Days Gone By

Just recently I have been watching videos of old photos from the early 1900's and before with the old buildings and people of the time.

They seemed like fascinating interesting times that one might want to go back to what would appear to be a simpler time. As I enjoy the photos I try to remember that nothing has really changed in mankind, perhaps more cultural manners and stringent rules on behavior back in the day existed but people were still basically the same.

Sin was just as rampant although much more hidden, appearances were everything in those days. Protecting the family name was first and foremost, in other words, hypocrisy was rampant.

The cultural Christianity of our time existed back in those "good old days" just as it does now. The church was a remnant then and is a remnant now.

Mark 7:13 "

13 Thus you nullify the word of God by the tradition you have handed down. And you do so in many such matters.”

This scripture was written in the time of the apostles 2 thousand years ago. What would make us think humankind has changed?

We have always been a remnant in all societies, that is, those who love to know God's Word and actually live by it.

Romans 9:27

"And Isaiah cries out concerning Israel: “Though the number of the sons of Israel be as the sand of the sea, only a remnant of them will be saved,"

Romans 11:1-36

"I ask, then, has God rejected his people? By no means! For I myself am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, a member of the tribe of Benjamin. God has not rejected his people whom he foreknew. Do you not know what the Scripture says of Elijah, how he appeals to God against Israel? “Lord, they have killed your prophets, they have demolished your altars, and I alone am left, and they seek my life.” But what is God's reply to him? “I have kept for myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal.” So too at the present time there is a remnant, chosen by grace."

You might say, "but no one is trying to kill us now", it seems that way but anyone who hates us and the Word of God has murder in their hearts. They do not kill us physically but attempt to exclude us, mock and demean us a form of killing our soul through isolation. God said hatred was the same as murder.

1 John 3:15-17

'15 Whoever hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him."

When someone desires bad to happen to another person they are practicing murder in their hearts. When someone hates a person enough to discourage them any way they can from doing what God loves, are in their heart, murdering the object of their hatred.

We live in a hostile world now which is attempting to silence all the people of God from speaking the truth. We know this is also present in the churches when we ask for Biblical evidence to be brought to bear on any subject we are ignored and even asked to leave having been labeled trouble makers or called divisive.

We need not let this upset or unnerve us, it is to be expected in these last days. The devil loves nothing better than to remove our witness of strength in the face of trials. We must allow the Holy Spirit to work in us, so that we do not become like the world. Our witness is only good if we are different from the world. Notice I said "different", not "appear different" but actually "be different."

Our minds do not think the way the world thinks, we are polar opposites. Those who see us operating as Christ-filled Christians may want to know why we are different, why we are not frightened or frustrated by what is happening all around us.

When they inquire we can share that it is Christ Who changed us into a new creation, we do not fear anymore.

Philippians 4:6-7

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

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Authentically Born Again Believers Grow, they do not Regress!

There are many people who claim Christianity but have no fruit, I was once one of these people. At about age 12 I made a profession of faith out of an emotional response to the gospel at church camp but there was no change in me that lasted.

I thought of Christianity as something you tried real hard to become, you are sorry about your sin and never sin again, but I couldn't stop my sin and even leaned into it until my early twenties.

I used sin to pacify my heart of sadness rather than turning to Christ for the pain. I turned to the sin to relieve what only God could cleanse permanently.

When I became born-again out of sheer brokenness over my sinful nature I no longer wanted the sin I turned to in an attempt to relieve my pain. There were no authentic Christians who could guide me, they had no interest in me. I thank the Lord for this fact because I came to Christ completely on my own without any human support. From that time on I have trusted only in Him always. Even "Christians" had no time or interest in being a part of my new life experience led by the Holy Spirit, they preferred to believe I was the same person I was before I had been changed by Christ.

I noticed over the years that the "Christians" who had no interest in me and my new faith tended to regress as they grew older. Some even walked away from the faith while others continued in their superficial superior attitudes, remaining rude and obstinate as though I had never been born-again and as though their rudeness was somehow going to cause me to want their God.

The closer I got to God the further away they became. It was as though they hated to hear "God-talk" from me because they wanted to view me as the old person. The gossip grew, the hatred and contempt grew and then came the permanent rejection.

The more I told the truth the worse the pretenders became. They had no interest in accurately obeying the Bible and were incensed that I dared to use the scriptures to bring truth to a discussion. They loved their cultural Christianity and false beliefs cloaking everything in "Christian" language while defying the commands of God.

After many years of walking with Christ I realized that perhaps those superficial, prideful, and superior acting Christians had not regressed really, I just grew and my eyes were opened to their infant-like walk that never progressed.

When a believer has the fruit of the Spirit, love, joy, peace, gentleness, kindness and self-control, they have a heart for the lost, and compassion for those they believe are lost. These fruitful Spirits are excited when Christ changes someone into a new creation, they embrace the one who has come to the light.

The mentality of superiority, a sense that they are better than someone else as though they never had to repent in their own life, comes from a cultural Christian who elevates themselves for how good they think they are and the others they look down upon are not.

The superior acting "Christian" does not understand that they were once as filthy and hell-bound as the one they look down upon. Anyone who thinks they deserved salvation because of the absence of certain sins in their lives are not born-again. They could never have come to Christ "crushed" as He said we must come in order to be changed by Him.

Those who have come to Christ crushed under the weight of their own sin, confessing it and desiring to be changed by Him, will be the ones He changes.

If anyone thinks they were never deeply sinful like those others they demean, then they have never been born again but engage in pretending continually. Every visit to the church gathering is one of play-acting to impress others. Their lives are full of arrogance and self-exaltation to prove to men how wonderful they think they are, but it has no substance, it is a fantasy of the worst kind to maintain a false persona of goodness.

Matthew 13:1-9 "13 On that day Jesus had gone out of the house and was sitting by the sea.

2 And large crowds gathered to Him, so He got into a boat and sat down, and the whole crowd was standing on the beach.

3 And He told them many things in parables, saying, “Behold, the sower went out to sow;

4 and as he sowed, some seeds fell beside the road, and the birds came and ate them up.

5 Others fell on the rocky places, where they did not have much soil; and they sprang up immediately because they had no depth of soil.

6 But after the sun rose, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away.

7 Others fell among the thorns, and the thorns came up and choked them out.

8 But others fell on the good soil and yielded a crop, some a hundred, some sixty, and some thirty times as much.

9 The one who has ears, let him hear.”"

When we see hostility on the part of a Christian because we brought Scripture to bear in a conversation you can be sure the angry person does not know the scriptures and does not want Christ, if they did they would love His word and bring their own scripture in context, to support the truth or to lovingly clarify it.

Only those who know they do not know and can't answer become angry when the truth is manifest. They do not love the Lord or His Word, they merely love their religion, its cultural rituals and ideas that make them enjoy their own version of Christianity.

We are living in the end times in which most people who claim Christianity have little interest in the Bible except to rearrange the Words of God to say what they want to believe.

These people also form opinions about authentic believers to justify their hatred of them. They attack their character when they cannot prove their scripture wrong. They leave the rational discussion based on Scripture to engage in character assassination. The devil convinces them that if they attack the character they can justify the hatred. It's all smoke and mirrors to intimidate into silence those who love the truth of God.

DO NOT BE AFRAID OF THEM, GOD SEES IT ALL AND YOU CAN REMAIN OPEN, HONEST AND STRONG NO MATTER WHAT TRICK THEY PULL.

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Moving Forward or Regressing, there is no such thing as Stagnation in the Christian Walk

Something I do not understand, how can there be so many "Christians" who never speak of God on their social media or to friends and family?

The only thing I can figure out is that most people who attend churches and would answer yes to being asked if they were a Christian have never been born again.

Some people have even attended Bible college but act agitated when confronted with Biblical truth while throwing in humanistic platitudes that intimidate on-fire believers into silence.

There is a devilish fear of the truth among many who attend buildings they call churches. When asked if they are born again they tell you which "church" they attend, nothing about their spirituality or God's Word in their life.

It is good to take regular inventory of our lives to see if we are growing in holiness. Those who are born-again authentically never have to question their salvation but they must evaluate their walk to see if they are progressing in the wisdom of God.

We will never be perfected until God takes us home, but we must be progressing in wisdom through the Holy Spirit. There is no such thing as stagnation, there is only forward or regression. Let's keep moving forward as we seek Christ for everything.

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Beware of Pretenders in the Church

Beware of people in the church who are seeking healings, feelings, blessings, experiences, and excitement, these people do not seek Christ but the things themselves.

Unfortunately, those who seek the experiences are not focused on Christ who brings these things but on the things themselves.

Those who seek these things have "faith in faith" not faith in Christ. They seek the good feelings that come from pretending something is from God when it is merely fleshly exaltation. Feelings and impressing others around them take priority over truth.

Those who seek God will not always seek healing, they will be led by the Holy Spirit to seek His will, which often is not healing. When they must go through the trial they know God is still with them.

Those who seek God know that they must ignore their feelings to obey Christ, they must speak the truth when it is not appreciated and when they will be reviled for it.

Those who seek Christ are willing to forgo their own desires to please God. They will stand alone while the world seeks its own ideas and desire.

It is not important to God seekers to be popular or noticed by others as special. They care only about pleasing God and carrying His truth to others.

Those who seek Christ are full of joy about His Greatness, His glory, His provision His way.

Proverbs 3:5-6

"5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart

And do not lean on your own understanding.

6 In all your ways acknowledge Him,

And He will make your paths straight."

Those seeking God will not whine and complain, but will share their needs, failures and distresses with one another openly and freely expecting those who love God will pray for them. God seekers weep while they pray, weep while the joy remains in them. They know Christ is with them through everything even if the feelings of His presence are not there. Feelings lie to us we cannot trust them.

We must trust Christ not feelings. Yes, we confess our feelings but we evaluate them according to the Bible and dismiss them when they do not agree with God.

Our feelings are often the opposite of reality, they interpret things in ways that lead us to believe things that are not true. If we follow our feelings we will end up disobeying God more times than not.

The devil uses feelings more than anything else to bring us low, discourage us and make us think we are in a good place when we are in the wrong place.

In short, fleshly feelings cannot be trusted, only Christ can be trusted.

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Saved or Self-Deceived, Part 2 (Matthew 7:21-27)

Saved or Self-Deceived, Part 1 (Selected Scriptures)

Saved or Self-Deceived, Part 1 (Selected Scriptures)