Believe Christ not People

There are so many things I was raised to believe and sadly passed on to my children that were not Biblical but fit into cultural Christianity very well.

When I began to see things that didn't make sense to me, as a result of reading the Bible and praying for wisdom from the Holy Spirit after I trusted Christ, those questionable things began to enlarge so intensely that I became repulsed by them.
The confusion came when everyone I knew believed the things I was raised with and were resistant to questioning them because, "everyone else followed them so they must be right" or so church attendees expressed to me from time to time.

 
I was accused of arrogance because I didn't have a seminary degree so I was nobody capable of hearing from God. As I began to realize most people were not depending on the Holy Spirit, they were depending on college-educated people who themselves were unteachable by anyone but those professors at those colleges.
The traditions of men are so powerful, dominating the minds that have been trained by them, that intense guilt sets in when those traditions are challenged. There is little faith in the power of the Holy Spirit Who is called our "Teachers."

 
When we finally have the courage to ask God to show us truth even if it means being maligned and rejected by others, the floodgates of understanding and wisdom emerge.

 
Once we have seen the truth and dedicated ourselves to it and Christ, our eyes can never be closed again. There is no going back to the old ideas, they are repugnant to us because they are not truth.

 
When we begin to see clearly the truth it becomes like an addiction to us, we want more and all of what God has for us to learn. It is only then that God will continue exposing lies and imparting truth.

Everyone can have this wisdom but they have to ask God and they must to be willing to discard anything they have learned over the years which is false.
In removing all the false teachings we will be faced with opposition, even if we don't tell anyone else they will see our life very differently from what it was before and it will irritate them.

 
James 1:4-6 "…4 Allow perseverance to finish its work, so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. 5 Now if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. 6 But he must ask in faith, without doubting, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind."

Proverbs 2:6
"For the LORD gives wisdom; from His mouth come knowledge and understanding."

Matthew 7:7-8
"Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you. / For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened."

We must never settle for the opinions of others who think they know the truth. They may know some truth but most have only what they have been trained to believe and are impervious to anything different from what they were trained to believe.

It is the Holy Spirit we must trust for the truth, He is the very essence of Truth because He is the Spirit of Christ.

 
John 16:13 "But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come."

I am convinced from my personal interactions with Christians that most of them will say they believe in the Holy Spirit but will not consult with Him, they trust only their "pastors", themselves and others but not in Christ.

 
John 14:26
"But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have told you."

John 15:26
"When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father—the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father—He will testify about Me."

When the Lord made known clearly to me the power of Christ in me through the Holy Spirit I could no longer trust a man. I listen to preachers, I enjoy those who are Biblical but I place my trust only in Christ. When a preacher speaks the truth I rejoiced, when a preacher speaks untruth I grieve and reject that message that was wrong.

 
Colossians 1:15-23
15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation: 16 for by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones, or dominions, or rulers, or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him.

17 He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.
18 He is also the head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything.
19 For it was the Father’s good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him,
20 and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross."

Why would anyone claim to be a Christian trust in anyone or anything else knowing Christ is the creator of the world and is called the Word AND, lives in us?!!!!!

Misfits in the World

If you love Jesus Christ with all your heart, soul, and mind, you will be a misfit among family and even in most church settings.

You will be treated contemptuously with dismissiveness, subtle ignoring, and even mockery because you are not like those others who all blend with one another.

The love and acceptance everyone else enjoys will not include you. Some may even be friendly to you but exclude you when the others show up.

Any attempt to engage in a conversation with the others will be met with empty stares and disregard as though they never heard your comments or think that you said something outrageous when it was merely Biblical.

The interesting thing is "the others" don't want you to be or do anything, but they want you to show up. A long time ago God enlightened me about this dynamic. I asked God why "the others" wanted me to show up at the gathering but extended no respect while I was there, the answer came back loudly and clearly, "they want you to come so you can see them ignoring you."

If we don't show up at the gatherings of superficial friendliness, we are seen as not validating those who wish to damage and disable our confidence. They have no tolerance for those who are different from them as we walk in our own assurance about truth and good old-fashioned horse sense. The group thinkers are intimidated by those who have confidence in what they believe and can stand alone with Christ.

There is no validation from the world for the Christ-follower. If anyone says they are a Christian but are cursed with popularity I have to believe they are compromising in something to remain well-liked by the group-thinkers.

We know this is true because of what God told us in His word about how people would treat us when we are completely dedicated to Christ.

Matthew 10:22 "22 You will be hated by everyone because of My name, but the one who perseveres to the end will be saved."

John 15:18-21

"If the world hates you, understand that it hated Me first. If you were of the world, it would love you as its own. Instead, the world hates you, because you are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. / Remember the word that I spoke to you: ‘No servant is greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will persecute you as well; if they kept My word, they will keep yours as well."

This is what is happening to all of us who are willing to disregard the world and embrace the truth of Christ. He is called "the WORD", He is the Author of the Bible, and every command and principle are our marching orders and instruction for this life.

Those who use the Bible as a book of good suggestions will ignore parts of His word and misinterpret other parts to fit into their desired belief. They are dishonest people, claiming to love Christ while spurning anyone who suggests we follow Him and what He has written.

There is no more freedom than to walk with Christ no matter how we are treated by the world, even the "Christian worldly system" that has devalued Christ on many levels while claiming to love Him. Most Christians today like the idea of Christ as the lover and protector but refuse to face that He is also a God of justice and great wrath for those who refuse to love His Word.

Matthew 15:8-9

"8 ‘This people honors Me with their lips,

But their heart is far away from Me.

9 And in vain do they worship Me,

Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’”

John 16:1-4

“I have told you these things so that you will not fall away. They will put you out of the synagogues. In fact, a time is coming when anyone who kills you will think he is offering a service to God. They will do these things because they have not known the Father or Me."

Notice the passage in John, "They will put you out of the synagogues", it reminds me of what is going on right now in the organized churches of our day. If we challenge these groups to obey the Word of God, who claim to be Christian, we are put out in the sense that we are ignored and secretly derided in gossip to keep others from listening to us.

I know this might sound strange, but I praise God that He opened my eyes to these tactics of the devil to keep people who claim to be Christian from seeking Christ. Most people who say they are Christians don't know the Bible and have many false beliefs they think are in the Bible but are not there. They would rather listen to their favorite "pastor" than seek Christ themselves in prayer and Bible study.

My advice to any born-again believer is to stop accepting everything a preacher says and know the Bible well enough that you will be able to discern when a preacher has misrepresented Christ on some level. When we do this we can listen while taking what is true and openly proclaiming what is false so that others will be warned about the errors, while using Scripture to prove every point.

The world hates to be accountable to anyone or anything, they are rebellious and contemptuous toward truth even while claiming they have the truth.

When we know these things we can walk in joy and peace that God is with us as we navigate through all the muck on this earth before He takes us Home.

1 Timothy 1:18-20 "…18 Timothy, my child, I entrust you with this command in keeping with the previous prophecies about you, so that by them you may fight the good fight, 19 holding on to faith and a good conscience, which some have rejected and thereby shipwrecked their faith. 20 Among them are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan to be taught not to blaspheme.…"

Brothers and Sisters, walk confidently with Christ as you ignore the noise of those who are not walking with Christ.

Believing God Alone

Sometimes it is overwhelming to the authentically born-again believer as they watch all the lies and deceptions that have crept into the organized church system of today.

Once someone has been trained all their life through continual repetition, to believe something it is very hard to bring the truth to them, they resist bitterly as though the truth-teller is a heretic without knowledge of the truth.

Even when those who have been raised in the false system are exposed to the truth they fight against it because it is so unfamiliar to them.

This brings to mind a saying I have heard as a young child. Until now I wasn't sure what it meant but it seems to fit the modern church age in these last days before Christ comes for the church. That phrase is; "familiarity breeds contempt." Is it possible that those who are contemptuous are those who worship familiarity and reject truth if it does not make them feel comfortable and happy?

Perhaps the meaning of that phrase; "familiarity breeds contempt" ought to be translated as; "those who love familiarity are contemptuous toward anything new that they don't understand."

Instead of praying and asking God for wisdom, people tend to stay with what is familiar even if it has no truth to it at all and reject those who clarify things to express truth.

We are seeing this daily in our interactions with others. The most resistance to truth I have seen has been among "Christians" who don't know the Bible but think they do and who will not ask God to show them the truth.

The best way to discern truth is to read the Bible with the desire for God to show us. Without this there can be no godly discernment, everything is acceptable that pleases us and sounds good.

Judges 21:25 In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes.

Proverbs 14:12

"There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death."

Proverbs 21:2

"All a man’s ways seem right to him, but the LORD weighs the heart."

Deuteronomy 12:8

"You are not to do as we are doing here today, where everyone does what seems right in his own eyes."

Someone might say, "I do this for God, He knows my heart." I would say to that person, "did you ask God, or did you do what you like and declare it was for God?"

God cares that we obey Him. Our sacrifices for Him that He never commanded are often if not always for the purpose of elevating self, feeling good about ourselves and our personal pleasure. In other words, we lie to ourselves that it was for God but in our hearts it was for ourselves.

I have watched those who claim to do worldly things for God deny the principles of God but claim what they do and what they like that God never told them to do, is for God.

Satan is so very clever, he told Eve she could be like God, doing her own thing her own way without Him and she would be happier. Sadly she feel into it, disobeyed God and mankind fell bitterly into a sinful nature. If Eve was guilty of this so can all of us be guilty of it. It is only Salvation through Christ that we can reject the ways of the devil and embrace the commands and principles of Christ.

May born-again believers begin to search God's Word for His truth and ask the Holy Spirit to enlighten their eyes to never again believe the false doctrines they learned, replacing the lies with the truth.

This will take the strength of God because they will be rejected by nearly everyone around them, even their own families will hate them for telling the truth.

Luke 21:15-17

"15 for I will provide you eloquence and wisdom which none of your adversaries will be able to oppose or refute. 16 But you will be betrayed even by parents, brothers and sisters, other relatives, and friends, and they will put some of you to death, 17 and you will be hated by all people because of My name."

The Messiah - Prophecy as Proof Part One

Deception on Steroids

This (Christmas) holiday is the greatest deception in the history of the world given by satan to distract while pretending to be about Christ.

So many people think if they do things their own way and say it is for God it is blessed.

The truth is the devil used this same distraction in the garden when he fooled Eve into believing she could be like God doing things her own way as long as she claimed it was for God and pleased herself.

Reprint from later this week:

Perhaps, it would be better to celebrate and remember Christ in the Supper He gave us instead of His birthday He did not give us.

Luke 22:19-20

"19 And when He had taken some bread and given thanks, He broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is My body, which is being given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” 20 And in the same way He took the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup, which is poured out for you, is the new covenant in My blood."

Christ didn't come just to be born, He came to die for the sins of the world. He was born, He ate food, He preached in the synagog as a young boy, He preached on the hillsides and near the sea of Gallalee, He healed the blind and lame and much more, so why don't we celebrate all those things?

I celebrate every day as I remember Him and all He did and does for me. I don't need a special day with glitter and glitz that brings pleasure to me. I have Him living inside of me that is pleasure enough.

The world celebrates birthdays in alignment with pagan celebrations not because God told them to do it.

The wise men came to Jesus Christ when He was about two years old not at His birth. They didn't come to celebrate that He was born, they came to honor Him as the King of Kings bringing gifts commensurate with His purpose for coming. That purpose being to die on a cross for the sins of others and to rise from the dead proving He is God.

Gold for His Kingship, Frankincense for His Diety and Myrrh for His death and burial, it was what was used to anoint a body after death.

When we celebrate Christ it ought to be in keeping with His purpose when He came and that He rose when He died and sits in heaven with the Father now.

What an intense distraction this season is from the original purpose of Christ coming to earth, when we celebrate our own way to please ourselves.

I cannot see my Savior as a helpless baby in the hay, I see Him as the risen King of Kings Who will one day rule this earth with a rod of Iron when He returns.

He came as a Lamb and is coming back as a Lion, this is how I choose to remember Him as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Posted by Gwendolyn at 8:59 AM

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Deceptive, Distracting and Deflecting

Many people are coming to the truth about holidays that distract us from Christ while claiming to be for Him. They are coming to the truth about the false church system that distract people from Christ while claiming to be from Him.

In these last days of apostasy there is more untruth than truth in the apostate churches and in the world than there is truth. The idea that we can do things our own way as long as we claim they are from God is devilish, concocted by the devil to build dependence on that which feels good but dishonors God.

Mixing God with a secular holiday does not make that holiday good, it makes it deceptive and deflecting.

Christ finished His Purpose for Coming and then He will take us home in His time.

There will be no gifts, not tree, no glitter or anything else at our home tomorrow, just continual gratitude to Christ for what He came to do then what He did and at the end of His purpose He said; "it is finished." The priced for sin was paid and all we have to do is believe Him and desire to be changed by Him into a new creation, He does all the rest and then He takes us home.

 
The birth of Christ was not celebrated in the Bible, the kings came about two years after He was born and celebrated the reason He came. They brought gifts for His purpose, gold for a King, embalming spices for after His death and frankincense for His divinity.

Perhaps, it would be better to celebrate and remember Christ in the Supper He gave us instead of His birthday He did not give us.

Luke 22:19-20
"19 And when He had taken some bread and given thanks, He broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is My body, which is being given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” 20 And in the same way He took the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup, which is poured out for you, is the new covenant in My blood."

Christ didn't come just to be born, He came to die for the sins of the world. He was born, He ate food, He preached in the synagog as a young boy, He preached on the hillsides and near the sea of Gallalee, He healed the blind and lame and much more, so why don't we celebrate all those things?

I celebrate every day as I remember Him and all He did and does for me. I don't need a special day with glitter and glitz that brings pleasure to me. I have Him living inside of me that is pleasure enough.

The world celebrates birthdays in alignment with pagan celebrations not because God told them to do it.

The wise men came to Jesus Christ when He was about two years old not at His birth. They didn't come to celebrate that He was born, they came to honor Him as the King of Kings bringing gifts commensurate with His purpose for coming. That purpose being to die on a cross for the sins of others and to rise from the dead proving He is God.

Gold for His Kingship, Frankincense for His Diety and Myrrh for His death and burial, it was what was used to anoint a body after death.

When we celebrate Christ it ought to be in keeping with His purpose when He came and that He rose when He died and sits in heaven with the Father now.
What an intense distraction this season is from the original purpose of Christ coming to earth, when we celebrate our own way to please ourselves.

I cannot see my Savior as a helpless baby in the hay, I see Him as the risen King of Kings Who will one day rule this earth with a rod of Iron when He returns.

He came as a Lamb and is coming back as a Lion, this is how I choose to remember Him as King of Kings and Lord of Lords.