Sunday, November 20, 2022

Only God Has the Truth!

There is no such thing as "being too heavenly-minded to be any earthly good", this was a lie I was told by a missionary couple when I was a young believer.
Hebrews 12:1-2
"Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. "
The more heavenly-minded we are the greater our witness that can save people from hell. This earth is no the goal, salvation through Jesus Christ for heaven is the goal. Being led by the Holy Spirit in all things are the goal.
Sadly this same couple told me we should compromise the gospel for the sake of unity.
Colossians 2:8 "8 See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ."
God teaches the opposite of these things. Sadly this couple were missionaries for many years and were in their elder years back then.
These kinds of teachings are why Christianity has caused the gospel to be compromised and diluted, moving rapidly into false Christianity.
Another elderly Christian woman told me "religion is a personal thing." This same "Christian" told me we should not tell people they are wrong." She also told me it was alright to worship angels.
2 Timothy 4:2 "2 preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching."
1 Corinthians 12:12-27 We are all members of one body, all are accountable to everyone else.
Another Christian elderly woman told me we should not judge others.
John 7:24.
"Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment"
When I have reflected back on all the wrong things I was taught by "Christian" people I am astounded by their lack of knowledge of God's Word and their intensity of conviction over these wrong beliefs. I never saw any of them quoting the Word of God, it was always what the world was saying and what was popular in the culture.
When I was a new believer a "Christian" man expressed to me that he wondered if Islam had the same God as ours. This man had been reading the Bible for much of his life, looking down on me because I was a new believer refusing to listen when I said that the Muslim god was not the same God as ours. As a new believer, I had more wisdom than a man who had been in the church all his life, at one time I looked up to him because of the self-righteous persona he exuded, but when this happened my eyes were opened a little more about his brand of Christianity and how much the Christianity of all these people was not that of the Bible.
One Christian woman presented to me a 75 or more page binder on how to pray, as though the instruction from Jesus Christ was not enough. The ritual of walking the neighborhoods with the instruction not to speak to anyone we meet along the way was against what the Bible said to do as believers. This huge binder instructed the people to go to the streets and pray in front of others, to cross bridges praying over bridges and in front of buildings. God never instructed any of these things.
How Christ told us to pray was far more simple and unencumbered than what man had concocted.
Matthew 6:5-15
5 “And when you pray, you are not to be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners so that they will be seen by people. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full.
6 But as for you, when you pray, go into your inner room, close your door, and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.
7 “And when you are praying, do not use thoughtless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard because of their many words.
8 So do not be like them; for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.
The Lord’s Prayer
"9 “Pray, then, in this way:
‘Our Father, who is in heaven,
Hallowed be Your name.
10 Your kingdom come.
Your will be done,
On earth as it is in heaven.
11 Give us this day our daily bread.
12 And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13 And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil.’"
The instructions on how to pray were simple not complicated, there is no need to have a seminar on how to pray, just ask God and read His Word.
It is inevitable that when we are told unbiblical things by "Christians" we will be excluded, mocked and gossiped against for standing for the truth of God.
In each case when someone said something that was not in the bible or against the teachings of God, I was reviled in some way by those who have attended churches all their lives. They chose to pretend that I could not know the truth unless I thought as they thought.
When the entire Christian culture has taken on unbiblical or extra-biblical ideas coming from books not authored by God, their doctrine will be heavily peppered with paganism and psychology. Both elements devised by the devil to confuse those who are not seeking Christ as they have been commanded to do.
1 Corinthians 2:16
“For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ."
Romans 12:2
"Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect."
Philippians 2:5
"Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus,"
1 Thessalonians 5:21
"21 Test all things; hold fast what is good."
Be more dedicated to Christ than you are to any person. When we are fearful about people liking us we cannot please Christ.
Hebrews 11:16 "6 And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who approaches Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him."
Galatians 1:10
"For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ."
Romans 12:2
"Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect."

Friday, November 18, 2022

We are living in the Last Days!!!!

Genesis 6:5 "Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually."
Matthew 24:37-39
"37 But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
38 For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark,
39 And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be."
We are living in these end days right now. Those who are born-again understand the wickedness of the times but I am convinced not as fully as we should.
We have been living with cultural Christianity and its false doctrines for so long they seem as real as our need to eat food to survive. Those who abandon what they have been taught in the culture to follow Jesus Christ are excluded from fellowship in a couple of ways. They are ignored, mocked and left out of the cliques, set aside demonstrating that they are not wanted or appreciated.
The following passage is a description of the end times church gathering in which the people attending want "religion" that comforts them according to their own minds but do not want to submit to Christ.
2 Timothy 3:1-5
"3 But realize this, that in the last days difficult 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."
Notice verse 5 in which God said they will have a form of godliness according to their own culture and mindset but deny the Word of God. They twist the Word, hate those who love it, and respond to truth-tellers with angst to silence them. When they cannot be silenced they are brutal in their attacks against their character, turning others within hearing range against those who love the truth.
2 Thessalonians 2:10 "and with all the deception of wickedness for those who perish, because they did not accept the love of the truth so as to be saved."
We live in a sudo-Christian culture that wants to make up its own rules and force others to adhere to their false doctrines rather than seeking to honor and obey God.
God is very clear about divorce and remarriage but cultural Christianity refuses to believe what God said about these matters. I have been judged as "unloving", "unkind" and other things without specifics because I believe the Bible that is counter to the modern Christian culture.
If you are confused about whether or not you did something wrong one of the clues that manipulated you is the tactic of calling into question your character without any specifics of what you did. Generalizations that do not give details about what you have done or said are common, designed to cause the believer to worry about their own character diverting the attention from the wrong doctrine that is being taught to cause false guilt brought on by these manipulators.
As soon as you bring scripture to bear on the discussion that proves the manipulators wrong they will begin to attack your character as though you did something wrong. Don't fall into this trap of false guilt to silence you. Stand strong and firm allowing the Holy Spirit to convict these pretenders or weak Christians to become guilty before the Lord for their hatred of the Word.
Jeremiah 7:26-28 "…26Yet they would not listen to Me or incline their ear, but they stiffened their necks and did more evil than their fathers. 27When you tell them all these things, they will not listen to you. When you call to them, they will not answer. 28Therefore you must say to them, ‘This is the nation that would not listen to the voice of the LORD their God and would not receive correction. Truth has perished; it has disappeared from their lips.…"
When a nation refuses the word of the Lord but pretends to love HIm, God will take off His protection and begin the process of the downward spiral into paganism. He turns them over to their own lust of self-worship and foolish thinking, in which they cannot think righteously any more.
If you doubt my words just believe God and tell the truth about all that people are accepting in the church, standing back and watching the carnage as they resist the truth and turn others against the truth.
When we tell the truth of the Word of God and people become angry, their anger is not our fault, even though they will try to make it about us, it is their choice to become angry against God. We are merely the messengers, their anger comes against us but it is really against God Himself.
Isaiah 65:12
"I will destine you for the sword, and you will all kneel down to be slaughtered because I called and you did not answer, I spoke and you did not listen; you did evil in My sight and chose that in which I did not delight."
Even worse than refusing to obey God is the mentality of anger at God's principles, resistance to Him and His heart.
1 Corinthians 2:16
“For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.”
Those who wish to follow the culture to be able to sin without guilt will become very angry with those who want to search the scripture to find the heart of God. We do not want to agree with anything that is counter to His Word. We do not want to believe anything that is against the teachings of Christ.
Remember that Christ is the word, the Author of the entire Bible from Genesis to Revelation. While the old testament was not written to us but to the Jews, it was written for our learning and supporting the New Testament principles applicable to the Christian life without all the rituals.
When Christ fulfilled the rituals of the Jews the rituals were done away with but the principles learned from those rituals still remained without the rituals. Because we no longer "follow" the ten commandments, the commandment giver lives in us. We need no commandments because we have the Holy Spirit to guide us into holiness, we love His commandments, they dwell within us and convict others of sin.
Do we need to practice eating when we are hungry? NO, because our body tells us when to eat, we need not follow the practice of eating, it is a natural function of a body designed by God. Just as we need not "practice" the ten commandments they dwell within us as a practice of life without having to think about it.
I do not have to think, "I better not steal", because there is no desire within me to steal, God removed that desire of the old nature when He made us into a new creation. We hate sin and want to be guided by the Holy Spirit.
Too many people are relying on their own strength to keep the commandments rather than being transformed by Christ into a new creation. We cannot obey the commandments withou the Holy Spirit. When we fail because of our flesh then God covers our sin with His blood as born-again believers and disciplines us to bring us back into obedience.
Hebrews 12:5-7 "…5 And 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. 6 For the Lord disciplines the one He loves, and He chastises every son He receives.” 7 Endure suffering as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father?…"
God does not throw away His disobedient children, however He does chastise us, bringing on consequences that redirect us as well as showing brothers and sisters in Christ that there are consequences for disobedience and lost rewards in heaven.
1 Corinthians 3:16-23
"16 Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?
17 If anyone destroys the temple of God, God will destroy that person; for the temple of God is holy, and that is what you are.
18 Take care that no one deceives himself. If anyone among you thinks that he is wise in this age, he must become foolish, so that he may become wise.
19 For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in the sight of God. For it is written: “He is the one who catches the wise by their craftiness”;
20 and again, “The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are useless.”
21 So then, no one is to be boasting in people. For all things belong to you,
22 whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas, or the world or life or death, or things present or things to come; all things belong to you,
23 and you belong to Christ, and Christ belongs to God."
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Wednesday, November 16, 2022

Pride of the Pharisees can be seen in our day too!!!

Matthew 23:3-5 "…3So 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. 5 All their deeds are done for men to see. They broaden their phylacteries and lengthen their tassels.…"
Luke 11:42-44 "…42 Woe to you Pharisees! You pay tithes of mint, rue, and every herb, but you disregard justice and the love of God. You should have practiced the latter without neglecting the former. 43 Woe to you Pharisees! You love the chief seats in the synagogues and the greetings in the marketplaces. 44 Woe to you! For you are like unmarked graves, which men walk over without even noticing.”…"
Mark 12:38
"In His teachings, Jesus also said, "Watch out for the scribes. They like to walk around in long robes, to receive greetings in the marketplaces,"
Many "Calvinist" spout their allegiance to Calvin as though to impress others with their knowledge of him. Calvin is nothing, Christ is everything.
1 Corinthians 3:3-5 "…3 for you are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and dissension among you, are you not worldly? Are you not walking in the way of man? 4 For when one of you says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” are you not mere men? 5 What then is Apollos? And what is Paul? They are servants through whom you believed, as the Lord has assigned to each his role.…"
Worldly people "name-drop" to appear superior, to develop a persona that they think people will admire, and yet a godly Christian will not be impressed with this, it is nothing, even worse than nothing because it detracts from Christ.
Remember not to follow a man on any level, follow only Christ.

False Doctrines Abound in this time of Apostasy

Once a man has been convinced of false doctrines such as Calvinism, Lutherism, Reformation, and other grave errors it is nearly impossible to convince them of the Biblical truth.
Christians need to stop placing their trust in dead men and unbiblical ideas brought by those dead men and begin to ask Christ for the truth.
We are to believe Christ and His Word, not manmade religion based on ideas added to the scriptures to make them sound Biblical.
Calvinism is a religion based on the teachings of Calvin, not the Bible.
Lutherism is a religion based on the teachings of Luther not on the Bible.
Catholicism is a religion based on the teachings of the Popes not on the Bible.
If you find yourself unable to mention a man when speaking of God then you have an idol in your heart.
Colossians 2:8
"See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ."
John 14:6
"Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."
God never said Calvin is the way, Luther is the way or any other man was the way to salvation, It is only Christ, so quote Him and not the popular icons of our age who love to feel self-elevated by cozying up to someone famous. Pride is involved in this mess of man-made religion.
Micah 6:8
"He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?"
2 Timothy 2:15
"Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth."
Do not be impressed when someone "name-drops" a dead person to elevate themselves, simply say something like; "I follow Christ only."