Continual Reviling Breaks the Family Bond

We still love those who revile us but we have no Spiritual connection and as time passes we also lose the emotional connection.

Sometimes people keep cogitating on what they think is a loss when really it was a gain.

The culture brainwashes us to think we must have a family who loves us as though no one outside the bio family can do that. But we know that born-again believers do love one another and have become our real family for eternity.

Bio family often reviles us but we keep them close anyway because the culture pressures us to do so. They say things like "but he's your brother" as though his character doesn't matter, how he treats you doesn't matter, as long as he has familiar blood running through his veins. This is irrational at best, genetics does not determine who is our brother or sister or whether they will make a supportive friend in Jesus Christ.

How we relate to one another in love and deep concern tells us who is our brothers or sister. In Christ we share the same God living in us Who shed His blood for us, we share the most important thing there is and that is Christ. And, because it is Christ this includes His commands and principles in His Living Word.

Jesus Christ shed all His blood to save anyone who will place their trust in Him. His blood matters, the blood in the veins of humans does not matter.

We can treat with respect everyone we come in contact with but we do not have to make them our close companions. Our dearest companions must be those who love Christ, not just say they do but live as though they would die for Him.

Proverbs 18:24 “A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.”

Our love for the brethren is a passionate love driven by our love for Christ. There is no love like it in the world.

Proverbs 17:17

"A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for a time of adversity."

John 15:12-13

"My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends."

Job 16:20-21

"My intercessor is my friend as my eyes pour out tears to God; on behalf of a man he pleads with God as one pleads for a friend."

Notice these verses speak of friendship not family. It is wonderful when a family is a godly friendship but often even most of the time it is not. Bio Family often works against us when our desire is to walk with Christ, obeying His principles and seeking Him in all things in our lives.

Even "Christian" family will come against us when we bring Scripture to bear on a situation in which everyone in the family is supporting the sinful thing rather than God's principles and standards.

Matthew 10:35-36 "…35 For I have come to turn ‘a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. 36 A man’s enemies will be the members of his own household.’ 37 Anyone who loves his father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me;…"

My advice to anyone suffering the loss of family because of our Christianity is to stop grieving over the loss of their friendship and begin praising God for those He sent to be our real brothers and sisters.

Sadly many keep the grieving going for many years when the grieving is producing nothing but discontent and a distraction from what God has called them to do. Let them go and get on with serving Christ and those He has placed in your sphere of influence. There might not be many but there are some and that's enough.

Luke 14:25-27

"25 Now large crowds were going along with Him, and He turned and said to them, 26 “If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his own father, mother, wife, children, brothers, sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple.

27 Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple."

Let There Be No Divisions

"Let there be no divisions" does not mean compromising the word of God it means seeking the Holy Spirit and the Bible to find the truth that we can all agree.

Those who are divisive are those who are bringing wrong doctrines and humanistic ideas.

Those who bring truth are not the divisive ones.

1 Corinthians 1:10-17

"Now I beseech you, brethren, through the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfected together in the same mind and in the same judgment."

Romans 16:17-18

"Now I urge you, brethren, keep your eye on those who cause dissensions and hindrances contrary to the teaching which you learned, and turn away from them. For such men are slaves, not of our Lord Christ but of their own appetites; and by their smooth and flattering speech they deceive the hearts of the unsuspecting."

We must agree in the Lord without compromise to appease an ungodly culture.

Don't Let the Devil Have a Foothold

Often the narcissist will pretend you are the person they want to believe you are when they are really describing themselves in their own minds.

When we encounter those who will not tell us why they are angry with us or treat us disrespectfully, even denying that they do it, we are experiencing someone who is controlled by the devil and lacks all the fruit of the Spirit and the love of Christ.

Galatians 5:22-23

"22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law."

1 Corinthians 13:4-8

"4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.

5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.

6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.

7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

8a Love never fails."

When someone is constantly showing contempt and disregard for someone else we know this person is not walking in the Holy Spirit. When someone is exacting revenge for not following them, we know we have met someone walking fleshly without the love of God.

May we as born-again believers walk in the Spirit of Christ no matter what anyone else is doing around us. May we not respond in ungodly ways to personal attacks or demeaning. The devil wants us to do back to others what they do to us, but God wants us to do the opposite to others than what they do to us.

Luke 6:31

"31 And as you wish that others would do to you, do so to them."

Tell the truth with kindness in your voice and ignore the response to what we say. The response is not our business, only our obedience to Christ is our business.

Never let the narcissist turn us into them, this is what the devil wants, frustrate the devil by continuing to walk in the kindness and love of the Lord no matter what.

Christ's Love vs the World's Love

1 Corinthians 13:4-8
"4 Love is patient, love is kind, it is not jealous; love does not brag, it is not arrogant. 5 It does not act disgracefully, it does not seek its own benefit; it is not provoked, does not keep an account of a wrong suffered, 6 it does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; 7 it keeps every confidence, it believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things."

The world's love is nothing like the Love Christ places in every born-again heart. What the world thinks is love is always self-seeking, even the good deeds they do for others are done to glorify self. It is not a pure love from a selfless heart as is the love of Christ in those who have trusted in Him.

When Can Antichrist Be Revealed?

Typical Human Nature can be Changed by Christ

So typical of human nature isn't it, to desire the one thing we cannot have when we already have so much?

We have enjoyed incredible freedom in this country for several generations but have not become grateful, rather the nation has demanded more and to retain what it has.

Instead of praising God for His blessings to us the nation as a whole has the mentality of entitlement, believing that since we had good for so long we deserve it and demand it more than we want Christ.

One day, and I think soon, God is going to remove the blessing we praised ourselves for instead of Him. When a nation demands to have the freedom to sin all it wants is when God becomes weary of our foolishness and disregard for Him. He begins to withdraw that which we worshiped more than Him, that is our freedom.

I hear many people complaining about many things, the food, the medical doctors, the price of things, and much more when they have much more than they deserve and everything they need. I don't mean they have everything they want, but they do have everything they need.

If we were to spend one day writing down all the blessings we have we might begin to feel ashamed of ourselves. Divorces would diminish, fights with neighbors would end, family squabbles would disappear, yes and even our bank accounts would grow without debt.

In other words, we would live by the principles of the Bible and it would bless us more than material possessions, so much so that we would not hunger after things we could not obtain. Our attention would turn to kindly relationships, helping rather than ignoring those around us.

The more our culture aspires to personal aggrandizement, personal accomplishment, and personal pleasure the less we concern ourselves with people, living, breathing people with emotional and spiritual needs.

Born-again believers ought to be more focused on Christ and His commands and principles to us that material possession pale in comparison. Yes, we have much in the country, all of us have been blessed with much more than we need, and yet we fight for more.

Even our difficulties are a blessing for what they teach us if we acknowledge God as the King in our lives over all things.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18. "Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."

Colossians 2:6-7

"6 Therefore, as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him,

7 having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and established in your faith, just as you were instructed, and overflowing with gratitude."

Gratefulness is the key to our joy and peace. When we lose that gratefulness we lose purpose. Our joy comes from obedience to Christ and love toward Him and mankind.

Psalm 103:1-4

"Praise for the Lord’s Mercies.

A Psalm of David.

103 Bless the Lord, my soul,

And all that is within me, bless His holy name.

2 Bless the Lord, my soul,

And do not forget any of His benefits;

3 Who pardons all your guilt,

Who heals all your diseases;

4 Who redeems your life from the pit,

Who crowns you with favor and compassion;"

May each of us implement His principles in our lives here and now even if no one else does.

If everyone focused on the blessings and principles of Christ there would be no conflict and nothing but love all around us. We will see this one day in the Millennium when Christ rules as King of Kings. Hallelujah!!!!

Be the One to Bring the Joy Back into the Room

I have met many people who just seem angry all the time. They are only happy when they get attention or want something else. I know it has to do with these end times written about in 2 Timothy 3:1-5.

It is a challenge in our day to obey God when so many people walk into the room and suck all the joy out as though the devil had walked in the door.

As believers, we must remain continually mindful of God's Word, His promises, and our future reward so that we do not become caught in the net of the evil one through the influence of those who do not know Christ.

Here's what God tells us to help us maintain our joy.

Philippians 4:8

"8 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is [a]lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, think about these things."

Keep looking up and only Christ will have power over us.