righteous don't want to sin, when they fall they hate it, confess and go on to do better. We have no need of the Law, the Law Giver lives inside of us, He teaches, guides and corrects us as needed.

I do not need a law that tells me not to steal because I don't want to steal. However, there are many who would like to steal but the law keeps them restrained, the threat of getting caught keeps many people who might otherwise steal from doing it.

Christ in the believer does not have to constantly make sure they are following the ten commandments, whenever a sin enters their mind they quickly dismiss it. If they are given too much change at the store and discover it in the parking lot, they rush back to the store to return the overage.

The conscience of the born again believer is acute, if they have a weak moment, they are convicted and tormented by the Lord inside of them until they confess and make things right.

John 16:13 "13 When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come."

1 John 2:1 "1 My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous."

Romans 3:21-31
Justification by Faith
"21 But now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets,
22 even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe; for there is no distinction;
23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
24 being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus;
25 whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith. This was to demonstrate His righteousness, because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed;
26 for the demonstration, I say, of His righteousness at the present time, so that He would be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.
27 Where then is boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? Of works? No, but by a law of faith.
28 For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the Law.
29 Or is God the God of Jews only? Is He not the God of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also,
30 since indeed God who will justify the circumcised [k]by faith and the uncircumcised through faith is one.
31 Do we then nullify the Law through faith? May it never be! On the contrary, we establish the Law."

The Apostate Church But Still a Remnant

The devil lied to Eve, she believed him because she liked what she heard, it fed her ego.

Miscommunication and lack of communication often happens because those hearing like what they hear, choosing not to delve deeper into truth.

Many do not do the research when they hear gossip, they simply believe what they hear, rather than going to the person who is the object of gossip, they just suck all the juicy tidbits in because of their lust for gossip, especially if it's against someone they don't particularly like.

Eve didn't bother to go to Adam to discuss what the serpent said to her, nor did she go to God. She merely made the choice to believe what tickled her ears. The same things goes on every day in this world now.

Christians are being fed theological poisonous lies that flatter and promote happiness. It is easier to believe them than it is to question or research. If they question what they have heard they often incur the wrath of the teacher or leader. When they research for themselves they have few if any people with which to share their findings because what they find goes against what most people want to believe.

The life of an authentic questioning and praying believer is a difficult one, they seem to always be swimming up stream alone, or at least they feel alone.

Believers have been intimidated into silence by those using mocking and manipulation. They will not tolerate hearing anything different from what everyone else is believing.

Sin is not being dealt with in the church, those who attempt to help with the cleansing through speaking the truth are the ones who are negated and expunged in order to keep the status quo.

One way that is being used to intimidate authentic believers is to change the terminology, often calling sin, "mistakes", softening the wickedness of it. When this happens many people will feel relieved that their sin is not so bad, they don't care they are indulging after all, to them it is just a little thing.

The truth teller will be lied about, mocked and excluded if they cannot be silenced.

The devils know that it is better to make people feel comfortable under the preaching of pleasing and happy lies than to put many hardships on their families that will only serve to cause them, in their anguish, to turn to God.

Our churches are no longer places to learn holiness and righteousness, they are filled with people who love their comfort and pleasure. They do not want God, they only want His stuff, His protection, provision and heaven. We know this because when we challenge them to think about holiness, their face turns red, they change the subject and even rage back at us as though we had done something unforgivable.

Welcome to the end times church, fully apostate and fully greedy. There is however a remnant that still loves God, enjoys holiness and wants to follow hard after Him. Hallelujah!!!

Just Because You Think So

Feelings are not facts, I can prove it.

Just because you feel like a wonderful person and have managed to convince others that you are, does not mean you are walking in reality.

When anyone watches a sad movie, they might cry, if they watch a thriller they feel very tense. When we see something funny happen to someone on a comedy, we laugh. Why would we do that? These things are not really happening they are pretend and yet we take them seriously as though we were going through them.

It's because, as I have heard scientists say, our subconscious cannot tell the difference between fiction and reality.

We cry at a sad movie because our brain records the events as really happening. When we tense up and seem fearful at a scary movie, it's because our mind is thinking we are in danger.

Some people base their feelings of guilt on the responses of others rather than what really happened.

We live in a culture that is deeply invested in mere words and in feelings. As well as the need to be accepted by others, we base the responses of others on how we think we should act. When a society becomes so filled with dependence on acceptance rather than truth, then we have lost the culture, everyone becomes a clone of everyone else and no one stands against sin because standing against sin will upset those who love the sin.

1 John 3:18-19 "18 Little children, let us love not in word and speech, but in action and truth. 19 And by this we will know that we belong to the truth, and will assure our hearts in His presence:…"

Psalm 62:5-12
"5 My soul, wait in silence for God only,
For my hope is from Him.
6 He only is my rock and my salvation,
My stronghold; I shall not be shaken.
7 On God my salvation and my glory rest;
The rock of my strength, my refuge is in God.
8 Trust in Him at all times, O people;
Pour out your heart before Him;
God is a refuge for us. Selah."

We feel better when someone makes us laugh even though the problem has not been resolved. We feel validated in sin because the culture is happy for us while we are in it and even encouraging us. Just because we "feel" better does not mean that everything is alright.

We live in a culture now that has gone more deeply into sin because the leaders of the land have lifted the stigma of sin by removing laws that disallowed it.

If we want to see the heart of a country, just remove the laws and watch how many people rush to enjoy the sin they never would have before.

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…"

The righteous people need no laws, they have it in their heart to love good and obey God. Those who need the laws are those who would run amuck without them.

This is why God told us to guard our mind, walk in truth and trust in Him. Our minds take us into an emotional and feelings oriented realm that distracts us from truth and reason, leading us to sin while causing us to trust in people and their acceptance rather than Christ.

The lawless people love to be considered special, they love to be accepted and popular, these are the ones who will follow every trend, act in rebellion when the restraints are removed and pummel any believer who attempts to counsel them or bring the truth of Christ into the discussion.

Isaiah 29:13
"Then the Lord said, "Because this people draw near with their words And honor Me with their lip service, But they remove their hearts far from Me, And their reverence for Me consists of tradition learned by rote,"

Most "Christians" today are more invested in appearances than they are in loving God. They speak all kinds of smooth things while disobeying most of His Word. Oh yes, they can quote the Bible, even speak of it at times, but when challenged to evaluate their own actions and attitudes according to the Bible, they rage like little children having a tantrum as though no one had a right to question them or correct, rebuke or admonish them.

Take a look at the modern Christian, he/she looks a lot like this self righteous one who was so very proud of himself. Let me introduce you to him in these passages:

Luke 18:10-14
"Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. "The Pharisee stood and was praying this to himself: 'God, I thank You that I am not like other people: swindlers, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. 'I fast twice a week; I pay tithes of all that I get.' read more.
"But the tax collector, standing some distance away, was even unwilling to lift up his eyes to heaven, but was beating his breast, saying, 'God, be merciful to me, the sinner!' "I tell you, this man went to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted."

Don't say it at All!

Don't say it even if the letters are missing!

Sorry brothers and sisters....leaving out a couple of letters from filthy language does not mean the word isn't being said. Just sayin!

I will put my fingers in my ears and go "blah blah blah", until you stop saying it.

Really though, when I hear filthy words I feel like I just stood in the sewer and have stink all over me, it's just that uncomfortable. So for my sake, could the using of filthy language with a couple of letters missing please stop?

Don't Repeat it Even if the Letters are Missing

Sorry brothers and sisters....leaving out a couple of letters from filthy language does not mean the word isn't being said. Just sayin!

Born Again or Catholic not Both

I just found out from a Christian brother that our vice president is Catholic, one cannot be Catholic and born again at the same time. Those who become born again while in the Catholic church quickly leave when they realize what the organization teaches. The doctrine of the Catholic church is cultic and demonic.

Among our modern charismatic prosperity preachers there are those who believe the Catholic church is Christian, they are deeply deceived.

I am a former Catholic, no one can convince me there is anything good inside that system. If you have never been in the Catholic church you are not qualified to counter my assertions that it is a demonic cult, unless you have studied extensively what the church teaches.

It has been my experience that those who are not Catholic but defend it as Christian, have never been in the church. Those who defend the Catholic church do not understand that they can use exactly the same terminology as an Evangelical, but mean very different things. Now even the "Evangelical" church has caved in to the pressure to accept the Catholic church as Christian.

When a Catholic says they are saved by grace, they mean the more good works they do the more graces they get to earn heaven.

When a born again believer says they are saved by grace, they mean we can do nothing to earn heaven, that it is a free gift of God, not of anything we can do, it's all God's work. When we trust in Christ, then He does all the saving, His blood paid all the debt we owed and we are kept saved by His power and His blood.

Be very careful to defend a religion you have never been in yourself. Be careful not to make judgments based on what sounds like good language. It is important when we hear familiar language that we ask what the person means by it, understanding is important.

The devil is now moving Christian verbiage into secular realms. The public non-believers are deceiving people by talking about prayer when their meaning is nothing more than saying something believing it will come true by virtue of the power of their own words.

Prayer is nothing if not directed toward the Father in the name of Jesus Christ. Hindu's pray, Buddhist's pray, Catholic's pray, Mormons pray, JW's pray and people every other pagan religion prays. But their prayer if answered is answered by the devil to deceive, while prayer to the One true God through His Son Jesus Christ is the only prayer that is legitimately heard by God and only if we are not walking in sinfulness.

Ephesians 2:8-9 ". 8 For it is by grace you have been saved through faith, and this not from yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not by works, so that no one can boast.…"

Ephesians 2:10
"10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them."

Isaiah 59:2-3 " 2 But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, And your sins have hidden His face from you so that He does not hear. 3 For your hands are defiled with blood And your fingers with iniquity; Your lips have spoken falsehood, Your tongue mutters wickedness.…"

All false religions base their acceptance into heave on their own works.

Isaiah 64:6-7 "6 For all of us have become like one who is unclean, And all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment; And all of us wither like a leaf, And our iniquities, like the wind, take us away. 7 There is no one who calls on Your name, Who arouses himself to take hold of You; For You have hidden Your face from us And have delivered us into the power of our iniquities.…"

John 9:31 "31 We know that God does not listen to sinners, but He does listen to the one who worships Him and does His will."

There are those who say "don't judge" a lot to justify their desire to like or someone. Sadly they have chosen to judge someone as good simply because it's so much fun and happiness thinking nice things and having an idol to brag about.

The truth is these same people who say "don't judge' are choosing to judge unrighteously by judging someone as good without evaluating their life or their belief system.

Why do these people think it is wrong to judge someone as bad by the evidence, but it is alright to judge someone as good without evidence. This makes no sense, if we should not judge at all then we should not judge as good or as bad, but they choose to judge as good.

The truth is that we are to judge righteous judgment, that is, seek the evidence and witnesses and make a determination based on those findings. This is rational and reasonable discernment.

It is as foolish to judge someone as good with scanty evidence as it is to judge someone as bad in the same way. We are to make judgments, we do it every day when we avoid a person because they are a thief or a liar or a rapist. When they are false teachers we are to assess that on the basis of Scripture and be warned to keep our distance and even warn others to keep their distance. The only reason to be in the presence of any of these god haters and offenders is to bring them the gospel. Other than that, they are to be avoided.

Proverbs 16:17-20
17 The highway of the upright is to depart from evil;
He who watches his way preserves his life.
18 Pride goes before destruction,
And a haughty spirit before stumbling.
19 It is better to be humble in spirit with the lowly
Than to divide the spoil with the proud.
20 He who gives attention to the word will find good,

And blessed is he who trusts in the Lord.