Keep looking up, this is only a short time for us, learn the lessons and then we go home.
Monday, December 28, 2020
Kick that Fear to the Curb!
Please brothers and sisters, do not be afraid of the next regime, do not fear the virus or the vaccine. God can take us through all this without that monstrous internet fear and panic I see all over the place.
Perhaps it would be good and even interesting to take an entire week without seeing any news or internet about these things to get perspective back.
Stop worrying and trust that Christ in you will protect you, either from getting these things or from the effects of them if we are forced to get them.
WHERE ARE THE BELIEVERS WHO TRUST IN CHRIST MORE THAN THEY FEAR THE WORLD?
Remember that God took the Israelites through the desert for 40 years and protected them, even their shoes did not wear out. Yet, they began to complain about their food, they missed their quail back in Egypt.
Can you imagine your shoes not wearing out, being guided by a pillar of fire by night, and no need to grow crops because God provided all your food for you. What amazing miracles they encountered and still they found a reason to whine and complain.
Nothing bad has really happened to us yet in our country, not too much has changed except our playthings and apostate churches have shut down. Believe it or not, this is good, I believe it was by God's design so that we would slow down and contemplate Him during this shutdown as well as forcing us to connect more with the families we live with. If we can see this more as an adventure sent by God than focusing on the little we have lost and worried about what we might lose, we could actually enjoy this time God has given us.
God is still in control and He has brought all this on us for a reason.
Amos 3:6 "
If a trumpet is blown in a city, will the people not tremble? If a disaster occurs in a city, has the Lord not brought it about?"
To complain about the weather is the same as rejecting God's decree. Complaining about anything the Lord has allowed that we have no control over is the same as complaining against Him.
I am sure all of us have done this at times, we must stop it and praise God rather than running fearfully as so many non-believers are doing.
We must show the unsaved world that God is our strength, our rock, and our provider, we will not fear.
Just saying!!!!!
Understanding Love God's Way
There is also a big misunderstanding in today's' Christianity, the idea that forgiveness should be passed out to those who are not repentant. God clearly said:
Luke 17:3-4 "3 Watch yourselves. If your brother sins, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him. 4 Even if he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times returns to say, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive him.”…"
God never said anywhere that we automatically become bitter if we do not forgive an unrepentant person who has offended us. That thinking all comes from psychology that is born out of Darwinism.
God told us to pray for our enemies, at the same time telling us to remove ourselves from them so that our lives will be at peace.
Forgiving an unrepentant sinner is thinking we are better than God.
He doesn't do that and we should not either. Psychology says that if we forgive the hearts of the offender will melt and like Jesus. the Bible does not teach this anywhere.
Isaiah 26:10 "10Though grace is shown to the wicked man, he does not learn righteousness. In the land of righteousness, he acts unjustly and fails to see the majesty of the LORD."
Pretending someone is forgiven even if they are not sorry is the same as enabling. We are never to be mean or rude to these people but that is not forgiveness. Forgiveness is for the purpose of reconciling a relationship. A relationship cannot be reconciled when there is only forgiveness without repentance.
Confession of the sin and forgiveness are two sides of the same coin, one cannot be separated from the other.
We pray for our enemies but we do not remain close friends, until and unless they become repentant for their offense. We are not talking about silly things like parking their car in our space, those are things we let go, but offenses that can destroy a relationship, such as abuse, theft or adultery, must be resolved by confession of sin and forgiveness, that one coin.
1 John 1:9
"9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous, so that He will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness."
We are to forgive the way God forgives, this is His plan for the greater good. Letting offenders off does not change them any more than punishment does. They must see their own sinfulness through the conviction of the Holy Spirit, then God can work on them. We punish people who have committed crimes to keep them from harming society or even families, but ultimately they must be dealt with Biblically, that is withholding forgiveness and requiring accountability that they may see themselves in truth, which is sinful.
Acts 3:19
"Repent, therefore, and turn again, that your sins may be blotted out,"
Confession of sin and forgiveness are two sides of the same coin, one cannot be separated from the other.
Isaiah 26:10-11 "10 Though grace is shown to the wicked man, he does not learn righteousness. In the land of righteousness, he acts unjustly and fails to see the majesty of the LORD.11 O LORD, Your hand is upraised, but they do not see it. They will see Your zeal for Your people and be put to shame. The fire set for Your enemies will consume them!…"
The reason for forgiving the unrepentant is to make ourselves feel superior. If we love people we help them to achieve what God wants for them, that is growth in holiness and true reconciliation in which the offender no longer offends us or anyone else.
Obedience in Marriage
In our culture, many people make the excuse that if one party in a marriage leaves and remarries it releases the other to do the same. There is no scripture that allows for remarriage simply because the other spouse does it.
There is an old Amish saying; "when two divorced and remarried people get into bed together there are four people in the bed." Why would they say this? It is because only God can sever the spiritual bond between a couple by death.
Luke 16:18
"Anyone who divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery, and he who marries a divorced woman commits adultery."
Because one person disobeys God and remarries does not give license for the other partner to do the same. We are to obey God even if no one else does and even if it means being alone.
Our obedience is not based on what others do but on what God said.
1 Corinthians 7:10-12 "…10To the married I give this command (not I, but the Lord): A wife must not separate from her husband. 11But if she does, she must remain unmarried or else be reconciled to her husband. And a husband must not divorce his wife. 12To the rest I say this (I, not the Lord): If a brother has an unbelieving wife and she is willing to live with him, he must not divorce her.…"
A born again believer can live very happily obeying God without a present spouse. It is a dependence on Christ completely.
God was not lying when He said divorce and remarriage is adultery. A piece of paper by the law of the land does not dissolve the glue God used to meld two people into one.
Matthew 19:6
"6 So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore, what God has joined together, no person is to separate.”
The one-flesh union cannot be dissolved by man, it remains even after divorce by the authorities. No one can dissolve what God has joined.
When God calls remarriage adultery, it makes no sense that all of a sudden after the "remarriage" it is no longer adultery. It remains adultery as long as that remarried couple remains together. There is not a new marriage there is adultery ongoing until the two in adultery decide to obey God and separate.
When we see that marriage is a covenant between God and the couple just as being born again is a permanent covenant we know that marriages are not ended by man nor is our salvation. We do not jump in and out of salvation any more than a man and woman can jump in and out of marriage, these are ordained of God and changed by Him, the born again is changed into a new creation by Him at salvation and the marriage union is God's hand in making two people into one. No one can undo what God has done.
2 Corinthians 5:16-17 "…16 So from now on we regard no one according to the flesh. Although we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. 17 Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away. Behold, the new has come!"
Matthew 19:6
"6 So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore, what God has joined together, no person is to separate.”
Anyone who participates in the remarriage of a divorced person is guilty of the sin with them.
This is where we get the concept that if you are in the bad crowd you are the bad crowd. I have heard people say things like; "my son is a good boy who got in with a bad crowd." NO, only bad boys choose to get in with a bad crowd. We choose what we like, no one makes us. Even in the case of gangs that attempt to intimidate others to join their gangs, they have a choice.
Romans 1:32 "32 and although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them."
Those who attend remarriage after divorce are guilty of encouraging sin in others. Anyone who helps another person sin will be accountable for this sin. Those who allow unmarried couples to live in their houses as though man and wife, will be held accountable for the sin against that couple and against God.
When we do not correct or rebuke someone who claims to be a Christian but is living sinfully we are encouraging them to continue disobeying God. We are our brother's keeper, we are responsible for the example we set for others, not only our brothers and sisters but also the unsaved world who is watching us.
Think about it, does our witness of the love and faithfulness of God mean more to us than being accepted by those who will not obey God?
Repenting is the Only Way
"Repent" means o change one's mind, they see that they are sinning and want to be changed by Christ. When we change our minds it leads to a change in behavior. If there has been no change in behavior there has been no change of mind. No matter what anyone says, if their behavior remains the same they have not had a changed mind.
If someone says they have become a Christian but their life has not changed on any level, then their words are dead words and their faith is a dead faith.
A heart change always leads to changed habits and attitudes.
Ezekiel 11:19
"And I will give them one heart, and a new spirit I will put within them. I will remove the heart of stone from their flesh and give them a heart of flesh,"
Did we see that? GOD gives us a new nature entirely opposite of the old one when we become born again. It is not any effort on our part. Our only part was to desire to be changed by Christ into that which we cannot change in ourselves.
Helplessness is the best place for anyone to be, it drives us to the One Who can truly help us.
Psalm 51:10
"Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me."
There it is again; a prayer to change the heart of a man.
Psalm 37:4 ESV / 44 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful
Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.
God says that all we have to do is a delight in Him and His desires will become ours. God never gives us what we want, He gives us what He wants us to have. But only if we trust in Him.
Ezekiel 36:26
"And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh."
There it is again, God is the One Who makes a new heart in us. Anyone who is attempting to make themselves good by doing better will not be changed. They will only appear to be changed and it does not last because it is fleshly and superficial.
For many years I wondered why so many people didn't grow out of their wrong attitudes and actions within the church. I know now it is because many are not born again, they wanted to associate with an idea of being good but never wanted to be changed by Christ.
How do I know this? Its because many of these people are aggravated by the mention of the scriptures or correction by them. They don't read or know the Bible and have no desire to, they live in cultural Christianity based on feelings and the culture around them.
When we become born again we no longer fit into the culture, we are outcasts. Those who fit well with their culture are likely not born again.
Hosea 10:12
"Sow for yourselves righteousness; reap steadfast love; break up your fallow ground, for it is the time to seek the Lord, that he may come and rain righteousness upon you."
It is only through Christ that we can become holy, righteous, and steadfast because it is He Who is so, we are merely His vehicle to glorify Him. He gets all the praise and glory.
Repentance is not an Act it is a Mindset
Our actions come from our mindset. Mindset first, actions follow.
Repentance is a change of mind toward God and our sinfulness. When we do this God then changes us into a new creation. We do not change ourselves that is an exercise in futility. A fallen desperately wicked person cannot change who they are, only God can do that.
2 Corinthians 5:16-18 "…16 So from now on we regard no one according to the flesh. Although we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. 17 Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away. Behold, the new has come! 18 All this is from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation:…"
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."
When Christ changes us and lives in us we can no longer go back to what we were. Our entire WAY of thinking has been done away with and replaced with the mind of Christ.
When we become born again the old us is gone, the new remains for eternity.
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