Our Sins have been Buried in the Deepest Sea

We ought not to have any shame for past forgiven sins nor regret. Regret means we think God never forgave us.

Regret is a feeling of sadness, disappointment, or distress about past actions, wishing things could be different. They cannot be changed but they can be wiped from the ledger as though they never existed.

Nothing in the past can be eliminated, but it can be forgiven by God to carry on in the future with greater wisdom.

2 Corinthians 2:10-11 " 10 If you forgive anyone, I also forgive him. And if I have forgiven anything, I have forgiven it in the presence of Christ for your sake, 11 in order that Satan should not outwit us. For we are not unaware of his schemes."

Matthew 6:14-15 "For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive yours."

No one can grow in wisdom who does not confess their sin, so that God will transform them into someone different from the person who committed the past sin.

Many Christians pretend they have no sin and walk around with continual guilt, defending themselves over things that would help them learn better if they would simply admit them.

We have no need to confess what God has already forgiven. Anything that has been previously confessed and forgiven ought never to be brought up again. To bring it up again is to say that God never forgave it. Especially holding past sins against others, this is the sin of pride and unforgiveness.

There are those who like to hang onto past forgiven sins of others, thinking they will bring their target down while elevating themselves.

The irony of holding past forgiven sins against others is that the one doing it has not been forgiven for theirs: the sin of accusations that no longer have any relevance.

Luke 18:11-14 "11 The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican.
12 I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess.
13 And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner.
14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted."

Do not allow others to guilt you into believing God never forgave you.

Do not make friends with people who love to elevate themselves by judging the past sins of others. God said, "Bad company corrupts good character."

What judgers do to others they will do to you; their influence is powerful, and we must avoid them. The devil uses them to ruin faith, peace, joy, and friendships.

According to God past forgiven sins no longer exist, nor did they ever exist.

Micah 7:18-19 "…18 Who is a God like You, who pardons iniquity and passes over the transgression of the remnant of His inheritance—who does not retain His anger forever, because He delights in loving devotion? 19 He will again have compassion on us; He will vanquish our iniquities. You will cast out all our sins into the depths of the sea."

Walk each day blessed with the knowledge that when Christ changed us He transformed us completely.

Pride is a Growth Killer

Pride keeps people in an infantile state without good sense; humility does the opposite.

The Character of Christ or the Character of the World

Robert Rowe testimony of his salvation

Robert Rowe testimony of his salvation in Christ Thank you Robert for sharing!

You all need to know I was raised by a Bandido 1% biker group in East Texas my Godmother and Godfather was president at the Fort Worth chapter.
I grew up a hardcore very rough life and as an adult I was strung out from alcohol to meth to heroin tobacco you name it. I wanted nothing to do with religion my whole life as an adult.
But in jail and at my lower blows I reached out and I called on the name of Jesus Christ at age 46 and I was hit in my heart wave after wave, physically by the Holy Spirit. That was 11 years ago. I was physically Reborn by the one true God in heaven. With everything going on in the world today all people have to do is look to the left of the right and you can see the devil everywhere. He's not hiding anymore and people do have a choice. God's grace is sufficient to forgive anyone. Even me. So that being said man I was the worst of the worst and could hold my own in a bar fight a heartbeat but I choose not to go that way anymore not for 11 years now. I have 11clean and because of Jesus Christ in my life and I pray in my heart that the truth will help just one person know the truth and save their Immortal soul.We are in a spiritual war right now that most can't see. Well anyway with all that being said I pray for you and I pray for those out there that are lost, that have been lied to Blinded and deceived by the enemy, the enemy of our soul. So have a good day y'all Oh one last thing this world's religion it's not what it's about it's about a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. If you remembered it was religion that killed Jesus. We need Unity and folks that are Reborn that Truly walk 24/7 in SPIRIT and TRUTH. Worship is more than a song on Suday.
This is the First Poem that I've written after asking Jesus to take over my Life. Three hours after being physically hit in my heart by God's Holy Spirit I wrote this Poem in about 20 minutes. All Glory goes to God.
THE LORDS GIFT
You wake me up and I'm content.
With a smile I know what's meant.
Meant for me this day to go Gods way.
For God has Blessed Me this very day.
No longer Burdened by the trials from before.
For I know God has Squashed them at my door!!!
Left behind the sins of the past.
It's time to start My Life at last.
I've been on the Road without God for so long.
It Broke His Heart not to hear His Songs.
But by His Sons Grace He Stsrts to hear.
The Song Bird is Home I'm Freed from Fear.
And Sing I will for all to hear.
For God set Me Free, My head is now clear.
The Trials are all gone it's time for me.
To Walk Hand and Hand to Finally be Free.
No longer scared of Trifle things.
For the Lord no longer has to carry Me.
For now We Walk Together by the Sea.
This is the LORDS GIFT to You and Me.
So if You ask JESUS into your Life.
You'll feel the Holy Spirit dwell deep inside.
Satan Spit out for all to see.
That the Lords Gift is always FREE.
So do Yourself a favor, Please Listen to Me.
The Time is at hand for all to see.
Get down on your Knees and Pray before thee.
For the Lord sent His SON, by BLOOD we're clean.
This is the LORDS GIFT the time is at Hand.
So Please just Pray from across the land.
The LORDS GREATEST GIFT You soon will see!!!!
This is GODS GIFT A LIFE ETERNALLY!!!!!
Written by: Robert A. Rowe via Holy Spirit of GOD on Oct. 15th. 2016
I want to give all Credit, Glory, and Praise to JESUS CHRIST My LORD
and SAVIOR. Thank You Jesus for Every Little Thing you have done for us.

Reply
Gwendolyn Wehage
Robert Rowe Amen, Amen! No one comes to God without repenting and desiring to be changed by Christ into a new creation. The devil has nothing but evil in mind for those who follow him, but Christ has everything wonderful for those who have trusted in Him. Not the things of this world, but a Spirit that is free from the evil of this world. I had to repent too; everyone has to repent; no one is exempt and no one will be left behind who has been changed by Christ.

Unsolicited Advice is the New Hate Speech

I have been giving unsolicited advice for years. God never said to wait for someone to ask for it. Their response tells me a lot!!

Unsolicited advice is the new hate speech! If they tell you their problems, you are free to give an answer to their problem.

If you don't want my advice, don't tell me your problems. Walls will serve as well as a person if silence is the expectation.

Be Prepared: Our Culture is Doing the Exact Same Thing Babylon Did

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P15UCfGrhCc&t=3114s

The god of the Modern Christian is not the God of the Bible

Modern Christianity makes the people their god, themselves their god, and anything they like to believe is their god.

Those who love to think of themselves as above God, just as the devil enticed Eve to do in the garden, reject most of God's principles in the Bible. They pick and choose what they like, change what they don't like, and ignore the rest.

They embrace divorce and remarriage with excuses God never gave. They endorse disrespect for their elders with excuses in their own minds because of their own desires. They live in worldly pleasures as though they were needs.

Those who live worldly while attending Christian gatherings regularly afford themselves the luxury of arguing to win rather than discussing to find truth. They care only about appearing superior; truth does not matter to them.

Those who love to win over others do not care about the others they think they rule over. They study the Bible to find good-sounding arguments to make themselves appear "first rate and first class" above others. They change the truth of God into a lie, judge and bludgeon those who do not fall for their tricks through gossip and lies devised in their own heads.

Truth does not matter to these self-exalted ones; only winning matters, no matter how silly the arguments become.

Many people who attend churches deny God by denying the truth of Scripture, believing they can change meanings and replace God's truth with cultural standards while claiming God said it.
While they are saying, "I am a Bible believer", they are denying Christ by their personal philosophy based on psychology and Darwinism.

When challenged to go in prayer and ask God for the truth they go to book and human beings to hear what they want to hear.

Matthew 15:8-9 "8 ‘This people honors Me with their lips,
But their heart is far away from Me.
9 And in vain do they worship Me,
Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’”

Isaiah 65:1-2 "1“I revealed Myself to those who did not ask for Me; I was found by those who did not seek Me. To a nation that did not call My name, I said, ‘Here I am! Here I am!’ 2All day long I have held out My hands to an obstinate people who walk in the wrong path, who follow their own imaginations,"

Their claim that they are Bible believers is a lie they tell to feel good about changing what God said to make them comfortable with what they wish to believe. They act more like atheists than they do followers of Christ.

Atheism is much like a son standing in front of his mother who bore him and claiming she is not his mother. She is standing right in front of him while he is saying, "You do not exist."

Or perhaps facing his father while standing in front of him, claiming the father has no purpose or influence in his life.

Psalm 53:1 "The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt; their ways are vile. There is no one who does good."

Romans 1:21-23 "For although they knew God, they neither glorified Him as God nor gave thanks to Him, but they became futile in their thinking and darkened in their foolish hearts. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images of mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles."

In our culture, most people who would say they are Christians never say there is no God, but act and speak as though they do not know Him. Their god is not the God of the Bible; it is their own idea of a god to fit their cultural appetites.

These people believe they are going to heaven because they follow the rules they like, which appear to elevate them as special but have no concern about the other principles of God's Word that they violate every day without conscience. Their fate is frightening unless they realize it before they die and repent of it.

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.’"

The pride and smugness of how good they think they are based on their own idea of righteousness will lead them to a place they do not want to go, and they will not realize it until it is too late.

Why They Poke at Us

We must keep in mind that unregenerate people poke at us to make us act ungodly so they can report to others how bad we are. There is no better reason than this to remain calm and silent, and to remove ourselves.

Proverbs 22:24 "Make no friendship with a man given to anger, nor go with a wrathful man,"

Proverbs 13:20 "He who walks with the wise will become wise, but the companion of fools will be destroyed."

Proverbs 26:21 "Like charcoal for embers and wood for fire, so is a quarrelsome man for kindling strife."

1 Corinthians 15:33 "Do not be deceived: “Bad company corrupts good character."

Do not Pray to see Only Good or Only Bad, Pray to See the Truth

We all love thinking good thoughts about people. We do not look for the bad as though we are navigating a treasure hunt to expose someone. We do not count the good we see in people as a testimony of salvation. Many unsaved people do good things; they enjoy being seen as good, but have no interest in trusting in Christ.

God revealed to me some years ago that we are to: Philippians 4:8
"Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things."

However, this instruction to dwell on the principles of God does not mean we completely ignore the evil going on in the world when it crosses our path.

Focusing on the goodness and superior principles of God is not the same as focusing on good in people. Often the good in people is an act and a smoke screen because they cannot be truly good without Christ.

If we refuse to see the evil and call it what it is, then the evil will never get fixed. We are to desire truth above everything. We do not look for the evil, nor do we look for the good; we look for the truth.

In our world today, ungodly people think there is some virtue in choosing to only see good in everything. Sadly, those who do this begin to lose sight of what is good and tend to embrace things that God calls bad.

Isaiah 5:20 "20 Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!"

If we are afraid to face the evil and call it by its name, it is an indication we are more afraid of displeasing those who love evil. It is also an indication that a part of us enjoys the evil.

Fear of displeasing evil people demonstrates a heart that is just like theirs. We only care about being accepted by people when they are our focus and not Christ.

When Christ is our focus, we don't concern ourselves with being liked or accepted by wicked people; we only care about pleasing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Years ago I watched an Andy Griffith show when the sheriff was attempting to get a criminal to like him so he could manipulate the criminal to say or do something. Andy's son Opie asked his father, "Why would I want a criminal to like me?" This was insightful, since if a criminal likes me, then he thinks I am just like him.

Isaiah 5:21: "21 Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes and clever in their own sight."

Some people use the excuse that if we are nice to criminals, then we can get them to like God. This is fantasy thinking! Yes, we are to treat everyone with respect, but we are not to make wicked people close companions. It has been blatantly evident that when we are c companions with fools, we become like them.

Proverbs 13:20 "Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm."

The need to be accepted by wicked people is an indication that we want to be seen as wise in the presence of those who are full of themselves and have no regard for Jesus Christ. Who, then, is our allegiance to: man or Christ?

If you are not willing to let go of wicked companions who attempt to draw us away from Christ and His principles, and who despise wisdom from Him, then you love them more than you love God. It is time to evaluate whether or not you have become born again.

Loss of unsaved companions is common and expected when we walk with Christ. Do not be disturbed by this. God said it would happen; we can expect it and even sense our peace return to us when those who do not love Christ work to accuse and offend us, have left.

Matthew 10:36 "36 And a man's foes shall be they of his own household."

Matthew 10:22 "22 And you will be hated by all for my name's sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved."

All those who have trusted Christ and been transformed into a new creation by Him will endure to the end. Those who do not endure and walk away from Him because of the trials and wicked companions were never born again. They didn't have the strength of the Holy Spirit to sustain them.

When we have Christ, He is enough!!!!

I have not been saddened by family who rejected me because of Christ; I have only been saddened that they have rejected Christ. My prayer is not that they will return to embrace me, but that they will at some point become born again. If I never see them in this life again, I am alright with that, but I do hope that one day I will see them in heaven when they have trusted in Christ.

Pray for the unsaved to repent as much as you wish, but if you become weary from the begging, stop until the Holy Spirit tells you to begin again. God heard all the hundreds of prayers before the last one, and they still count.

Hallelujah!!!!

Just Like in the Days of Noah

Remember, too, that many, many people in the waters below the ark were relatives of Noah. I find it interesting that God did not tell Noah to close the door of the ark; God closed it. I have to believe it was because God did not want Noah to go the rest of his life feeling he was the one who would not let them in to save them. He trusted in God and God did it.

 
Most of our relatives will reject Christ. Some will claim they have Him but do not obey Him. 

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.’

 
Matthew 7:13-15 "13 Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. 14 But small is the gate and narrow the way that leads to life, and only a few find it. 15 Beware of false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves."

The Lazy Cleaning Lady is Easier to Spot than the Phony Christian

I knew a woman who hired cleaning ladies, and each time the job was finished, she was pleased. The cleaners were pleasant, did a good job (or so she thought), and worked quickly (Maybe too quickly.

Then one day the woman's husband dropped some water on the kitchen floor; he bent down to wipe it up with a paper towel, and on the towel was a lot of dirt. The cleaners had been there just two days earlier.

The cleaning ladies had neglected to clean the floors well because they didn't look dirty. It was the kind of flooring that hid the dirt. There were other things she noticed, tables that were undusted and other things, but she passed them off as small matters.

This reminded me of the Christian life. Some people act pious and full of pride about how good they think they are while displaying false humility to others around them.

These people look clean on the outside, but on the inside they are basically lazy and counterfeit, pretending on the outside while full of anger and disrespect on the inside.

Notice that the floor didn't LOOK as dirty as it was in the case of the false cleaning ladies. The woman who hired the cleaners thought the floors had been mopped. When she discovered just the opposite was true, the floors had not been mopped; they had been spritzed a little to make it look like they had been cleaned.

Many false Christians have learned how to appear righteous; they don't do the big bad things people can point to, but they use covert and subtle tactics to harm others. One of those tactics is deliberate misinterpretation of things they observe about others.

These covert, mean-spirited, and disrespectful people would look wonderful to those who had not been the target of their covert operations.

The world is full of these types of people who play a long game of religiosity, special and pious in front of those they wish to impress while harming those they do not respect in private.

Their respect is not based on character; it is based on personal worldly accomplishments everyone can see. Those of character are despised by the covert actors; they hate the honesty and integrity of those who refuse to be manipulated into reactions that do not please God.

God spoke of these types of people in His Word, and sadly those who were the worst of all were the religious leaders of that day. We have these kinds of people in our day too, religious to the core with all their rules and man-made standards that God never commanded while acting superior to those they think are beneath them.

Matthew 23:1-28 "1 Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples,
2 “The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses' seat, 3 so do and observe whatever they tell you, but not the works they do. For they preach, but do not practice.
4 They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on people's shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to move them with their finger.
5 They do all their deeds to be seen by others. For they make their phylacteries broad and their fringes long,
6 and they love the place of honor at feasts and the best seats in the synagogues
7 and greetings in the marketplaces and being called rabbi by others.
8 But you are not to be called rabbi, for you have one teacher, and you are all brothers.
9 And call no man your father on earth, for you have one Father, who is in heaven.
10 Neither be called instructors, for you have one instructor, the Christ.
11 The greatest among you shall be your servant.
12 Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted."

13 “But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut the kingdom of heaven in people's faces. For you neither enter yourselves nor allow those who would enter to go in.
15 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel across sea and land to make a single proselyte, and when he becomes a proselyte, you make him twice as much a child of hell as yourselves."

16 “Woe to you, blind guides, who say, ‘If anyone swears by the temple, it is nothing, but if anyone swears by the gold of the temple, he is bound by his oath.’
17 You blind fools! For which is greater, the gold or the temple that has made the gold sacred?
18 And you say, ‘If anyone swears by the altar, it is nothing, but if anyone swears by the gift that is on the altar, he is bound by his oath.’
19 You blind men! For which is greater, the gift or the altar that makes the gift sacred?
20 So whoever swears by the altar swears by it and by everything on it.
21 And whoever swears by the temple swears by it and by him who dwells in it.
22 And whoever swears by heaven swears by the throne of God and by him who sits upon it."

23 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others.
24 You blind guides, straining out a gnat and swallowing a camel!"

25 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and the plate, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence.
26 You blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and the plate, that the outside also may be clean."

27 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people's bones and all uncleanness.
28 So you also outwardly appear righteous to others, but within you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness."

We have modern-day Pharisees in our time, many seminary graduates who take positions in the churches demanding allegiance to them while perverting the Scriptures for their own gain. The love and admiration of the people they lead is of greater importance to them than pleasing God through obedience to Him.
These people follow the culture, not Christ.

It is vitally important that we trust Christ, not men. When we trust Christ, we will feel compelled to correct those who think they are superior to God through their negating of the Scriptures to further their own agenda.

Mark 7:13
"13 thus making void the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And many such things you do.”

This is the end times world we are living in; sadly, it is so familiar to us that we overlook what should be corrected. It seems as though correction is needed so constantly that we give up, realizing very few will listen. This is when we trust in the Holy Spirit on when to speak, when to remain silent, and when to just walk away so that we obey God in not throwing our pearls before swine.

We don't remain silent because we are cowardly; we do so because we know the one who defies Christ will deliberately cause a fight to be able to lie against us. We must not fight with those who want us to fight.

1 Corinthians 5:11 "But now I am writing to you not to associate with anyone who bears the name of brother if he is guilty of sexual immorality or greed, or is an idolater, reviler, drunkard, or swindler—not even to eat with such a one."

I think it is wise to also stay away from Christians who support those who claim to be Christian but violate more of God's Word than they obey. Those who support the violators are the same as those who disobey God. They are one in the spirit of rebellion.

Praise God, the time is short, and soon God will come and make things right.

Facebook Friends can be as Loyal as any Other Friend

I have been mocked by Christians for being on Facebook. They say these are not real friends.

I laugh at this because I have had more real relationships with friends on Facebook than I ever had in person. I have even met some of my Facebook friends, and it was a lovely time in the Lord. Paul wrote letters to people he never met and counted them as brothers and sisters in Christ.

Most people who have lots of friends really have no friends at all because the relationships are based on elevating themselves personally using superficial and meaningless chatter to flatter.

There is an old proverb that goes like this; "a man with lots of friends has none at all."

Friends are people who share your principles and embrace what you love. They do not agree on every little thing but are gracious when they disagree. They love you too much to do anything that would hurt you.

Friends do not bludgeon you when you correct them, they think about what you have said and value your insight.

Proverbs 27:6: "Faithful are the wounds of a friend, but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful."

Proverbs 18:24 "A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother."

In these last days when true friends are few God has given us the internet to connect with godly people who love Who we love, that is Jesus Christ.

If You Meet On Facebook for Edification You Have Obeyed God

If you have met on Facebook or any other social media with other believers around the Truth of the Word as led by the Holy Spirit, you have not neglected the gathering together.

We live in a world now in which the institutional churches have disobeyed Christ more than they have obeyed and have been perverting His Word more than obeying it.

The church buildings are full of man's rituals, making people feel comfortable rather than building them up in the Word. These places have expectations God never gave and discourage what God commanded.

The people sense they are safe because of the rituals and the hierarchical system that elevates men above Christ. The system is protected, and people who expose it are demonized.

Familiar rituals that God never commanded are many; here are a few:
Paid pastor system;
Holiday celebrations through pagan influence;
Buildings called temples;
Pictures of a man depicting Christ;
Pressure to formally join as though tied to one gathering with the expectation of working within that system alone;
Needing permission from leadership to preach and teach the gospel outside the building;
There are many false teachings inculcated with much psychology that trumps Bible teachings;
Teachings about the nature of marriage that defy what God told us in the Bible;
Telling the attendees that only the dedicated preachers should be sharing the gospel in the community;
Disallowing anyone to preach who does not have a seminary degree;
The altar call; and
Then the most ridiculous pressure of all is when the leadership forbids people from having Bible studies in their own homes unless sanctioned by the hierarchy.

There are more unbiblical things going on in these institutional churches, but the few I mentioned should be enough for us to avoid them. God's way was for us to be the Temple and to meet in the homes of others who are the Temple of Christ.

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."

Obey God's Word, seek Christ, and avoid all unbiblical things you were taught that has ruined the churches today!

One Temple

There is only one physical temple for God in this world and that is our bodies, the bodies of those who have trusted Christ. We can meet anywhere at anytime with anyone we choose to edify one another as we worship God in Spirit and in Truth as we walk through this life.

These church buildings that people attend have made the believers lazy. They do not read their Bibles at home, pray at home or witness in their communities.

Their once-a-week gatherings give them a sense of having done their duty, and they go home with no change in their hearts or enthusiasm for Christ. They have placed their trust in that "institutionally educated" man paid to do his job, instead of in Christ.

The gatherings have become a structured system with men's expectations that include no one speaking except the one man up front.

This is not at all the Biblical model given to us in the Bible for the gathering of believers. God told us that as we gather together we are to edify one another.

We are not called to make sacrifices to God as in the Old Testament times. We are called to receive His sacrifice for us as the final word. Our sacrifice is our service to Him in the world.

The gathering of the believers is for edifying one another, speaking to one another, all participating as led by the Holy Spirit. This is what bonds us together, elevating Christ not ourselves.

We are the living sacrifice with Christ living in us.

Romans 12:1-2 "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. 2Do 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."

When we edify one another in the Lord, He is glorified, the focus is Him.

1 Peter 1:3 "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By His great mercy He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,"

Our time with the believers in gathering should enhance our daily walk, giving us boldness and the ability to share Christ in the community.

In the modern church gatherings, people are discouraged from speaking while they face forward in worshipful fashion toward the one man speaker. Anyone who disrupts him will be silenced or ushered out if they will not stop talking.

Hebrews 10:24-25 "…24And let us consider how to spur one another on to love and good deeds. 25 Let us not neglect meeting together, as some have made a habit, but let us encourage one another, and all the more as you see the Day approaching."

Acts 2:42 "They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer."

Matthew 18:20 "For where two or three gather together in My name, there am I with them.”

There is no formula in the gathering in which someone else makes the decisions of what to sing, speak and what to pray without the input of the others. The Holy Spirit leads each one to bring a prayer, a speaking or a song; the Holy Spirit is preeminent, not a person up front.

1 Peter 4:11 "If anyone speaks, he should speak as one conveying the words of God. If anyone serves, he should serve with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory and the power forever and ever. Amen."

Philippians 2:9 "Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the name above all names."

The modern churches do not glorify man and are full of dead, lifeless ritual with emotion thrown in to make it seem legitimate.

God's way of gathering glorifies Christ and not people. I grieve every time I hear someone say something like: "I like that preacher because of the way he preaches", or worse: "I go to that church because of the music."

We should never gather to enjoy ourselves! We should gather to edify one another to the glory of Christ.

We are living in the end times full of false doctrine, false worship, false humility, and everything else false too. It's all ritual to satisfy the emotions of people who have little depth, living entirely on superficial sentimentality.

Glorifying Christ is not on the minds of most Christians; their personal feelings and happiness drive everything they do.

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."

Gossip and Slander the Devil's Favorite Tactic Even Today

Gossip and slander has been the favored tactic of the devil. He managed to convince Eve that God was the bad one. God who gave her everything she enjoyed and a perfect body and health, as well as paradise to live in, was painted as the problem. It should not surprise us that the devil uses the same tactics today.

Where Does the Spirit of a Man Go After Death

For those who have wondered what happens to the spirit of a person who has died, God makes it clear.

Those who trust in themselves without Christ have no hope of life in heaven after they die. The wonderful thing is that it is so easy to gain heaven that most people think it is too easy.

God said if we believe in Him, place our trust in Him, and what He did for us on that cruel cross, He will save us, completely transform us and keep us saved until He comes for us. He does all the work in us, all the cleansing and all the keeping of us. All we have to do is trust in HIm.

Trusting in Him does not mean going to church, reading your Bible enough, speaking about Him or anything else we do. It means believing Him when He said He died to pay for our sins and we must trust Him to change us into a new creation.

The spirits of those who have died either go to heaven or hell, depending on whether or not they have trusted in Christ. Those who have trusted in Christ go to heaven, and those who do not go to hell.

2 Corinthians 5:8 "
Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord."

Luke 16:19-31 "19 "There was a rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. 20 And at his gate was laid a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, 21 who desired to be fed with what fell from the rich man 's table. Moreover, even the dogs came and licked his sores. 22 The poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham 's side. The rich man also died and was buried, 23 and in Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side. 24 And he called out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in anguish in this flame.’"

Pride is the ruination of any person; it prevents people from doing the easy thing to avoid having to admit their own sinful hearts. Pride does nothing good; it merely keeps people in bondage to themselves and their weak and beggarly self-regard.

Those who have trusted Christ understand the incredible freedom they have from sin and from the influences of those who would buffet them because they love Christ.

Bondage to sin is far greater than unsaved people realize; it robs them of everything joyous and creative.

Christ has all the answers; He knows our hearts perfectly and what we need better than we know ourselves. People lie to themselves; they think they are good when they are not. They think they deserve heaven when they have only boasted of themselves without Christ or anyone else as their priority.

Sin is slavery, and freedom in Christ is release from that bondage. Unsaved people do not know they are in bondage; the devil has convinced them that sin is freedom, but it is the worst kind of enslavement.

Galatians 5:1 "5 It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery."

John 8:36 "So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed."

Our Peace and Joy is in Knowing What is Coming Soon

The world we are living in today is very difficult for the born-again believer. They watch every day those who claim to be Christians but lack the love of God and all the rest of the fruit of the Spirit. It is more disturbing to watch "Christians" act like this because we expect it from unbelievers, but when someone claims to be a Spiritual brother or sister, it is far more disruptive.

Isaiah 5:20-21 "20 Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who turn darkness to light and light to darkness, who replace bitter with sweet and sweet with bitter. 21 Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes and clever in their own sight."

Malachi 2:17 "You have wearied the LORD with your words; yet you ask, “How have we wearied Him?” By saying, “All who do evil are good in the sight of the LORD, and in them He delights,” or, “Where is the God of justice?”

Proverbs 24:24-25 "Whoever tells the guilty, “You are innocent”—peoples will curse him, and nations will denounce him; / but it will go well with those who convict the guilty, and rich blessing will come upon them."

Amos 5:7 "There are those who turn justice into wormwood and cast righteousness to the ground."

When we have studied the pattern through the lens of the Bible we can clearly see what is going on, once our eyes have been opened we can never see things as we used to see them again.

This is why it is such a blessing to know that Christ is coming soon, we will go home to celebrate the Marriage Supper of the Lamb, and after that we will come back with Christ when He destroys evil on the earth.

I ponder continually what it will be like when Christ our King is ruling the earth during the first 100 years of the Millennium, when everyone will act as they should. For a time at the beginning, everyone who enters the Millennium will be a follower of Christ and will possess the love of Christ.

What a blessing to know this mess will be over soon and better times are coming when Christ is ruling the earth.
Hallelujah!!!!

Nothing Has Changed and People Have not Changed

In the book of Genesis, God describes how life for the people of the earth was going on normally, and they were not listening to Noah.

God never said in His Word that people mocked and laughed at Noah, but we know it was so because those people were no different from the people of today.

Matthew 24:37–39 "37 But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. 38 For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, 39 and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be."

2 Peter 2:5 "5 and did not spare the ancient world, but protected Noah, a preacher of righteousness, with seven others, when He brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly;"

Hebrews 11:7 "…6 And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who approaches Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him. 7By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in godly fear built an ark to save his family. By faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that comes by faith. 8By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, without knowing where he was going."

The people who hated God have always mocked Him and His people. Nothing has changed. All things are as they have always been.

Thankfully, one day soon Christ is going to wipe away the evil upon the earth and those who have trusted in Him will be with Him.

Judge Righteous Judgment According to the Holy Spirit

If we do not judge actions, we will begin to do those things we do not judge.

A Dangerous Place for a Christian to Be

This is the dangerous state of most churches today! This culture lives on "saying' is enough we don't actually have to obey God! Those who attend churches today make up their own rules and ignore God's commands.

Claiming Christianity and being Transformed by Christ can be Two Different Things

Most people who claim to be Christians do not understand the Holy Spirit working in them because they do not have Him. They have religion rather than a relationship with Christ.

They would say they believe in the Holy Spirit when asked but do not conduct their life as though they depend on Him.

I have mentioned the Holy Spirit to relatives who attend church gatherings, who look at me like I am strange for mentioning Him. They seem genuinely embarrassed and they never mention Him as they depend entirely on their own thinking rather than on God Who created them.

They become angry when Scripture is used to explain things. And, worse, I never hear them speak of Jesus Christ; His name never comes from their lips.

Most church attendees today have never been born again. True believers take the gospel being preached in the world seriously.

The gospel was not meant to be preached in the gathering of believers because everyone there has been transformed by Christ into a new creation. The gospel is for the world, and all transformed believers should be speaking it in the community outside the gathering.

The gathering of the faithful is for edifying one another in the faith, preparing each one to go into the world and be a witness through their speech and their lives lived.

Ephesians 4:11-13 "…11 And it was He who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, 12 to equip the saints for works of ministry and to build up the body of Christ, 13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God, as we mature to the full measure of the stature of Christ."

Perhaps the gospel needs to be preached within the church gatherings today, because the world has come into the church. There are few authentic believers in the church gatherings today, and most are rejected as fanatics for suggesting we should actually follow the Bible.

Hebrews 13:21 "equip you with every good thing to do His will. And may He accomplish in us what is pleasing in His sight through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen."

2 Timothy 3:17 "so that the man of God may be complete, fully equipped for every good work."

2 Timothy 2:21 "So if anyone cleanses himself of what is unfit, he will be a vessel for honor: sanctified, useful to the Master, and prepared for every good work."

These commands from God were not suggestions and they are for every believer. There is no training process except through the Holy Spirit. There is no special school to attend for each believer to be equipped to do the work of God. Each believer has a calling, no one is special and no one is excluded.

1 Corinthians 12:7-11 "To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills."

1 Corinthians 12:14-26 "14 For the body does not consist of one member but of many.
15 If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body.
16 And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body.
17 If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell?
18 But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose.
19 If all were a single member, where would the body be?
20 As it is, there are many parts, yet one body.
21 The eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you,” nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.”
22 On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable,
23 and on those parts of the body that we think less honorable we bestow the greater honor, and our unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty,
24 which our more presentable parts do not require. But God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it,
25 that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another.
26 If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together."

When there is love in the body of Christ, no one is treated as "less than" to elevate others. No one is elevated above anyone else as more important. All believers in an authentic Christian gathering are treated with the same respect and honor as every other believer.

This practice of loving everyone the same is rare in most gatherings. I have seen it practiced, and it is the loveliest thing to observe. The love flows and emanates to everyone without pre-eminence because only Christ is pre-eminent.

Colossians 1:24-29 "24 I now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up in my flesh what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ, for the sake of His body, which is the church,
25 of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God which was given to me for you, to fulfill the word of God,
26 the mystery which has been hidden from ages and from generations, but now has been revealed to His saints.
27 To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.
28 Him we preach, warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus. 29 To this end I also labor, striving according to His working which works in me mightily."

All believers are called to desire spiritual callings and carry them out as the Holy Spirit reveals them to each one.

Before Coffins and Embalming!

Many years ago, before coffins and embalming, people were buried in the ground and decomposed over a period of time. They decayed naturally; no trace of them was left.

God said we came from dust and would return to dust. Think about it: people tried to stop this decaying process by embalming; ask yourself why. It was almost in defiance of what God said would happen. Was this pagan ritual of embalming to preserve a body for the afterlife another pagan tradition accepted by Christianity?

Think for a moment about the practice of purchasing a very expensive piece of furniture called a coffin lined with pillows for the body that is placed inside. Does this not seem like one is making the person comfortable as though they are alive? 

Once we have adopted, through many generations of human tradition, it is impossible to change the thinking of people to embrace truth. Neither burrying or cremation is wrong according to God. Perhaps though the use of pagan rituals to preserve what God said would decay is the problem.

And, if you will use Christ as an example, you might say He was treated with spices and placed in a burial. Let me remind you that He was anointed on the outside; no embalming fluids entered His body, and He was not placed in the ground in a box; He was placed in a tomb above ground.

One more thing Christianity adopted as normal and acceptable that has no real Biblical basis. I know that God looks at the heart and I cannot judge anyone's choice of burial; however, perhaps we place many burdens on ourselves by obeying man's rituals that God never intended. Just something to think about.

Amen, Amen!!!! Many apostates have never been born again! They are practicing religion but do not have a relationship with Christ.

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Those Who Want God on their Own Terms

One Christian told me that God wouldn't want her to be unhappy, so after a divorce, she remarried.

I told her, "You mean God the Father Who sent His Son to the cross to die a cruel death for the sins of other people, wouldn't want you to be unhappy?"

She didn't have an answer for me, except she said this: "You didn't go to seminary so you cannot know the truth of the Bible. My response was, "You mean the Holy Spirit only goes to seminary?"

Sadly, she was taught all these things by a seminary-trained pastor after she left the Catholic church. She left the Catholic church only to jump into another kind of fire, that of the Protestant apostate church.

The Catholic church and the Protestant church are not all that much different; both are full of idolatry and false doctrine. The idolatry here in the Protestant church was toward the paid pastor; in the Catholic church it was the priest and the statues all around.

Mark 7:13 "13 Thus you nullify the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And you do many things like that.”

Isaiah 29:13 "Therefore the Lord said: “These people draw near to Me with their mouths and honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me. Their worship of Me is but rules taught by men."

Honoring a man above Christ is clear when someone turns to "their pastor" instead of the Holy Spirit. In our world today most people who claim to be Christians do not have the Holy Spirit because they came to God on their own terms, caring little about the Bible and knowing nothing about the indwelling and working of the Holy Spirit.

Much of the religious system today is cultural and has not been changed by Christ. People have joined a system expecting to get to heaven on their own idea of religion not on a relationship with Christ.

Colossians 2:8: "See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, which are based on human tradition and the spiritual forces of the world rather than on Christ."

Man's Doctrine that is not Biblical

People use the term "legalism" as an excuse to dismiss God's Word. Legalism is following man-made rules that God never gave, and "obedience" is seeking God for truth to obey Him.

There is a lot of legalism in the church with expectations of others that God never commanded or endorsed. This legalism is based on misinterpretation of the Word of God according to the culture.

A lot of people quote things from the culture and claim they came from the Bible, but they are not in the Bible at all.

This is why it is so important to ask God before you read the Bible to show us the truth. We must be willing to set aside and reject what we were taught in order to follow Christ.

Sadly, though, many "Christians" are so dedicated to the false things they were taught that they are afraid to ask God. Asking God might mean they will end up being at odds with everyone they know because the entire culture is so steeped in false ideas that they cannot and do not want to wrap their minds around anything that sound unfamiliar to them.

Mark 7:13 "13 thus making void the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And many such things you do.”

What are some things you have heard and believed that you found out were not Biblical but everyone thinks are right?

No Pain No Gain

Many say, "No pain, no gain" in reference to exercise, but neglect to recognize it in life's difficulties. Exercise is less important than spiritual and emotional growth.

1 Timothy 4:7-9 "…7 But reject irreverent, silly myths. Instead, train yourself for godliness. 8 For physical exercise is of limited value, but godliness is valuable in every way, holding promise for the present life and for the one to come. 9 This is a trustworthy saying, worthy of full acceptance."

Mankind Develops Lack of Intelligence by their Pride

Unintelligent people are not that way because they were born that way, they became that way because they fostered a mentality based on a desire to be superior to others.

Satan was the most powerful and beautiful of angels in heaven, but he was not satisfied with that position; he wanted to be more powerful than God Who created him.

This is what we observe in those who have chosen self-exaltation over love and humility. They tend to be easily offended, raging at the silliest and smallest of matters. Sort of like the way a child has a tantrum when they are told no when they want something. Correcting an insecure person who has developed a lack of intelligence because of their stubbornness is interpreted as a serious attack that must be battled.

Was it intelligence that led Judas to betray Christ? NO, he got nothing out of it except a few pieces of silver and suicide.

Was it intelligent for Joseph's brothers to throw him into a pit and sell him into slavery? NO! They got a momentary sense of superiority for having gotten rid of him, but it gained them nothing else. And, one day many years later, they ended up bowing to the brother they hated just as the dream of Joseph said would happen.

The simplest of minds can be intelligent in interpersonal relationships because they are satisfied with being who they are and enjoy kindness over power. Those who walk with Christ are not interested in needing to seem smart and powerful.

There is a furious competitive spirit in those who cannot tolerate facing that they were wrong or in need of change. These people seethe continually in their hearts with jealousy and anger toward those they think are better than them. Those they hate have no interest in being better than anyone else, but the one who is jealous thinks they do because the jealous one wants to be superior more than anything else in their lives. Their heart is full of anger, jealousy, and revenge for nothing real.

They often accuse those who are loving and humble of being arrogant to take the focus off of their own intense feeling of inferiority.

James 3:16: "For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice".

Proverbs 27:4: "Anger is cruel, and wrath is like a flood, but jealousy is even more dangerous".

1 Corinthians 3:3: "You are jealous of one another and quarrel with each other. Doesn't that prove you are controlled by your sinful nature?"

Galatians 5:19-21: Envy and jealousy are listed among the works of the flesh that separate people from the kingdom of God."

The one who is filled with the Holy Spirit may be tempted at times to lean into their flesh that bring wrong attitudes, but it is quickly convicted and confessed and wants to be free of the bondage of competition with others.

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."

1 Corinthians 13:4: "Love is patient and kind; love does not envy..."

Jealousy gets us nowhere good, but leads to many evil things and destroys relationships. May those who are in bondage to jealousy and competitiveness pray for deliverance, that God will free them from it. When God frees us we are "free indeed."

The World is Hostile in the Presence of a Spirit Filled Christian

Have you ever noticed someone acting sheepish or shy in your presence but not in the presence of others who are not born again? This is because unsaved people are fearful of Spirit-filled Christians, even if they don't know they are Christians. The Holy Spirit's presence powerfully convicts the world of sin, even when we don't speak a word.

2 Thessalonians 2:6-8 "And now you know what is holding him back, so that he may be revealed at the proper time. For the secret power of lawlessness is already at work; but the one who now holds it back will continue to do till he is taken out of the way."

Amen!!!! Shame on any Christian Who Trains their Children to Fight Back!

God never told us to strike back; just the opposite. People who are bullies themselves like the idea of hitting back and having someone to blame.

A family member undermined me one day when he counseled our son, in front of me, to hit back if a bully bothers him. I was telling my son not to retaliate.

This family member was supposedly a Christian, but he was also a terrible bully himself, mostly with his mouth, to cause others to become angry. Then, when the victim of my bully relative lunged at him, he blamed the one who hit him but never admitted his part in it with his mouth.

Sadly, adults in the family praised him for beating up the bully when he was the bully with his mouth and should have been punished for it.

Expressing Your Broken State will Lead You to Christ

If someone claims to be a Christian but cannot express their broken state before they were a Christian, then perhaps they were never saved.

The more we walk in Christ, the bolder we become. We do not fear being found out because we already told on ourselves. Those who fear being judged by others are hiding something.

When we can freely admit our failures and express our desire to be transformed by Christ, He does all the work in us. What used to be unnatural for us becomes natural, that is doing what is right without having to ponder it first.

Christ changes our character on the inside; when this happens, then we automatically do what glorifies Christ or at the very least we are deeply wounded and horrified when we do not obey God.

Ephesians 2:10 "…9 not by works, so that no one can boast. 10For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance as our way of life. "

Psalm 100:3 "Know that the LORD is God. It is He who made us, and we are His; we are His people, and the sheep of His pasture."

2 Corinthians 5:17 "Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away. Behold, the new has come!"

Colossians 1:16 "For in Him all things were created, things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities. All things were created through Him and for Him."

Colossians 1:10 "so that you may walk in a manner worthy of the Lord and may please Him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God,"

1 Peter 2:12 "Conduct yourselves with such honor among the Gentiles that, though they slander you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day He visits us."

Forget What the Organized Church System Taught You and Seek the Holy Spirit Instead

There are so many things the organized church system taught that were wrong according to Scripture. Study to show yourself approved does not mean look up seminary educated men and just believe them.

The Holy Spirit can remove all the lies we were trained in and show us the truth, all we have to do is ask Him to show us all the things we were taught that were wrong and replace them with the truth.

John 8:32 "And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

1 Thessalonians 5:21 "But test everything; hold fast what is good."

2 Timothy 2:15 "Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth."

Notice that God never tells us to go to educated men who have titles to ask for truth. He told us to depend on the Holy Spirit, willing to discard anything that men taught us that was not His truth.

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."

John 15:26 "When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father—the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father—He will testify about Me."

John 14:17 "the Spirit of truth. The world cannot receive Him, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him. But you do know Him, for He abides with you and will be in you."

John 14:26 "But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have told you."

The Holy Spirit of Jesus Christ is our Advocate; we can depend on Him to tell us everything He wants us to know.

1 Corinthians 2:10-13 "But God has revealed it to us by the Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. / For who among men knows the thoughts of man except his own spirit within him? So too, no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. / We have not received the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us."

Hallelujah for the Holy Spirit Who tells us everything we want to know if only we will ask Him.

Stronger Because of Christ

Those who have Christ living in them are stronger because of trauma; I have seen it and experienced it.

John 16:33 "I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”

James 1:2-4 "2 Consider it all joy, my brothers and sisters, when you encounter various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. 4 And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing."

Those who have Christ living in them are the ones who become stronger when they are in trials because their strength comes from Him.

Some people will quote all day long the phrase for athletes, "no pain no gain", but will not believe it for trials in their lives. They understand that breaking down muscles for them to grow back stronger is a principle all athletes practice, but do not believe it for emotional pain.

Only those who have trusted in Christ will fully understand the strength they receive from Christ in the middle of their trials.
We can weep and maintain joy at the same time. We know that all trials will bring lessons and mental resilience because of Christ Who lives in us.

James 1:19-25 "19 You know this, my beloved brothers and sisters. Now everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger;
20 for a man’s anger does not bring about the righteousness of God.
21 Therefore, ridding yourselves of all filthiness and all that remains of wickedness, in humility receive the word implanted, which is able to save your souls.
22 But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not just hearers who deceive themselves.
23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror;
24 for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was.
25 But one who has looked intently at the perfect law, the law of freedom, and has continued in it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an active doer, this person will be blessed in what he does."

A False Gospel is All About Flattery

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We need to Use the "If's" and "perhaps" sparingly and Only in Truth Based on the Bible

I never do "ifs"! "What if this had happened?" "Perhaps it was this way or that." "It could have been this or that."

These are useless phrases that are fodder for gossip and false doctrine.

If we cannot say for sure that something happened, never saw it for ourselves, or never had two or three witnesses, then we should not repeat it.

If we didn't see what happened and only had the testimony of one person, then we should never repeat it.

Never base your actions or attitude on things you cannot prove or that are none of our business.

Never base your actions toward someone on the conversation between two other people when you were not a part of it. Holding grudges against people based on one testimony or interaction that you were not a part of is gossip and useless except to destroy relationships.

Proverbs 16:27-29 "…27A worthless man digs up evil, and his speech is like a scorching fire. 28A perverse man spreads dissension, and a gossip divides close friends. 29A violent man entices his neighbor and leads him down a path that is not good."

Gossip that divides people is considered violence in God's eyes.

Proverbs 6:12-14 "A worthless person, a wicked man, walks with a perverse mouth, winking his eyes, speaking with his feet, and pointing with his fingers. With deceit in his heart he devises evil; he continually sows discord."

James 3:16 "For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every evil practice."

Proverbs 17:9 "Whoever conceals an offense promotes love, but he who brings it up separates friends."

Proverbs 11:13 "A gossip reveals a secret, but a trustworthy person keeps a confidence."

If you have confided in a friend a struggle you had and that friend gossiped to someone else about it, then that friend cannot be trusted ever again, unless there is confession of sin and true sorrow over the transgression.

James 3:5-6 "In the same way, the tongue is a small part of the body, but it boasts of great things. Consider how small a spark sets a great forest ablaze. The tongue also is a fire, a world of wickedness among the parts of the body. It pollutes the whole person, sets the course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell."

James 3:8-10 "but no man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With the tongue we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God’s likeness. Out of the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, this should not be!"

Romans 16:17-18 "Now I urge you, brothers, to watch out for those who create divisions and obstacles that are contrary to the teaching you have learned. Turn away from them. For such people are not serving our Lord Christ, but their own appetites. By smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naive."

May each born-again believer seek to follow God's Word, not just know it or use it to justify their haughtiness. When we confess in our hearts before the sin in our heart becomes an action we will not have to confess it to anyone but God.

After the sin in our heart becomes an actions then we have the embarrassing work of confessing it openly to those we have offended in order to reconcile a relationship. The relationship cannot be mended until there is confession. Admitting ones flaws and sins is the only way to Spiritual and emotional growth that moves us 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."

If we want to be free from guilt and full of joy the only way to do it is to keep close accounts when we mess up, confess to be cleansed and start again without the sin we confessed.

Lay Aside Every Obstacle Hebrews 12

Hebrews 12:1-17 "Therefore, since we also have such a great cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let’s rid ourselves of every obstacle and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let’s run with endurance the race that is set before us,
2 looking only at Jesus, the originator and perfecter of the faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

3 For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

A Father’s Discipline
4 You have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood in your striving against sin;
5 and you have forgotten the exhortation which is addressed to you as sons,

“My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord,
Nor faint when you are punished by Him;
6 For whom the Lord loves He disciplines,
And He punishes every son whom He accepts.”

7 It is for discipline that you endure; God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline?
8 But if you are without discipline, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate children and not sons.
9 Furthermore, we had earthly fathers to discipline us, and we respected them; shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits, and live?
10 For they disciplined us for a short time as seemed best to them, but He disciplines us for our good, so that we may share His holiness.
11 For the moment, all discipline seems not to be pleasant, but painful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterward it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness.

12 Therefore, strengthen the hands that are weak and the knees that are feeble,
13 and make straight paths for your feet, so that the limb which is impaired may not be dislocated, but rather be healed.

14 Pursue peace with all people, and the holiness without which no one will see the Lord.
15 See to it that no one comes short of the grace of God; that no root of bitterness springing up causes trouble, and by it many become defiled;
16 that there be no sexually immoral or godless person like Esau, who sold his own birthright for a single meal.
17 For you know that even afterward, when he wanted to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no place for repentance, though he sought for it with tears."

The Insecurity of the Gossip

Once someone has heard the gossip, they are unlikely to believe our explanation. The fact that they were convinced by the gossip tells us they don't value us, or they would have chosen not to believe what they heard.

Christ told only the truth, and yet the Pharisees lied against Him, turning the people who believed them against Him too.

Psalm 101:5 "Whoever slanders his neighbor secretly I will destroy. Whoever has a haughty look and an arrogant heart I will not endure."

Proverbs 20:19 "Whoever goes about slandering reveals secrets; therefore do not associate with a simple babbler."

Proverbs 12:15-17 "…15 The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but a wise man listens to counsel. 16 A fool’s anger is known at once, but a prudent man overlooks an insult. 17 He who speaks the truth declares what is right, but a false witness speaks deceit."

Proverbs 16:28 "A dishonest man spreads strife, and a whisperer separates close friends."

The best recourse when someone has gossiped against us is to ignore it. Answer it only if someone comes to you directly to find out the truth.

Be comforted that God knows the truth! If someone wants to believe the lies against us there is nothing we can do to convince them otherwise.

The ungodly lied against the prophets, the apostles, and Jesus Christ, and they will do it to us too.

God gives us guidelines for dealing with those who love to gossip and turn others against you, here is one of them:

Proverbs 20:19 "Whoever goes about slandering reveals secrets; therefore do not associate with a simple babbler."

And, finally, pray for those who are so insecure that they need to bring someone else down to feel superior. They are destitute without strength and without confidence.