Failure is Part of the Process of Living

"Failure is part of the process" as someone once said. Get up and start again when you have been knocked down..... and you will be knocked down from time to time.

There are those who would love for you to stay down for the count, even gleeful when you are discouraged. The devil loves to see us fail and remain exhausted and depleted.

There is only success in life when we get back up after being knocked down. As a born-again believer, we have all the resources necessary to get up again, that is the power of the Holy Spirit.

God wants us to learn lessons in our knockdowns but not remain demoralized and depressed. If we focus on the lesson and depend on Christ we can not only get up again we can thrive moving on toward greater exploits for His glory.

It is in getting up again by the power of the Holy Spirit that glorifies God. He gets the glory for accomplishing in us what we cannot do for ourselves.

For the born-again believer, life is one long series of adventures that teach lifelong and even eternal lessons.

I am convinced that every lesson we learn here on earth will serve us in the Millennium when we rule with Christ.

2 Timothy 2:11-13 "…11 This is a trustworthy saying: If we died with Him, we will also live with Him; 12 if we endure, we will also reign with Him; if we deny Him, He will also deny us; 13 if we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself.…"

All born-again believers endure to the end, the enduring to the end is the proof that we belonged to Him.

So when you are "feeling" discouraged and defeated, remember they are nothing more than that, "feelings", they do not define who you are or what you can do through Christ. As long as we are in the will of God He gives us what we need to carry out His will.

There are those who say we should lean into our feelings, which is exactly the opposite of what God wants from us. He wants us to ignore the fleshly feelings and focus on the Spirit Who is able to save us to the uttermost.

Romans 8:6

"For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace."

1 Thessalonians 5:18

"18 In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you."

"Everything?" Yes, when we are grateful to God in all that happens to us it demonstrates our trust in Him that all things no matter how hard, are from Him and will have a purpose.

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What Narcissists Don't Understand About Confidence

Discipleship is Dangerous in this Age of Apostasy

"Discipleship" in the sense of another person or group of people teaching a newborn again believer, concerns me nowadays because so many people and groups are not teaching pure Bible. It is better to allow a new believer to discover God on their own through reading the Bible.

I was discipled for a short time and the people who were attempting to teach me were telling me unbiblical things. I grew so fast in the Lord because I questioned what they were telling me and ended up being shunned for disagreeing with their bad doctrine.

All I was doing was reading the word and praying for the Holy Spirit to show me. I stopped any discipleship because of all the things they taught me that they had no scriptural support for. I am a strong believer that the Holy Spirit can teach a new believer better than anyone else. I am also convinced if a new believer gives up because no one is teaching them, then they were not serious about wanting Christ.

Man cannot teach another man better than Christ in them. When someone disciples these days they expect the hearer to become just like them, saying the same things and doing the same things. When questioning is disdained then we have a problem with pride.

Even a new believer through the power of the Holy Spirit can discern truth from error.

Too many people are attempting to replace the Holy Spirit with teachers out of bad seminaries, making them as wrong as they are.

Matthew 23:15 "

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you travel around on sea and land to make one proselyte; and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves."

If you are a new believer don't worry about being taught by other people. Just open your Bible and pray that the Holy Spirit in you will give you the understanding.

Anyone who says you must be taught by a man is lacking in good sense and faith. They are depending on the training of men rather than the Holy Spirit.

I am one who learned fast from the Holy Spirit and continue to learn every day. I listen to some preachers but can discern immediately if something is off because I have learned the Bible well. Those who rely solely on the writings of men more than the Bible will be taught many false things that must be unlearned before growth can occur.

John 14:26

"26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you."

Would anyone dare to say to the Holy Spirit; "that's alright God, don't tell me, I need to go ask the preacher?" Of course, this sounds silly.

We see no scripture that says be sure you go and find out from a preacher, but we do see many scriptures that tell us to go to the Holy Spirit.

John 16:13-14

13 But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come. 14 He will glorify Me, for He will take from Mine and will disclose it to you."

12 Signs You're Dating A Sociopath

SIGNS OF A DEMON/SIGNS OF A NARCISSIST

All the narcissists I have known say the same things, even the exact same words and do the same things, even those who have never met one another. This is why I believe it is demonic. The devil is influencing their mind to believe things that are not true and motivating them to act on what they think they know.

The video demonstrates the way narcissists act and the things they say. Since we are living in the last days of apostasy we see this increasing and will continue to do so.

Let Go and Let God, Knows Better Than We Do What Must Be Done

This is the truth! These are the people we need to walk away from, after all, they know where to find us when they repent. Never hold your breath waiting, just get on with life and leave it to God.

Ignoring the Holy Spirit is Dangerous

There are those who are barely saved who have promptings from the Holy Spirit and ignore them.

1 Corinthians 3:15 "…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 if through the flames. 16 Do you not know that you yourselves are God’s temple, and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?…"

1 Thessalonians 5:19-22

"19 Do not quench the Spirit, 20 do not utterly reject prophecies, 21 but examine everything; hold firmly to that which is good, 22 abstain from every [b]form of evil."

God gave us commands such as these because He knows we are trapped in this body of flesh and must fight against that flesh to walk in the Spirit.

The more we confess the sin as it becomes a thought the less we sin outwardly. However God calls it sin when it is merely a through pondered too long even if it never becomes an action.

The longer we ignore the sin in our hearts the more likely it is to become outward action.

Romans 12:1-3 "1Therefore I urge you, brothers, on account of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. 2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God. 3For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but think of yourself with sober judgment, according to the measure of faith God has given you.…"

Galatians 5:16-18 "16 So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 For the flesh craves what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are opposed to each other so that you do not do what you want. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.…"

1 Corinthians 3:14-16 "…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 if through the flames. 16 Do you not know that you yourselves are God’s temple, and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?…"

No one is free from sin as long as they remain in their bodies, however, we are not likely to act out the sin in our hearts if we confess it when it is still just a thought or temptation.

Temptations are not sins, but if we ponder that temptation wishing we could lean into it, it is no longer a temptation but moves into the realm of sin of the heart.

One does not have to "do" something on the outside to be in sin. As long as someone is harboring jealousy in their heart, they are guilty of that sin or any other sin they desire in their heart.

Matthew 9:4

"And Jesus knowing their thoughts said, “Why are you thinking evil in your hearts?"

Proverbs 23:7

"7 For as he [a]thinks within himself, so he is.

He says to you, “Eat and drink!”

But his heart is not with you."

There are times when someone will do a good deed for you but something feels off, as though the deed was not authentic. This is because we can sense the heart of someone at times, whether genuine or manipulative.

Matthew 5:28 "

but I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart."

God says that committing adultery in the heart is no different from committing adultery in actions. They are the same because God is looking at the heart first. Adultery begins in the heart before it becomes an action.

The same is true of desiring someone else's possessions or being jealous of them, the jealousy can be seen at times, but there can be jealousy in the heart that no one can see.

All of us battle things in our hearts, if there is no battle then the person not battling has given into their sin of the heart. We can hide from people to some degree but we can never hide from God.

How do we battle the sins of the heart or the temptations sent to us by our own flesh and the devil?

Its not hard if we are not lazy. We battle the temptations that fly into our minds by praying immediately that we reject that thought. If we know the Bible well we will know immediately when something is a sin and battle it immediately.

This is why God told us in 1 John 1:9 to confess each thing, sins of the heart to God and outward sins against others to them. In the case of confessing to God we do it to be cleansed by Him. confessing our sin to the person we have harmed we cleanse a relationship if they are willing to forgive because of our confession.

I am convinced that the reason so many people do not want to expect repentance from others to be forgiven is that they themselves do not want to do the hard work of confessing their own sins. They want others to just shrug their shoulders and forget what they have done and then call it forgiveness.

Confessing sin to God and to others is the cleaner that renews a person to right relationships. Without confession there is no cleansing and the sin has not been dealt with, it will continue at a later date and eventually become a habit. Once the habit takes hold it is unlikely that the person who sins will ever admit the sin to be cleansed, often they grow worse and more hardened with age.

Ephesians 4:18

"They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart."

Hardness of heart is the worst of all conditions, it sends people to hell for the unbeliever and it restricts and diminishes growth in the born-again believer.

For the born-again believer, there is discipline coming from a hardened heart. God will not allow a believer to remain hardened without serious consequences.

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

A born-again believer will not get away with a lifestyle of sin without the consequences of discipline from God. That discipline might be the natural consequences of sin or possibly His direct hand upon them in some way to cause repentance.

No one "gets one over on God." He sees all things, He is patient but not forever.

Romans 2:3-5 "…3 So when you, O man, pass judgment on others, yet do the same things, do you think you will escape God’s judgment? 4 Or do you disregard the riches of His kindness, tolerance, and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness leads you to repentance? 5 But because of your hard and unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of wrath, when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed.…"

Those who fight against the flesh will see forgiveness and progress in their growth toward holiness. Those who do not fight against the flesh will see the Holy Spirit go silent so there will be no instruction from Him. God will not instruct or help someone who is resisting His promptings.

Ephesians 4:29-31 "…29 Let no unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building up the one in need and bringing grace to those who listen. 30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, in whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31 Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, outcry and slander, along with every form of malice.…"

If we want to walk in holiness and sweet communion with Christ we must be willing to be chastised by Him as well as confessing when we discover we have sinned in our heart against Him.

1 John 1:9

"9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."

Lengthy Prayers in Front of Others

A lovely sister asked me what I thought of lengthy prayers in church meetings, below is the answer I gave.

In my experience very long prayers, especially ones that repeat themselves to keep the focus on the person praying makes me very uncomfortable.

Matthew 6:6-8 "…6But when you pray, go into your inner room, shut your door, and pray to your Father, who is unseen. And your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. 7And when you pray, do not babble on like pagans, for they think that by their many words they will be heard. 8Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.…"

Also:

Matthew 6:5-15

5 “And when you pray, you are not to be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners so that they will be seen by people. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full.

6 But as for you, when you pray, go into your inner room, close your door, and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.

7 “And when you are praying, do not use thoughtless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard because of their many words.

8 So do not be like them; for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him."

The Lord’s Prayer

9 “Pray, then, in this way:

‘Our Father, who is in heaven,

Hallowed be Your name.

10 Your kingdom come.

Your will be done,

On earth as it is in heaven.

11 Give us this day our daily bread.

12 And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.

13 And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil."

I once had a relative tell me she attended a seminar on how to pray. She came home with a book 700 pages long on how to pray. I told her; "if I thought prayer was that hard I would give up."

Sadly there have been protestant rituals that are not Biblical in some gatherings. God's instruction in the Bible was simple and from the heart.

Praying over bridges is not biblical, praying in front of people in the streets is not biblical and other things they taught in this lengthy book.

The Lord Jesus Christ gave us the way to pray and it is not hard nor is it less effective than those long, tedious, empty prayers of those who love to feel spiritual and be seen by others.

God is looking at the heart of the person praying, the humility and submissive attitude of the one praying, and not at all at the "eloquent delivery." The most uneducated person can bless God's heart because of their humility and sincerity.

Philippians 4:5-7

5 Let your gentle spirit be known to all people. The Lord is near. 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and pleading with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus."

May the Lord help those who feel inadequate in their prayers just learn to speak their own words from their own heart, this is what blesses God.

Hallelujah!!!

Mr Simon

Returning Unrepentant

When someone attempts to come back into your life, after years of disrespect and dishonor, without any sense of remorse for what they have done, then there is no reason to expect their behavior or attitude to change merely because time has passed.

There is such a thing as the "sweet/mean" cycle, in which the bully will schmooze you with flattery when they want something out of you. As soon as they have sucked you into their scheme they will allow the old unrepentant attitude and disrespect to emerge once again.

It is important to remember that God commanded repentance ( a change of mind) toward the offense because it is the way we can know the bully was sorry for their crimes and will not repeat the same things again.

There is no reason to trust someone who has deeply offended when they act as though the offense never happened.

There are those who know they have acted badly toward you but think if enough time has passed you will begin to trust them again.

God tells us to remove ourselves from those who are not sorry they have offended and who do not show any movement toward changing how they view us or how they treat us.

Psalm 31:18

"Let the lying lips be mute,

Which speak arrogantly against the righteous

With pride and contempt."

Philippians 2:3

"Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself."

2 Timothy 3:5 "from such turn away", you can read the entire passage on your own, as you discover that light has no fellowship with darkness. When the darkness wants to remain dark without confession of offenses then there is nothing to do but remove ourselves.

Many the Lord teach us to love bullies from afar through prayer.

Original Tongues Purpose!

What was the original speaking in tongues?

The apostles spoke in their own language and the people heard in their own language.

Tongues were not each person speaking babble incoherent to themselves and others, they were a work of the Holy Spirit in times when the people hearing did not speak the same language as the people speaking.

God confused the languages at the Tower of Babble because they were disobediently remaining together to build a tower when God told them to disperse throughout the earth.

Tongues in the Bible were a reversal of what God did at the Tower, He caused the people to be able to understand one another at a time when they didn't speak the same language.

1 Corinthians 14:22 " 22 Tongues, then, are a sign, not for believers, but for unbelievers. Prophecy, however, is for believers, not for unbelievers."

The apostles were instructed by God to go into all the world and preach the gospel. The only way that could happen is if the apostles spoke in their own language and the Holy Spirit caused the hearers to hear in their own language.

Tongues were for the purpose of allowing the apostles to preach and for the unbelievers who did not know their language would be able to hear in their own language.

Not everyone will speak in tongues and it is not evidence of salvation. There are no verses that say the evidence of salvation is tongues.

God needs no evidence that we are born again, He knows who belongs to Him.

The evidence that helps believers identify one another of being born again is the fruit of the Spirit. What is the fruit of the Spirit?

Galatians 5:22-23

"22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law."

The fruit of the Spirit are the very character qualities of Christ Who lives in the born again believer.

Matthew 7:15-20

You Will Know Them by Their Fruits

15 “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. 16 You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? 17 Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Therefore by their fruits you will know them."

Those who do not display all those character qualities as a lifestyle are not born again.

When Christ changes us into a new creation our conscience becomes tender and sensitive to the promptings of the Holy Spirit. We are deeply agitated when we do not obey God, it leads us to confess to be cleansed, causing us to improve our hearts. With each new confession we make a Spiritual stride toward greater holiness.

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."

Those who do not confess their sin as it arises will not grow in holiness and if there is never confession it may be the evidence that there has never been a born-again experience.

Those who have no desire to discuss problems in relationships are not open to admitting or confessing their flaws to grow, they merely wish to appear right more than they love God and more than they love others.

Those who are born again are very sensitive to offending others, they hate it when they have hurt someone and quickly confess it to restore the relationship. We don't see much of this in these last days because of the 2 Timothy 3 mentality of total selfishness.

2 Timothy 3:1-5

Difficult Times Will Come

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

Proverbs 14:12

"There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death."

Proverbs 21:2

"Every way of a man is right in his own eyes, but the Lord weighs the heart."

Isaiah 5:21

"Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes, and shrewd in their own sight!"

Proverbs 12:15

"The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but a wise man listens to advice."

Often the rituals of speaking in tongues is a show rather than an authentic expression of the work of the Holy Spirit. We are living in times of deep pretense, in which many "Christians" care more about being seen as spiritual without substance and authenticity.

Many even go so far as to claim others have not been saved because they have not spoken in tongues. This is foolishness and rejects the Word of God.

1 Corinthians 12:1-13

Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit.

5 And there are varieties of ministries, and the same Lord.

6 There are varieties of effects, but the same God who works all things in all persons.

7 But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.

8 For to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, and to another the word of knowledge according to the same Spirit;

9 to another faith by the same Spirit, and to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit,

10 and to another the effecting of miracles, and to another prophecy, and to another the distinguishing of spirits, to other various kinds of tongues, and to another the interpretation of tongues.

11 But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually just as He wills.

12 For just as the body is one and yet has many parts, and all the parts of the body, though they are many, are one body, so also is Christ.

13 For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit."

When we judge our brothers and sisters expecting them to do the same things we do or act exactly the same way we do that is not sin, we are wrongly judging.

Everyone has gifts and everyone is led by the Holy Spirit according to God's purposes if they are seeking Him. There are those who are not displaying gifts either because they have not been born again or because they are lazy and ignoring God when He speaks to them.

1 Thessalonians 5:19

"19 Do not quench the Spirit,"

When we do not consult the Holy Spirit or obey Him when He speaks we will silence Him. God is a gentleman, He will never force Himself on anyone, He does however want us to ask Him for direction and wisdom, then He will give us what we ask generously.

James 1:5

"If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him."

A born-again believer has no excuse for not knowing something because we have the Holy Spirit living in us ready and willing to speak to us if we want Him to impart wisdom to us.

Hallelujah!!!