The gods in the Lives of the Unsaved

If anyone says you are not born again because you do not agree on the character of a politician this is a very big clue that the person saying these things is not born again themselves.

No one who is born again would throw a friend who loves God under the bus for not thinking exactly the way he does.

Can you see the problem with someone who gages our spirituality by whether or not you like their candidate?

This is what I mean when I say that people who claim they are Christians but measure our Christianity by whether or not we agree with a politician, that politician has become an idol to them.

I was actually told I was not a Christian if I didn't support a particular candidate. I even voted for the candidate they loved but am not deceived by his antics.

Beware of allowing a pretender to dictate your values and convictions by whether or not you like a particular person. These people are narcissists who will manipulate and intimidate you to diminish your walk with Christ. They place worldly desires and safety above Christ and other believers.

1 John 3:13-15 "…13So do not be surprised, brothers, if the world hates you. 14We know that we have passed from death to life because we love our brothers. The one who does not love remains in death. 15Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that eternal life does not reside in a murderer.…"

The division in the church is growing because people refuse to hear Biblical truth to evaluate a person's character. When a character is ignored to gain things we want, then things are more important to us than God. This is shameful and devastating to the church today.

It is not possible to separate a man's character from his actions. If this man is unfaithful in a serial way to wives he is also going to abandon those who supported him. He lied when he said he would honor his wives and did not. Then tells the public that he never felt he had anything to repent from, that he lived a good life. This is a man who has a problem with integrity.

I can disagree with someone concerning politics, but when they declare I am not born again because I expose the character of someone then they are not friends. They make the declaration about my character and born again status by one thing, whether or not I like their candidate. This is idol worship above the fellowship of the Christians. They do not know my life, my comings and goings but they declare me unsaved because I expose some things about their candidate, that they refuse to admit.

America is more divided than ever now because of the many people who claim to be Christians but have never been born again, and who will fight and argue because they don't have the love of God in them, nor do they care about God's principles for life.

You cannot compartmentalize the character of the man from his public life. A man with good character does not have a private persona different from a public one. The one who has a good character is the same with everyone all the time. Their actions and words do not change based on those they happen to be with or the venue.

If we cannot properly discern things in leaders then we will not be able to discern them in the church or community either. Many people base their assessment of character on whether or not someone likes them or treats them well, as well as on their feelings. This is folly leading only to deception promoting false doctrine based on nothing more than personal desires, whatever one likes to think rather than on truth.

We can expect more of this fantasy thinking as we move closer to the tribulation. We know that the antichrist will be so clever that he will fool the masses and the masses will turn in their friends to be persecuted because they do not love their favorite antichrist.

This spirit of antichrist is already in the world working on those who are pretenders, those who have not been born again but are in the church-dividing the born again believers.

Do not be intimidated by those who falsely accuse you when you attempt to warn them about deception. Let them go, we are not called to keep fellowship with those who love their deception and refuse to pray to find the truth. If we cannot disagree and will not pray then there is no friendship.

Romans 16:17

"I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them."

Titus 3:10

"As for a person who stirs up division, after warning him once and then twice, have nothing more to do with him,"

It never feels good to have to block someone but it may be necessary. Never allow someone to intimidate you into keeping a friend who will not listen to the truth. God clearly said, "warn him once, then twice."

Only One Mediator

Husbands are not the mediators between God and their wives. Priests are not the mediators between the parishioners and God. Each person must obey God on their own and are personally accountable for their own lives.

1 Timothy 2:5 " 5 For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, 6 who gave Himself as a ransom for all—the testimony that was given at just the right time.…"

Christians and Pretenders Grow Together

The difference between a Christian and a pretender is that the Christian loves the things of God and desires to live by them as led by the Holy Spirit who lives in them. The pretender loves to appear special following only God's commands when they suit him but has never been indwelt with the Holy Spirit.

The Christian was born of the Holy Spirit by the working of God and the pretender was never born again by God, continuing to walk in his own mind without regard for God's truth.

The Christian seeks the Bible and the Holy Spirit to obey Him but the pretender adds his own rules to the Bible that makes him feel superior. to appear special following only following God's commands when they make him feel special.

The Christian was born of the Holy Spirit by the working of God and the pretender was never born again continuing to walk in his own mind without regard for God's truth.

Christians love to speak and obey the things of God. The pretender uses the Bible to justify their sin twisting whatever does not fit their narrative. 

The Christian embraces correction from others to improve their walk, but the pretender fights bitterly to defend themselves, they have no interest in growing in holiness.

The pretender uses God's name in vain when they say they are Christians but do not obey Him.
For the Christian obeying and worshiping God is a desire and yearning, loving to discover God's will. For the pretender, God is a useful puppet that does their bidding while being ignored when the pretender does not get their way. 

With the pretender, there is no desire for growing holiness, but this is the whole desire of the born again believer in Christ. 

We have all around us now pretenders who manipulate and intimidate others to be like them, who have no born again experience. These people cause division in the body by their mere claim to be one of the flock, but they are not. 

These pretenders are tares in the group, they looks so much like wheat that God said not to pull them up because you might be pulling up a wheat.

Matthew 13:24-30
"24 Another parable He put forth to them, saying: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field;
25 but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way.
26 But when the grain had sprouted and produced a crop, then the tares also appeared.
27 So the servants of the owner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?’ 28 He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ The servants said to him, ‘Do you want us then to go and gather them up?’
29 But he said, ‘No, lest while you gather up the tares you also uproot the wheat with them.
30 Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn.” ’ ”

We now have more tares in the church than we have authentically born again believers. These tares will have a social gospel, more concerned about this world, and their pleasures than they are about God. 

The tares need the gospel once again, only this time with a strong rebuke and admonishment to ask God if they were ever born again. They will interpret God's word often out of context to make it say what they want it to say. They will add to the word their own thinking revealing their deceitful hearts.
The pretenders will use secular myths and stories to add to their brand of Christianity confusing many, leading many people astray with their lies. This is why we must always seek the Bible and the Holy Spirit to evaluate everything that is said by others. 

1 Thessalonians 5:20-21 "…20 Do not treat prophecies with contempt, 21 but test all things. Hold fast to what is good. 22Abstain from every form of evil.…"

1 John 4:1 "1 Beloved, do not believe every spirit but test the spirits to see whether they are from God. For many false prophets have gone out into the world."

To What or Whom are You Bound

Let Them Be Rude But You Remain Calm

Remember those times when someone was rude but you didn't answer them back, perhaps it was the Holy Spirit controlling your response. There are times when we withheld a response and felt later that we should have said something. The truth is often God wants us to remain silent and not defend ourselves. The narcissist wants us to talk back to them so they have something to hold against us, even if it is an innocent response. Christ knows best, His way glorifies Him and keeps us from mistakes.

1 Peter 2:23 "1 Peter 2:23

23 and while being abusively insulted, He did not insult in return; while suffering, He did not threaten, but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously;"

When the Devil Quotes Scripture!

When the devil quotes scripture! And, he knows the scriptures better than most Christians.

He will always take scripture out of context making it say what the hearer likes to hear, as well as using much flattery to disarm his victims.

If you think you can outsmart the devil with your own mind, think again. You have no defenses against the devil unless you are born again and able to think with the mind of Christ.

Proverbs 3:4-6 "…4 Then you will find favor and high regard in the sight of God and man. 5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; 6 in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight"

Daniel 2:20-22 "…20 and declared: “Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, for wisdom and power belong to Him. 21 He changes the times and seasons; He removes kings and establishes them. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning. 22 He reveals the deep and hidden things; He knows what lies in darkness, and light dwells with Him.…"

The Democratic system was first used in ancient Greece. It was in response to the people wanting to choose their own leaders rather than having God to decide. America is fashioned after that system which makes sense when our nation was founded on a mix of Greek thinking and Christianity.

We have been raised deeply indoctrinated to make our own choices without God. This is the reason we have so much rebellion in our country today. Christians who say they believe the Word of God only say it, they do not trust in it.

I have voted all my life since age 18 and I am 68 years old. I was indoctrinated to believe I was a bad citizen or a lazy person if I did not vote and I believed it. What is very astonishing is that no one really cared who I voted for as long as I voted, until recent years when things became more blatantly wicked.

It was not God that ordained this voting system. He allowed it because He gave us what we wanted, knowing that eventually, it would implode upon itself just as it did with Israel when they demanded a human leader from God.

There are many countries of the world that do not have an opportunity to choose their own leaders and yet the Christians in those countries seem more dedicated to Christ because He is all they have.

The American mindset is "don't tell me", a mentality that rebels against the idea of someone else being in control, even God. This has caused believers in America to "assert their rights" even if it means disobedience against God. Sadly Americans feel justified and free to thumb their nose at God because they have been trained all their life to choose for themselves without any authority dictating anything to them, even God.

We have no model of this form of government in the Bible. The only other time it existed was in ancient Greece when there was a plurality of false gods rife with paganism practices.

I know there are other believers who understand this but they are very few. We have been trained by the culture to "say" they love the Bible but are not really interested in trusting in Christ for every single thing.

I almost never hear Christians in this country saying things like; "I must go ask God about this." Usually, they quote scripture out of context claiming whatever they want often in disobedience against God.

Those who will be treated with the greatest contempt are those who attempt to warn believers to trust in Christ, not looking to the world and its system for their comfort and ways.

Romans 13:1

"Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which is from God. The authorities that exist have been appointed by God."

This passage in Romans was referring to governing authorities that were placed by God not voted in by the people.

We have seen where our form of government has led, to extreme debauchery, illegal actions, and much rebellion against God's Word.

God places wicked leaders at times to punish a rebellious nation. In this case of America and its system the people choose their own wicked leaders. All God has to do is leave them to themselves and they will do the wrong thing while depending on their own thinking to determine their truth.

Homosexuality is still prominent and growing, abortion remains, serial adultery through remarriage after divorce is rampant. Pornography is made and produced from America disseminate to the entire world. Shack-ups are common, divorce is out of control, most "Christians do not read the Bible while claiming they love it. The example of apostate Christianity is what America is selling to the rest of the world with all of its lies and blasphemous teachings.

God is removing the blessing from the country because there was Christianity in some people, still, the remnant, (meaning small piece) who were obeying His word, but there are so few remnant believers now that punishment is coming to discipline a country that claims Christianity but defies God.

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

If you doubt what I say just challenge any Christian to obey the word in a particular area of disobedience you see in their lives and watch the vitriol that emerges. The "Christians" now are more likely to chastise you for not voting than they are to obey God in your conscience. They chastise us for not doing something God never commanded us to do. It is a choice, not a command to vote in any election.

Sadly too people are voting for wicked people to get some things they want but when challenged to obey God in their own lives they not only refuse they bitterly fight to defend their own sin. So many are ignoring the flaws and sins in a candidate's life because of his flattery.

I am sorry that I might lose friends over this but I am compelled to speak what God has shown me, that is that most Christians in this country have placed their trust in their favorite wicked leaders rather than seeking Christ.

Psalm 20:6-8 "…6 Now I know that the LORD saves His anointed; He answers him from His holy heaven with the saving power of His right hand. 7 Some trust in chariots and others in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God. 8 They collapse and fall, but we rise up and stand firm.…"

If you fear who is elected, if you fear the virus, if you fear the loss of your lifestyle on any level then you are not trusting God.

Deuteronomy 17:16

"But the king must not acquire many horses for himself or send the people back to Egypt to acquire more horses, for the LORD has told you, 'You are never to go back that way again.'"

There is a good principle that can be gleaned from the passage in Deuteronomy, and that is when we become born again we no longer trust in the wisdom of the world or its systems, we trust in Christ no matter what happens.

Deuteronomy 20:1

"When you go out to war against your enemies and see horses, chariots, and an army larger than yours, do not be afraid of them; for the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, is with you."

Another principle is that we do not have to fear those who are leading or what they are doing. God may not want us to have our freedom anymore, He may increase our hardship because of our rebellion as a nation. He may be and I believe this one the most, he may be reducing America to a third world country because we are headed toward the end times in preparation for the antichrist.

I am convinced that many "Christians' today are not looking-up as we are commanded by Christ to do when we see all this happening. Most Christians are looking around, down, and sideways rather than up.

The More We Focus on Christ the Dirtier the World Looks!

When Christ is our focus we are not worried about everything going on in the world.

We expect things to get worse, God said it would but we are to be about our Father's business, that is the gospel and encouraging the saints in the Word of God.

Trying to stop the evil in these end times is like trying to empty the ocean with a bucket and a teaspoon. God has spoken and prophesy will play out just as He said it would.

2 Timothy 3 tells us the evil of the hearts in our day. How could anyone believe any politician would be different from the rest of the culture described in these passages. As the world grows worse so does every leader in the world.

2 Timothy 3:1-5

"3 But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come.

2 For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, slanderers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy,

3 unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good,

4 treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God,

5 holding to a form of godliness although they have denied its power; avoid such people as these."