Judging the Parenting of Others is a Sin

There are those who preach that we are responsible for how our children turn out. This cannot be further from the truth. I have known many parents who were good parents, whose children hated the teachings of their parents.

We are responsible for what we do as parents, but the children are responsible for whether or not they receive it. We are not responsible for the results. Remember David and Absolum? David was a man after God's own heart, and yet his own son wanted to kill him to take his throne.

 
Ezekiel 18:19-21 "19 Yet you may ask, ‘Why shouldn’t the son bear the iniquity of his father?’ Since the son has done what is just and right, carefully observing all My statutes, he will surely live. 20 The soul who sins is the one who will die. A son will not bear the iniquity of his father, and a father will not bear the iniquity of his son. The righteousness of the righteous man will fall upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked man will fall upon him. 21 But if the wicked man turns from all the sins he has committed, keeps all My statutes, and does what is just and right, he will surely live; he will not die."

We are not robots programmed by others, we are presented with the truth and we make a choice, each one their own choice. I am always appalled by the judgments made against parents solely based on how the children turn out, without evidence of how the parents were raising them.

 
No one has the right or even ability to judge properly how others are raising their children.

 
I have also seen children who appeared to be raised badly who became born-again and turned out better than their families. Those who love to judge others about these things are sinning. This is the judgment God told us not to engage in, and definitely not pass on our ideas to others; this would be called gossip.

Our culture and extended families have much pull on our children; it is impossible to completely isolate them from the culture. In our day, culture often has a greater pull on children than parents do.

 
Also, let's not forget that the spouses of the children have tremendous influence when the spouses become the most important person in the lives of the children.
I have known children who loved and admired their parents until the children married, and suddenly, the children developed anger against the parents that was not there before, influenced by their spouse.

 
There are so many life variables with family that it is impossible to judge why a child becomes what they become. Also, keep in mind that parents cannot take the credit for the good behavior of their children. Their behavior is based on their choices, not on the quality of their parents.

 
There are bad children who were raised by good parents and there are good children who were raised by bad parents.

 
Yes, parents are responsible before God to do what is right, they are accountable for themselves, but they are not responsible for the choices of their children.

 
So, let's stop judging the parenting of others; instead, we are to come alongside and be supportive of the parents when the children are not respectful. Coddling disobedient adult children is a sin, fostering dishonor toward the parents.

 
Ephesians 6:1-3 "1 Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. 2“Honor your father and mother” (which is the first commandment with a promise), 3 that it may go well with you and that you may have a long life on the earth.”

Power Tends to Corrupt by Larry Jones

Exciting Times Full of Purpose for the Born Again Believer

Think about it!!!

The thing that excites me is that Christians can reach other believers and the lost all over the world from their own homes without traveling and the expense and exhaustion of the process of evangelism. God has made it so easy for us in these last days, we should take advantage of it.

Many believers I know are reaching people they have never met and may not meet until the marriage supper of the Lamb. They are encountering unsaved people who have never heard the gospel of Christ. And, even those who have heard a false gospel can now hear the real one.

 
Every born-again believer ought to be excited as we accelerate toward the end, ramping up the ability to share the gospel and to edify the saints even in our old age from our own homes.

 
There are those who will hate that we can influence others through social media, mocking what we do without knowing what it is that we actually do. Pay no attention to the nay-sayers who are sent by the devil attempting to make us feel foolish for doing what pleases God.

 
There will always be pretenders who love their form of religion that allows them to be nothing and do nothing as they pretend a false Christianity full of deceit and unkind gossip to undermine what God has called us to do.

 
Ignore the scoffers and jealous people who hate that we are full of joy and purpose.
Psalm 1:1 "Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers;"

Isaiah 57:4 "Whom are you mocking? Against whom do you open your mouth wide and stick out your tongue? Are you not children of transgression, the offspring of deceit,"

Never take seriously anyone who works to undermine what God has given us to do, ignore them and continue in obedience to Christ.

 
Proverbs 15:12 "A scoffer does not like to be reproved; he will not go to the wise."

Romans 12:2 "Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect."

We will be tested to see how far we have come and how much work in ourselves is necessary. God will continue His work in us as we obey Him.

Power of the Holy Spirit Over the Gathering of Believers

God's direction for the congregation of believers should be as follows:

1 Corinthians 14:29-30 "29 Two or three prophets should speak, and the others should weigh carefully what is said. 30And if a revelation comes to someone who is seated, the first speaker should stop.…"

When was the last time you saw anyone from the audience allowed to interject when the speaker is speaking in a church gathering? It is discouraged in our modern churches, and yet it is a command from God that others participate, evaluate,e and correct or add to what is being said. One man should not be in total control of what goes on in the congregation.

 
Think about it, something in the gatherings is forbidden by men that God commanded to practice.

 
1 Thessalonians 5:20-21
"Do not treat prophecies with contempt, / but test all things. Hold fast to what is good."

1 John 4:1
"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."

Acts 17:11
"Now the Bereans were more noble-minded than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if these teachings were true."

No one man should have power over the gathering; only the Holy Spirit is to have this power.

Power Tends to Corrupt by Larry Jones

The Blind Hog

There's a saying, "even a blind hog finds an acorn once in a while." Just because someone is right about something does not mean their right about everything.
This is why God told us to question all things, test all things.

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

Ephesians 5:10
"Test and prove what pleases the Lord."

2 Corinthians 13:5
"Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Jesus Christ is in you—unless you fail the test?"

Proverbs 14:15
""The simple man believes every word, but the prudent man watches his steps."

The simple-minded person believes whatever they are told that they like to believe. These are those who love gossip and conspiracies that they cannot prove.

 
Proverbs 4:7
"Wisdom is supreme; so acquire wisdom. And whatever you may acquire, gain understanding."

Job 34:4
"Let us choose for ourselves what is right; let us learn together what is good."

Isaiah 8:20
"To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, they have no light of dawn."

May all born-again believers learn to have a skeptical spirit when it comes to what people say. It isn't about distrusting people as much as it is about realizing that everyone comes to the table with their own preconceived ideas that color the way they interpret things.

 
Malachi 3:18
"So you will again distinguish between the righteous and the wicked, between those who serve God and those who do not.”

Narcissists are Boring because they are Phony & Fraudulent

Narcissists are the most boring people you will ever meet. They have no personality because of the false one they wish you to see, which is not the real them.

 
Pretenders are those who display a persona that they wish you to believe, but it is nothing more than an act.

 
They are easily angered toward anyone who sees the real them and treats them like they would anyone else. The narcissist wants to be seen as special and superior, and when someone does not treat them as such,h they become embarrassed and full of rage.

 
Anger is at the core of the narcissist's character. We know they understand right from wrong in their interactions because they hide it from those they wish to impress and rage at those they believe have no influence.

 
Narcissists are impossible to reason with; their first response to perceived slights is to justify, ignore, or rage instead of listening to resolve. They cannot be seen as anything but perfect in their own eyes, or they come unhinged, thinking this state of rage will convince others they are special.

Sadly, the raging proves they are without confidence, spoiled, frightened little children who cannot tolerate correction on any level, no matter how mild.

 
Rationally loving people want to know when there is a problem, and they want to know if they have a part in the problem. The narcissist is so fragile that they cannot entertain for even a minute their part in a conflict. In fact, they will find conflict when there is no need for any, just to appear in control of others.

This problem of narcissism began in the garden when the devil managed to convince Eve to distrust God for one small boundary He made in that garden. The boundary was that they could eat from any of the trees in the garden except one tree.

 
Because of that one restriction, the devil convinced Eve that God was holding out on her and that she should not trust Him.

 
We know from this example in the garden with the devil that he is still using these same tactics today; they look exactly the same. The narcissist finds problems everywhere when there are no problems. They make big deals out of innocent things that begin conflicts.

 
The devil is working harder than ever now to destroy human relationships as well as the relationship between man and God. He hates that God loves mankind and wants to ruin that because his time is short and he knows soon he will be thrown into hell. He wants to take as many people with him as possible by turning them against God.

When mankind is too busy fighting one another, they forget about God. This is why God told believers to be careful to choose their friends wisely, because contentious people will keep the believer engaged in foolishness, distracting them from their calling.

 
James 4:6-8 "6 But He gives us more grace. This is why it says: “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” 7 Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.…"

One way we resist the devil is to refuse to engage with the foolishness he causes in those who have no defense against him. And, to avoid the people who refuse to walk with Christ, even if they say they are Christians, if they resist the word of God when it is presented, then they must not be our close companions.

 
1 Peter 5:8-9
"Be sober-minded and alert. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in your faith and in the knowledge that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kinds of suffering."

When we stand firm in our faith contentious people will hate it and attempt to undermine it in one way or another, even if it is only through gossip to turn others against us.

 
We can't change a person who walks in rebellion so the best way to protect our walk with Christ is to avoid them as much as possible.

 
Romans 12:1-2
"Therefore I urge you, brothers, on account of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God."

Hallelujah!