Choosing to be Wise or Choosing to be a Fool

Proverbs 18:1-2 "1 He who isolates himself pursues selfish desires; he rebels against all sound judgment. 2 A fool does not delight in understanding, but only in airing his opinions."

Proverbs 18:3

With a wicked man comes contempt as well, and shame is accompanied by disgrace.

Ecclesiastes 10:3

Even as the fool walks along the road, his sense is lacking, and he shows everyone that he is a fool.

Proverbs 1:7,22

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction…

Proverbs 17:16

Wherefore is there a price in the hand of a fool to get wisdom, seeing he hath no heart to it?

Psalm 1:1,2

Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful…

If we wish to become wise we must spend out time in the Word of God and with other people who desire to be wise according to the Bible too.

If we spend too much time with ungodly unwise people we will become like them or we enjoy their company because we are already like them.

Pharisees Abound in these Last Days

Have you ever encountered someone who accuses you of many bad attitudes that others have not seen in you?

It is common for narcissists to assign to us their own sinful character. They cannot repent or face their sin to confess it to be cleansed because of pride so they accuse others of their own sinful attitude and reactions.

We are seeing more of this because we are living in the end times. Even in the days when Jesus Christ walked the earth the "religious leaders" accused Christ of doing His miracles by the power of the devil.

These self-righteous religious leaders were assigning to Christ their own sinful hearts.

Matthew 23:1-31 "23 Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and to His disciples,

2 saying: “The scribes and the Pharisees have seated themselves in the chair of Moses.

3 Therefore, whatever they tell you, do and comply with it all, but do not do as they do; for they say things and do not do them.

4 And they tie up heavy burdens and lay them on people’s shoulders, but they themselves are unwilling to move them with so much as their finger.

5 And they do all their deeds to be noticed by other people; for they broaden their phylacteries and lengthen the tassels of their garments.

6 And they love the place of honor at banquets, and the seats of honor in the synagogues,

7 and personal greetings in the marketplaces, and being called Rabbi by the people.

8 But as for you, do not be called Rabbi; for only One is your Teacher, and you are all brothers and sisters.

9 And do not call anyone on earth your father; for only One is your Father, He who is in heaven.

10 And do not be called leaders; for only One is your Leader, that is, Christ.

11 But the greatest of you shall be your servant. 12 Whoever exalts himself shall be humbled, and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted."

They love being called with the title "pastor" to appear superior to others.

Matthew 23:13-29

Eight Woes

13 “But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you shut the kingdom of heaven in front of people; for you do not enter it yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in.

15 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you travel around on sea and land to make one proselyte; and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves."

These pastors instil pride in the people for elevating them as their leader rather than the Holy Spirit. These people take the place of the Holy Spirit in many indoctrinated people who love religion but do not love Christ.

Matthew 23:16-24

“Woe to you, blind guides, who say, ‘Whoever swears by the temple, that is nothing; but whoever swears by the gold of the temple is obligated.’

17 You fools and blind men! Which is more important, the gold or the temple that sanctified the gold?

18 And you say, ‘Whoever swears by the altar, that is nothing; but whoever swears by the offering that is on it is obligated.’

19 You blind men, which is more important, the offering or the altar that sanctifies the offering?

20 Therefore, the one who swears by the altar, swears both by the altar and by everything on it.

21 And the one who swears by the temple, swears both by the temple and by Him who dwells in it.

22 And the one who swears by heaven, swears both by the throne of God and by Him who sits upon it."

23 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier provisions of the Law: justice and mercy and faithfulness; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others. 24 You blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel!"

25 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside they are full of robbery and self-indulgence.

26 You blind Pharisee, first clean the inside of the cup and of the dish, so that the [z]outside of it may also become clean."

27 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness.

28 So you too, outwardly appear righteous to people, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness."

29 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs for the prophets and decorate the monuments of the righteous,

30 and you say, ‘If we had been living in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partners with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’

31 So you testify against yourselves, that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets.

32 Fill up, then, the measure of the guilt of your fathers.

33 You snakes, you offspring of vipers, how will you escape the sentence of hell?"

Yes, there are modern day Pharisees in most church gatherings today. Those in the pews do not recognize them because they have been elevated to "mediators between God and man" in the minds of those who do not know their Bibles and to those who have no interest in seeking the Holy Spirit.

Most people are content to have the "spiritual leaders" tell them what to believe and who to follow, but they are not the spiritual leaders of the born-again believers, Christ is that for everyone Who has the Holy Spirit living in them. No man takes priority over the Holy Spirit nor does any man dictate or rule over another born-again believer, this is also the job of the Holy Spirit.

John 16:13 says, “When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears (from the Father) he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come”

We know the hearts of men because the Holy Spirit shows us, we know what is coming in the future because the Holy Spirit has spoken in His Word. We do not add to scripture with new information we merely read what God said already in His Word and He enlightens our understanding. We need no new visions or dreams about the future to be content with what Christ has already given us in His Word. We believe Him and that is the walk of faith.

If you follow any man you will find yourself depending on that man for your spirituality often leading to idolatry.

God's Ways are Higher than our Ways

This morning I was pondering the world around us that has little to no understanding about God's ways or His principles.

Even among believers who gather in buildings, there is little knowledge or interest in what God said in His word. Most people who say they are Christians spend their time constructing a belief system based on those who have been trained by men rather than being led by the Holy Spirit.

John 16:13 "…12I still have much to tell you, but you cannot yet bear to hear it. 13 However, when the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all truth. For He will not speak on His own, but He will speak what He hears, and He will declare to you what is to come. 14He will glorify Me by taking from what is Mine and disclosing it to you.…"

This passage was written to the disciples but it is also for us. It was written for all born-again believers to expect that the Holy Spirit Who comes to live in us will speak to us personally.

Our mediator between us and God is Christ Jesus Who lives in us. No other person is that mediator for each of us. Our husbands are not our mediators between us and God, priests are not this, pastors are not this, and absolutely no one else is this mediator for us.

The Holy Spirit uses many means to speak to us, through our thoughts, our dreams, and our life experiences. Nothing that happens to the born-again believer is without purpose and lessons brought by the Holy Spirit, but only if we want Him to speak to us. He does not force anyone to listen to Him.

1 Thessalonians 5:19-22

"19 Do not quench the Spirit, 20 do not utterly reject prophecies, 21 but examine everything; hold firmly to that which is good, 22 abstain from every form of evil."

When we have a question our first response should be to go to God, not to anyone else. If we are in a discussion with someone who is godly and knows the Bible we must take what they say to the Bible to make sure what is said was also said by God.

Acts 17:11-12 "11 Now the Bereans were more noble-minded than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if these teachings were true. 12 As a result, many of them believed, along with quite a few prominent Greek women and men.…"

If we choose not to listen to God we miss a lesson and may even suffer some consequences that we could have avoided which sometimes bring devastating results for our disobedience., even lifelong results.

This is a "cultural Christian" generation that believes their own thoughts are above God's, so this culture changes what God says to fit their own desired beliefs. We have fashioned a "religious system" based on man's understanding for man's results rather than following what Christ taught us in His Word. And, without seeking the Holy Spirit for the understanding.

Many "cultural Christians" interpret the Bible in terms of social and fleshly interests instead of praying for the understanding to be able to know the heart of God in what He said.

Matthew 15:7-9 "…7 You hypocrites! Isaiah prophesied correctly about you: 8 These people honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me. 9 They worship Me in vain; they teach as doctrine the precepts of men.’ ”…"

Mark 7:12-13 "…12 he is no longer permitted to do anything for his father or mother. 13 Thus you nullify the word of God by the tradition you have handed down. And you do so in many such matters.”

Most traditions of the modern Christian church do not honor God but make those who follow them feel all squishy inside with the trappings of rituals and decorations for their own enjoyment.

Fleshly feelings take priority over truth in this modern psychologically infused system overrun with the bacteria of human blemished and flawed reasoning.

This is why few people can learn the truths of God. The truths of God convict of sin, warn, teach, and always come against the teachings of men.

Believers who love the Word of God swim upstream against the current of popular secularized Christianity. Rarely can we convince modern Christians of the truth when they have already been indoctrinated with the cultural bent of the modern church based on feelings and experiences over truth. Walking on eggshells to prevent hurt feelings will always lead to error.

Galatians 5:16

"But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh."

Galatians 5:17

"For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do."

1 John 2:16

"For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world."

The 5 Points that Led Me Out of Calvinism

Why do most Christians resist Calvinism?

The Lies of the Narcissist

When a narcissist cannot manipulate you into anger they will then begin attacking your delivery because they know you cannot prove you were not angry they will accuse you of having a distasteful "tone."

Narcissists rely on accusations that we cannot prove to manipulate us and others into believing we did something wrong. We see this as much in the church setting now as we do in the world.

Since hypersensitivity to criticism is common now we see many more tactics that are unreasonable, irrational and out and out lying to intimidate us into silence.

We also will see the narcissist criticize us for telling the truth but refuse to be corrected themselves.

When we encounter someone like this it is time to remove ourselves from them. There can be no good coming from an encounter with a narcissist whose only goal is to win, discovering truth is not important to them, only winning.

I call it an encounter rather than a discussion because it is never about discovering the truth with these people it is mostly an agonizing banter of foolish sidestepping truth while accusing us of our tone. They never address "what," we said and they never answer questions directly.

When we have answered the narcissist they will claim we didn't have an answer. In other words, they accuse us of what they are doing and we are not.

There is nothing to be gained in an encounter with a narcissist.

2 Timothy 3 describes them and God tells us what to do about it; "avoid such people." And, keep in mind these people have a form of religion but deny God in their attitudes and actions.

2 Timothy 3:1-5

Difficult Times Will Come

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."

Shame and Sorrow Brings Repentance

Anyone who tells people they don't have to be broken over their sinfulness to be saved is bringing a false gospel. Avoid them and expose them.

Psalm 51:17

"17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;

A broken and a contrite heart, God, You will not despise."

2 Corinthians 7:9-10 "…9 And now I rejoice, not because you were made sorrowful, but because your sorrow led you to repentance. For you felt the sorrow that God had intended, and so were not harmed in any way by us. 10 Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation without regret, but worldly sorrow brings death."