Friday, July 26, 2019
Dull of Hearing is a Choice
Dull of hearing means to "stick ones fingers in their ears."
Hebrews 5:11 "11 We have much to say about this, but it is hard to explain, because you are dull of hearing."
We are living in a time when people are sticking their fingers in their ears in choice not to hear. It isn't that they cannot understand or hear, its that they choose not to listen.
Hebrews 5:11 "11 We have much to say about this, but it is hard to explain, because you are dull of hearing."
We are living in a time when people are sticking their fingers in their ears in choice not to hear. It isn't that they cannot understand or hear, its that they choose not to listen.
God's Love is Better than Human Love
God's love for us is not based on our performance.
Our love for others is not based on performance.
Those who do not love God and bring nothing but trouble into the lives of believers must be put out, but that does not mean we do not love them. In fact putting them out may cause them to rethink their life and turn to Christ, the greatest love of all, is to help them through discipline.
1 Corinthians 5:12-13 "…12 What business of mine is it to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside? 13 God will judge those outside. “Expel the wicked man from among you.”"
Our love does not end nor is it a manipulation just because someone will not act properly and must be avoided. Our love extends beyond "friendship" to "discipline" that might bring them to a realization that they need to trust Christ.
If you have a neighbor who claimed to be a Christian but remains continually in sin, then the Bible tells us to stay away from them. However if our enemy is in dire distress and grave danger we would rush to their aid no matter how they act. The good Samaritan didn't interview the man laying in the ditch having been beaten, he simply assisted him, paying a bill at the inn to make sure of his safety until he was well. Then the Samaritan went on his way.
This is the principle behind the the doctors creed, "do no harm to anyone" and save anyone's life is it is within their power to do so, even an evil man.
It is not the job of the Christian to excuse sin nor is it the job of the Christian to execute justice on a wicked man, that is for the governing authorities and God. However we are told not to become a close friend with those who act badly and are unrepentant.
There is a misunderstanding in the world today that says that we never leave someone no matter how wicked they are, this is wrong according to God's Word.
To remain with wicked people hoping we will be the influence in their life that makes the difference is playing god ourselves. It is arrogance, false guilt and often enabling.
1 Corinthians 15:33-34 "33 Do not be deceived: “Bad company corrupts good character.” 34 Sober up as you ought, and stop sinning; for some of you are ignorant of God. I say this to your shame.…
Proverbs 24:1 "1 Do not envy wicked men or desire their company; 2 for their hearts devise violence, and their lips declare trouble.…"
Jeremiah 17:23
"Yet they did not listen or incline their ears, but stiffened their necks in order not to listen or take correction."
Walking away from a wicked man, leaving them to God is mandated by God.
1 Corinthians 5:5
5 I have decided to deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of his flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.
If we love those who are in rebellion we will let go of them, we will get out of the way so God can work on them. He knows best what their need is and the condition of their heart.
Wicked people will keep believers jumping through hoops endlessly deterring them from the job God has for them. We also enable the wicked man by remaining with them.
Ephesians 5:11
"Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them."
Ephesians 5:6-8 "6 Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things God’s wrath comes on the sons of disobedience. 7 Therefore do not be partakers with them. 8 For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light,…"
Proverbs 13:19-21 "…19 Desire fulfilled is sweet to the soul, but turning from evil is detestable to fools. 20 He who walks with the wise will become wise, but the companion of fools will be destroyed. 21 Disaster pursues sinners, but prosperity is the reward of the righteous."
God's love is not the gooy human version based on feelings it is far deeper and much more productive.
If a friend of a man in the wilderness has a limb fall on him from a tree and lodge in his leg, the man must do the hard thing no matter how much it will hurt the friend or what the friend feels about it. He must extract the limb from his friends leg no matter how much pain it will cause.
When we refuse to tell the truth to help our friends who are in sin and spiritual darkness we are messaging our feelings and the feelings of the one who sins, enabling them, even helping them to continue in the thing that will destroy them.
Spiritual injury caused by sin must be dealt with no matter how much emotional pain it may cause. Physical and emotional pain has the uncanny ability to spiritually grow a human being from infancy to maturity. All hardship grows people if we allow it to teach us. There are those who refuse help, these people do not grow or change into anything better and must be left alone in their sin. God knows what to do with them.
If the man in the wilderness would not remove the limb from his friends leg because he was afraid the man may lose his leg or die of gangrene for lack of help. The pain is worth it to save a life. This is the truth about sharing the gospel to unbelievers and truth to stubborn believers. We can only share truth, what the hearer does with it is up to God. When we realize someone is not listening then it is time to move on to others who might.
Matthew 10:14 "“And whoever does not receive you, nor heed your words, as you go out of that house or that city, shake off the dust of your feet."
When "feelings" are the basis for our actions we will be useless in the work of Christ. It is unpleasant at times to have to let go of a loved one. Often we are judged by less spiritual people who do not understand the love of God and His principles. Leave the reactions of onlookers to Christ and keep moving.
Our world is full of emotionally charged people who help sinful people remain happily in their sin leading down the road to destruction simply to allow everyone to have happy "feelings." The devil uses feelings more than any other medium these days to distract people from the truth. He uses them to debilitate tongues into stagnation that should be moving.
1 John 3:18 New American Standard Bible (NASB)
18 Little children, let us not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and truth.
If we love with the love of Christ truth will be more important to us than what others might think of us.
Our love for others is not based on performance.
Those who do not love God and bring nothing but trouble into the lives of believers must be put out, but that does not mean we do not love them. In fact putting them out may cause them to rethink their life and turn to Christ, the greatest love of all, is to help them through discipline.
1 Corinthians 5:12-13 "…12 What business of mine is it to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside? 13 God will judge those outside. “Expel the wicked man from among you.”"
Our love does not end nor is it a manipulation just because someone will not act properly and must be avoided. Our love extends beyond "friendship" to "discipline" that might bring them to a realization that they need to trust Christ.
If you have a neighbor who claimed to be a Christian but remains continually in sin, then the Bible tells us to stay away from them. However if our enemy is in dire distress and grave danger we would rush to their aid no matter how they act. The good Samaritan didn't interview the man laying in the ditch having been beaten, he simply assisted him, paying a bill at the inn to make sure of his safety until he was well. Then the Samaritan went on his way.
This is the principle behind the the doctors creed, "do no harm to anyone" and save anyone's life is it is within their power to do so, even an evil man.
It is not the job of the Christian to excuse sin nor is it the job of the Christian to execute justice on a wicked man, that is for the governing authorities and God. However we are told not to become a close friend with those who act badly and are unrepentant.
There is a misunderstanding in the world today that says that we never leave someone no matter how wicked they are, this is wrong according to God's Word.
To remain with wicked people hoping we will be the influence in their life that makes the difference is playing god ourselves. It is arrogance, false guilt and often enabling.
1 Corinthians 15:33-34 "33 Do not be deceived: “Bad company corrupts good character.” 34 Sober up as you ought, and stop sinning; for some of you are ignorant of God. I say this to your shame.…
Proverbs 24:1 "1 Do not envy wicked men or desire their company; 2 for their hearts devise violence, and their lips declare trouble.…"
Jeremiah 17:23
"Yet they did not listen or incline their ears, but stiffened their necks in order not to listen or take correction."
Walking away from a wicked man, leaving them to God is mandated by God.
1 Corinthians 5:5
5 I have decided to deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of his flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.
If we love those who are in rebellion we will let go of them, we will get out of the way so God can work on them. He knows best what their need is and the condition of their heart.
Wicked people will keep believers jumping through hoops endlessly deterring them from the job God has for them. We also enable the wicked man by remaining with them.
Ephesians 5:11
"Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them."
Ephesians 5:6-8 "6 Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things God’s wrath comes on the sons of disobedience. 7 Therefore do not be partakers with them. 8 For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light,…"
Proverbs 13:19-21 "…19 Desire fulfilled is sweet to the soul, but turning from evil is detestable to fools. 20 He who walks with the wise will become wise, but the companion of fools will be destroyed. 21 Disaster pursues sinners, but prosperity is the reward of the righteous."
God's love is not the gooy human version based on feelings it is far deeper and much more productive.
If a friend of a man in the wilderness has a limb fall on him from a tree and lodge in his leg, the man must do the hard thing no matter how much it will hurt the friend or what the friend feels about it. He must extract the limb from his friends leg no matter how much pain it will cause.
When we refuse to tell the truth to help our friends who are in sin and spiritual darkness we are messaging our feelings and the feelings of the one who sins, enabling them, even helping them to continue in the thing that will destroy them.
Spiritual injury caused by sin must be dealt with no matter how much emotional pain it may cause. Physical and emotional pain has the uncanny ability to spiritually grow a human being from infancy to maturity. All hardship grows people if we allow it to teach us. There are those who refuse help, these people do not grow or change into anything better and must be left alone in their sin. God knows what to do with them.
If the man in the wilderness would not remove the limb from his friends leg because he was afraid the man may lose his leg or die of gangrene for lack of help. The pain is worth it to save a life. This is the truth about sharing the gospel to unbelievers and truth to stubborn believers. We can only share truth, what the hearer does with it is up to God. When we realize someone is not listening then it is time to move on to others who might.
Matthew 10:14 "“And whoever does not receive you, nor heed your words, as you go out of that house or that city, shake off the dust of your feet."
When "feelings" are the basis for our actions we will be useless in the work of Christ. It is unpleasant at times to have to let go of a loved one. Often we are judged by less spiritual people who do not understand the love of God and His principles. Leave the reactions of onlookers to Christ and keep moving.
Our world is full of emotionally charged people who help sinful people remain happily in their sin leading down the road to destruction simply to allow everyone to have happy "feelings." The devil uses feelings more than any other medium these days to distract people from the truth. He uses them to debilitate tongues into stagnation that should be moving.
1 John 3:18 New American Standard Bible (NASB)
18 Little children, let us not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and truth.
If we love with the love of Christ truth will be more important to us than what others might think of us.
God Changed Me and Anyone Who Trusted in Him
Ephesians 1:13-14
"13 In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise,
14 who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory."
If Christ changed you into a new creation then there is no going back. We do not want to go back, we would never go back because our mind has been changed to love Christ.
"13 In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise,
14 who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory."
If Christ changed you into a new creation then there is no going back. We do not want to go back, we would never go back because our mind has been changed to love Christ.
Thursday, July 25, 2019
Remain Strong its Almost Over
There is a tactic of the devil that is being used commonly now. That is for the devil to use people to accuse believers of things that are not true of the believer but are true of the accuser.
When a narcissist accuses you of being unkind because you won't think as they think or do what they do, they are really describing themselves.
Matthew 5:22, "But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother WITHOUT CAUSE shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire."
There are reasons to be angry but we should never let that anger fester.
Ephesians 4"25-27 "…25 Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor, for we are all members of one another. 26 “Be angry, yet do not sin.” Do not let the sun set upon your anger, 27 and do not give the devil a foothold.…"
There is sinful anger in which those who are angry are jealous and thinking up things to be angry about to justify their hatred. There is anger that comes from contempt over someone's rules and boundaries.
In raising troubled children it is common for the children to assign the label of mean to the parents who have rules and boundaries. Even when those rules and boundaries are there to protect them as well as everyone else in the household. Many adoptive parents encounter an irrational anger toward them that is based in their memories of the natural parent who harmed them in some way.
The role of the "mean parent" is assigned to those who cannot be easily manipulated by the tactics of others. If you look back on your life and see that you attempted to honor God in the raising of your children and they interpreted your discipline and training as "mean", they most likely were in rebellion.
Those who do not like rules and standards are ones who will assign to others their own attitudes. There is need for repentance in the hearts of those who will not submit to authority and training that was ordained by God.
One of the very effective tactics of the narcissist is to accuse others of the very thing the narcissist is doing and the others are not. This brings frustration to the accused. Good news though, we do not have to be frustrated and we do not have to succumb to the tactics by reacting the same way a narcissist would react.
Often the narcissist pushes buttons they know will cause frustration in us that make them look like the innocent one. When we know our enemy, that is the devil who is twisting the minds of the narcissists we do not have to engage with those who will seek our ruin.
1 Corinthians 15:33-34 " 33 Do not be deceived: “Bad company corrupts good character.” 34 Sober up as you ought, and stop sinning; for some of you are ignorant of God. I say this to your shame.…"
We are living in very perilous times as 2 Timothy 3 says. These are times of "raging insanity", when many if not most things do not make good sense. Knowing the way people think and the way God wants us to think is vital to our last days here before Christ's return.
The challenge to remain faithful to God's principles while speaking boldly when confronted is continual and seems threatening. We can expect to have few friends. There will be a decreasing number of people who share our desire to obey God.
This rebellious age is full of people who will assign hate to those who are walking in righteousness while coddling and protecting those who love rebellion against God.
2 Peter 3:3-4
"Knowing this first of all, that scoffers will come in the last days with scoffing, following their own sinful desires. They will say, “Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation.”
Knowing all this about the last days should bring the born again believer great joy. Sound strange that all this wickedness would bring joy.....it is not the sin and irrational thinking that brings the joy, it is in knowing that when these things occur we will soon be going home.
God is going to deal with this mess in due time. In the mean time we have the strength of the Lord to endure and the hope of the promise of our home going.
Luke 21:27-28 "…27 At that time they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. 28 When these things begin to happen, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.” "
Brothers and Sisters its almost over, soon we will be at the marriage supper of the Lamb after which we will return with Christ. We will be with Him when He destroys the evil upon the earth.
There is no greater hope than this!!!!!
When a narcissist accuses you of being unkind because you won't think as they think or do what they do, they are really describing themselves.
Matthew 5:22, "But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother WITHOUT CAUSE shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire."
There are reasons to be angry but we should never let that anger fester.
Ephesians 4"25-27 "…25 Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor, for we are all members of one another. 26 “Be angry, yet do not sin.” Do not let the sun set upon your anger, 27 and do not give the devil a foothold.…"
There is sinful anger in which those who are angry are jealous and thinking up things to be angry about to justify their hatred. There is anger that comes from contempt over someone's rules and boundaries.
In raising troubled children it is common for the children to assign the label of mean to the parents who have rules and boundaries. Even when those rules and boundaries are there to protect them as well as everyone else in the household. Many adoptive parents encounter an irrational anger toward them that is based in their memories of the natural parent who harmed them in some way.
The role of the "mean parent" is assigned to those who cannot be easily manipulated by the tactics of others. If you look back on your life and see that you attempted to honor God in the raising of your children and they interpreted your discipline and training as "mean", they most likely were in rebellion.
Those who do not like rules and standards are ones who will assign to others their own attitudes. There is need for repentance in the hearts of those who will not submit to authority and training that was ordained by God.
One of the very effective tactics of the narcissist is to accuse others of the very thing the narcissist is doing and the others are not. This brings frustration to the accused. Good news though, we do not have to be frustrated and we do not have to succumb to the tactics by reacting the same way a narcissist would react.
Often the narcissist pushes buttons they know will cause frustration in us that make them look like the innocent one. When we know our enemy, that is the devil who is twisting the minds of the narcissists we do not have to engage with those who will seek our ruin.
1 Corinthians 15:33-34 " 33 Do not be deceived: “Bad company corrupts good character.” 34 Sober up as you ought, and stop sinning; for some of you are ignorant of God. I say this to your shame.…"
We are living in very perilous times as 2 Timothy 3 says. These are times of "raging insanity", when many if not most things do not make good sense. Knowing the way people think and the way God wants us to think is vital to our last days here before Christ's return.
The challenge to remain faithful to God's principles while speaking boldly when confronted is continual and seems threatening. We can expect to have few friends. There will be a decreasing number of people who share our desire to obey God.
This rebellious age is full of people who will assign hate to those who are walking in righteousness while coddling and protecting those who love rebellion against God.
2 Peter 3:3-4
"Knowing this first of all, that scoffers will come in the last days with scoffing, following their own sinful desires. They will say, “Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation.”
Knowing all this about the last days should bring the born again believer great joy. Sound strange that all this wickedness would bring joy.....it is not the sin and irrational thinking that brings the joy, it is in knowing that when these things occur we will soon be going home.
God is going to deal with this mess in due time. In the mean time we have the strength of the Lord to endure and the hope of the promise of our home going.
Luke 21:27-28 "…27 At that time they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. 28 When these things begin to happen, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.” "
Brothers and Sisters its almost over, soon we will be at the marriage supper of the Lamb after which we will return with Christ. We will be with Him when He destroys the evil upon the earth.
There is no greater hope than this!!!!!
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