Sunday, January 30, 2022
Pleading the Blood of Christ
"Pleading the blood of Jesus" is not Biblical. It comes from the word of faith movement and has no power, they are just words. It is Christ in us Who answers prayers and comforts us.
This is a Pentecostal idea scripture taken out of context and used as a mantra to ward of demons. We see no example of this in the scriptures.
This belief of "pleading the blood of Jesus" over things is a good example how one phrase has been taken out of context and used to mean something God never meant.
Revelation 12:11
"11 And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death."
Colossians 1:13
"13 He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son,"
The scripture referring to the blood of the Lamb has to do with the death and resurrection of Christ that did away with sin. The martyrs died proclaiming the death and resurrection of Christ, their faith in Him gave them the power by the Holy Spirit to endure death.
I cannot tell you the number of times and the number of beliefs that have been concocted from the Pentecostal movement that were nothing more than snatching one verse from its context, snatching another verse from another context and putting them together to make them say something God never said.
Beware of powerful sounding ideas using scripture twisting to make a new age paganistic magical idea.
Rather than pleading the blood, we ought to be seeking to obey Christ.
James 4:7
"7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you."
If someone is called to be a martyr for Christ they can plead the blood all day long but they will still die. It does not matter whether they say these three words, it only matters that they obey Him even unto death.
Cleansing a home from devils is a matter of prayer, not an unbiblical mantra.
It is good to be watchful in the terminology we use, making sure it is Biblical within its context.
The power in the blood is not something we say, it is something Christ did on the cross. He shed His blood for sinful man that whoever wants to follow Him will be saved because His sacrifice was accounted to all who desire to be changed into a new creation by Him.
Hebrews 7:25
"25 Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them."
James 4:7
"7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you."
We resist the devil through prayer and obedience to God, not through any mantra.
Colossians 1:13
"13 He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son,"
Devils flea when we resist them in prayer to our Heavenly Father in the name of Jesus Christ, but only if we are born-again.
James 4:6-8 "6 But He gives us more grace. This is why it says: “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” 7 Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.…'"
It is good to take every phrase we hear in church gatherings today and search the scriptures to see if it has a Biblical basis. Many ideas within the church today do not have a scriptural basis, they have been concocted by unsaved pretenders taking ideas from paganism and adding them to the body of Christ.
We live in a world that thinks if we have a "good idea" that sounds plausible we should use it to make people feel safe. Many of these good-sounding phrases and words come from the devil to distract us from the truth.
Rather than seeking God in truth through prayer and Bible reading, people will just throw out the phrase thinking they have pleased God. Its a sort of fast food mentality that requires no prayer or scripture study.
Walking with Christ is a battle continually against evil. If we want to be Spiritually safe we must pray and study His Word to know Him. If we know Him we will not be fooled by clever sounding phrases.
Seek Christ not popular phrases snatched out of their context.
Adrian Rogers Devotional
A Devotional from Adrian Rogers:
PRAY OVER THIS
"Repent therefore of this your wickedness, and pray God if perhaps the thought of your heart may be forgiven you. For I see that you are poisoned by bitterness and bound by iniquity.”
(Acts 8:22-23)
PONDER THIS
Do you know why so many churches have trouble? They are inhabited by bitter people who are in bondage. These people have met religion, but they’ve never met Jesus. They have never been broken at the foot of the cross. They’ve never laid their pride in the dust. They have come into a church, not for what they can give, but for what they can get. The Spirit of God is not in these people, and they are troublemakers everywhere they go because their religion has never satisfied them and it never can. They are disillusioned, they have unfulfilled desires, they got into religion for the wrong reason, and they never have satisfaction. Everywhere they go, they’re like Simon, full of bitterness and full of bondage. As Jesus reminded, those who know Him are not characterized most by bondage but by freedom.
What are some wrong reasons people might seek God today?
How can you know you are seeking Jesus for the right reasons?
PRACTICE THIS
Make a list of your most prominent desires right now. Assess if these things point to a life that honors God or one that seeks selfish gain.
"Repent therefore of this your wickedness, and pray God if perhaps the thought of your heart may be forgiven you. For I see that you are poisoned by bitterness and bound by iniquity.”
(Acts 8:22-23)
PONDER THIS
Do you know why so many churches have trouble? They are inhabited by bitter people who are in bondage. These people have met religion, but they’ve never met Jesus. They have never been broken at the foot of the cross. They’ve never laid their pride in the dust. They have come into a church, not for what they can give, but for what they can get. The Spirit of God is not in these people, and they are troublemakers everywhere they go because their religion has never satisfied them and it never can. They are disillusioned, they have unfulfilled desires, they got into religion for the wrong reason, and they never have satisfaction. Everywhere they go, they’re like Simon, full of bitterness and full of bondage. As Jesus reminded, those who know Him are not characterized most by bondage but by freedom.
What are some wrong reasons people might seek God today?
How can you know you are seeking Jesus for the right reasons?
PRACTICE THIS
Make a list of your most prominent desires right now. Assess if these things point to a life that honors God or one that seeks selfish gain.
Saturday, January 29, 2022
Trusting Christ that His Ways are Perfect
When we stop having expectations of others and begin trusting entirely in Christ for our love and companionship is when we become free.
Co-dependency is a state of continual fear that we must live up to the ideas and standards of others to be loved and accepted by them.
When this happens we know that the person we are so tied to can reject us at any time if we do not say, do or pretend to be exactly what they want us to be.
Christ Who lives in us is not like this, He knows what we are and still loves us. Christ never leaves those who have dedicated their lives to Him. He never treats us with hatred or contempt because we have not been perfect.
2 Timothy 2:12-14 "…12 if we endure, we will also reign with Him; if we deny Him, He will also deny us; 13 if we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself. 14 Remind the believers of these things, charging them before God to avoid quarreling over words, which succeeds only in leading the listeners to ruin.…"
If those we love reject us because of a disagreement or a perceived offense we know that people are like this but God is not this way. He loves us even while knowing we are not perfect.
When a family member or a friend chooses not to attempt to understand us or speak to us to resolve an offense then we can say we did what we could and leave it to God.
Those who are narcissists want us to ruminate and fester over things that would have been seen as insignificant by rational loving people. Narcissists love to make mountains out of molehills and then blame their target for the problem the narcissist created.
Those who love God do not easily take offense, nor do they wish to believe the worst about others.
1 Corinthians 13:4-6 "4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.
5 It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no account of wrongs.
6 Love takes no pleasure in evil, but rejoices in the truth."
I have met many narcissists and I have met many godly people who are sold out to Jesus Christ. The godly people are almost never angry and they do not see an offense around every corner, but the narcissist is this way, causing trouble continually where there need not be any trouble.
Why do narcissists seek out trouble where there need not be any? Its because they are so completely self-absorbed that they see the smallest matters as offenses against them. They will be angry when their target chooses their own way, merely not choosing the way of the narcissist is seen as a personal attack.
"1 Corinthians 10:24 No one should seek his own good, but the good of others."
Those who seek their own way without regard to the needs and feelings of others will be trouble makers over many things, mostly perceived without merit.
When we love someone we desire difficult matters to be resolved to continue in the relationship stronger than it was before.
What are the elements of love?
Patient, Kind, does not envy, does not boast is not proud, Not rude, not self-seeking, not easily angered, keeps no record of wrong, takes no pleasure in evil, this might include not enjoying gossip.
When we ponder closely each trait God says love has no part in, it can help us evaluate our own lives to see how we respond to situations with people. Do we think of the other person first making sure we were not any of these negative traits without attempting to make excuses for our own bad behavior?
It is astounding how narcissists can be rude and then blame their target for telling them they were rude. Rather than being ashamed for acting badly they become angry that they were confronted and accountable.
The more we confess our own bad attitudes, words and actions the less we will practice sin in our lives. Growing in holiness is a command of God. The only way to grow in holiness is to self-reflect asking God to show us where we fail and to confess to those we have offended so that we might be cleansed.
1 John 1:9 "9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."
James 5:15-16 "…15 And the prayer offered in faith will restore the one who is sick. The Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. 16 Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man has great power to prevail."
There cannot be healing of a relationship when the offender will not confess. Trust is lost when there is no confession and can only be restored when there is a confession of the offense, followed by a desire to be changed by Christ.
This can only happen through humility and brokenness over sin.
May we be humble enough to admit our failings and willing to act differently from the way we did before the confession.
A change in behavior is the only evidence that there was true contrition. However, if there is a temporary change as a form of covert manipulation without confession there is little expectancy that the offender was truly sorry and concerned about the relationship.
A narcissist might change their behavior hoping it will manipulate the offended to forgive them and continue the relationship. When this happens the offended party will not fully trust the narcissist, it is a pattern to change temporarily without having to confess.
If there is confession and a change in behavior then we can forgive and carry on the relationship as though the offense never happened.
Luke 17:3-4 "…3 Watch yourselves. If your brother sins, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him. 4 Even if he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times returns to say, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive him.”"
We must confess and repent, (change our mind about the sin) to be forgiven. When we have realized the act or words were sinful and confess then it is not likely that the offensive actions or words will continue. Those who see this happen are more likely and should forgive and carry on the relationship.
Bottom line: Humility and a desire to make right what was wrong is the only way for a relationship to continue, it is God's formula.
Authentic Christianity
When we are authentic Christians we are the same on the inside that we are on the outside. Our lifestyle reflects our faith in Christ.
Those who are confronted about their sin when they claim to be Christian and return this answer to you; "you don't know my heart" are revealing that their sinful actions are what is on the inside.
We cannot do on the outside that which is different from our character.
Kind loving people do not do rude things to people on a regular basis. If we do mess up we are deeply sorry and confess it to be cleansed.
Those who fight bitterly to defend their sin without any sense of remorse are not born again. They only say they are Christians but have never been changed into a new creation by Christ. Why do I say this?
Because: John 14:15 15 If you love Me, you will keep My commandments. 16 And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Advocate to be with you forever—…"
John 14:21
"Whoever has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me. The one who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and reveal Myself to him."
1 Corinthians 6:9-11
"Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God."
1 John 3:4-9
"Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; sin is lawlessness. You know that he appeared to take away sins, and in him there is no sin. No one who abides in him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him. Little children, let no one deceive you. Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous. Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. ..."
Friday, January 28, 2022
Respect vs Fear?
The "fear of God" is the beginning of wisdom. Why would "fear" beget wisdom? the reason is the word fear might more rightly be understood as "intense respect."
When we respect someone we want to know what they think about things. We want their counsel and instructions. We want to please those we respect, so there is a sense of fear of offending not because we will lose them but because we do not want to displease or offend them.
Ephesians 4:29-31 "…29 Let no unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building up the one in need and bringing grace to those who listen. 30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, in whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31 Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, outcry and slander, along with every form of malice.…"
There have been people I thought loved me over the years who were disrespectful and dismissive of me, I knew they didn't love me even though they might say they did. Many people equate blood relationships and emotional experiences with love, these things are not love. Love is a deep concern about the well-being of another and the relationship quality full of kindness.
The Holy Spirit is within us to help us with our relationship with God as well as with our fellow man. If we do not respect or honor God's principles then we cannot love Him as He wants to be loved and we will not obey the Holy Spirit When He speaks to us. This causes us to miss blessings and wonderful lessons.
When we respect someone we want to know what they think about things. We want their counsel and instructions. We want to please those we respect, so there is a sense of fear of offending not because we will lose them but because we do not want to displease or offend them.
Ephesians 4:29-31 "…29 Let no unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building up the one in need and bringing grace to those who listen. 30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, in whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31 Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, outcry and slander, along with every form of malice.…"
There have been people I thought loved me over the years who were disrespectful and dismissive of me, I knew they didn't love me even though they might say they did. Many people equate blood relationships and emotional experiences with love, these things are not love. Love is a deep concern about the well-being of another and the relationship quality full of kindness.
The Holy Spirit is within us to help us with our relationship with God as well as with our fellow man. If we do not respect or honor God's principles then we cannot love Him as He wants to be loved and we will not obey the Holy Spirit When He speaks to us. This causes us to miss blessings and wonderful lessons.
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