Clues to the Character of a Person

"Sometimes people pretend you're a bad person so they don't feel guilty about how they treated you!"

They will also gossip to others about how bad you are so they have allies in their lies.

Never take seriously those who want to believe something about you that is not true.

Those who love you would never treat you this way, the culprit behind all this is jealousy influenced by the implanted thoughts of the devil. 

Those who hate being corrected and hate instruction from God's Word will attempt to discredit us in order to justify their lies against us. 

Proverbs 12:1-2 

"Whoever loves instruction loves knowledge,
But he who hates correction is stupid.
2 A good man obtains favor from the Lord,
But a man of wicked intentions He will condemn."

What on Earth is the Millennium? | David Jeremiah

Legalist and their Scriptures Out of Context

Legalists snatch scriptures out of context to make them say what they want them to say. They pay little attention to the context of the passage and that passage in context with the rest of the Bible.

I once attended a lady's Bible study in which the leader asked the ladies to tell her what a particular passage means to them.

I raised my hand first to say that it is not a matter of how "I" see the passage, it is a matter of what God meant to tell me. There were blank stares all around while others raised their hands to tell what the passage meant to them personally, everyone had a different meaning and what God meant was entirely unimportant to them. When I left that study I never returned. I knew the truth would not be taught there.

I have also been judged about things the one who judged me knew nothing about. They wanted to believe things about me to elevate themselves and diminish me, but their ideas about me were nothing more than imaginations in their own mind. I am sure if you have narcissists in your life you have encountered this. Those who must elevate self to feel a sense of importance. There is no humility in the hearts of those who cannot feel whole unless they are judging and mocking others over matters they really know little about.

When we view the scriptures out of context depending on seeing what we want to fulfill our desired meaning, we are going to be led deeply astray.

Every verse must be in context with its passage and every passage with the rest of the Bible. This takes knowing the bible well and the desire to know God's heart.

Many people read the word of God with the mentality of accommodating their own personal idea of righteousness. This is why so many defend their sin and refuse to listen to correction. In other words, they are their own gods determining truth without regard to the One True God, His Son Jesus Christ and His Holy Spirit led teachings.

Many groups of people make up rules they determine to keep people acting rightly, that God never made. They go beyond what God said to make sure others will obey them, without regard to God changing the heart.

When we make rules God never made we are playing god. We should be teaching the Word of God without adding anything to it or taking anything from it. Everyone has their own idea about many things that seem right, but in making these rules for others they are attempting to control others.

Proverbs 14:11-12 "…11 The house of the wicked will be destroyed, but the tent of the upright will flourish. 12 There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death. "

"Prophesy" meaning to declare the word of God.

2 Peter 1:20-21

"20 Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.

21 For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost."

Revelation 22:18-19

"18 I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this scroll: If anyone adds anything to them, God will add to that person the plagues described in this scroll. 19 And if anyone takes words away from this scroll of prophecy, God will take away from that person any share in the tree of life and in the Holy City, which are described in this scroll."

Matthew 23:3-5 "…3 So practice and observe everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach. 4 They tie up heavy, burdensome loads and lay them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them. 5All their deeds are done for men to see. They broaden their phylacteries and lengthen their tassels.…"

We must never play god by adding rules to out of context scriptures to cause guilt, intimidation, manipulation, and diminishment of another human being. Adding to the Word extra rules to make a person become the way you want them to become is the height of arrogance and intolerable to God.

Matthew 23:4-6 "…4 They tie up heavy, burdensome loads and lay them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them. 5 All their deeds are done for men to see. They broaden their phylacteries and lengthen their tassels. 6 They love the places of honor at banquets, the chief seats in the synagogues,…"

There is pride involved in judging every little thing in someone's life to see if they are doing it perfectly enough for your liking. God hates this sort of pride.

Matthew 23:24-26 "…24 You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel. 25 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. 26 Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, so that the outside may become clean as well."

May those who love the Lord with all their heart seek the Holy Spirit, to be led by Him so that they are not burdened down with a desire to poke at others to feel superior. This need to be superior is a monstrous burden not only to the person doing it but to others they attempt to control. Jealousy drives these mentalities of control, it is not loving.

Love does not parade itself or attempt to control others. Love speaks the truth and leaves the results to God.

1 Corinthians 13:4-8

"4 Love is patient, love is kind, it is not jealous; love does not brag, it is not arrogant.

5 It does not act disgracefully, it does not seek its own benefit; it is not provoked, does not keep an account of a wrong suffered,

6 it does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth;

7 it keeps every confidence, it believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things."

Forcing, accusing, mocking, intimidation to win and other tactics are not present in a heart that uses these tactics. They are the devil's tools. If this has been you, elevating self to win over others, then please repent and begin to seek the Holy Spirit for His fruit.

Galatians 5:22-23

"22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,

23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law."

When we are led by the Holy Spirit we enjoy loving others His way. Self is not dominant in our lives, the Holy Spirit is in control.

You may notice that the narcissist often thinks you are bad in many ways, but they are projecting, this means they think you are this way because it is the way they are and they expect you to be just like them. Therefore they dismiss the real you, ignoring it and replace their thoughts about you with their own flawed character.

This is why the devil tempted Christ to turn the rocks into bread, he thought Christ would do what the devil would do, that is give into temptation. The devil refused to see Christ as He was, that is God!!!!!

God's Words are Life!

So true ...
Proverbs 15:4 “Gentle words bring life and health; a deceitful tongue crushes the spirit.” Proverbs 16:24 “Kind words are like honey–sweet to the soul and healthy for the body.”

Friend or Foe, No In Between for the Narcissist

To a narcissist, everyone is either a friend or an enemy. Things are either black or white, there can be no in between. This is why they cannot work out difficulties with friends and family. In order to work out difficulties, one must be able to admit their own flaws as well as the strength of the other guy. Narcissists cannot see the strengths in those with whom they are in competition.

A loving kind friend sees the side of their friend on matters before they even see their own side. With the narcissist, the side of the other person is not valid enough to even consider. Devaluing those who do not agree with them is their favorite tactic.

A friend is someone the narcissist can get supply from, these are people who elevated them as special, agree with them on everything and praise them constantly. Since no one could be completely themselves in a relationship like this there must remain only superficial friends, nothing deeper than the weather or gossiping about those they consider inferior to them.

The enemy is the one who does not do the bidding or treat them as they would any other person. It doesn't matter how kind you are to a narcissist, if you do not bow to their every whim and validate their every action, you become their enemies.

In order to be friends with a narcissist, you must lose yourself and become whatever they want you to be. One cannot walk with Christ and the narcissist at the same time.

I feel bad for the narcissist because they can never grow meaningful deep relationships with anyone. They live a life of continual boasting and adventure to maintain a superior position to everyone around them. They are in a state of internal sadness, this is why they do not smile or laugh as most people to at the simple things in life.

Imagine the burden to live as though you must impress people all the time in every encounter or visit. Not only is there the need to be superior there is the need to devalue anyone they believe might have risen above them. Even if the person is not above them or doesn't think they are, the narcissist must attempt to cause reactions in those for whom they have contempt to keep up their mentality of superiority.

All of these tactics of the narcissist are influences of the devil. He places these insecurities and child-like thoughts in those who are not walking with Christ. Remember the narcissist has the mentality of a bratty six-year-old, having tantrums and anger whenever they don't get their way.

We see this in every venue, the family structure, the church, schools, and even in politics. This phenomenon of narcissism is growing more intense and more frequent as we move toward the Tribulation.

The good news is that anyone who walks with Christ does not have to take any of this personally, it is a problem in the narcissist and has nothing to do with us. However, we must learn not to respond in kind to those who attempt to provoke us. To be able to do this we must walk in the Spirit, allowing the Holy Spirit to speak through us or keep us in silence if that is what is needed.

It is only pride that makes us feel that we have to answer every challenge or defend ourselves. We never have to defend ourselves, Christ will be our defense when it is needed.

It is also helpful to remember that a narcissist cannot be taught by good reasoning. Attempting to instruct a narcissist to resolve things only feeds them to become worse. Our responses are food for them. When we do not respond, when we do not answer back they are dumbfounded, unable to know what to do next.

2 Timothy 3:1-5 " But realize this, that in the last days difficult (ragingly insane) times will come. 2 For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, slanderers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, 4 treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5 holding to a form of godliness although they have denied its power; avoid such people as these.

Why do I write so much about this subject, you might ask? Because this is becoming common, we must know how to handle it so that we do not become like them. The more we are around a particular system the more we act the way our constant companion's act. This is why we must be vigilant to surround ourselves with godly Spirit-filled believers who walk in love.

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."

The prosperity spoken of here is not about material possessions or money, it is about Spiritually growing in holiness. Unsavory and wicked friends hold us back from walking the way we want to walk, that is in obedience to Christ and in Love.

Confessing is the Way to Grow

We do not confess daily for salvation, but for cleansing.

We are to be growing in holiness until we are taken out of this world. We cannot grow in holiness unless we confess.

1 John 1:9 This passage was for the born again believer.

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."

Those who will not confess do not grow, remaining spiritual infants until they learn to humble themselves and confess their sins.

Ad Hominem Arguments

Has anyone encountered this and been stunned by it?

"Ad hominem" argument: when someone attacks you personally instead of reasoning with you. Attacking the person instead of the problem.

This is also known as a deflection when someone refuses to engage in a discussion to solve a problem, then attacks your character instead of addressing the issue being discussed.

No logic, fact, or reason is involved in these "ad hominem" arguments, which are irrational and meaningless.

Someone who does this is really not very bright, they believe they're winning the argument but really all they are doing is expressing their immaturity.

Using "ad hominem" tactics to discredit and disrespect them. Those who use this tactic do not realize they are revealing something important about their maturity level, they actually think they are winning something by frustrating others.

Those who use this tactic are out of control themselves, they are frustrated and desperate because they feel an addiction to winning over others and they are aware they cannot win in a reasonable discussion so they distract their target with foolish nonsensical "ad hominem" arguments, with the hope of unnerving the one who only wants to resolve a problem.

Fear is what drives the immature characters who must win over learning something new in life. Admitting their flaw or need for correction would be unthinkable for those who use character assassination to control someone else.

This is abusive behavior without purpose or resolution of a problem. To attack someone's character in a false argument is the same as name-calling, merely to frustrate and anger the target.

Immature people must be the center of attention at all times. IF they cannot gain attention from their own accomplishments they will do it by starting a fight with someone.

If we do not praise the one who craves their attention, they will boast about themselves. If they do not get the attention they seek they likely will do something outrageous to bring the attention of the group back on themselves.

People who act like this are not in need of attention, they are addicted to it like a drug they cannot function as a normal person without it.

Immature people never think things through they operate almost entirely on an emotional level based on their temporary feelings.

Immature personalities will shut you down when you want to discuss a matter about something they are doing that is a problem. They often avoid any discussion to resolve matters.

They laugh at us for trying to resolve something, or completely ignore you. This is called emotional avoidance. When I encounter someone like this I either stay away from them or frame a story about a person I met who does certain things, hoping they will see themselves in the story.

Nathan did this with Kind David to show him the seriousness of his sin with Bathsheba. He told David a story about a man who stole his neighbor's lamb. At the end of the story, David was angry that the person in the story did this and wanted to know who it was. Then Nathan said to David; "you are that man."

In the case of King David, he was broken and repented that he had sinned so terribly. Sadly in our culture, people are not humble enough to be broken, they almost never repent and they even justify what they did knowing they had sinned.

There is little we can do in a culture such as ours that hates instruction, correction or the idea of repentance. When we have done what we should as led by the Holy Spirit, that is the time to walk away and leave that person to the Lord.

Those who run from their sins and flaws refusing to admit their need to change never grow until they do. Some people go into their elder years without ever growing emotionally, they are stuck in a six-year-old mentality.

Do not be one who remains emotionally and spiritually infants into old age.

1 Peter 2

As Newborn Babes

"1 Therefore, rid yourselves of all [a]malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander, 2 and like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation, 3 if you have tasted the kindness of the Lord."