If anyone in your circle is in competition with the Holy Spirit, then they cannot be trusted. It is only friends who encourage us to seek the Holy Spirit for specifics in our life that enhance and encourage a closer walk with Christ. Hallelujah!
Wednesday, July 25, 2018
The Louder they Shout, the Worse they Are!
Those who shout tolerance the loudest are most often the least tolerant. They shout tolerance to intimidate others into feeling guilty about having their own standards. Silencing them from exercising their freedom to speak freely as the intolerant narcissist allows for himself, they mock, demean and even murder those who do not follow their dictates.
When we speak of injustice in our country, injustice in the murdering of the unborn, injustice in disallowing our right to train our own children according to our own belief system and even forcing us to comply with medical decisions against our Christian beliefs, we are living in a deeply socialistic culture.
When we are dictated to according to the political and legal system what we can say, post or wear on our clothing, then we are no longer a free society.
Even church gatherings do this sort of thing, dictating every detail about our lives as though we are under them instead of Christ.
No society is completely free, there must be rules to govern, however, when those rules reach into our private lives and our freedom to speak openly about our beliefs, then we are a country that will not and cannot return to sensible and rational thinking.
Once a culture becomes accustomed to intolerance for particular groups of people and not others, the only thing left is anarchy. Those who dictate through anarchy, that is the ignoring of existing laws to make their own rules, will be those who rule unjustly.
Christians for years "spoke" out against sin and rebellion, it was called "forcing". Merely speaking truth is force to the unbridled narcissist. Christians never forced anyone, they merely spoke. If the narcissist felt pressured by words it was not the words that pressured them but their own rebellious heart.
Now that the liberals are in control of our churches, our school systems and nearly everything else. They punish regularly those who only wish to speak truth.
The liberals claimed that speaking truth was pressure to comply, but they often are punitive in their reactions. Revenge is their favorite tactic when they cannot intimidate someone into saying what they say, they take them to court and take away their freedom to run their own business as they see fit.
This same mentality is present in narcissistic families. When they cannot control the thinking of the scapegoat they isolate them, mock them and even accuse them of things that are not true to manipulate and intimidate them into compliance with the family rules and demands.
When the narcissist cannot control those for which they have contempt, they work to turn others against their target. The pressure never stops with the narcissist. As we have learned along the way, the narcissist employs the very tactics on others that he accuses the scapegoat of.
Psalm 119:113
The double-minded I despise, but Your law I love.
James 4:8
Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
1 Kings 18:20-22 "…20 So Ahab summoned all the Israelites and assembled the prophets on Mount Carmel. 21 Then Elijah approached all the people and said, “How long will you waver between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow Him. But if Baal is, follow him.” But the people did not answer a word. 22 Then Elijah said to the people, “I am the only remaining prophet of the LORD, but Baal has four hundred and fifty prophets.…"
The people of Elijah's day wanted to follow their own perverted hearts and the worship of false gods over the one true God. The same choice that the people made in Elijah's day is happening today. The devil has not changed his tactics in our day, he has increased them.
When you see the injustice and foolishness all around you, look up, the Savior will be coming soon. If our focus is Christ we will get through all this unscathed, even stronger than ever.
Praise God He is on our side always!!!!!
Romans 8:31-32 "31 What then shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare His own Son but gave Him up for us all, how will He not also, along with Him, freely give us all things?…"
Hallelujah!!!!
When we speak of injustice in our country, injustice in the murdering of the unborn, injustice in disallowing our right to train our own children according to our own belief system and even forcing us to comply with medical decisions against our Christian beliefs, we are living in a deeply socialistic culture.
When we are dictated to according to the political and legal system what we can say, post or wear on our clothing, then we are no longer a free society.
Even church gatherings do this sort of thing, dictating every detail about our lives as though we are under them instead of Christ.
No society is completely free, there must be rules to govern, however, when those rules reach into our private lives and our freedom to speak openly about our beliefs, then we are a country that will not and cannot return to sensible and rational thinking.
Once a culture becomes accustomed to intolerance for particular groups of people and not others, the only thing left is anarchy. Those who dictate through anarchy, that is the ignoring of existing laws to make their own rules, will be those who rule unjustly.
Christians for years "spoke" out against sin and rebellion, it was called "forcing". Merely speaking truth is force to the unbridled narcissist. Christians never forced anyone, they merely spoke. If the narcissist felt pressured by words it was not the words that pressured them but their own rebellious heart.
Now that the liberals are in control of our churches, our school systems and nearly everything else. They punish regularly those who only wish to speak truth.
The liberals claimed that speaking truth was pressure to comply, but they often are punitive in their reactions. Revenge is their favorite tactic when they cannot intimidate someone into saying what they say, they take them to court and take away their freedom to run their own business as they see fit.
This same mentality is present in narcissistic families. When they cannot control the thinking of the scapegoat they isolate them, mock them and even accuse them of things that are not true to manipulate and intimidate them into compliance with the family rules and demands.
When the narcissist cannot control those for which they have contempt, they work to turn others against their target. The pressure never stops with the narcissist. As we have learned along the way, the narcissist employs the very tactics on others that he accuses the scapegoat of.
Psalm 119:113
The double-minded I despise, but Your law I love.
James 4:8
Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
1 Kings 18:20-22 "…20 So Ahab summoned all the Israelites and assembled the prophets on Mount Carmel. 21 Then Elijah approached all the people and said, “How long will you waver between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow Him. But if Baal is, follow him.” But the people did not answer a word. 22 Then Elijah said to the people, “I am the only remaining prophet of the LORD, but Baal has four hundred and fifty prophets.…"
The people of Elijah's day wanted to follow their own perverted hearts and the worship of false gods over the one true God. The same choice that the people made in Elijah's day is happening today. The devil has not changed his tactics in our day, he has increased them.
When you see the injustice and foolishness all around you, look up, the Savior will be coming soon. If our focus is Christ we will get through all this unscathed, even stronger than ever.
Praise God He is on our side always!!!!!
Romans 8:31-32 "31 What then shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare His own Son but gave Him up for us all, how will He not also, along with Him, freely give us all things?…"
Hallelujah!!!!
The True Nature of Friendship
God knows this principle well:
Even the kind acts of the narcissist feels like obligation.
I remember as a Catholic there were days that were mandated for all Catholics to go to church. Perhaps a special dead saints day or some other designated by the pope day, that was called "The holy day of obligation."
Many Catholics would attend a mass to fulfill their obligation without any sense of enthusiasm for God or the event itself. They often said things like; "we have an holy obligation tomorrow, I have to be there." Notice they never said things like; "I am so excited about worshiping God today."
Amos 5:21-23
21 “I hate, I reject your festivals,
Nor do I [a]delight in your solemn assemblies.
22 “Even though you offer up to Me burnt offerings and your grain offerings,
I will not accept them;
And I will not even look at the peace offerings of your fatlings.
23 “Take away from Me the noise of your songs;
I will not even listen to the sound of your harps."
Those who observe the "holy day of obligation", never speak of Christ or His principles, they merely fulfill their obligation to be there as mandated by man.
Most who fulfill their holy day of obligation have no desire to learn about God, to sing His praises or to acknowledge all that He did for them. They recite empty words give to them by others without much thought as to what they are saying. I know this because when I was a Catholic I began to ask why we did things in the mass. The answer always came back, we should not ask we should just obey.
The desire to know God was absent in these masses. The desire to obey Christ or inquire about their daily lives was also absent. There was a sense of relief after each day of obligation was fulfilled, but never any real peace and never fellowship with Christ.
This mentality of "holy days of obligation", also play out in personal relationships. People will send their parents or their co-workers gifts on their birthday but show little interest in them the entire rest of the year. They have fulfilled their obligation to make themselves feel good about giving a gift, but have never grown to know the person that received their gift.
Anyone who has been the recipient of these obligatory gifts knows how it feels to receive a gift from someone who has shown no interest in them any other time of the year.
The gift may be a way to relieve any guilt from lack of attention to a friend, or it may be a way of making themselves feel good, reliving them of all responsibility to actually become a good friend.
My personal take on gift giving, is that it should never be done to make ourselves feel good or better about our own mistreatment of someone. Gift giving out to flow out of a sense of connection with the one we love.
There were gifts given in political situations to build alliances, but is that really what we want for our personal relationships, a gift given to get something out of us?
Isaiah 29:13
"And the Lord said: “Because this people draw near with their mouth and honor me with their lips, while their hearts are far from me, and their fear of me is a commandment taught by men,"
Very few people make an effort to get to know another person, how they think, what they think and what in life has affected them. Most people in our culture today seek to be friendly for their own need to have people in their lives.
Perhaps is it good for all of us to rethink our dedication to God and the love and kindness that draws two people to know one another.
Elisha refused to leave the side of Elijah when asked to stay behind. The protection and life of his friend was more important to him than his own comfort.
Job's three friends sat with him for a time silently to console him after which they began to lecture him about things they had no knowledge. They attempted to convince Job that he must have sinned for God to be so angry with him. Their judgement was harsh and untrue. Who needs friends like these. The best friends are those who believe you, console you and walk through with you.
Job's friends started out right, just sitting there with him while he suffered was good, however they messed up when they began to try to figure out what they didn't know about.
Job 42:7 "7 After the Lord had spoken these words to Job, the Lord said to Eliphaz the Temanite: “My anger burns against you and against your two friends, for you have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has."
God was angry with Job's friends for their false judgments about Job's suffering.
God has a lesson for Job and for all of us in his suffering, but it was not because he had sinned, but to show the loyalty a man or woman of God can have in the face of great suffering.
Judging the events of someone else's life without knowing the mind of God brings many friendships to an end and displeases God.
Sometimes we must choose to be satisfied not knowing why things are happening in order to act properly toward a friend.
Guessing what might be happening to a friend without a clear word of God never solves anything, it merely elevates those who do the guessing.
Even the kind acts of the narcissist feels like obligation.
I remember as a Catholic there were days that were mandated for all Catholics to go to church. Perhaps a special dead saints day or some other designated by the pope day, that was called "The holy day of obligation."
Many Catholics would attend a mass to fulfill their obligation without any sense of enthusiasm for God or the event itself. They often said things like; "we have an holy obligation tomorrow, I have to be there." Notice they never said things like; "I am so excited about worshiping God today."
Amos 5:21-23
21 “I hate, I reject your festivals,
Nor do I [a]delight in your solemn assemblies.
22 “Even though you offer up to Me burnt offerings and your grain offerings,
I will not accept them;
And I will not even look at the peace offerings of your fatlings.
23 “Take away from Me the noise of your songs;
I will not even listen to the sound of your harps."
Those who observe the "holy day of obligation", never speak of Christ or His principles, they merely fulfill their obligation to be there as mandated by man.
Most who fulfill their holy day of obligation have no desire to learn about God, to sing His praises or to acknowledge all that He did for them. They recite empty words give to them by others without much thought as to what they are saying. I know this because when I was a Catholic I began to ask why we did things in the mass. The answer always came back, we should not ask we should just obey.
The desire to know God was absent in these masses. The desire to obey Christ or inquire about their daily lives was also absent. There was a sense of relief after each day of obligation was fulfilled, but never any real peace and never fellowship with Christ.
This mentality of "holy days of obligation", also play out in personal relationships. People will send their parents or their co-workers gifts on their birthday but show little interest in them the entire rest of the year. They have fulfilled their obligation to make themselves feel good about giving a gift, but have never grown to know the person that received their gift.
Anyone who has been the recipient of these obligatory gifts knows how it feels to receive a gift from someone who has shown no interest in them any other time of the year.
The gift may be a way to relieve any guilt from lack of attention to a friend, or it may be a way of making themselves feel good, reliving them of all responsibility to actually become a good friend.
My personal take on gift giving, is that it should never be done to make ourselves feel good or better about our own mistreatment of someone. Gift giving out to flow out of a sense of connection with the one we love.
There were gifts given in political situations to build alliances, but is that really what we want for our personal relationships, a gift given to get something out of us?
Isaiah 29:13
"And the Lord said: “Because this people draw near with their mouth and honor me with their lips, while their hearts are far from me, and their fear of me is a commandment taught by men,"
Very few people make an effort to get to know another person, how they think, what they think and what in life has affected them. Most people in our culture today seek to be friendly for their own need to have people in their lives.
Perhaps is it good for all of us to rethink our dedication to God and the love and kindness that draws two people to know one another.
Elisha refused to leave the side of Elijah when asked to stay behind. The protection and life of his friend was more important to him than his own comfort.
Job's three friends sat with him for a time silently to console him after which they began to lecture him about things they had no knowledge. They attempted to convince Job that he must have sinned for God to be so angry with him. Their judgement was harsh and untrue. Who needs friends like these. The best friends are those who believe you, console you and walk through with you.
Job's friends started out right, just sitting there with him while he suffered was good, however they messed up when they began to try to figure out what they didn't know about.
Job 42:7 "7 After the Lord had spoken these words to Job, the Lord said to Eliphaz the Temanite: “My anger burns against you and against your two friends, for you have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has."
God was angry with Job's friends for their false judgments about Job's suffering.
God has a lesson for Job and for all of us in his suffering, but it was not because he had sinned, but to show the loyalty a man or woman of God can have in the face of great suffering.
Judging the events of someone else's life without knowing the mind of God brings many friendships to an end and displeases God.
Sometimes we must choose to be satisfied not knowing why things are happening in order to act properly toward a friend.
Guessing what might be happening to a friend without a clear word of God never solves anything, it merely elevates those who do the guessing.
Tuesday, July 24, 2018
Assumptions are Relationship Killers
"Assumptions" are at the root of so many relationship problems. Those who are not wanting to take the time to visit with someone to discover truth, would rather assume things that fit their desired belief about you more than learning the facts.
We see more of this going on in our culture now, so much so that those who are just doing what they believe in and choose for their own life are judged as bad people on scanty to no information.
When we find that we cannot be open and honest with someone, that is when we realize there are going to be problems over petty and insignificant things. We need to withdraw from those who love their assumptions but will not inquire to discuss with you the truth.
Jealousy often drives those who want to believe things they know nothing about.
James 3:16
"For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice."
If you find jealousy driving you to treat someone disrespectfully, then it is time to confess that sin and choose not to engage in the mean treatment of others merely based on those feelings.
James 4:2-3
"You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions."
It was jealousy that drove the devil to come against God. It was jealousy that drove the devil to attempt to turn Eve against God. The devil used questions and lies to cause her to desire what should not have been hers, while making her doubt God.
Ultimately the devil's ploy is to place wicked questions in the minds of people to turn against one another.
So many people believe they know all there is to know about someone, when at close inspection they really know very little and even have disinformation.
If we have the love of Christ in us we will seek to find truth, truth sets us free from assumptions and guesses.
We see more of this going on in our culture now, so much so that those who are just doing what they believe in and choose for their own life are judged as bad people on scanty to no information.
When we find that we cannot be open and honest with someone, that is when we realize there are going to be problems over petty and insignificant things. We need to withdraw from those who love their assumptions but will not inquire to discuss with you the truth.
Jealousy often drives those who want to believe things they know nothing about.
James 3:16
"For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice."
If you find jealousy driving you to treat someone disrespectfully, then it is time to confess that sin and choose not to engage in the mean treatment of others merely based on those feelings.
James 4:2-3
"You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions."
It was jealousy that drove the devil to come against God. It was jealousy that drove the devil to attempt to turn Eve against God. The devil used questions and lies to cause her to desire what should not have been hers, while making her doubt God.
Ultimately the devil's ploy is to place wicked questions in the minds of people to turn against one another.
So many people believe they know all there is to know about someone, when at close inspection they really know very little and even have disinformation.
If we have the love of Christ in us we will seek to find truth, truth sets us free from assumptions and guesses.
A Perverse Man Sows Strife
Proverbs 16:28
"A perverse man sows strife, And a whisperer separates the best of friends."
Hal Lindsey once said: "telling a secret to congress is like calling a press conference."
I say, confiding in a family member, no matter how sincere or interested they may seem, is like calling a press conference. Often things that are repeated are embellished, hardly recognizable from the original story.
YES! There are entire families who gossip with one another against the scapegoat. We see examples of this in the life of Joseph, when his brothers hated him because he was chosen by God and wanted to get rid of him. Since the brothers of Joseph were not godly people they were jealous of the attention he was given by the father and were angry at his righteous life.
They put him into a well and then sold him into slavery. HOWEVER, God had a purpose and everything the brothers did to him ultimately fulfilled God's will for him to be used in a mighty way. When God separates us from family He has a purpose that we cannot see. Hallelujah!
Many of you have been figuratively place in a deep well by family members. Just know that Joseph went through the same thing only far worse.
Remember too that even in the lives of the brothers who persecuted Joseph, he was used of God. Not only did Joseph become prominent and over his brothers as his dream once showed him, he provided for their need after they were repentant.
Joseph didn't immediately let his brothers off the hook, he required a good faith expression of obedience to him as their leader, just as the dream he had revealed that one day they would bow to him. He let them squirm a little before believing them. When he saw that they were sincere and humbly repentant, then he embraced them.
When potentially empty words like "I'm sorry" are said, there must also be evidence that those words mean something real. One way to know this is if there is humility when we question them further. The insincere man will rage at being questioned, even right after an "I'm sorry" event. The humble man who is questioned will hang their head in shame and know they deserve the doubt. The insincere man will be vague in their apology, expecting that he not be required to give details of the offense or that there would be further discussion about it.
It is not wrong to discuss the expression of sorrow to discern its genuineness. If there is rage and accusation you can be sure the apology is insincere. If there is humility and an expression of deep sorrow over the challenge, then we know the offender has been humbled and ready to change their ways.
There have been times in my life when an offender raged at the mere suggestion that we discuss the offense. When there is a refusal to have a discussion that whatever caused the offense would be resolved so it does not happen again, we know the apology was not sincere.
"I'm sorry" verbiage is often nothing more than a desire to just placate the one they wish to draw back into their web. Many times in my life I have experienced those who just wanted the bad feelings to be over, only to return quickly to their old ways that caused the problem. Manipulation is a device the narcissist uses often to regain control over their targets.
Far too many people let offenders off the hook too soon. The offender returns to their sin and even accuses the one they offended of things to deflect the blame from themselves.
Yes we are to forgive, but not too quickly and not without an expression of sorrow over sin. Our entire culture has the bad habit of forgiving just because words are said without any evidence that the offender hates their sin and will turn from it.
Proverbs 29:8-10 "…8 Mockers inflame a city, but the wise turn away anger. 9 If a wise man goes to court with a fool, there will be raving and laughing with no resolution. 10 Men of bloodshed hate a blameless man, but the upright care for his life.…"
There are many people who will use words we like to hear as a form of manipulation but they are only words, the actions of change never come.
There will be hordes of people who have claimed to be "Christian" who will be rejected by Christ because their expression of Christianity was merely words and actions to elevate self, they had no sorrow over offending a Holy God. Nor did they want to know God's will.
Matthew 7:21-23
I Never Knew You
"21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ 23 And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’"
"A perverse man sows strife, And a whisperer separates the best of friends."
Hal Lindsey once said: "telling a secret to congress is like calling a press conference."
I say, confiding in a family member, no matter how sincere or interested they may seem, is like calling a press conference. Often things that are repeated are embellished, hardly recognizable from the original story.
YES! There are entire families who gossip with one another against the scapegoat. We see examples of this in the life of Joseph, when his brothers hated him because he was chosen by God and wanted to get rid of him. Since the brothers of Joseph were not godly people they were jealous of the attention he was given by the father and were angry at his righteous life.
They put him into a well and then sold him into slavery. HOWEVER, God had a purpose and everything the brothers did to him ultimately fulfilled God's will for him to be used in a mighty way. When God separates us from family He has a purpose that we cannot see. Hallelujah!
Many of you have been figuratively place in a deep well by family members. Just know that Joseph went through the same thing only far worse.
Remember too that even in the lives of the brothers who persecuted Joseph, he was used of God. Not only did Joseph become prominent and over his brothers as his dream once showed him, he provided for their need after they were repentant.
Joseph didn't immediately let his brothers off the hook, he required a good faith expression of obedience to him as their leader, just as the dream he had revealed that one day they would bow to him. He let them squirm a little before believing them. When he saw that they were sincere and humbly repentant, then he embraced them.
When potentially empty words like "I'm sorry" are said, there must also be evidence that those words mean something real. One way to know this is if there is humility when we question them further. The insincere man will rage at being questioned, even right after an "I'm sorry" event. The humble man who is questioned will hang their head in shame and know they deserve the doubt. The insincere man will be vague in their apology, expecting that he not be required to give details of the offense or that there would be further discussion about it.
It is not wrong to discuss the expression of sorrow to discern its genuineness. If there is rage and accusation you can be sure the apology is insincere. If there is humility and an expression of deep sorrow over the challenge, then we know the offender has been humbled and ready to change their ways.
There have been times in my life when an offender raged at the mere suggestion that we discuss the offense. When there is a refusal to have a discussion that whatever caused the offense would be resolved so it does not happen again, we know the apology was not sincere.
"I'm sorry" verbiage is often nothing more than a desire to just placate the one they wish to draw back into their web. Many times in my life I have experienced those who just wanted the bad feelings to be over, only to return quickly to their old ways that caused the problem. Manipulation is a device the narcissist uses often to regain control over their targets.
Far too many people let offenders off the hook too soon. The offender returns to their sin and even accuses the one they offended of things to deflect the blame from themselves.
Yes we are to forgive, but not too quickly and not without an expression of sorrow over sin. Our entire culture has the bad habit of forgiving just because words are said without any evidence that the offender hates their sin and will turn from it.
Proverbs 29:8-10 "…8 Mockers inflame a city, but the wise turn away anger. 9 If a wise man goes to court with a fool, there will be raving and laughing with no resolution. 10 Men of bloodshed hate a blameless man, but the upright care for his life.…"
There are many people who will use words we like to hear as a form of manipulation but they are only words, the actions of change never come.
There will be hordes of people who have claimed to be "Christian" who will be rejected by Christ because their expression of Christianity was merely words and actions to elevate self, they had no sorrow over offending a Holy God. Nor did they want to know God's will.
Matthew 7:21-23
I Never Knew You
"21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ 23 And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’"
Proverbs 24:17-20
“Rejoice not when thine enemy falleth, and let not thine heart be glad when he stumbleth: Lest the Lord see it, and it displease him, and he turn away his wrath from him. Fret not thyself because of evil men, neither be thou envious at the wicked; For there shall be no reward to the evil man; the candle of the wicked shall be put out.”
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