Do not be intimidated by them, keep moving forward in your dedication to God and the Bible.
What others think of us does not matter, it is what God thinks of us that matters. Hallelujah
Monday, November 8, 2021
What Does God Know About Us?
Sometimes people judge you based on how they feel about you or what they wish to believe, not on the truth.
Discerning the Spirit of a Man
John 7:24 "24 Stop judging by outward appearances, and start judging justly.”
If you are not judging at all then you are disobeying God's command to know them by their fruit.
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."
If you are judging someone by their status, their clothing, their accomplishments, then you are judging wrongly.
What do we judge then?
We judge by the fruit of the Spirit, the character qualities of Christ. Here they are:
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."
Those who have Spiritual discernment will be able to judge properly by seeing the Spirit of the man or lack of the Spirit of God.
1 Corinthians 2:14
"But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised."
1 Corinthians 2:11
"For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so the thoughts of God no one knows except the Spirit of God."
God said that only the Holy Spirit can discern a man's heart and that Holy Spirit lives in us. Therefore we can discern by His Spirit the heart of a man. Those who say we cannot know are correct, but God knows and He tells us through His Spirit. The unsaved, unregenerate man can't discern the heart of a man, he sees life only in terms of his own fallen understanding. But the believer who is indwelt by the Holy Spirit is able to discern many things unsaved people cannot.
Judging is a Commandment of God
"When a person tells me they cannot judge another person's actions, it shows me one or more of several things about them: They are biblically illiterate, unable to distinguish right from wrong, are not born again, conscious has been seared, satisfied with living in sin, wants to make me feel guilty about my judging righteous judgment."
~Jack H. Kirkland
Yep! Matthew 7:15-20
You Will Know Them by Their Fruit
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."
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."
God Did it, Learn from It!
Amos 3:5-7 "…5 Does a bird land in a snare where no bait has been set? Does a trap spring from the ground when it has nothing to catch? 6 If a ram’s horn sounds in a city, do the people not tremble? If calamity comes to a city, has not the LORD caused it? 7 Surely the Lord GOD does nothing without revealing His plan to His servants the prophets."
God has been warning the world for many years about the tribulation and its horrors, but few people would listen.
There are those who would blame the devil or the wicked leaders for the political mess the world is in as well as the pandemic. The truth is that God allowed the devil to do these things because the Lord is warning the world one more time to allow them to repent and be cleansed of their sin.
To complain about all that is going on is to refuse to admit God is in control and we as a nation have sinned greatly against Him. To complain is to deny that we are in the end times prophesied by God. When we know what is happening we have no need to complain because we know we are going home soon, this world is passing away and we are at the cusp of an entirely new existence with our Lord.
Many were embarrassed to speak of Christ to those around them so God used a virus to force us to cover our mouths as a sign of our spiritual feebleness.
Many were spending more time playing and indulging themselves in useless activities so God placed us in lockdown.
Many were addicted to pleasures and useless gatherings so God shut down all the pleasure arenas. The ball games, the parties, the ungodly concerts, the vacation spots, and venues.
God knew of the rebellious heart of the people of this country so He allowed the internet to continue while the people ran to misinformation and disinformation continually to satisfy their lust for gossip and false knowledge.
It is clear to me that there is far more disinformation (information deliberately place to deceive) on the internet now than there is truth. The disinformation is not only on one side, this false information is on both sides. This is not surprising since the devil is all about distraction. He wants the people to be so distracted that they forget all about Christ.
There is fear abounding everywhere, as I move around town from time to time I see long sad faces that seem as though they have lost all happiness. We all have food, housing, clothing, and many other things we don't need and yet the country is growing more unhappy.
We know that those who walk with Christ have great joy no matter what is going on. When the people of a country are addicted to pleasure and happiness they will become depressed and discouraged when their play activities are restricted or removed.
When we love Christ we have no need for pleasure-seeking, just normal life is enough to bless us. When we are grateful to God for all His provision we do not become sad, but filled with joy that He will provide every need.
For those of you who have been trusting Christ, you know we maintain our joy, peace, and contentment all through these lockdowns and face masks. We are like this because our life has been simple, in fact, things have not changed all that much because we didn't need or do all those worldly things people think they cannot live without.
God covered our mouths, locked us down and still provided our needs, we have no need for complaint or sadness. The lockdowns and the masks have been symbols of God's displeasure with us and our self-indulgence.
Next time we are tempted to complain we must remember that God is still providing our basic life needs, that is worthy of gratefulness.
Isaiah 45:7
"I form the light and create the darkness; I bring prosperity and create calamity. I, the LORD, do all these things."
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