There is Authentic Christianity and there is Pretend Christianity

Many years ago, when I was a new believer, I wasted time running to someone I thought was a seasoned Christian. Quickly, I found out that many believers are not using Biblical wisdom to counsel others; they use watered-down scripture mixed with psychology rather than pure wisdom from God.

After years of listening to the suggestions of church attendees, I began to pray for wisdom, even if it meant leaving everything behind that I was taught, to follow Christ. I was ready to do it.

 
Then is when God began to open my eyes to all the false teachings of Christians that are nothing more than man's wisdom with a little out-of-context scripture thrown in to make it sound like it came from God.

When I prayed for truth and nothing but the truth, I didn't realize that many of the things churchgoers think are biblical were not at all from the Bible. The standards I heard sounded good, but when I compared them with scripture, there was no resemblance.

 
Just because someone "says" they are a Bible believer does not mean it is so. Even if someone has a degree from a seminary does not mean they have the truth. Many think that just knowing a little Bible and acting like they love it does not mean they follow it or even know enough to make good decisions.

Matthew 7:21-23
I Never Knew You
21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ 23 And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’"

Any portion of scripture mixed with human wisdom negates God's Word and is dangerous in the lives of those who live by the manmade version.

 
We cannot go wrong by asking Christ in us to show us the truth, however, it will mean we will lose friends and family who are dedicated to maintaining their position in the cultural Christian community. Most Christians today search for ways to agree with everyone around them to feel safe and comfortable.
My goal is to agree with God, there is safety with Him when we seek Him with all our heart!

Jeremiah 29:12-13 "… 12 Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. 13 You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart."

Did the Church Miss the Point of Worship? Interview with Tom Wadsworth

Never Share Certain Things with Just Anybody

I watched an excellent video this morning entitled "Things that we should never tell others".

 
Christians are some of the most open and loving people who trust unconditionally often. While I enjoy trusting others, I am also 72 years old and understand that there are few people in the world with whom we can share things about ourselves who will keep our confidences with loving kindness because of their deep Christlike love for us.

 
The maker of this video is a man I do not know, but this particular video contained good advice that we all could learn from. His channel is called "My Retired Life."
I confess there have been many times in my life when I have regretted sharing my opinion or things that have happened to me to those who used them later to judge me falsely or gossip to others about me. My bad decisions were held against me, even though they were resolved many years ago and no longer exist.

 
The five things that the man in the video shared were: 1) Regrets, 2) Pain, 3) Resentments, 4) Our plans, and 5) Our finances.

When we share these things with those who are only interested in having information to misinterpret for purposes of gossip or control over us, we have sabotaged our own lives. It is best to remove those from our lives who love to gossip and judge things that are none of their business.

 
When we walk with Christ, we have no need to share everything about ourselves with people. People tend to make their own interpretations without full knowledge, and they are frequently predisposed to jealousy.

 
Most people don't want to hear about our illnesses, they judge our regrets and resentments that we had to work through, they are jealous of our plans and will negate them merely because it doesn't pertain to them, and they will either become jealous of or attempt to use us when we share information about our finances. If our finances are not what they think they should be, they will judge that too.
Some of us have shared that we were sinful before we were born again, but the details are not necessary to convey that we were just like the unbeliever before Christ saved us.

 
The above-mentioned things not to share are only a distraction to the gospel. If the Holy Spirit compels us to share something that will be helpful to the hearer, then we can share, but continually sharing these things regularly to others is not wise.

Oversharing is possibly an indication of an insecure person who is looking to be validated by the hearer. The need to be exonerated or supplied with attention is not helpful to our walk with Christ or in our witness. Perhaps it is better for unbelievers to see more what we have become in Christ than the ills and pratfalls of our past.
1 Corinthians 6:11 "And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God."

 
Perhaps it is enough to say to an unbeliever, "I was once just like you", rather than lengthy details about our sin. After all, it's not as much about individual sins as it is about our sinful nature that motivates the individual sins. No one can say they were not sinful before they were changed by Christ.

 
Colossians 3:7-8
"When you lived among them, you also used to walk in these ways. But now you must put aside all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips."

Praise God, He changes us, and praise God that He knows everything about us! No one can understand us like Jesus Christ!

It is best to dwell on what God did for us and not on what we used to be before He changed us, that would give the enemy a foothold.

Don't Beg for Funds from People, Ask God

Don't ask people for anything, don't promote your ministry, just do what God told you to do, and He will support you. Then we know it will be God Who did it.
What a blessing when God is the One Who knows exactly what is needed, then when our needs are met, we can praise Him alone.

 
God wants us to ask Him, not people. Then, when He provides, He gets all the glory.
Philippians 4:19 "And my God will liberally supply your every need according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus."

 
When we ask others to supply our needs, we fret, seek after people, and depend on them. God wants us to depend on Him in perfect rest and peace, that He will provide His way, His timing, and through those whom He wants to help.

 
Isaiah 26:3 "You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you."

God will compel others to help whom He wants to help. When we decide to beg people for funds or food or anything, we are depending on them instead of Christ.
I once knew a woman whose husband left her. She depended on God for everything and saw frequent miracles as she trusted Christ for everything. Then one day, she remarried in disobedience to God. Her first husband was still alive, but she didn't want to be alone, so she met another man and married him.

 
Luke 16:18 “Everyone who divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery, and he who marries a woman divorced from her husband commits adultery."

After the remarriage, this woman shared with me that she was perplexed because before she married the second man, God was meeting all her needs in miraculous ways, but after the second marriage, she didn't see any more miracles.

 
When we decide to do things our own way, we miss many blessings God may have had for us. When we move out in inspiration and dependence on people, we lose the connection between the Holy Spirit and ourselves.

 
Many believers today are missing blessings because they are dedicated to the culture more than Christ. They are fearful of losing friends and family. They are fearful of the rejection of the culture as a whole if they do not fit in.

 
It is possible to be full of joy, peace, and all the rest of the fruit of the Spirit through all the rejection. When Christ is first, whether or not we are loved by people doesn't matter, we are fulfilled in every way, even when we are alone.

Colossians 2:9-11 "…9For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity dwells in bodily form. 10 And you have been made complete in Christ, who is the head over every ruler and authority. 11 In Him you were also circumcised, in the putting off of your sinful nature, with the circumcision performed by Christ and not by human hands."

Ephesians 1:22-23 "And God put everything under His feet and made Him head over everything for the church, / which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all."

Philippians 2:9-11 "Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the name above all names, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."

Jesus Christ and all the apostles were rejected by most people. God said it would be this way, that most people are headed toward hell and will reject the love and goodness of Christ. We have no reason to believe it will be different for us.

 
John 15:18 “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you."
May those who love Christ take comfort in knowing that He is all we need all the time. If He sends someone of like mind to come around to encourage, hallelujah, what a blessing, but if not, we remain faithful and full of joy.

 
And, don't forget, we have brothers and sisters in Christ all over the world going through the same things, and one day we will all meet at the Marriage Supper of the Lamb and be together forever.