False Indoctrination Dominates the Culture

People tend to stay with whatever they heard all their lives from childhood. When it is challenged, they feel insecure, especially when the entire rest of their family culture around them mocks them if they don't believe what everyone else believes. They feel safer going with the crowd than knowing the truth.

This is the reason the churches as a whole are teaching bad doctrine; they are teaching what they know the culture wants to hear while mixing it with God's Word to make it believable.

2 Timothy 4:2-4 "…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. 4 So they will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths."

The culture drives the resolve; the culture pressures people to be like it to validate itself.

Only those who have trusted in Christ can believe the truth because they are not worried about being liked by the culture.

1 Timothy 4:1 "Now the Spirit expressly states that in later times some will abandon the faith to follow deceitful spirits and the teachings of demons,"

Matthew 24:11 "and many false prophets will arise and deceive many."

Those who think rationally, seeking truth, will be rejected by the culture, while the culture ignorantly PRIDES itself as superior.

Satan always brings pride; he is the very essence of arrogant pride. Everything he does is to elevate himself and ruin anyone who does not elevate him.

1 Timothy 6:3-4 "If anyone teaches another doctrine and disagrees with the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ and with godly teaching, he is conceited and understands nothing. Instead, he has an unhealthy interest in controversies and disputes about words, out of which come envy, strife, abusive talk, evil suspicions."

It is best to seek Christ always in everything, listening only to those who do the same. If someone resists the Word of God, we must resist them.

Isaiah 30:10 "They say to the seers, “Stop seeing visions!” and to the prophets, “Do not prophesy to us the truth! Speak to us pleasant words; prophesy illusions."

We are living in the last days of deep deception, people enjoy lies and gossip and do not embrace and enjoy the Word of God.

Jeremiah 23:16 "This is what the LORD of Hosts says: “Do not listen to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you. They are filling you with false hopes. They speak visions from their own minds, not from the mouth of the LORD."

Keep looking up, Christ is coming soon for His church!

Do you believe God or the culture in which you live?

When two people are made one by God when they marry, exchange their vows, God melds them into one spiritually. They are no longer two but one in purpose and bonded in their spirits. This can only be done by God and cannot be undone by a piece of paper by the laws of a government.

When these people divorce, they are still one; when they remarry, they remain one with the first spouse and are in adultery with the second. The government may accept that form of adultery, but God does not.

It is interesting to me that most people have no problem accepting divorce from the first spouse, but have a problem with divorcing from the second spouse. The second spouse is not a divorce in God's eyes, it is the stopping of the sin of adultery. God says, "If you divorce, you must remain single or be reconciled to the first spouse."

Our government does not decide God's principles and His truth. The Bible is our instruction book we read it to seek Christ for His perfect will.

When Mockers Come Rejoice

Have you noticed those laughing emojis that show up when we write about something serious and important? I have gone to the pages of those who mock us; they are clearly unsaved people the devil is using to intimidate us into silence.

What those mockers do not know is that their ridicule only strengthens us. We see it as an opportunity to become more loyal and committed to Christ than ever.

Don't be afraid of the mockers; they merely reveal their character and show us we are on the right path.

Foolilsh people lack good sense in noticing that mocking others does not change our character or stop us from doing what God has given us to do.

Proverbs 29:9-10 "…8 Mockers inflame a city, but the wise turn away anger. 9 If a wise man goes to court with a fool, there will be raving and laughing with no resolution. 10 Men of bloodshed hate a blameless man, but the upright care for his life."

Ecclesiastes 10:13 "The beginning of his talk is folly, and the end of his speech is evil madness."

Ecclesiastes 7:6 "For like the crackling of thorns under the pot, so is the laughter of the fool. This too is futile."

Matthew 7:6 "Do not give dogs what is holy; do not throw your pearls before swine. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and then turn and tear you to pieces."

Count it all joy when others revile and mock you; it strengthens our resolve.

The Tribulation the World Brings to Followers of Christ.

I have experienced several times in my life narcissists who ghost me, hoping I will chase. When I do not chase, they come back again to have another shot at me with rude comments and disrespectful tones.

This phenomenon is growing as we near the end of the church age.

Wicked people cannot stand that we are not hurting; they hate our joy and peace and must do something to disrupt it. Just as they hated Christ when all He ever did was good for mankind, sacrificing Himself to save them, their response to Him was to murder Him. They meant it for evil, but God meant it for our good.

Just as Joseph's brothers threw him into a well and sold him into slavery, families will wish they could do the same thing to those who live authentically and with great joy.

In the case of Joseph, God used it for good and eventually elevated Joseph to second in command of all of Egypt.

When Joseph's brothers were in desperation and came to Egypt for help, they didn't know Joseph was so high-ranking. They were repentant, and Joseph's response to them was, "You meant it for evil, but God meant it for good."

We may never see on this earth any repentance from those who harmed us, but in heaven we will be blessed beyond any evil anyone did to us on earth.

God is shaping us into people who are strong enough to ignore the insults without anger or bitterness. We bless those who curse us when in their company, but avoid them if possible.

Everything that happens to us in this world has a purpose if we are followers of Christ. We can be content in our tribulation, bringing glory to God in all our responses or non-responses.

Romans 5:3-5 "3 Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5 and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us."

Hallelujah!

Trusting in Christ Through the Trials

It is rare in our day that we can trust people with our innermost feelings and thoughts. Everyone is interpreting what we say according to their own attitudes without desiring to learn why you think and feel the way you do.

If we don't think like others they tend to take it as a personal attack, not because you did anything that was unkind but because they didn't like your attempts at connecting with them in a deeper way.

The good news is that we can always share our deepest thoughts and feelings with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. There is nothing we can say or feel that He has not already felt.

Proverbs 3:5-6 "5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart,and do not lean on your own understanding.
6 In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths."

We need not worry that God is going to condemn us for the things we tell Him because He already knows our hearts better than we know ourselves, before we ever express ourselves to Him.

Jeremiah 17:7-8 "But blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in Him. / He is like a tree planted by the waters that sends out its roots toward the stream. It does not fear when the heat comes, and its leaves are always green. It does not worry in a year of drought, nor does it cease to produce fruit."

All the heartbreak, all the sadness, and every other experience of our hearts, the Lord Jesus Christ has already known and understands them.

Hebrews 4:14-16 "14 Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to what we profess. 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who was tempted in every way that we are, yet was without sin. 16 Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need."

If you are experiencing weakness and discouragement right now, God sees it and understands.

Isaiah 53:4 "Surely He took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows; yet we considered Him stricken, struck down by God, and afflicted."

Psalm 103:13-14 "As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear Him. For He knows our frame; He is mindful that we are dust."

To fear speaking in our hearts to God all that we think and feel is to forget that He already knows and He always has the answer, all we have to do it speak to Him seeking Him for the solution. Even if the solution is just trusting in Him more as He strengthens us.

We are not all cured of our troubles, but we can have the strength of the Holy Spirit to get through them.

Never worry about finding someone to trust with your feelings; trust in Christ Who knows us perfectly and already knows what is to be done, not by us, but by Him.

Satan will try to derail your faith just as He did with Eve in the garden and Christ in the wilderness. Eve failed because she trusted in herself, but Christ did not fail because He is God.

Matthew 4:1-11 "Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. After fasting forty days and forty nights, He was hungry. / The tempter came to Him and said, “If You are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”

The One Who did not fail, Jesus Christ, lives in those who have trusted in Him. We have within us His power to overcome. Nothing of ourselves but all of Him.

Without Christ There is no Love

In another thread, I read about the sad relationships between in-law children and their in-law parents. There is no love in most relationships today; everything is transactional. The only kindness shown is when people are getting their own way without regard to how their attitude and actions affect others.

Since those in our adult children's generation, there was little taught about loving sacrifice and honoring anyone. They were taught to love themselves; the focus was mainly on themselves, so they do not understand what empathy toward others looks like.

Exodus 20:12 "12 “Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you."

I have seen this too in my own life. Once I realized there could be no discussion or resolution, I let them walk away and got on with my life.

People who mistreat others to have power over them cannot be reasoned with; the only solution to our peace is to remove ourselves and walk with those who love Christ as we love Him.

We can pray for those who love to hate us, but a relationship cannot happen until there is repentance and a realization that the way they think and act is not Biblical and does not honor God.

John 13:35 "35 By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
born-again
1 John 4:7 "Beloved, let us love one another, because love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God."

Most people in our adult children's generation have no idea what love looks like or whether or not they are acting with dignity and kindness.

2 Timothy 3:1-5 "1 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, haters of good, 4 treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5 holding to a form of godliness although they have denied its power; avoid such people as these."

Unless adult children have repented and trusted in Christ, there can be no relationship. Those who claim to be Christian but walk in anger and contempt will never understand what love and honor look like. They don't honor God, nor do they honor anyone else.

Keep looking up, we are going home soon!


Here is what love looks like that is absent in most people these days, including Christians.

1 Corinthians 13:4-8 "4 Love is patient, love is kind, it is not jealous; love does not brag, it is not arrogant.
5 It does not act disgracefully, it does not seek its own benefit; it is not provoked, does not keep an account of a wrong suffered,
6 it does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; 7 it keeps every confidence, it believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things."

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."

When someone consistently displays a lack of the fruit of God's Holy Spirit, they are not born again. This fruit defines them, and is evident to every other authentically born again believer.

Perhaps when we encounter the worldly mistreatment from family we ought to be praying for their salvation whether or not they attend "church."

Why America is Losing its Grip on Truth

One of the reasons I believe America is going down for the count is that it is too easy and safe here to be called a Christian. The devil does not bother the churches because they are already in his pocket. He is afflicting those who have left the institutional churches and those who stand up against the sin in the institutional churches.

Satan has deceived many in all forms of false doctrine that make people feel good bout themselves and excuse their sin.

Even those who do not commit the big, obvious sins indulge in gossip, rage at disagreement unnecessarily, and are unkind in many ways that they have justified and normalized.

The Corinthian church coddled the sinning man who was sleeping with his father's wife, justifying it by claiming to do it out of love for the one committing grievous sin.

So many thiings done in the name of God in the modern churches are aginst Him. So many people who say they are "Bible believers" think just saying so makes it true, but they have no desire to search the Scriptures to evaluate themselves and become obedient to His Word.

The organized church system has become the tool of the devil, making people feel safe when they should be ashamed.

Jermiah 6:15 "Were they ashamed because of the abomination they had done? They were not ashamed at all, nor did they know even how to be ashamed. Therefore, they will fall among those who fall; At the time that I punish them, they will collapse,” says the Lord."

In the matter of divorce and remarriage, we see most people accepting it as normal when it is full of destruction for families and the culture as a whole.

The same mentality that existed in the Corinthians church, thinking they were loving the sinner by accepting his sin as normal, is the same mentality we have in the churches today as people think they are being loving by not exposing divorce and remarriage.

The Corinthians church accepted sin and even encouraged it, believing they were more noble by loving the person in their sin. They were, in fact, promoting sin within the body by not rebuking it. At the end of the story, they finally obeyed God, chastised the sinning man, put him out of the gathering and eventually he repented, stopped his sin, and returned to the gathering cleansed of that sin.

The ultimate good was done by putting the sinner out of the body, not only for the one who repented and was restored but as an example to everyone else to repent from their sins and work toward holiness within the gathering.

People in the modern churches are becoming harsher, unloving, and judgmental toward the one who calls out sin while promoting the sin by accepting it as normal.

Those who accept the sin call others judgmental while they judge those who come against the sin.

This has been a favorite tactic of the devil from the beginning, to accuse the one doing right of something to make the one doing wrong seem like the victim.

Satan did this with Eve in the garden. He convinced Eve that God was wrong in withholding something from her and that God was the mean one. She listened to him because she placed her desire to have the fruit above God Who created her. God never lied to her but the devil did.

This is what divorce and remarriage are all about! The devil has used lies to convince people that God is withholding pleasure from them by expecting obedience to His Word, which is for their protection.

Because Eve chose to believe the devil instead of God, she got what she wanted, a taste of the forbidden fruit, and it cost her paradise.

God's design for marriage gives us protection, blessings, and security that broken marriages cannot have. It is a lie that second marriages after divorce can be "blended families." It is the same lie the devil used in the garden, that God didn't mean what He said or that He meant evil in His commands and principles. The devil convinced Eve of the opposite of God's ways, and it destroyed all that she had.

One of the terrible consequences of divorce and remarriage in our day is that the children learn to bail out of problems instead of working through them. The example the children learn is that no one is worth fighting for or struggling to save.

In this mess, the children have learned to discard anyone who does not please or elevate them. They refuse to hear correction, punish those who do correct them, and worse, seek to turn others against the one who upholds God's standard.

We desire to uphold God's standard for the good of the person being corrected. We know obeying God is far better, fulfilling, and emotionally and spiritually prosperous than disobeying God.

These violations of God's Word have created a terrible culture of simplicity, shallow thinking, and vengeful people who will not tolerate sensible thinking.

We are living in the times of 2 Timothy 3:1-5. The only recourse is to keep telling the truth, learning to ignore the attacks and get on with those who understand and agree with God.

2 Timothy 3:1-5 "1 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, haters of good, 4 treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5 holding to a form of godliness although they have denied its power; avoid such people as these."

So what is our response to all of this? We must just keep obeying God even if no one comes with us. We are only responsible for obeying, while everyone else is responsible to God for their own response.

Bottom line: Obey the Holy Spirit and ignore the response.

Psalm 51:10

"10 Create in me a clean heart, God,
And renew a steadfast spirit within me."

The effects of divorce and remarriage are numerous and devastating.

When families split, often women are left alone to raise the children without the stability of both parents. Women tend to be too lenient on children, and the men follow to gain the love of children who only visit them on the weekends.

Children do not have two homes when there is a split in households; they have no home at all. They are visitors in each other's homes without the constancy of people who greet one another with love when they arrive in their single homes from work or other activities.
spirit, often without the ability to earn as much as men, so there is more poverty than if
More women are independent in their spirit often without the ability to make as much money as men, so there is more poverty than if the couples never split.

Because of this the split couples indulge in more immorality as they date other people. Abortion has risen because of the state women find themselves in when they engage in intimate relations with those who are not committed to them for life.

We have more shack-ups now than ever before, and it is growing because the churches have accepted these immoral living arrangements so as not to offend. Shack-ups are nothing more than unpaid prostitution; the dignity of love and commitment is gone, and the children notice it even if they don't understand it entirely.

The nuclear family, consisting of a man and a woman for life, has been so degraded that the children from these influences end up doing the same things themselves as they devalue marriage and have little regard for the children they produce in these weakened relationships that subvert God's design for the family.

When the nuclear family, as God designed it, degrades, is demolished, and wrecked, everything else in the culture is ruined.

Now we have Christians devoted to the Bible speaking the truth to help the culture understand how far-reaching and devastating divorce and remarriage is, being treated with monstrous contempt by their fellow believers. We expect rejection from non-believers, but the shocking reality is that the worst persecution for exposing this evil is coming from those who attend churches every week.

We can see how the ruination of the nuclear family through divorce and remarriage has led and growing worse as the next generation sees no value in marriage. Disrespect for one another is nearly nonexistent, as many use and discard one another frequently.

Lastly, these "blended marriages" in remarriage have produced angry children who have no regard for the spouse who is not their bio-parent. The new partner in a remarriage or shack-up situation is not regarded by the children as an authority over them. The non-bio parents have no leverage with the children of their live-in, and they are disrespected and dismissed by the children in most cases.

Often the bio-parent coddles their children and dismissess the authority of the remarried or shack-up lover.

It is one of the most monstrous lies the devil has been able to convince people that children do well after divorce and thrive. NO THEY DO NOT!!!

The dissolution of the nuclear family has led to every other form of evil and upheaval possible in a society.

Matthew 19:6 "So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore, what God has joined together, no man can separate".

1 Corinthians 7:10–11 "Commands wives not to separate from husbands, and husbands not to divorce wives, with the option of reconciliation or remaining unmarried."

When the churches that have influence over the culture defy what God commanded, they will be held accountable for enabling the evil that comes from this rebellion against God.

Believe in Christ and Desire to be Changed by Him

The belief in Christ must be driven by the desire to be changed by Him into a new creation. If there is no desire to be changed by Him, then the belief is phony. Christ is the Word, the very essence of His Own Word.

Many people who call themselves Christians deny the Lord Jesus Christ. They do it by ignoring His Word as they make up their own doctrine to fit their own desires.

There are many in church gatherings today who have never been born again. It is not important to them to obey the Word of God. They defend their sin and the sin of their friends while disparaging those who have been authentically born again.

Matthew 10:33 "But whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven."

Matthew 10:32 "So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven,"

2 Peter 2:1 "But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction."

Do not be intimidated by those who would call you names or gossip against you to remove your support group. Those who believe the gossip were never your friends. Christ will defend us if we need defending, we are free to be what He intended for us without fear of those who love their arrogance and sin.

Exalting Christ in the Gathering of Believers

Authentic believers are coming out of the worldly system of religion to remain in small home groups where all who attend share the same mind: to exalt Jesus Christ and to edify one another in His Word.

How Do We Live?

"More is caught than taught." If our lives do not match our words, people will believe the way we live rather than what we say.

The Role of Women

Women's roles are just as important as men's, just different. The sad thing is that women who want to be like men are admitting they think of themselves as less than men. They are assigning low value to themselves for being women.

 
Women who love what God made them will embrace their role, enjoy it, and be creative in it.

I am a Christian woman. by Eternally Minded Mamas
Not a pastor.
I never will be a pastor because pastors are men.
Elder and pastor are the same and when God describes qualified elders He says: HUSBAND of one wife. That is plain, understandable language. There is no Greek interpretation needed
(In the early church, these terms, along with episkopos, meaning "overseer" or "bishop", were used interchangeably to describe the same group of local leaders.)
Ladies, God has some great things for us to do: teach women, teach children, share the gospel, love the brethren, serve, use our gifts to bless the church body and our families... And this is just the beginning of a huge list of things we are called to do!
We never have to wonder if we are called to be a pastor because it's not something God has called us to.
This doesn't mean we aren't equal. This just means we have a different role. Each gender works best within the parameters God has placed in His Word. We can trust Him since He created us and He knows what is best.
For whatever reason, our society is obsessed with women taking men's roles and turning men into followers rather than leaders. God is not interested in this. God has called men to lead.
There is a reason that Christ chose 12 men and not 12 women.... Men lead men and women lead in other ways under men. This is not sexist, this is just good and godly order.
Let's enjoy the things God has called us to do and let the men do the things they're called to do and let's do it with joy and gratitude in our hearts!
Love, Katie
"Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good. Then they can urge the younger women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God." Titus 2:3-5
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Remove Yourself from Rebellious Church Gatherings

A lot of people use the excuse of "no perfect church" to remain where the people are not dedicated to God's Word, they are only performance-oriented. I reject the notion that we should stay in church gatherings where the people are resistant to the Word of God.

2 Corinthians 6:17 "17 Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you."

1 John 2:15-17 "Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh, the desires of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not from the Father but from the world. The world is passing away, along with its desires; but whoever does the will of God remains forever."

How Marriages Can Last

The Older I Get

Funny how age has a way of clearing the clutter.

When we’re young, the world tells us to chase bigger paychecks, nicer cars, fancier titles, and the approval of people who won’t even matter ten years from now. But the older generation learned something most people don’t understand until life has humbled them a few times…

Character is worth more than possessions.

A loyal friend.
A person who keeps their word.
A family member who shows up when life gets hard.
A heart that’s honest and a soul that treats people right.
Those things will carry you a whole lot farther than money ever will.
At the end of the day, most people aren’t remembered for what they owned.
They’re remembered for how they treated people.

Protecting the Wolf is Common in Our Day

False Prophets Always Elevate Men

There are false prophets who are assigning Paul's writings as superior to God by saying it was not God Who Authored them.

Anything that Paul recorded for us was given by God. Paul is nothing; he is only a messenger. God is everything.

1 Corinthians 3:3-5 "…3for you are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and dissension among you, are you not worldly? Are you not walking in the way of man? 4For when one of you says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” are you not mere men? 5What then is Apollos? And what is Paul? They are servants through whom you believed, as the Lord has assigned to each his role.…"

Paul was not divine, nor did he speak from his own mind when writing the Bible passages. He was led by the Holy Spirit Who is God, so the things Paul wrote were from God, and God gets the glory.

So many people are looking to men rather than Christ, almost entirely ignoring the Holy Spirit. Those who place men above Christ are living as natural men instead of Spirit filled believers.

1 Corinthians 2:14-15 "The natural man does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God. For they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned. The spiritual man judges all things, but he himself is not subject to anyone’s judgment."

John 16:13 "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."

It is the Holy Spirit Who will guide you into all truth. Yes, we share with one another as led by the Holy Spirit, and everything must be questioned that comes from any person's mouth. Does it match the Word of God? The Holy Spirit will warn us when someone speaks in their own flesh, and He will confirm when someone is speaking from the heart of God through the Holy Spirit.

Follow Christ through the Holy Spirit, not men or women!!!!

The Perfect Jesus Christ

The Perfect Jesus Christ ( our God and Savior) was treated as the village idiot for claiming to be God. He offered salvation to the world and yet was treated as a heretic.

The Perfect Jesus Christ was treated with dismissiveness, as though a madman accused of doing His miracles by means of devils.

The Perfect Jesus Christ was treated with contempt for saying things the people didn't want to hear.

The Perfect Jesus Christ was rejected by most people in the world for His love that was perceived as controlling, while giving up His life to offer wisdom and an eternal salvation to those who had no means of saving themselves.

The Perfect Jesus Christ was lied about, gossiped against, discarded and disrespected for His attempt at saving people from hell.

Isaiah 53:3 "He is despised and rejected of men, a Man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief. And we hid as it were our faces from Him; He was despised, and we esteemed Him not."

Why on earth would a believer in and follower of Jesus Christ think they, as imperfect human beings, would ever think they would be treated better than Christ, the Creator of the Universe?

Matthew 10:22-24 "22 And you will be hated by all for My name’s sake. But he who endures to the end will be saved.
23 When they persecute you in this city, flee to another. For assuredly, I say to you, you will not have gone through the cities of Israel before the Son of Man comes.
24 “A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master."

Do Not Fear God's God Israel

Is anyone worried about what is happening in the world? We are living in prophetic times.

It is prophecy, no worries, God's got this!!!!! And, He will fight for Israel, no question.

Romans 11:1-8 "11 I ask, then, has God rejected his people? By no means! For I myself am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, a member of the tribe of Benjamin.
2 God has not rejected his people whom he foreknew. Do you not know what the Scripture says of Elijah, how he appeals to God against Israel?
3 “Lord, they have killed your prophets, they have demolished your altars, and I alone am left, and they seek my life.”
4 But what is God's reply to him? “I have kept for myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal.” 5 So too at the present time there is a remnant, chosen by grace. 6 But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works; otherwise grace would no longer be grace."

The Beginning of the False Church System Based on Government and Hierarchy

On another thread, there was a discussion on how believers met in the first century. I thought that Tom Stewart brought up a very good point that I wanted to share here.

Tom Stewart said:
"When Constantine built the first official building dedicated to being a Christian church he patterned it after the Roman Senate. Audience and stage or focal point. It changed Christianity from being a participatory event to being a spectator event. No more body ministry and individual involvement. The professionals took over."

Gwendolyn Wehage said:
"Tom Stewart yep, and this was a shame. Some believers are beginning to realize the traditions they followed for centuries were not God's doing but humans' thinking of a way to control the people, rather than allowing them to be controlled by the Holy Spirit."

A picture Tom provided for us.

Follow Jesus Christ Only!!!!

Anyone who desires to follow a man, quoting that man more than quoting God has an idol.

1 Corinthians 3:1-9 "3 But I, brothers, could not address you as spiritual people, but as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ.
2 I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for it. And even now you are not yet ready,
3 for you are still of the flesh. For while there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not of the flesh and behaving only in a human way?
4 For when one says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” are you not being merely human?
5 What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, as the Lord assigned to each.
6 I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth.
7 So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth.
8 He who plants and he who waters are one, and each will receive his wages according to his labor.
9 For we are God's fellow workers. You are God's field, God's building."

Why would you want to follow a man when the Creator of the universe lives in you, Jesus Christ Himself? There are no mediators between us and God other than Jesus Christ. If you follow Calvin then you have assigned him the mediator between you and God rather than Jesus Christ.

Trusting in Christ Brings Eternal Salvation

When Christ changes us into a new creation when we trust in Him, at that moment His Holy Spirit comes to live in us eternally.

Ephesians 1:12-14 "…12 in order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, would be for the praise of His glory. 13 And in Him, having heard and believed the word of truth— the gospel of your salvation— you were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is the pledge of our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession, to the praise of His glory."

The Spiritual Man can see what the Undiscerning Man Cannot See

When we watch a sad movie, we cry even though we know it isn't real. This is why God says that sin begins in the mind. Our mind records the actions on the screen as our experiencing them.

I see the connection much more clearly now between sin in the heart and sin in actions.

Proverbs 23:7 "7 For as he thinks within himself, so he is.
He says to you, “Eat and drink!” But his heart is not with you."

Psalm 55:21 "His speech is smooth as butter, but war is in his heart. His words are softer than oil, yet they are swords unsheathed."

Matthew 12:34-35 "You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks. The good man brings good things out of his good store of treasure, and the evil man brings evil things out of his evil store of treasure."

Romans 12:2 "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."

God is more concerned with the inner heart than outer actions. The outer actions are obvious, but people can be outwardly good and inwardly wicked.

Matthew 12:33-35 "33 Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad; for a tree is known by its fruit. 34 You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks. "

John 8:44 "You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out his desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, refusing to uphold the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, because he is a liar and the father of lies."

Proverbs 15:28
The heart of the righteous ponders how to answer, but the mouth of the wicked blurts out evil. The good man brings good things out of his good store of treasure, and the evil man brings evil things out of his evil store of treasure."

A man can fool others only so long before the wicked man's heart is revealed in his actions and words. Those who are Spiritually discerning can see what the undiscerning cannot see.

America Has Something to Fear Even if they Don't Know it!

A "supposed" friend making a deal with the friend's enemy is to be disloyal to the friend.

Making a deal with Iran is to be disloyal to Israel!!!!

I have learned this from my studies and experiences with narcissism. A narcissist is friends with their targets' enemies as a show of solidarity with the persecutors.

Now that our government has turned its back on Israel, we can see more miracles than ever in Israel because of God's protection when no one else will defend her.

Keep this in mind when you are treated disrespectfully by your enemies: God will fight for you and protect you because you belong to Him, just as God will protect and defend Israel Himself while the whole world is against her.

Never fear or become disquieted because your friends will not be loyal. If they are disloyal, that is the clue that they were never your friends in the first place. True friends do not turn on their friends; they defend and comfort them.

And, best of all, know that God is our defender, we need not worry about having allies when He is our protector!!!! Hallelujah!!!

Genesis 12:3 "I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

America has much to be afraid of in these last days but will not understand why!

Isaiah 60:12 "For the nation and kingdom that will not serve you shall perish; those nations shall be utterly laid waste."

Blessed to Walk in Confidence with Christ

Today, I am feeling blessed to have had many prayers answered over the years. Most answered prayers have been about understanding life and God's response to it.

I have no ill feelings toward anyone who has acted disrespectfully toward me; I do feel sorry for them.

As Joseph once said to his estranged brothers, "You meant it for evil but God meant it for good."

I even love the people who have treated me with contempt because I know they were only acting out of the sadness and insecurity of their own hearts.

Those who judge others over small matters and innocent statements do it because they need to feel superior to others. They are deeply addicted to a sense of dominance and control over others.

They especially target people who have disagreed with them at some time, even though they agreed on other things; that one time was enough to foster contempt in their hearts. They can no longer see anything good in the target of their hate.

When we love people, we interpret the object of our love with grace. Seeking to discover the intent behind actions and emotions rather than automatically choosing a negative intent. We interpret everything with grace unless blatantly obvious.

A narcissist can take any innocent and even good comment or reaction and spin it to look bad. We see this in the media all the time. They will never be direct in their communication, always questioning things that do not need questioning, to minimize and diminish the kind act.

A hypothetical example of this might be a person giving a cookbook as a gift to a friend, knowing the friend enjoys cooking. The friend gossiped to others that the book was a hint to her that she was a bad cook and that she needed to be taught how to cook.

There are many examples like this that we could all remember experiencing. Rather than the friend enjoying the thoughtful gift, perhaps even cooking something from it to share with their friend, the narcissist turns the whole experience into gossip and degradation.

Every gift to someone like this is seen as manipulation or as a message meant to embarrass them. They ignore all the good things their target does and twist innocent things into bad.

Lessons like this bless me. I no longer feel any hurt or anger when I see it because I know the person acting this way has a deeper spiritual and emotional problem that emerges to make themselves feel better about themselves. This allows me to treat them with kindness so that I do not engage in becoming like them.

Proverbs 26:4-5 "4 Do not answer a fool according to his folly, or you yourself will be like him. 5 Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he become wise in his own eyes."

Proverbs 23:9 "Do not speak to a fool, for he will despise the wisdom of your words."

2 Timothy 2:23-24 "But reject foolish and ignorant speculation, for you know that it breeds quarreling. And a servant of the Lord must not be quarrelsome, but must be kind to everyone, able to teach, and forbearing."

Knowing the Bible principles for dealing with difficult people frees us from our emotions and pride. God also gives us permission to avoid people who engage in these negative interpretations, causing trouble not only for us but also for others.

The devil wants us to focus on ourselves, feelings, and retorts that only give the rude person an excuse. When we respond in a Christlike way, a mild rebuke or total silence, and then move away from it, we are free from the guilt of having reacted to the rudeness with more rudeness. The perpetrator gets nothing from us out of their personal attack, and we walk away guilt-free.

Our freedom from guilt is far more valuable than attempting to help someone understand something they have no intention of understanding, no matter how good the response.

There is a saying that I have heard that makes sense, especially in these last days of rebellion: "There are those who are dedicated to misunderstanding you." I would add, with the intent of falsely accusing us to elevate themselves.

We are living in the times of 2 Timothy 3, and I am convinced it has been this way for 2000 years since Christ left. The last days have been around this long, but these mentalities have grown exponentially during our lifetime. Israel is the benchmark of the very end of the end days, having been regathered to their land in 1948.

2 Timothy 3:1-5 "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, haters of good,
4 treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5 holding to a form of godliness although they have denied its power; avoid such people as these."

Many of these people will have a form of religion but deny God in their lifestyle and attitude. They will say they are Bible believers but violate much of God's Word, negating their claim.

Do not despair in these last days, but rejoice that this mess is almost over for the believer who has trusted in Christ. We will be going home soon. May we remain faithful to God's Word even if no one else within our influence does.

It All Began in the Garden

It began in the garden when the devil convinced Eve of lies about God. God the Father is the Perfect Father, and yet Eve was led to believe evil things about Him by Satan.

Demons have twisted the minds of the adult children to reject their parents; this takes away any influence they will have on their grandchildren. Ruining families is the best way to destroy lives.

2 Timothy 3:1-5 "1 But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. 2 For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, 4 treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5 having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people."

The best way to corrupt families is to divide them in foolish arguments over nothing important. Satan did this in the garden when he divided Eve from the Father by lying to her that she could be like God. He is doing the same thing today in families, dividing children against their parents most often for no good reason, over lies the devil is telling them.

Adult children loved their parents when they were small, but over the years, the devil managed to convince the children that their parents were the problem, and they refused to listen to and respect their parents.

It all began in the garden with Eve when the devil convinced her that God was keeping things from her and that He was evil and should be disregarded.

I am hearing more stories every day of parents who have been good and still their children were rejecting them as though they just were not perfect enough.

They judge their parents about things they have little knowledge of, but are disinformation and gossip. Just like the devil in the garden in conversation with Eve, the adult children are convincing the grandchildren of things that were not true.

The devil's most effective weapon against mankind is to destroy good family connections over petty things that were lies. Causing adult children to interpret things falsely while refusing to have a discussion over those things.

It is not enough for the devil to twist the minds of the children; he then compels them to share their lies with others in the family, so everyone is against the person they hate.

Genesis 3:1-4 "Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”
2 The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden,
3 but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’”
4 “You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. 5 “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

The devil is still operating the same way today that he did in the garden with Eve, only on steroids. As we approach the end of the church age, when he knows his time is short, he will do as much damage as he can before he is destroyed by God.

Do not be dismayed when you are rejected, it has been prophesied, nothing will stop it so the best course of action is to live fully for God no matter what anyone else is doing. Leave the evil ones to God to deal with.

Signs of a Cult-Like Church

Never Judge by Outer Appearance

A son or daughter does what their parents expect of them when living with them. We should not be shocked when our children leave home and become seemingly totally different people.

A person dedicated to righteousness from their heart does not change just because they leave home. The change was not a changed heart but only changed behavior commensurate with their heart all along that they were hiding.

When a son or daughter leaves their parents' home and becomes a different person, they are merely allowing their real selves to come into the open.

I have seen many posts of people astonished that when their child left home, through college or marriage, they were associated with the world and the world changed them. The world can only change someone's outer behavior who was already leaning in that direction.

Children say and do what is expected of them when they are living with their parents. The real them emerges when they are no longer under their parents' authority.

There are always clues when our children live at home, but we ignore them, hoping it was just a phase or they would grow out of those little things that seem off. But those were clues about the character inside and what might happen when they get into the world, out from under their parents' eyes and expectations.

Our prayer for our children ought to be that they trust in Christ and He changes their heart. Many people play a role to fit in while their heart is far different from what we can see on the outside. This is why God told us the following passage in Matthew 7.

Matthew 7:21-23 "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.’"

Never boast about your children to others; we never know for sure what is really inside. The boasting is for our own aggrandisement and not evidence of truth.

Reparations by Those Who Didn't Do the Crime is the Height of Insanity

Reparations for past injuries to groups of people who were never alive during the time of the atrocities is the worst kind of injustice. It's the same as sending a son to jail for what the father did.

Would you agree to send an 18-year-old son to jail for the crime his father committed against someone? Everyone with a rational mindset would say that would be absurd.

Deuteronomy 24:16 "16 “Fathers shall not be put to death because of their children, nor shall children be put to death because of their fathers. Each one shall be put to death for his own sin."

Jeremiah 31:30 "30 But everyone shall die for his own iniquity. Each man who eats sour grapes, his teeth shall be set on edge."

Ezekiel 18:20 "20 The soul who sins shall die. The son shall not suffer for the iniquity of the father, nor the father suffer for the iniquity of the son. The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself."

This is the reason "family feuds" or "racial feuds" are so irrational. Holding a grudge against someone about a sin or crime because they are related to the perpetrator is the height of insanity. And, even worse, holding someone accountable who wasn't even related to the perpetrator merely for being the same race is madness and derangement

Reparations required for those who not only did not commit the crime but even their ancestors were not here to commit the crime is complete insanity.

Sadly, the devil is attempting to pit one race against another without any reason, merely a fantasy in their own minds to be able to express the hatred and anger that is in their own heart.

These irrational mindsets are a result of those who hate God and everyone else. There is anger so deep in their hearts, desiring a reason to justify their hatred, even if it means making up fantasies.

Those who promote this sort of injustice, causing riots and turning people against one another, are being controlled by the devil while thinking it's their own idea. Pray for them, we know they are on their way to hell, and only Christ can expunge that hostility from their cold, stony hearts.

May the born-again believers see this for what it is, tactics of the devil to ruin relationships, and refuse to participate, either by not responding to it or supporting it in any way.

The antidote to this poison is to become the love of Christ Who lives in us toward those who have done nothing to us.

The Nephilim LIe

The biggest lie in these last days that has perverted the Christian faith is the idea that devils mated with humans, creating giants. There were giants in the land but they were not the product of devil-human mating.

I posted these on another thread to different people, so please be patient if you see the same words repeated.

Devils do not procreate; they have no seed. They are a completely different species and cannot mate with anyone, not even among themselves. God said, "each one after its own kind." Cats do not mate with dogs, cows do not mate with horses, and spirit beings do not mate with human flesh.

It is blasphemy to say that devils can create a child in the womb, the same as God the Father did with Jesus Christ. This idea of the nephilim was created by Greek mythology by the devil to make people think that devils have the same power as God does.

To say that devils can do what God the Father did with Jesus Christ is to bring down the miracle of Christ in the womb of Mary. Making devils appear as gods themselves.

The idea that devils can mate with humans is blasphemy, since God the Father was the only One Who can create a human being in the womb, as with Jesus Christ in His mother's womb. Angels and devils do not have a seed; they do not procreate. This whole mess of the idea of hybrid beings is of the devil.

The "nephilim" were not a race of people. The word nephelim is translated "mighty men". Angels never mated with humans; they are spirit beings that do not procreate and have no seed to be able to create human beings. It is blasphemy to say that a devil can do the same thing that God the Father did in placing Jesus Christ in the womb of Mary. The idea of devils mating with humans is the biggest lie being passed around in these last days.

It is astounding to me that so many well-known preachers are teaching this nonsense and blasphemy that comes from Greek mythology. The book of Enoch, where this nonsense comes from was not written by Enoch of the Bible; it was written hundreds of years later and is in no way inspired. It is full of much blasphemy.

Is Man Glorified or is God Glorified in the Gathering

I am so glad the Holy Spirit prays on our behalf. There have been many times when I don't know what to pray or how to pray for someone.

When I have prayed the same prayer over and over again for someone or some circumstance but have not yet seen an answer, I have to trust that God heard me.

I have to trust, too, that all the prayers of the past still count. One more will not change God's mind about His will. He has a perfect answer, and often it is not what we think it should be or what we want.

Romans 8:25-27 "…25 But if we hope for what we do not yet see, we wait for it patiently. 26 In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know how we ought to pray, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groans too deep for words. 27, And He who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God."

It is astonishing that so many people think they know the best answer for someone else, or the best action that should be taken, even though they have never asked God for wisdom about His heart and desire.

Christ desired that all men would be saved and died to provide that salvation for everyone, but knew that most would not trust in Him.

1 Timothy 2:3-4 "3 This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, 4 who wants all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth."

Isaiah 53:1-12 "Who has believed what he has heard from us? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? For he grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground; he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces, he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed."

We have to accept that sometimes our prayers for our loved ones will not be answered, not because God doesn't want to answer, but because He never overrides someone's free will to choose Him.

Just as our desire is that our family members would repent and trust in Christ most will not, this was Christ's experience and it will be ours too.

Yes, we should pray as led by the Holy Spirit and sometimes we are led not to continue to pray because God already knows the heart of those we pray for and knows they will not just as most will not trust in Him.

Psalm 22:7 "All who see me mock me; they make mouths at me; they wag their heads;"

This was Christ's experience and it will be ours too. Rejected and mocked by most because we live in a world that wants to feel safe in church but has no devotion to Christ Himself.

Many church people bring a false gospel, a pretend life without dedication to the word of God, picking and choosing from the Bible what they wish to believe while ignoring many of God's commands and principles.

To deny the Word of God is to deny Jesus Christ because He is the Word.

1 Peter 5:8 "Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour."

The devil has infiltrated most church gatherings and intimidated the attendees to believe they must have a special leader paid to do a job, leaving them silent in the pews while believing everything this leader tells them without a desire to read the Word for themselves, while praying for wisdom. This is the state of the institutional gatherings led by men, but not led by the Holy Spirit.

John 16:13-14 "13 However, when the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all truth. For He will not speak on His own, but He will speak what He hears, and He will declare to you what is to come. 14 He will glorify Me by taking from what is Mine and disclosing it to you."

When we walk in the Spirit of Truth, God will be glorified. When man does his own thing according to his own desires, it is man who is glorified.

Salvation by Faith Alone in Christ

There are those who think a sin will lose them their salvation. It is the sinful nature that sends people to hell when they refuse to trust in what Christ did for them on the cross.

Good works are not evidence of salvation; the fruit of the Spirit is the evidence, the very character qualities of Christ.

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."

Walking in the ways of the Lord is not a requirement for salvation only believing. We do walk in the ways of the Lord as a lifestyle if we are born again. If we mess up because of weakness we remain saved but suffer conviction until we confess it to be cleansed.

The thief on the cross had no opportunity to obey in works, all He did was admit Jesus Christ is God that He claims to be and that He did not deserve to die because He had no sin.

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

Unsaved people do not have an advocate with the Father, only believers do. Those who are not disciplined are bastard children.

Hebrews 12:5-7 "…5And 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. 6For the Lord disciplines the one He loves, and He chastises every son He receives.” 7Endure suffering as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father?…"

Hebrews 12:8 " 8 If you do not experience discipline like everyone else, then you are illegitimate children and not true sons."

If we sin the Holy Spirit goes silent so that we do not have His help until we confess sin.

Revelation 3:19 "Those I love I rebuke and discipline. Therefore, be earnest and repent."

1 Corinthians 11:32 "But when we are judged by the Lord, we are being disciplined so that we will not be condemned with the world."

1 Thessalonians 5:19-22
"19 Do not quench (silence) the Spirit, 20 do not utterly reject prophecies, 21 but examine everything; hold firmly to that which is good, 22 abstain from every form of evil."

When Christ seals us with His Holy Spirit, it is for eternity.

Ephesians 1:12-14 "…12 in order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, would be for the praise of His glory. 13 And in Him, having heard and believed the word of truth— the gospel of your salvation— you were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is the pledge of our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession, to the praise of His glory.…"

Christ paid the penalty for our sin because we could not pay it. There is nothing we could do that would be good enough; it's why Christ had to die. We could not die for our own sin what makes us think we could do anything less than die to earn or keep our salvation?

Those who fall back were never saved. They were never transformed by Christ and are in need of salvation for the first time.

Matthew 7:21-23 "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.’"

Obedience and Salvation are Two Sides of the Same Coin

If someone has been born again, they will never lose their salvation over sin. The question is whether or not those who defiantly remarry after divorce were saved in the first place.

And, those who defiantly support those who are remarried may have never been born again. The thing about God's transformation of our spirit into His Spirit causes us to desire to obey Him. Sin drops off after salvation because no born-again believer can tolerate the conviction of the Holy Spirit while remaining in sin.

1 John 3:8-10 "…8The one who practices sin is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the very start. This is why the Son of God was revealed: to destroy the works of the devil. 9Anyone born of God refuses to practice sin, because God’s seed abides in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God. 10By this the children of God are distinguished from the children of the devil: Anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is anyone who does not love his brother.…"

Born-again believers may fall into sin for a time but they do not stay there, and they do not lose their salvation. Here is why:
,
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?…"

We do not become born again by stopping sin; we become born again by trusting what Christ did for us on the cross, and then He begins the cleansing process while He lives in us.

Those who have been transformed by Christ into a new creation hate sin and love righteousness. When they fall from weakness into a sin, they cannot remain there; the conviction of the Holy Spirit in them will give them no rest.

If someone is born again and does not turn from their sin, the Holy Spirit will go silent and will not hear their prayers. They lose rewards in heaven and do not see the blessings of His wisdom as long as they remain in their sin.

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."

God hears those who "does His will."
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 form of evil."

A sinful nature keeps unbelievers out of heaven until they repent and desire to be cleansed by Christ. Willfully engaging in sin will keep God from hearing the prayers of the born-again believers.

The salvation message is for those who have never been born again, and rebuke to return to obedience is for those who have already been born again. Sometimes it is hard to discern who is saved and who is not because believers in these last days often have false ideas they learned from their culture and cannot let go of.

May each one seek Christ to see if they are born of the Spirit of Christ or not.

2 Corinthians 13:5 "5 Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Can’t you see for yourselves that Jesus Christ is in you— unless you actually fail the test?"