1 Peter 5:8
"Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour."
I do believe the devil is working harder on the children of believers than anyone else. He already has the world that are in his camp, he is after those who have the potential of becoming born again because of the families they live in.
He also works to corrupt adult children who are born again, putting strife between the parents and children over the silliest things, thus removing the influence of the believing grandparents.
If the devil can remove the influence of godly grandparents, he is also removing the support system that God has created in families.
Thursday, August 21, 2014
The Jews Are Still Loved By God
Beware of these theologies, they are heretical and
dangerous, there are probably more I could name, these are the ones we see
growing in strength deceiving many.
Dual Covenant
Reform
Covenant
Calvinism
Lutheranism
Romans 1:16-17
"16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for
it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew
first and also for the Greek. 17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed
from faith to faith; as it is written, “The just shall live by faith."
God has not set aside Israel ,
the church has been grafted into Israel , not the other way around.
Many Jews today are believers in Christ and more are to come as the days grow
closer to the coming of Christ.
Romans 11:1-6
"11 I say then, has God cast away His people? Certainly
not! For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of
Benjamin.
2 God has not cast away His people whom He foreknew. Or do
you not know what the Scripture says of Elijah, how he pleads with God against Israel , saying,
3 “Lord, they have killed Your prophets and torn down Your
altars, and I alone am left, and they seek my life”?
4 But what does the divine response say to him? “I have
reserved for Myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal.”
5 Even so then, at this present time there is a remnant
according to the election of grace. 6 And if by grace, then it is no longer of
works; otherwise grace is no longer grace. But if it is of works, it is no
longer grace; otherwise work is no longer work"
No Pain No Gain?
There is something that my husband brought up this morning that was very interesting to me. He said, "when people speak of the account of the prodigal son in Scripture, they always speak on only one son and sometimes both sons, but they do not speak about the father."
He was right, we almost never speak of the father, who is a picture of God, the sons are pictures of humanity, but the father is a type of God, in the Word of God.
The elder son had problems with obeying the father without loving him and the younger son disobeyed because of his lack of love for the father. Both did not love their father, one obeyed and one did not obey. Both did not love the father.
God deals with His children in the most loving terms possible. God offers forgiveness and salvation to mankind, but does not force them. He does not contend with them, He give them a choice and then lets them make it, either for or against Him.
In the account of the prodigal son, the father gave the younger son what he wanted and let him go. The father allowed the son to experience the hard consequences of his own choices without the father's presence. The father never ran after the son, begging and urging him to stop his carousing or wicked lifestyle, nor did he rush to give him money when he ran out of it. The father remained absent from the son during his time of rebellion. He allowed his son to wallow in the pig pen, scrounging for his food, until the son was ready to confess his sin and turn from it.
When the son confessed and returned, determined to be content to be treated as a servant, then the father knew the son was truly changed. The son left wanting his own way, lazy and bent on revelries, desiring riches to waste and came back broken, wanting to be in the father's house again even if it meant as a servant.
God deals with us the same way. He loves us too much to rescue us before the lesson is learned. Sometimes He takes our children far away from us to spare us the agony of watching them ruin their lives, while we remain at home, waiting and praying for the day our children will see their filthiness and desire to return home a different person than they were when they left.
Do we have the strength to love our children more than we love their companionship, Do we love them more than we love our own comfort and protection?
God's ways are best, sometimes they seem harsh, but they are loving. There is a saying that I have heard many times over the years in relation to physical exercise, it goes like this; "no pain no gain."
Why is it that we can see that pain is necessary in physical health, surgery to fix a broken organ or exercise to build muscles, but cannot see the need for pain in spiritual matters.
James 1:2-18
"2 My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials,
3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience.
4 But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.
5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.
6 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord;
8 he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.
9 Let the lowly brother glory in his exaltation,
10 but the rich in his humiliation, because as a flower of the field he will pass away.
11 For no sooner has the sun risen with a burning heat than it withers the grass; its flower falls, and its beautiful appearance perishes. So the rich man also will fade away in his pursuits.
12 Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.
13 Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone.
14 But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed.
15 Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.
16 Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren.
17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.
18 Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures."
He was right, we almost never speak of the father, who is a picture of God, the sons are pictures of humanity, but the father is a type of God, in the Word of God.
The elder son had problems with obeying the father without loving him and the younger son disobeyed because of his lack of love for the father. Both did not love their father, one obeyed and one did not obey. Both did not love the father.
God deals with His children in the most loving terms possible. God offers forgiveness and salvation to mankind, but does not force them. He does not contend with them, He give them a choice and then lets them make it, either for or against Him.
In the account of the prodigal son, the father gave the younger son what he wanted and let him go. The father allowed the son to experience the hard consequences of his own choices without the father's presence. The father never ran after the son, begging and urging him to stop his carousing or wicked lifestyle, nor did he rush to give him money when he ran out of it. The father remained absent from the son during his time of rebellion. He allowed his son to wallow in the pig pen, scrounging for his food, until the son was ready to confess his sin and turn from it.
When the son confessed and returned, determined to be content to be treated as a servant, then the father knew the son was truly changed. The son left wanting his own way, lazy and bent on revelries, desiring riches to waste and came back broken, wanting to be in the father's house again even if it meant as a servant.
God deals with us the same way. He loves us too much to rescue us before the lesson is learned. Sometimes He takes our children far away from us to spare us the agony of watching them ruin their lives, while we remain at home, waiting and praying for the day our children will see their filthiness and desire to return home a different person than they were when they left.
Do we have the strength to love our children more than we love their companionship, Do we love them more than we love our own comfort and protection?
God's ways are best, sometimes they seem harsh, but they are loving. There is a saying that I have heard many times over the years in relation to physical exercise, it goes like this; "no pain no gain."
Why is it that we can see that pain is necessary in physical health, surgery to fix a broken organ or exercise to build muscles, but cannot see the need for pain in spiritual matters.
James 1:2-18
"2 My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials,
3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience.
4 But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.
5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.
6 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord;
8 he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.
9 Let the lowly brother glory in his exaltation,
10 but the rich in his humiliation, because as a flower of the field he will pass away.
11 For no sooner has the sun risen with a burning heat than it withers the grass; its flower falls, and its beautiful appearance perishes. So the rich man also will fade away in his pursuits.
12 Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.
13 Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone.
14 But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed.
15 Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.
16 Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren.
17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.
18 Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures."
Wednesday, August 20, 2014
Fulfillment Only Comes With Honor
Jeremiah 15:10 New King James Version (NKJV)
Jeremiah’s Dejection
"10 Woe is me, my mother,
That you have borne me,
A man of strife and a man of contention to the whole earth!
I have neither lent for interest,
Nor have men lent to me for interest.
Every one of them curses me."
When we do things God's way, we will be maligned, reviled and cursed for it.
We could give away all our money to the poor and become like them, they no longer would be our friends, because we would have nothing to give them.
I have known many people who get themselves into debt, wasting the borrowed resources on foolishness with nothing to show for it, when their resources are exhausted they go to others asking to be bailed out of the trouble of their own making.
It is easy to get welfare these days, many who do not want to work seem to be able to get "disability", when people in their condition used to work at something, even as a disabled person. The excuse of disability is growing because the sense of honor is lacking in those who would rather have a free ride than maintain their own dignity by earning what they receive.
They waste what they have acquired from the taxes paid by others, and then come to ask for more money to be able to waste further.
I have received phone calls from people asking for their electric bills and rent to be paid because they ran out of money at the end of the month. They didn't have enough food in their kitchens nor did they have enough to feed their children.
When asked where their money went they would say they just don't get enough. After hearing all their troubles, I ask a few questions to clarify whether or not they are using the money they have wisely. Sometimes I would ask how much money they get and they don't want to tell me. I am more interested in helping them learn to wisely use their resources than handing out money.
My questions begin with, "do you smoke", the answer is always yes. "Do you have a cell phone", the answer again is yes. I ask them if they drink or buy lottery tickets, often the answer is yes. In conversation with these people I discover that they have internet, cable television, throw lavish birthday parties for their children with cakes from the store, expensive gifts for the birthday and even Christmas, while taking trips to see relatives out of town on trains and buses.
In a nut shell, much of what the poor spend their money on are things that we budget for and only do if there is extra money after all the bills are paid.
The poor need to live much more frugally than they do. They need to cancel their internet, cable, cell phones and lavish birthday parties for family members. They need to spend only on food and rent, if anything is left over save it for a day when an emergency arises.
There is a very strange mentality in this country and that is that everyone should have whatever they want, even if they cannot afford it, and those who have enough money should pay for their play things.
There is a saying that I learned a long time ago, that made good sense during a time when every family struggled aside from the wealthy elite.
"Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime." Author Unknown to me.
We are a fast food culture, it is easier to just give our resources than it is to spend some time arranging for a job. I have approached businesses in the past and asked them why they don't give the beggar outside their store, a job. The answer that came back often was, "we did, they said they don't want one."
There are legitimate poor, I understand that, but most of them are in other countries where there are very hard times and oppressive governments, but in our country, most of the poor are that way because they were lazy and/or rebellious.
Everyone can have some kind of job here, even if it is at the bottom of the ladder. The wise young people will start at the bottom doing any job they can get, do it as unto the Lord, perfomring such a good job that the boss learns to trust and rely on them. They make the boss look so good that he doesn't want to lose them, over time he likely will promote them to a better paying position. But even if he does not, remember if we are born again, then our objective is to honor God first above everything. Perhaps our boss will become saved because we honored God and treating him with respect, blessing the boss.
If we are unhappy on a job then we stay, praying for strength to act in a godly manner and pray for the Lord to provide another one. Many people leave a job they don't like before they have another one, this is not wise. Many people have to work at jobs they don't like to keep bread on the table. God can give us what we need to endure while maintaining our Christian character.
Colossians 3:23 "Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men,"
2 Thessalonians 3:10-12
"For even when we were with you, we would give you this command: If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat. For we hear that some among you walk in idleness, not BUSY at work, but busybodies. Now such persons we command and encourage in the Lord Jesus Christ to do their work quietly and to earn their own living."
Philippians 4:13
"I can do all things through him who strengthens me."
Proverbs 14:23
"In all toil there is profit, but mere talk tends only to poverty."
Philippians 2:14-15
"Do all things without grumbling or questioning, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world,"
1 Corinthians 10:21
"So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the GLORY OF GOD."
Proverbs 12:24
"The hand of the diligent will rule, while the slothful will be put to forced labor."
Colossians 3:17
"And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him."
Proverbs 6:6-8
"Go to the ant, O sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise. Without having any chief, officer, or ruler, she prepares her bread in summer and gathers her food in harvest."
Luke 1:37
"For nothing will be impossible with God.”
God has commanded us to work, if we want to work He will see to it that we have something to work at. Seek His face for a job, use your resources wisely in only what is needed, forgetting all the toys and playthings, lavish food and expensive clothing, resolving to live frugally and God will bless what little you have.
We may not have all the things we desire, but we will live honorably, even being able to share what little we have to bless others. God never gives us a principle without the ability to carry it out.
Jeremiahs 29:11
"For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for your good and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope."
Honoring the Lord is more important than keeping up with the Jones's There can be great joy in living honorably in the Lord.
Jeremiah’s Dejection
"10 Woe is me, my mother,
That you have borne me,
A man of strife and a man of contention to the whole earth!
I have neither lent for interest,
Nor have men lent to me for interest.
Every one of them curses me."
When we do things God's way, we will be maligned, reviled and cursed for it.
We could give away all our money to the poor and become like them, they no longer would be our friends, because we would have nothing to give them.
I have known many people who get themselves into debt, wasting the borrowed resources on foolishness with nothing to show for it, when their resources are exhausted they go to others asking to be bailed out of the trouble of their own making.
It is easy to get welfare these days, many who do not want to work seem to be able to get "disability", when people in their condition used to work at something, even as a disabled person. The excuse of disability is growing because the sense of honor is lacking in those who would rather have a free ride than maintain their own dignity by earning what they receive.
They waste what they have acquired from the taxes paid by others, and then come to ask for more money to be able to waste further.
I have received phone calls from people asking for their electric bills and rent to be paid because they ran out of money at the end of the month. They didn't have enough food in their kitchens nor did they have enough to feed their children.
When asked where their money went they would say they just don't get enough. After hearing all their troubles, I ask a few questions to clarify whether or not they are using the money they have wisely. Sometimes I would ask how much money they get and they don't want to tell me. I am more interested in helping them learn to wisely use their resources than handing out money.
My questions begin with, "do you smoke", the answer is always yes. "Do you have a cell phone", the answer again is yes. I ask them if they drink or buy lottery tickets, often the answer is yes. In conversation with these people I discover that they have internet, cable television, throw lavish birthday parties for their children with cakes from the store, expensive gifts for the birthday and even Christmas, while taking trips to see relatives out of town on trains and buses.
In a nut shell, much of what the poor spend their money on are things that we budget for and only do if there is extra money after all the bills are paid.
The poor need to live much more frugally than they do. They need to cancel their internet, cable, cell phones and lavish birthday parties for family members. They need to spend only on food and rent, if anything is left over save it for a day when an emergency arises.
There is a very strange mentality in this country and that is that everyone should have whatever they want, even if they cannot afford it, and those who have enough money should pay for their play things.
There is a saying that I learned a long time ago, that made good sense during a time when every family struggled aside from the wealthy elite.
"Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime." Author Unknown to me.
We are a fast food culture, it is easier to just give our resources than it is to spend some time arranging for a job. I have approached businesses in the past and asked them why they don't give the beggar outside their store, a job. The answer that came back often was, "we did, they said they don't want one."
There are legitimate poor, I understand that, but most of them are in other countries where there are very hard times and oppressive governments, but in our country, most of the poor are that way because they were lazy and/or rebellious.
Everyone can have some kind of job here, even if it is at the bottom of the ladder. The wise young people will start at the bottom doing any job they can get, do it as unto the Lord, perfomring such a good job that the boss learns to trust and rely on them. They make the boss look so good that he doesn't want to lose them, over time he likely will promote them to a better paying position. But even if he does not, remember if we are born again, then our objective is to honor God first above everything. Perhaps our boss will become saved because we honored God and treating him with respect, blessing the boss.
If we are unhappy on a job then we stay, praying for strength to act in a godly manner and pray for the Lord to provide another one. Many people leave a job they don't like before they have another one, this is not wise. Many people have to work at jobs they don't like to keep bread on the table. God can give us what we need to endure while maintaining our Christian character.
Colossians 3:23 "Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men,"
2 Thessalonians 3:10-12
"For even when we were with you, we would give you this command: If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat. For we hear that some among you walk in idleness, not BUSY at work, but busybodies. Now such persons we command and encourage in the Lord Jesus Christ to do their work quietly and to earn their own living."
Philippians 4:13
"I can do all things through him who strengthens me."
Proverbs 14:23
"In all toil there is profit, but mere talk tends only to poverty."
Philippians 2:14-15
"Do all things without grumbling or questioning, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world,"
1 Corinthians 10:21
"So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the GLORY OF GOD."
Proverbs 12:24
"The hand of the diligent will rule, while the slothful will be put to forced labor."
Colossians 3:17
"And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him."
Proverbs 6:6-8
"Go to the ant, O sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise. Without having any chief, officer, or ruler, she prepares her bread in summer and gathers her food in harvest."
Luke 1:37
"For nothing will be impossible with God.”
God has commanded us to work, if we want to work He will see to it that we have something to work at. Seek His face for a job, use your resources wisely in only what is needed, forgetting all the toys and playthings, lavish food and expensive clothing, resolving to live frugally and God will bless what little you have.
We may not have all the things we desire, but we will live honorably, even being able to share what little we have to bless others. God never gives us a principle without the ability to carry it out.
Jeremiahs 29:11
"For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for your good and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope."
Honoring the Lord is more important than keeping up with the Jones's There can be great joy in living honorably in the Lord.
Tuesday, August 19, 2014
Christ Teaches Us!
Matthew 6:24 "No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon."
IF someone is of "Calvin" or "Armenius", then they are not of Christ. If we have trusted Christ, then He is our lead, not a man, no matter how good we think that man is, we have a false god if we adhere to his teachings over that of Christ's.
1 Corinthians 1:10-17
"10 Now I exhort you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all agree and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be made complete in the same mind and in the same judgment. 11 For I have been informed concerning you, my brethren, by Chloe’s people, that there are quarrels among you. 12 Now I mean this, that each one of you is saying, “I am of Paul,” and “I of Apollos,” and “I of Cephas,” and “I of Christ.” 13 Has Christ been divided? Paul was not crucified for you, was he? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul? 14 I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius, 15 so that no one would say you were baptized in my name. 16 Now I did baptize also the household of Stephanas; beyond that, I do not know whether I baptized any other. 17 For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not in cleverness of speech, so that the cross of Christ would not be made void"
Everyone who is a good teacher must be evaluated in terms of Scripture, if they are wrong in what they say then we must expose it. Fame and popularity should never be a measure of a man's doctrine.
Follow Christ alone, read His Word for yourself and ask the Holy Spirit to teach you.
1 John 2:27
"As for you, the anointing which you received from Him abides in you, and you have no need for anyone to teach you; but as His anointing teaches you about all things, and is true and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you abide in Him."
IF someone is of "Calvin" or "Armenius", then they are not of Christ. If we have trusted Christ, then He is our lead, not a man, no matter how good we think that man is, we have a false god if we adhere to his teachings over that of Christ's.
1 Corinthians 1:10-17
"10 Now I exhort you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all agree and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be made complete in the same mind and in the same judgment. 11 For I have been informed concerning you, my brethren, by Chloe’s people, that there are quarrels among you. 12 Now I mean this, that each one of you is saying, “I am of Paul,” and “I of Apollos,” and “I of Cephas,” and “I of Christ.” 13 Has Christ been divided? Paul was not crucified for you, was he? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul? 14 I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius, 15 so that no one would say you were baptized in my name. 16 Now I did baptize also the household of Stephanas; beyond that, I do not know whether I baptized any other. 17 For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not in cleverness of speech, so that the cross of Christ would not be made void"
Everyone who is a good teacher must be evaluated in terms of Scripture, if they are wrong in what they say then we must expose it. Fame and popularity should never be a measure of a man's doctrine.
Follow Christ alone, read His Word for yourself and ask the Holy Spirit to teach you.
1 John 2:27
"As for you, the anointing which you received from Him abides in you, and you have no need for anyone to teach you; but as His anointing teaches you about all things, and is true and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you abide in Him."
He Even Prays On Our Behalf
Romans 8:26 "In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words;"
I am so thankful that the Lord knows better than I what should be prayed! He even prays on our behalf.
I am so thankful that the Lord knows better than I what should be prayed! He even prays on our behalf.
High Mindedness Only Frightens Humble People Away
There are those that attempt to become so
"theologically deep", that they have bought into high mindedness that
makes no sense to most people listening. I believe this is an attempt to appear
superior to others.
When we argue about what is a work and what is not a work,
how many angels can dance on the head of a pin and other meaningless
discussions that only tend to drive people further from Christ, we are entering
into arrogance for only one purpose and that is to elevate self.
We do not help others come to Christ through "high
mindedness", we help by simplicity, the simple Gospel message as given to
us in the Word, it's not hard even a child can understand when their heart is
open.
Christ is responsible for the results of our speech, we are
to simply obey Him and leave all the results to Him.
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