Where have all the respect and all the manners gone? With "self-esteem" comes a lack of respect and manners.
Saturday, February 15, 2020
The Growing Disrespect
It was the practice many years ago for a man to stand up when a woman entered the room. This sign of respect is the same respect for women that Christ taught in His Word.
Nowadays men not only do not stand when a woman enters, but they will also even take a seat while a woman is standing without offering her the chair.
Real men recognize the value of a woman and will make sure she is taken care of before they attend to their own needs. It used to be the practice for a man to rise from his seat on the bus to offer it to a woman who was standing.
I have little respect for the men these days because of their deliberate contempt for women. They have taken the opportunity provided by women's lib to excuse their devaluation of women. In earlier days a man would never tell a dirty joke or use a cuss word in the presence of a woman. Now we have women talking and acting like drunken sailors thinking this gainst them respect when in fact it has fostered all the disrespect in the men. Now we have the emergence of anger on the part of young people when you correct their language or disrespect.
Women's lib did nothing to foster respect for women in our culture. They managed to remove all the respect that was already there in favor of being treated just like a man treats another man. What a travesty this has been in demeaning and devaluing women.
Decent men had respect for women, it is very rare in our culture to meet a younger man who understands this concept of elevating women to the status of special importance.
I was in a coffee shop a few years ago waiting for my special coffee. I don't go to these places often because they are expensive. However, on this occasion, I was on my way to somewhere else and was early so I thought I would stop in and sit for a while until it was time to go.
I ordered my coffee and went to sit down to wait for it. While I was sitting in a chair that had been empty I was approached by a man in his thirties who asked me to please get up because he wanted to sit near a friend who was in the same little alcove. I wouldn't have thought anything of it had he left his bag there but even then a respectful man would have quietly picked up his bag and moved it and another chair to sit with his friend.
Just one generation ago a younger man would never have asked an elderly lady to get up and give him a chair without offering her another one. There were no other chairs available nearby so the young man's rudeness left me standing to wait. Since I had no chair to relax in while waiting I didn't stay when my coffee was ready.
This may seem petty to some people who are used to disrespect in this culture but for me, it was disrespect for your elders. I see this kind of attitude often in young people today. They do not listen respectfully, they argue and chastise to be superior.
I gave the foolish young man his chair without a word because in our culture today the young people who are brasen enough to ask an old lady to get out of a chair would have also fought in anger to get it. I had no desire to fight over a chair. Then I prayed for him as I left the coffee shop, that God would somehow teach him manners.
Also, I noticed that there were other men in the room who watched him do this but said nothing to him about it unless it was after I left. No one defended me, helped me or spoke up for me. Welcome to our world today, disrespect abounds and no one has the strength to stand up for what is right.
When no one stands up for righteousness the whole world becomes unrighteous.
Our practice when we were young was to listen to an elderly person patiently without a word even if we disagreed with them. If we chose to speak after hearing, we would do it with respect and never with rage or anger. Now nearly all the younger people respond in anger when we disagree, or when we say they are wrong about something.
Telling someone they are wrong is the new hate speech. Once in a while, I meet a young person who has been well trained in manners and will do the right thing, but they are rare.
Nowadays men not only do not stand when a woman enters, but they will also even take a seat while a woman is standing without offering her the chair.
Real men recognize the value of a woman and will make sure she is taken care of before they attend to their own needs. It used to be the practice for a man to rise from his seat on the bus to offer it to a woman who was standing.
I have little respect for the men these days because of their deliberate contempt for women. They have taken the opportunity provided by women's lib to excuse their devaluation of women. In earlier days a man would never tell a dirty joke or use a cuss word in the presence of a woman. Now we have women talking and acting like drunken sailors thinking this gainst them respect when in fact it has fostered all the disrespect in the men. Now we have the emergence of anger on the part of young people when you correct their language or disrespect.
Women's lib did nothing to foster respect for women in our culture. They managed to remove all the respect that was already there in favor of being treated just like a man treats another man. What a travesty this has been in demeaning and devaluing women.
Decent men had respect for women, it is very rare in our culture to meet a younger man who understands this concept of elevating women to the status of special importance.
I was in a coffee shop a few years ago waiting for my special coffee. I don't go to these places often because they are expensive. However, on this occasion, I was on my way to somewhere else and was early so I thought I would stop in and sit for a while until it was time to go.
I ordered my coffee and went to sit down to wait for it. While I was sitting in a chair that had been empty I was approached by a man in his thirties who asked me to please get up because he wanted to sit near a friend who was in the same little alcove. I wouldn't have thought anything of it had he left his bag there but even then a respectful man would have quietly picked up his bag and moved it and another chair to sit with his friend.
Just one generation ago a younger man would never have asked an elderly lady to get up and give him a chair without offering her another one. There were no other chairs available nearby so the young man's rudeness left me standing to wait. Since I had no chair to relax in while waiting I didn't stay when my coffee was ready.
This may seem petty to some people who are used to disrespect in this culture but for me, it was disrespect for your elders. I see this kind of attitude often in young people today. They do not listen respectfully, they argue and chastise to be superior.
I gave the foolish young man his chair without a word because in our culture today the young people who are brasen enough to ask an old lady to get out of a chair would have also fought in anger to get it. I had no desire to fight over a chair. Then I prayed for him as I left the coffee shop, that God would somehow teach him manners.
Also, I noticed that there were other men in the room who watched him do this but said nothing to him about it unless it was after I left. No one defended me, helped me or spoke up for me. Welcome to our world today, disrespect abounds and no one has the strength to stand up for what is right.
When no one stands up for righteousness the whole world becomes unrighteous.
Our practice when we were young was to listen to an elderly person patiently without a word even if we disagreed with them. If we chose to speak after hearing, we would do it with respect and never with rage or anger. Now nearly all the younger people respond in anger when we disagree, or when we say they are wrong about something.
Telling someone they are wrong is the new hate speech. Once in a while, I meet a young person who has been well trained in manners and will do the right thing, but they are rare.
The Nature of a Cult
Like me, you have probably heard about cults who brainwash those they entice into believing their family members are dangerous to them.
We have a similar phenomenon among families in which those in positions of authorities, such as fathers and mothers, convince the siblings of the scapegoat that something is wrong with the scapegoat. This is referred to as "family mobbings."
The leaders poke continually at the scapegoat until the scapegoat is confused about their place in the family wondering what they did to deserve the contempt coming from the parents that have been passed down from them to the siblings.
I hear about this problem all the time. Many people who were loving empathetic people attempted to show their love only to be treated as if it was foolish and even phony.
One example of this is a young girl who was at the beach with a youth group for the day. She had been on the beach with her friends watching someone who had been swept out to sea with his girlfriend on lounge floaters.
Someone came up to her to tell her that one of the people in the water was her brother. He and his girlfriend were unable to get back to shore because the tide was going out and the waves between two rocks were crashing so violently that the two could not come back. The coast guard was called and the brother and his friend were rescued.
The sister was so alarmed at seeing her brother out to sea that she began to cry. When he was rescued she ran up to him to give him a hug, his response was to push her away as though she were foolish for hugging him. He said emphatically, "get away." Never was there an apology for treating his sister this way but the same mentality remained all of their lives. Keep in mind that the sister and brother were only a year and a half apart in age and they were in their teen years when this happened. Sadly the target in this story was treated with this kind of contempt all her life until this very day. Everything she said, everything she did and even the good choices and accomplishments was treated with the same contempt. Usually, the accomplishments came in the form of "ghosting", that is to completely ignore it as though it were unworthy of mention.
The sister loved her brothers and spent a lifetime of trying to be accepted by them only to be rebuffed at the attempts.
When someone is in a family cult that has operated in a way that constantly validates the family and demeans the scapegoat, that scapegoat learns she will never be accepted, especially when these kinds of things continue happening into old age.
As these narcissists grow older choosing spouses they also choose those who learn to treat the scapegoat in the same way through watching how their spouse treats the scapegoat, they too learn to act the same way as their spouse.
"More is caught than taught" is a phrase I have learned over the years that describe the reason others will get on board with the narcissist without even knowing why the target is being treated the way they are with extended family.
Those who are non-thinkers will follow the crowd without any or with little information merely to fit into the crowd that validates them if they do and say all the things the narcissist wishes.
This pack mentality exists in churches too. Many people act the way others want them to in order to be a member of the pack. Often they don't even know why they act the way they do, it's without thinking that allows them to remain trapped in these cultic systems.
When being accepted by the group means more than truth, the group is willing to treat others as insignificant and even exacting revenge on those who will not fall in line with them. There is no love in this sort of cult. There is only a superficial kindness predicated on an elevation of the cult. The cult must take priority over anyone else. The cult is contemptuous toward those who dare to have friends outside of that cult.
The apostate church is emulating the world more than Christ if Christ to any degree. The world looks on outward appearances and acceptance to groups rather than to Christ. The measure of their goodness is based on the rules they follow, the people they know and the things they say, but not on Christ.
The story of the swept out to sea teen demonstrates the principle that love is rejected when openly displayed unless it is a validation of the ways of the narcissist. Love embarrasses a narcissist, they see it as a weakness. This is the reason we see so little of it in the church today.
The apostate church is all about appearances and friendliness never about intimacy and transparency. Transparency demands we tell the truth even when it isn't pretty. Notice too that narcissist do not spend time with ill people. They have an aversion to those they perceive as weak, illness to them is a weakness. They do not like to admit they are ill and will not spend time with others who are ill.
Happiness, play and good appearances are the goal of the narcissist. Anyone who does not meet with these superficial values will not be accepted into the narcissistic cult.
When we see these things absent from the church, "love, joy, peace, gentleness, kindness, and self-control" absent from the cult gathering we know the Holy Spirit is not there either. Since these things are the character qualities of the Holy Spirit they cannot exist without Him.
Galatians 5:22-23
"22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things, there is no law.
As born again believer we can see these things, they are character qualities that can be seen even when there are not actions. The Holy Spirit in us is able to discern them in other born again believers.
In these last days, we might be tempted to be confused that perhaps we are the problem in our relationships. If we have done wrong or have wrong attitudes the Holy Spirit will convict us and redirect our attitude to be able to produce right actions.
However, when we cannot see what we have done to deserve the contempt from the narcissist if we do not understand the vicious mentality of these end times.
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."
In the turning away their ears the narcissists will become angry and vengeful, assigning to us the evil that the narcissist is that we are not practicing. The narcissist desires for us to b be as evil as they are, so they work to make it appear so to others around them. If they cannot cause us to rage as they do, they will lie to others to influence their perception of us.
Romans 2:8
"But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow wickedness, there will be wrath and anger."
James 3:16
"For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every evil practice."
When you have prayed and sought the Word of God to evaluate yourself, making sure you are not sinning, then you can evaluate the circumstance and the person who attacks you unjustly.
It is easy to ignore feelings and even eliminate them when dealing with a narcissist when you are assured by God that you did nothing to deserve it.
The apostles and Jesus Christ Himself experienced false accusations and undeserved anger toward them.
Matthew 7:5 "You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye."
When we are born again we do not fear to take a good look at our own actions and words, we desire to be pleasing to God. If we are shown to be wrong by the conviction of the Holy Spirit then we are glad to confess to being cleansed, carrying on to continue in a different direction.
1 John 1:9
"9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."
Those who are not born again will fight and argue to defend their sin, they know they are sinful but want to pretend they are not so. Each rejection of rebuke from another believer and resistance to the Holy Spirit is further hardening the heart against the truth.
IF there is no confession there is no growth, if there is a refusal to confess there is no forgiveness.
We have a similar phenomenon among families in which those in positions of authorities, such as fathers and mothers, convince the siblings of the scapegoat that something is wrong with the scapegoat. This is referred to as "family mobbings."
The leaders poke continually at the scapegoat until the scapegoat is confused about their place in the family wondering what they did to deserve the contempt coming from the parents that have been passed down from them to the siblings.
I hear about this problem all the time. Many people who were loving empathetic people attempted to show their love only to be treated as if it was foolish and even phony.
One example of this is a young girl who was at the beach with a youth group for the day. She had been on the beach with her friends watching someone who had been swept out to sea with his girlfriend on lounge floaters.
Someone came up to her to tell her that one of the people in the water was her brother. He and his girlfriend were unable to get back to shore because the tide was going out and the waves between two rocks were crashing so violently that the two could not come back. The coast guard was called and the brother and his friend were rescued.
The sister was so alarmed at seeing her brother out to sea that she began to cry. When he was rescued she ran up to him to give him a hug, his response was to push her away as though she were foolish for hugging him. He said emphatically, "get away." Never was there an apology for treating his sister this way but the same mentality remained all of their lives. Keep in mind that the sister and brother were only a year and a half apart in age and they were in their teen years when this happened. Sadly the target in this story was treated with this kind of contempt all her life until this very day. Everything she said, everything she did and even the good choices and accomplishments was treated with the same contempt. Usually, the accomplishments came in the form of "ghosting", that is to completely ignore it as though it were unworthy of mention.
The sister loved her brothers and spent a lifetime of trying to be accepted by them only to be rebuffed at the attempts.
When someone is in a family cult that has operated in a way that constantly validates the family and demeans the scapegoat, that scapegoat learns she will never be accepted, especially when these kinds of things continue happening into old age.
As these narcissists grow older choosing spouses they also choose those who learn to treat the scapegoat in the same way through watching how their spouse treats the scapegoat, they too learn to act the same way as their spouse.
"More is caught than taught" is a phrase I have learned over the years that describe the reason others will get on board with the narcissist without even knowing why the target is being treated the way they are with extended family.
Those who are non-thinkers will follow the crowd without any or with little information merely to fit into the crowd that validates them if they do and say all the things the narcissist wishes.
This pack mentality exists in churches too. Many people act the way others want them to in order to be a member of the pack. Often they don't even know why they act the way they do, it's without thinking that allows them to remain trapped in these cultic systems.
When being accepted by the group means more than truth, the group is willing to treat others as insignificant and even exacting revenge on those who will not fall in line with them. There is no love in this sort of cult. There is only a superficial kindness predicated on an elevation of the cult. The cult must take priority over anyone else. The cult is contemptuous toward those who dare to have friends outside of that cult.
The apostate church is emulating the world more than Christ if Christ to any degree. The world looks on outward appearances and acceptance to groups rather than to Christ. The measure of their goodness is based on the rules they follow, the people they know and the things they say, but not on Christ.
The story of the swept out to sea teen demonstrates the principle that love is rejected when openly displayed unless it is a validation of the ways of the narcissist. Love embarrasses a narcissist, they see it as a weakness. This is the reason we see so little of it in the church today.
The apostate church is all about appearances and friendliness never about intimacy and transparency. Transparency demands we tell the truth even when it isn't pretty. Notice too that narcissist do not spend time with ill people. They have an aversion to those they perceive as weak, illness to them is a weakness. They do not like to admit they are ill and will not spend time with others who are ill.
Happiness, play and good appearances are the goal of the narcissist. Anyone who does not meet with these superficial values will not be accepted into the narcissistic cult.
When we see these things absent from the church, "love, joy, peace, gentleness, kindness, and self-control" absent from the cult gathering we know the Holy Spirit is not there either. Since these things are the character qualities of the Holy Spirit they cannot exist without Him.
Galatians 5:22-23
"22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things, there is no law.
As born again believer we can see these things, they are character qualities that can be seen even when there are not actions. The Holy Spirit in us is able to discern them in other born again believers.
In these last days, we might be tempted to be confused that perhaps we are the problem in our relationships. If we have done wrong or have wrong attitudes the Holy Spirit will convict us and redirect our attitude to be able to produce right actions.
However, when we cannot see what we have done to deserve the contempt from the narcissist if we do not understand the vicious mentality of these end times.
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."
In the turning away their ears the narcissists will become angry and vengeful, assigning to us the evil that the narcissist is that we are not practicing. The narcissist desires for us to b be as evil as they are, so they work to make it appear so to others around them. If they cannot cause us to rage as they do, they will lie to others to influence their perception of us.
Romans 2:8
"But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow wickedness, there will be wrath and anger."
James 3:16
"For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every evil practice."
When you have prayed and sought the Word of God to evaluate yourself, making sure you are not sinning, then you can evaluate the circumstance and the person who attacks you unjustly.
It is easy to ignore feelings and even eliminate them when dealing with a narcissist when you are assured by God that you did nothing to deserve it.
The apostles and Jesus Christ Himself experienced false accusations and undeserved anger toward them.
Matthew 7:5 "You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye."
When we are born again we do not fear to take a good look at our own actions and words, we desire to be pleasing to God. If we are shown to be wrong by the conviction of the Holy Spirit then we are glad to confess to being cleansed, carrying on to continue in a different direction.
1 John 1:9
"9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."
Those who are not born again will fight and argue to defend their sin, they know they are sinful but want to pretend they are not so. Each rejection of rebuke from another believer and resistance to the Holy Spirit is further hardening the heart against the truth.
IF there is no confession there is no growth, if there is a refusal to confess there is no forgiveness.
Friday, February 14, 2020
Weeping with Our Friends
Matthew 28:19-20 "…19Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, 20and teaching them to obey all that I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”"
God commanded us as born again believers to teach ALL nations to obey Him.
What are God's commands? All that He wrote in the Bible are commands. Even though all things were not written to us they were written for us, to know the heart of God and recognize the power of Christ in us to be able to obey.
2 Timothy 4:2
"2 preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction."
Jesus Christ has all truth for all time, He does not change nor do His commands change. They are for our own good, to protect us from evil, to instruct us in righteousness. Because His righteousness works for a better existence.
When we trust in Christ we are also trusting that He knows best for us, what works well, what glorifies Him and what leads to heaven.
Those who see God's blessings of instruction as burdens do not understand that His blessings are His teachings, they spare us from making terrible decisions that harm us and others.
The man or woman of God who seeks God for all matters will know the amazing blessings, the strength, and provision that comes from obeying His principles.
God never made rules to oppress us, they are all there to help us. Sadly too many people don't understand what "help" looks like. They think help is encouragement in whatever they want. God's help is for our spiritual and emotional strength through all the nuances of life that come our way. There is great strength in being able to go through tough things with joy still trusting in Christ.
Did you know you can have great joy even in the midst of the pain, not happiness, but the joy that we know God has a purpose even if we cannot see that purpose? We can have that joy in the middle of our tears and agony. I know this is impossible to believe for those who are not born again.
The joy is there even if our feelings tell us it is gone. We know because as soon as there is relief we are grateful to God and rejoice for the moments of relief.
Job is our example, He never denied God all through His trial. He did question Him but never once did He accuse God of anything or turn His back on God.
Job 2:7-10 "7 Then Satan went out from the presence of the Lord and smote Job with sore boils from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head.
8 And he took a potsherd to scrape himself while he was sitting among the ashes.
9 Then his wife said to him, “Do you still hold fast your integrity? Curse God and die!”
10 But he said to her, “You speak as one of the foolish women speaks. Shall we indeed accept good from God and not accept adversity?” In all this Job did not sin with his lips."
Notice in the following verses Job's friends wanted to encourage him but they made false accusations that Job must have sinned because of his infirmities. They sat with him for a long time before doing this but wearied of the sitting and began attempting to evaluate falsely God's purpose in all of it. This is common in Pentecostal circles too, a typical human reaction to the problems of others is to try to guess why illness befalls someone.
No one can guess why people fall into illness unless it was caused specifically by sinful activities that are clear. It is always risky and sinful to attempt to guess why someone has fallen ill when no sin is blatantly apparent.
Job 2:11-13 "11 Now when Job’s three friends heard of all this adversity that had come upon him, they came each one from his own place, Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite; and they made an appointment together to come to sympathize with him and comfort him.
12 When they lifted up their eyes at a distance and did not recognize him, they raised their voices and wept. And each of them tore his robe and they threw dust over their heads toward the sky.
13 Then they sat down on the ground with him for seven days and seven nights with no one speaking a word to him, for they saw that his pain was very great."
His friends deeply cared about Job but misunderstood the purposes of God and the heart of Job.
Reading the rest of Job we see God assuring him that God knows his plight, He created the world and has control over this. We also see Job reproving his friends for wrongly judging him.
There is so much more to the book of Job that remind us that God is in control, even our illness and trials are seen by Him and have a purpose for us as well as to glorify God.
God commanded us as born again believers to teach ALL nations to obey Him.
What are God's commands? All that He wrote in the Bible are commands. Even though all things were not written to us they were written for us, to know the heart of God and recognize the power of Christ in us to be able to obey.
2 Timothy 4:2
"2 preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction."
Jesus Christ has all truth for all time, He does not change nor do His commands change. They are for our own good, to protect us from evil, to instruct us in righteousness. Because His righteousness works for a better existence.
When we trust in Christ we are also trusting that He knows best for us, what works well, what glorifies Him and what leads to heaven.
Those who see God's blessings of instruction as burdens do not understand that His blessings are His teachings, they spare us from making terrible decisions that harm us and others.
The man or woman of God who seeks God for all matters will know the amazing blessings, the strength, and provision that comes from obeying His principles.
God never made rules to oppress us, they are all there to help us. Sadly too many people don't understand what "help" looks like. They think help is encouragement in whatever they want. God's help is for our spiritual and emotional strength through all the nuances of life that come our way. There is great strength in being able to go through tough things with joy still trusting in Christ.
Did you know you can have great joy even in the midst of the pain, not happiness, but the joy that we know God has a purpose even if we cannot see that purpose? We can have that joy in the middle of our tears and agony. I know this is impossible to believe for those who are not born again.
The joy is there even if our feelings tell us it is gone. We know because as soon as there is relief we are grateful to God and rejoice for the moments of relief.
Job is our example, He never denied God all through His trial. He did question Him but never once did He accuse God of anything or turn His back on God.
Job 2:7-10 "7 Then Satan went out from the presence of the Lord and smote Job with sore boils from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head.
8 And he took a potsherd to scrape himself while he was sitting among the ashes.
9 Then his wife said to him, “Do you still hold fast your integrity? Curse God and die!”
10 But he said to her, “You speak as one of the foolish women speaks. Shall we indeed accept good from God and not accept adversity?” In all this Job did not sin with his lips."
Notice in the following verses Job's friends wanted to encourage him but they made false accusations that Job must have sinned because of his infirmities. They sat with him for a long time before doing this but wearied of the sitting and began attempting to evaluate falsely God's purpose in all of it. This is common in Pentecostal circles too, a typical human reaction to the problems of others is to try to guess why illness befalls someone.
No one can guess why people fall into illness unless it was caused specifically by sinful activities that are clear. It is always risky and sinful to attempt to guess why someone has fallen ill when no sin is blatantly apparent.
Job 2:11-13 "11 Now when Job’s three friends heard of all this adversity that had come upon him, they came each one from his own place, Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite; and they made an appointment together to come to sympathize with him and comfort him.
12 When they lifted up their eyes at a distance and did not recognize him, they raised their voices and wept. And each of them tore his robe and they threw dust over their heads toward the sky.
13 Then they sat down on the ground with him for seven days and seven nights with no one speaking a word to him, for they saw that his pain was very great."
His friends deeply cared about Job but misunderstood the purposes of God and the heart of Job.
Reading the rest of Job we see God assuring him that God knows his plight, He created the world and has control over this. We also see Job reproving his friends for wrongly judging him.
There is so much more to the book of Job that remind us that God is in control, even our illness and trials are seen by Him and have a purpose for us as well as to glorify God.
Thursday, February 13, 2020
The Life of the Born Again Believer
If we were sinless then God lied when He said this to the church:
1 John 1:9
"9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."
And this:
Hebrews 12:5-7 "…5And you have forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons: “My son, do not take lightly the discipline of the Lord, and do not lose heart when He rebukes you. 6For the Lord disciplines the one He loves, and He chastises everyone He receives as a son.” 7Endure suffering as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father?…"
It makes no sense for God to tell us not to sin if we could not sin after salvation. It also makes no sense that God would have to discipline His children if they never sinned.
Our Spirit is God's Spirit in us when we become born again. He made us into a new creation, that is the Spirit within us. However, we are trapped in this body of death that tempts us as well as the devil who whispers lies in our ears to tempt us.
We can resist our flesh and the temptations of the devil through the power of the Holy Spirit. At times we are weak, when we are the Lord disciplines and prods for us to return to obedience. A born again believer is never comfortable in their sin.
IF we ignore the Holy Spirit in us He will go silent and allow us the consequences of our bad choices. Our prayers will not be heard.
1 Thessalonians 5
"Live in peace with one another. 14 We urge you, brethren, admonish the unruly, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with everyone.
15 See that no one repays another with evil for evil, but always seek after that which is good for one another and for all people. 16 Rejoice always;
17 pray without ceasing;
18 in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. Do not quench the Spirit;
20 do not despise prophetic utterances.
21 But examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good;
22 abstain from every form of evil.
23 Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
24 Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will bring it to pass."
If a born again believer never sinned the commands to stop sinning, the commands to admonish one another and the commands to examine ourselves would mean nothing.
Sanctification is different from Salvation. After we are born again God begins His work in us to continually cleanse us from the sin that dwells in our corrupt body. It is a process all the way to the end of our lives.
2 Thessalonians 2
"But we should always give thanks to God for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth."
Romans 6:14
"14 For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace."
We do sin but we have no excuse because we can avail ourselves to Christ Who lives in us. No child of God lives a lifestyle of continual sin. No child of God enjoys their sin, they are convicted and eventually confess to be cleansed as we see in 1 John 1:9.
1 John 3:8-10 "…8 The one who practices sin is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the very start. This is why the Son of God was revealed, to destroy the works of the devil. 9 Anyone born of God refuses to practice sin, because God’s seed abides in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God. 10 By this the children of God are distinguished from the children of the devil: Anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is anyone who does not love his brother.…"
Another indication of a born again believer is how much they love the brethren.
1 John 3:13-14 "…13So do not be surprised, brothers, if the world hates you. 14We know that we have passed from death to life because we love our brothers. The one who does not love remains in death."
1 John 1:9
"9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."
And this:
Hebrews 12:5-7 "…5And you have forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons: “My son, do not take lightly the discipline of the Lord, and do not lose heart when He rebukes you. 6For the Lord disciplines the one He loves, and He chastises everyone He receives as a son.” 7Endure suffering as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father?…"
It makes no sense for God to tell us not to sin if we could not sin after salvation. It also makes no sense that God would have to discipline His children if they never sinned.
Our Spirit is God's Spirit in us when we become born again. He made us into a new creation, that is the Spirit within us. However, we are trapped in this body of death that tempts us as well as the devil who whispers lies in our ears to tempt us.
We can resist our flesh and the temptations of the devil through the power of the Holy Spirit. At times we are weak, when we are the Lord disciplines and prods for us to return to obedience. A born again believer is never comfortable in their sin.
IF we ignore the Holy Spirit in us He will go silent and allow us the consequences of our bad choices. Our prayers will not be heard.
1 Thessalonians 5
"Live in peace with one another. 14 We urge you, brethren, admonish the unruly, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with everyone.
15 See that no one repays another with evil for evil, but always seek after that which is good for one another and for all people. 16 Rejoice always;
17 pray without ceasing;
18 in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. Do not quench the Spirit;
20 do not despise prophetic utterances.
21 But examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good;
22 abstain from every form of evil.
23 Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
24 Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will bring it to pass."
If a born again believer never sinned the commands to stop sinning, the commands to admonish one another and the commands to examine ourselves would mean nothing.
Sanctification is different from Salvation. After we are born again God begins His work in us to continually cleanse us from the sin that dwells in our corrupt body. It is a process all the way to the end of our lives.
2 Thessalonians 2
"But we should always give thanks to God for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth."
Romans 6:14
"14 For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace."
We do sin but we have no excuse because we can avail ourselves to Christ Who lives in us. No child of God lives a lifestyle of continual sin. No child of God enjoys their sin, they are convicted and eventually confess to be cleansed as we see in 1 John 1:9.
1 John 3:8-10 "…8 The one who practices sin is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the very start. This is why the Son of God was revealed, to destroy the works of the devil. 9 Anyone born of God refuses to practice sin, because God’s seed abides in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God. 10 By this the children of God are distinguished from the children of the devil: Anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is anyone who does not love his brother.…"
Another indication of a born again believer is how much they love the brethren.
1 John 3:13-14 "…13So do not be surprised, brothers, if the world hates you. 14We know that we have passed from death to life because we love our brothers. The one who does not love remains in death."
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