Wednesday, April 8, 2026

Nothing More Important


Respect Cannot Be Forced

Amen, we cannot force anyone to respect us, but we can always live with dignity even if no one treats us with regard. One Person we always have who will love us is Jesus Christ Who lives in us.

Too often, we worry about what others think of us more than we praise God for His love for us. The people don't matter in terms of how they treat us, but Jesus Christ is everything.
 
There is no reason to complain when we know Christ has our back and everything we go through, He not only sees but has a purpose for us and possibly others.
Romans 8:28 "28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are called according to his purpose."

Hallelujah!!!!! Christ is everything and everything else is a lesson for Spiritual growth.

Surviving the Culture as we Walk with Christ

When a society and a government demand that they handle their own affairs without Christ, He will turn them over to their own governance, take his help and hands off, and let them have what they want, which will destroy them.

I know there are those who want to "get America back" as it was 100 years ago, but what they forget is that God will not help a rebellious nation to achieve the preservation of their pleasures and spiritually wasteful lifestyle.

Ask almost any "Christian" today what they want to preserve about America, and the answers will sound a little like this;

Save our borders, our economy, our freedom, eliminating abortion, staving off some immorality, but not all of it. You will not hear anything about individuals repenting and almost nothing about the gospel of Christ. Everything is based on personal safety and freedom without Spiritual lessons and dedication to 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."

When speaking with many Christians today, I see the dedication to their rituals, their holidays, and their personal freedom more than anything else. Very little conversation based on personal introspection to expunge from their lives any sinful desires they may have, even if they do not act them out.

1 Timothy 4:1-2 "Now the Spirit expressly states that in later times some will abandon the faith to follow deceitful spirits and the teachings of demons, / influenced by the hypocrisy of liars, whose consciences are seared with a hot iron."

There is a form of Christianity in our churches that speaks lots of swelling words but has little if any devotion to Jesus Christ. They develop their own "religious ideas" and tack Christ on the end as though He was the author merely because they declared His name.

Titus 1:10-11 "For many are rebellious and full of empty talk and deception, especially those of the circumcision, who must be silenced. For the sake of dishonorable gain, they undermine entire households and teach things they should not."

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."

The challenges of today, as we navigate through superficial Christianity, are to remain staunch in the mind of Christ so that we are not sucked into the familiar ways and speech we hear regularly all the time.

Sometimes it's easier to become like those around us, so we don't have to deal with the disrespect and isolation that occurs when we do not think like the culture.

When we become comfortable with not being supported or accepted is the day our freedom and wisdom grow. We love the people but only those who walk with us in faith and truth will be those who will understand.

May the Lord give us strength during these times of leanness of friends, and may the Lord Jesus Christ in us be enough to sustain us. Hallelujah!!!!