We are to obey the governing authorities as long as they do not command us to disobey God. This is true in the headship in marriage or the gathering of the church.
This principle is always dependent on whether or not the authority is not disobeying God.
Acts 5:29
"29 Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men."
When we obey mans authority over God's then the man is the god in our lives.
David B Severy Said this:
"Christian, what part of these verses do you not understand?"
Romans 13:1-4
Sunday, January 13, 2019
Trusting in Christ and not in People
Jeremiah 17:5-6
"5 This is what the LORD says: “Cursed is the man who trusts in mankind, who makes the flesh his strength and turns his heart from the LORD. 6 He will be like a shrub in the desert; he will not see when prosperity comes. He will dwell in the parched places of the desert, in a salt land where no one lives.…"
"5 This is what the LORD says: “Cursed is the man who trusts in mankind, who makes the flesh his strength and turns his heart from the LORD. 6 He will be like a shrub in the desert; he will not see when prosperity comes. He will dwell in the parched places of the desert, in a salt land where no one lives.…"
Friday, January 11, 2019
Growth or Regression You Choose
Those who demand to control every aspect of their own lives, disallowing others to speak into their lives, remain spiritual and emotional toddlers all their lives.
When we can think clearly with the mind of Christ we will be evaluating our own character, our actions and mindsets to determine if they are of God.
The narcissist never evaluates themselves in truth. Mostly they come to erroneous conclusions about themselves based on what they want to be true but in fact is fantasy.
When we evaluate ourselves in truth we can change and grow as Christ makes changes in us because of our desire to be changed by Him.
Christ will not work in those who believe there is nothing to be changed in their character. The pride of the arrogant one prevents them from moving forward in holiness or humility.
Sadly I have met many who are 70 plus years of age who seem no different from when they were in their teens. In fact their flaws are magnified and intensified as they move into their elder years.
When the one who has not grown spiritually and emotionally moves into old age they no longer care if they have flaws, they expect everyone to accept their nonsense. Because of this mentality they become problem children for anyone who cares for them.
Of course we must treat the elderly with kindness and patience no matter how they act, its called respect. However the challenge is to evaluate ourselves to be sure we will not turn out like so many who have become worse instead of better as they move through this life into a new phase.
Those who do not have Christ will not stop lying because they are older, their lies will become bigger as their faulty memory grows.
We have all heard those "big fish" stories in which an elderly person caught the biggest trout ever caught, about 2 feet long. In reality that fish was only 8 inches. With selective memory of the elder, the grandiosity of the story unfolds that fish story as far more than what was real.
The object of this lesson is not to diminish the elder who is this way, but to evaluate ourselves to make sure it doesn't happen to us.
We must always treat the elders with respect and honor even when they indulge in their fantasies about the past. Since we cannot prove their story wrong then we must choose to believe it and love them anyway.
Those who are mature elders tend to remember things the way they really are and have grown wiser over the years. No one can grow wise while at the same time indulging in fantasy thinking. Choosing to believe what we want while rejecting truth will keep the one who does this in an infantile state that grows stronger with each denial of truth.
How do we avoid becoming one of those elders who are living in a fantasy world of make believe? Its quite simple. continually asking the Lord for wisdom, call things what they really are with the answers coming from the Word of God, will prevent fantasy thinking. God will honor those who honor Him. He will give wisdom to the one who loves truth. However, He will withhold wisdom from those who love pretense and lies.
James 1:4-6 "…4 Allow perseverance to finish its work, so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. 5 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.…"
1 John 3:18 "18 Little children, let us love not in word and speech, but in action and truth."
Ephesians 4:15
"15 but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ,"
There will be those who say to us that we were not loving in the way we told the truth. Most of the time this is nothing more than manipulation to be justified in rejecting the truth that was shared.
Notice in these encounters with people who say we were not loving in the delivery never address the subject of the discussion. When the attempt is made to bring the hearer back to the issue at hand, the prideful ones will stomp off angry while accusing us of anger.
The reason this happens is because the hearer didn't like what we said so they attempted to shut us down by declaring in us a character flaw or evil action. We must not allow their manipulations to deter us from the original subject.
We are encountering more of this angst from rebellious hearts than ever before. Just as this mentality grows so too will the intolerance of the rebellious elderly will grow.
These are the reasons I am convinced most elderly cannot become born again. Yes some do and it is glorious when this happens. But as with the rest of society the elderly are no different except that they have had more years to solidify their hatred of truth and tend to be staunch in their ways.
Yes we need to bring Christ to everyone no matter what age. The challenge is to view ourselves as potential elderly, asking ourselves what kind of a person will I be when I am old.
Do I want to be wise and Christlike, or will I be as so many who seem to have regressed because their walk with Christ was superficial based on fantasy thinking?
Just some thoughts!
When we can think clearly with the mind of Christ we will be evaluating our own character, our actions and mindsets to determine if they are of God.
The narcissist never evaluates themselves in truth. Mostly they come to erroneous conclusions about themselves based on what they want to be true but in fact is fantasy.
When we evaluate ourselves in truth we can change and grow as Christ makes changes in us because of our desire to be changed by Him.
Christ will not work in those who believe there is nothing to be changed in their character. The pride of the arrogant one prevents them from moving forward in holiness or humility.
Sadly I have met many who are 70 plus years of age who seem no different from when they were in their teens. In fact their flaws are magnified and intensified as they move into their elder years.
When the one who has not grown spiritually and emotionally moves into old age they no longer care if they have flaws, they expect everyone to accept their nonsense. Because of this mentality they become problem children for anyone who cares for them.
Of course we must treat the elderly with kindness and patience no matter how they act, its called respect. However the challenge is to evaluate ourselves to be sure we will not turn out like so many who have become worse instead of better as they move through this life into a new phase.
Those who do not have Christ will not stop lying because they are older, their lies will become bigger as their faulty memory grows.
We have all heard those "big fish" stories in which an elderly person caught the biggest trout ever caught, about 2 feet long. In reality that fish was only 8 inches. With selective memory of the elder, the grandiosity of the story unfolds that fish story as far more than what was real.
The object of this lesson is not to diminish the elder who is this way, but to evaluate ourselves to make sure it doesn't happen to us.
We must always treat the elders with respect and honor even when they indulge in their fantasies about the past. Since we cannot prove their story wrong then we must choose to believe it and love them anyway.
Those who are mature elders tend to remember things the way they really are and have grown wiser over the years. No one can grow wise while at the same time indulging in fantasy thinking. Choosing to believe what we want while rejecting truth will keep the one who does this in an infantile state that grows stronger with each denial of truth.
How do we avoid becoming one of those elders who are living in a fantasy world of make believe? Its quite simple. continually asking the Lord for wisdom, call things what they really are with the answers coming from the Word of God, will prevent fantasy thinking. God will honor those who honor Him. He will give wisdom to the one who loves truth. However, He will withhold wisdom from those who love pretense and lies.
James 1:4-6 "…4 Allow perseverance to finish its work, so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. 5 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.…"
1 John 3:18 "18 Little children, let us love not in word and speech, but in action and truth."
Ephesians 4:15
"15 but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ,"
There will be those who say to us that we were not loving in the way we told the truth. Most of the time this is nothing more than manipulation to be justified in rejecting the truth that was shared.
Notice in these encounters with people who say we were not loving in the delivery never address the subject of the discussion. When the attempt is made to bring the hearer back to the issue at hand, the prideful ones will stomp off angry while accusing us of anger.
The reason this happens is because the hearer didn't like what we said so they attempted to shut us down by declaring in us a character flaw or evil action. We must not allow their manipulations to deter us from the original subject.
We are encountering more of this angst from rebellious hearts than ever before. Just as this mentality grows so too will the intolerance of the rebellious elderly will grow.
These are the reasons I am convinced most elderly cannot become born again. Yes some do and it is glorious when this happens. But as with the rest of society the elderly are no different except that they have had more years to solidify their hatred of truth and tend to be staunch in their ways.
Yes we need to bring Christ to everyone no matter what age. The challenge is to view ourselves as potential elderly, asking ourselves what kind of a person will I be when I am old.
Do I want to be wise and Christlike, or will I be as so many who seem to have regressed because their walk with Christ was superficial based on fantasy thinking?
Just some thoughts!
Thursday, January 10, 2019
Comforting the Oppressed and Punishing the Wicked
The word "Narcissism" comes from the Greek Mythology, but the concept of the narcissistic mentality came long before Greek Mythology existed.
God told all about the mentality of extreme selfishness in the Bible and that in the end times it would increase so exponentially that nearly everyone would be like this.
I have encountered many people who have narcissistic tendencies who could turn into these monsters if they didn't feel a sense of restraint from the people around them.
The passage in the Bible that describes this mentality is 2 Timothy 3:1-5. Whether it is a continuum or not doesn't really matter, the tactics are still devastating to those who have to endure them.
2 Timothy 3:1-5 "3 But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. 2 For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, 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 men as these."
Wickedness unrestrained by cultural acceptance will always grow out of control. Pretending to love these people by ignoring their sin does not cause them to change, nor does it do anything for the one who ignores their sin. Rather those who ignore the sin of wicked people often causes the sin to grow in the heart of the one who ignores.
Usually when we ignore sin to be friendly with the one who is wicked, we serve only to strengthen their sinfulness while increasing our own. This is why "lifestyle evangelism" is so devastating, it tends to coddle the sinner while diminishing the pain of the victims.
Isaiah 26:9-11 "…9 My soul longs for You in the night; indeed, my spirit within me diligently seeks You. For when Your judgments come upon the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness. 10 Though grace is shown to the wicked man, he does not learn righteousness. In the land of righteousness he acts unjustly and fails to see the majesty of the LORD. 11 O LORD, Your hand is upraised, but they do not see it. They will see Your zeal for Your people, and be put to shame. The fire set for Your enemies will consume them!…"
Psalm 147:6
"6 The Lord supports the afflicted;
He brings down the wicked to the ground."
We are not to comfort the wicked and punish the righteous. We punish the righteous when we pressure them to forgive an unrepentant wicked man.
We should do as God does, that is comfort the oppressed and punish the wicked. That's how it works in God's economy.
God told all about the mentality of extreme selfishness in the Bible and that in the end times it would increase so exponentially that nearly everyone would be like this.
I have encountered many people who have narcissistic tendencies who could turn into these monsters if they didn't feel a sense of restraint from the people around them.
The passage in the Bible that describes this mentality is 2 Timothy 3:1-5. Whether it is a continuum or not doesn't really matter, the tactics are still devastating to those who have to endure them.
2 Timothy 3:1-5 "3 But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. 2 For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, 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 men as these."
Wickedness unrestrained by cultural acceptance will always grow out of control. Pretending to love these people by ignoring their sin does not cause them to change, nor does it do anything for the one who ignores their sin. Rather those who ignore the sin of wicked people often causes the sin to grow in the heart of the one who ignores.
Usually when we ignore sin to be friendly with the one who is wicked, we serve only to strengthen their sinfulness while increasing our own. This is why "lifestyle evangelism" is so devastating, it tends to coddle the sinner while diminishing the pain of the victims.
Isaiah 26:9-11 "…9 My soul longs for You in the night; indeed, my spirit within me diligently seeks You. For when Your judgments come upon the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness. 10 Though grace is shown to the wicked man, he does not learn righteousness. In the land of righteousness he acts unjustly and fails to see the majesty of the LORD. 11 O LORD, Your hand is upraised, but they do not see it. They will see Your zeal for Your people, and be put to shame. The fire set for Your enemies will consume them!…"
Psalm 147:6
"6 The Lord supports the afflicted;
He brings down the wicked to the ground."
We are not to comfort the wicked and punish the righteous. We punish the righteous when we pressure them to forgive an unrepentant wicked man.
We should do as God does, that is comfort the oppressed and punish the wicked. That's how it works in God's economy.
Wednesday, January 9, 2019
Beware of Narcissistic Flattery
Jeremiah 12:6 "6 Even your brothers— your own father’s household— even they have betrayed you; even they have cried aloud against you. Do not trust them, though they speak well of you. "
Once the narcissists show you who they are by their refusal to love God and you, then it is time to move on to healthy and loving relationships.
They are out there, God can find them for you!
Those who are locked into remaining with rebellious and toxic family members are not necessarily responding to Biblical standards.
2 Corinthians 6:16-18 "…16 What agreement can exist between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: “I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be My people.” 17“Therefore come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you.” 18 And: “I will be a Father to you, and you will be My sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.”"
When we spend more time with the ungodly, especially family members who claim to be Christians but act badly, then we will remain spiritual babies ourselves. We tend to adopt the actions and attitudes of those we spend the most time with.
1 Corinthians 15:33
Do not be deceived: “Bad company ruins good morals.”"
Even "moral" superficial family will mock and demean our walk because they are trusting in their own righteousness instead of the righteousness of Christ.
The more dedicated you are to the principles of God and to knowing His mind, the greater distance place between you and superficial pretenders in the church or in family.
When you find yourself seemingly on the outside of everyone all the time because of your trust in Christ and His Word, you will be isolated and demeaned by others.....guaranteed!!!!
James 1:2-8
"2 Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. 4 And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing."
Yes, you can be fulfilled, joyful and productive without the people you thought you needed so much.
Once the narcissists show you who they are by their refusal to love God and you, then it is time to move on to healthy and loving relationships.
They are out there, God can find them for you!
Those who are locked into remaining with rebellious and toxic family members are not necessarily responding to Biblical standards.
2 Corinthians 6:16-18 "…16 What agreement can exist between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: “I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be My people.” 17“Therefore come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you.” 18 And: “I will be a Father to you, and you will be My sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.”"
When we spend more time with the ungodly, especially family members who claim to be Christians but act badly, then we will remain spiritual babies ourselves. We tend to adopt the actions and attitudes of those we spend the most time with.
1 Corinthians 15:33
Do not be deceived: “Bad company ruins good morals.”"
Even "moral" superficial family will mock and demean our walk because they are trusting in their own righteousness instead of the righteousness of Christ.
The more dedicated you are to the principles of God and to knowing His mind, the greater distance place between you and superficial pretenders in the church or in family.
When you find yourself seemingly on the outside of everyone all the time because of your trust in Christ and His Word, you will be isolated and demeaned by others.....guaranteed!!!!
James 1:2-8
"2 Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. 4 And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing."
Yes, you can be fulfilled, joyful and productive without the people you thought you needed so much.
Excusing Sin Demeans God
If we forgive before repentance we are in disobedience to God. When we relieve someone of the guilt of their sin before they are sorry they did it we solidify the sin in their heart.
The psychology of forgiving offenders when they do not want forgiveness works against God's ways.
We are not to do revenge, we are not to be mean to people no matter what they do, but we are also not to forgive until they confess and want to reconcile.
1 John 1:9
'9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."
'9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."
Luke 17:4 "4 Even if he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times returns to say, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive him.” 5 The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!”…"
Notice in the passage "if he comes and says 'I repent', you must forgive him."
It is amazing how often believers leave out important phrases that clarify the text.
Yes we are to be ready to forgive, even excited that someone came to ask forgiveness, extending it freely and with joy. The condition for that forgiveness is that they want it and are sorrowful over their sin.
Bitterness does not come because the sinner won't repent to be able to receive forgiveness. We do not become bitter because others won't do what is needed to obey God.
Psychology has perverted the thinking of most people. They have been taught many years something that works against God's purposes and plans.
Perhaps so many like the false doctrine of forgiving before there is sorrow over sin because they want others to "just let it go" when they sin.
This culture enables and encourages sin by refusing to hold someone accountable for their actions.
Truth telling and accountability has become the new evil. Those who just let everything go without accountability foster a mentality of entitlement in the one who sins. Not only do many people treat sin as though its not so bad, they also encourage it by defending it with excuses to avoid bad feelings.
Bad feelings about sinning is a good thing. We should feel bad when we sin, it leads us to repentance, a changed heart and a changed life.
Coddling people has led to the snowflake mentality in which we live every day. Rather than shame over the sinfulness there is monstrous rage when someone is told they must repent. The gospel has been perverted by the softening of the matter of sin.
Romans 5:6-10
"6 For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.
7 For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die.
8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
9 Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.
10 For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life."
"6 For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.
7 For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die.
8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
9 Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.
10 For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life."
Sin is very serious, its offense against God who had to spill His blood to pay the price for our sin. How could we possibly treat it as though its just another personal choice in life.
The sin done against us is a training time for us, but that sin is also against God and very serious. An attitude of entitlement that everyone should just "let go" our sin so we can feel good about ourselves has created the monstrous culture we live in today.
This culture does not take seriously sin against God because most Christians do not take sin seriously. So many people are ready to feel sorry for the one who does evil and forget completely about those they have harmed.
The pressure doesn't ever seem to be on the ones who do evil to repent and change. The pressure is mostly on the one who was offended to forgive even without any show of sorrow or change in the offender.
This is patently wrong and works against God. He wants confession of sin, sorrow for evil deeds and forgiveness for those who want to be forgiven.
Luke 17:3-4 "3 So watch yourselves. “If your brother or sister sins against you, rebuke them; and if they repent, forgive them. 4 Even if they sin against you seven times in a day and seven times come back to you saying ‘I repent,’ you must forgive them.”"
Two important principles here, 1. if there is sin against you there must be a rebuke for that sin. 2. If the offender is sorry because of the rebuke then is when forgiveness is extended.
Psychology has confused the mind of many with evolutionary thinking that we are all animals and respond to stimuli. This is not the state of man. Man has a conscience place in them by God that gives them a higher status, greater reasoning ability and the ability to be far more devious than an animal.
Animals do things out of instinct and preservation. Man often does things out of greed and a need to feel superior to others. The heart of man is evil and capable horrid acts of hate.
God told us to forgive to glorify Him. It does not glorify Him when we pamper those who are evil. We can pray for them and refuse to act like them, but we should never excuse their sin.
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