Many say, "No pain, no gain" in reference to exercise, but neglect to recognize it in life's difficulties. Exercise is less important than spiritual and emotional growth.
1 Timothy 4:7-9 "…7 But reject irreverent, silly myths. Instead, train yourself for godliness. 8 For physical exercise is of limited value, but godliness is valuable in every way, holding promise for the present life and for the one to come. 9 This is a trustworthy saying, worthy of full acceptance."
Tuesday, October 6, 2026
Mankind Develops Lack of Intelligence by their Pride
Unintelligent people are not that way because they were born that way, they became that way because they fostered a mentality based on a desire to be superior to others.
Satan was the most powerful and beautiful of angels in heaven, but he was not satisfied with that position; he wanted to be more powerful than God Who created him.
This is what we observe in those who have chosen self-exaltation over love and humility. They tend to be easily offended, raging at the silliest and smallest of matters. Sort of like the way a child has a tantrum when they are told no when they want something. Correcting an insecure person who has developed a lack of intelligence because of their stubbornness is interpreted as a serious attack that must be battled.
Was it intelligence that led Judas to betray Christ? NO, he got nothing out of it except a few pieces of silver and suicide.
Was it intelligent for Joseph's brothers to throw him into a pit and sell him into slavery? NO! They got a momentary sense of superiority for having gotten rid of him, but it gained them nothing else. And, one day many years later, they ended up bowing to the brother they hated just as the dream of Joseph said would happen.
The simplest of minds can be intelligent in interpersonal relationships because they are satisfied with being who they are and enjoy kindness over power. Those who walk with Christ are not interested in needing to seem smart and powerful.
There is a furious competitive spirit in those who cannot tolerate facing that they were wrong or in need of change. These people seethe continually in their hearts with jealousy and anger toward those they think are better than them. Those they hate have no interest in being better than anyone else, but the one who is jealous thinks they do because the jealous one wants to be superior more than anything else in their lives. Their heart is full of anger, jealousy, and revenge for nothing real.
They often accuse those who are loving and humble of being arrogant to take the focus off of their own intense feeling of inferiority.
James 3:16: "For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice".
Proverbs 27:4: "Anger is cruel, and wrath is like a flood, but jealousy is even more dangerous".
1 Corinthians 3:3: "You are jealous of one another and quarrel with each other. Doesn't that prove you are controlled by your sinful nature?"
Galatians 5:19-21: Envy and jealousy are listed among the works of the flesh that separate people from the kingdom of God."
The one who is filled with the Holy Spirit may be tempted at times to lean into their flesh that bring wrong attitudes, but it is quickly convicted and confessed and wants to be free of the bondage of competition with others.
1 John 1:9 "9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous, so that He will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness."
1 Corinthians 13:4: "Love is patient and kind; love does not envy..."
Jealousy gets us nowhere good, but leads to many evil things and destroys relationships. May those who are in bondage to jealousy and competitiveness pray for deliverance, that God will free them from it. When God frees us we are "free indeed."
Satan was the most powerful and beautiful of angels in heaven, but he was not satisfied with that position; he wanted to be more powerful than God Who created him.
This is what we observe in those who have chosen self-exaltation over love and humility. They tend to be easily offended, raging at the silliest and smallest of matters. Sort of like the way a child has a tantrum when they are told no when they want something. Correcting an insecure person who has developed a lack of intelligence because of their stubbornness is interpreted as a serious attack that must be battled.
Was it intelligence that led Judas to betray Christ? NO, he got nothing out of it except a few pieces of silver and suicide.
Was it intelligent for Joseph's brothers to throw him into a pit and sell him into slavery? NO! They got a momentary sense of superiority for having gotten rid of him, but it gained them nothing else. And, one day many years later, they ended up bowing to the brother they hated just as the dream of Joseph said would happen.
The simplest of minds can be intelligent in interpersonal relationships because they are satisfied with being who they are and enjoy kindness over power. Those who walk with Christ are not interested in needing to seem smart and powerful.
There is a furious competitive spirit in those who cannot tolerate facing that they were wrong or in need of change. These people seethe continually in their hearts with jealousy and anger toward those they think are better than them. Those they hate have no interest in being better than anyone else, but the one who is jealous thinks they do because the jealous one wants to be superior more than anything else in their lives. Their heart is full of anger, jealousy, and revenge for nothing real.
They often accuse those who are loving and humble of being arrogant to take the focus off of their own intense feeling of inferiority.
James 3:16: "For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice".
Proverbs 27:4: "Anger is cruel, and wrath is like a flood, but jealousy is even more dangerous".
1 Corinthians 3:3: "You are jealous of one another and quarrel with each other. Doesn't that prove you are controlled by your sinful nature?"
Galatians 5:19-21: Envy and jealousy are listed among the works of the flesh that separate people from the kingdom of God."
The one who is filled with the Holy Spirit may be tempted at times to lean into their flesh that bring wrong attitudes, but it is quickly convicted and confessed and wants to be free of the bondage of competition with others.
1 John 1:9 "9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous, so that He will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness."
1 Corinthians 13:4: "Love is patient and kind; love does not envy..."
Jealousy gets us nowhere good, but leads to many evil things and destroys relationships. May those who are in bondage to jealousy and competitiveness pray for deliverance, that God will free them from it. When God frees us we are "free indeed."
The World is Hostile in the Presence of a Spirit Filled Christian
Have you ever noticed someone acting sheepish or shy in your presence but not in the presence of others who are not born again? This is because unsaved people are fearful of Spirit-filled Christians, even if they don't know they are Christians. The Holy Spirit's presence powerfully convicts the world of sin, even when we don't speak a word.
2 Thessalonians 2:6-8 "And now you know what is holding him back, so that he may be revealed at the proper time. For the secret power of lawlessness is already at work; but the one who now holds it back will continue to do till he is taken out of the way."
2 Thessalonians 2:6-8 "And now you know what is holding him back, so that he may be revealed at the proper time. For the secret power of lawlessness is already at work; but the one who now holds it back will continue to do till he is taken out of the way."
Monday, October 5, 2026
Amen!!!! Shame on any Christian Who Trains their Children to Fight Back!
God never told us to strike back; just the opposite. People who are bullies themselves like the idea of hitting back and having someone to blame.
A family member undermined me one day when he counseled our son, in front of me, to hit back if a bully bothers him. I was telling my son not to retaliate.
This family member was supposedly a Christian, but he was also a terrible bully himself, mostly with his mouth, to cause others to become angry. Then, when the victim of my bully relative lunged at him, he blamed the one who hit him but never admitted his part in it with his mouth.
Sadly, adults in the family praised him for beating up the bully when he was the bully with his mouth and should have been punished for it.
A family member undermined me one day when he counseled our son, in front of me, to hit back if a bully bothers him. I was telling my son not to retaliate.
This family member was supposedly a Christian, but he was also a terrible bully himself, mostly with his mouth, to cause others to become angry. Then, when the victim of my bully relative lunged at him, he blamed the one who hit him but never admitted his part in it with his mouth.
Sadly, adults in the family praised him for beating up the bully when he was the bully with his mouth and should have been punished for it.
Expressing Your Broken State will Lead You to Christ
If someone claims to be a Christian but cannot express their broken state before they were a Christian, then perhaps they were never saved.
The more we walk in Christ, the bolder we become. We do not fear being found out because we already told on ourselves. Those who fear being judged by others are hiding something.
When we can freely admit our failures and express our desire to be transformed by Christ, He does all the work in us. What used to be unnatural for us becomes natural, that is doing what is right without having to ponder it first.
Christ changes our character on the inside; when this happens, then we automatically do what glorifies Christ or at the very least we are deeply wounded and horrified when we do not obey God.
Ephesians 2:10 "…9 not by works, so that no one can boast. 10For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance as our way of life. "
Psalm 100:3 "Know that the LORD is God. It is He who made us, and we are His; we are His people, and the sheep of His pasture."
2 Corinthians 5:17 "Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away. Behold, the new has come!"
Colossians 1:16 "For in Him all things were created, things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities. All things were created through Him and for Him."
Colossians 1:10 "so that you may walk in a manner worthy of the Lord and may please Him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God,"
1 Peter 2:12 "Conduct yourselves with such honor among the Gentiles that, though they slander you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day He visits us."
The more we walk in Christ, the bolder we become. We do not fear being found out because we already told on ourselves. Those who fear being judged by others are hiding something.
When we can freely admit our failures and express our desire to be transformed by Christ, He does all the work in us. What used to be unnatural for us becomes natural, that is doing what is right without having to ponder it first.
Christ changes our character on the inside; when this happens, then we automatically do what glorifies Christ or at the very least we are deeply wounded and horrified when we do not obey God.
Ephesians 2:10 "…9 not by works, so that no one can boast. 10For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance as our way of life. "
Psalm 100:3 "Know that the LORD is God. It is He who made us, and we are His; we are His people, and the sheep of His pasture."
2 Corinthians 5:17 "Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away. Behold, the new has come!"
Colossians 1:16 "For in Him all things were created, things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities. All things were created through Him and for Him."
Colossians 1:10 "so that you may walk in a manner worthy of the Lord and may please Him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God,"
1 Peter 2:12 "Conduct yourselves with such honor among the Gentiles that, though they slander you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day He visits us."
Forget What the Organized Church System Taught You and Seek the Holy Spirit Instead
There are so many things the organized church system taught that were wrong according to Scripture. Study to show yourself approved does not mean look up seminary educated men and just believe them.
The Holy Spirit can remove all the lies we were trained in and show us the truth, all we have to do is ask Him to show us all the things we were taught that were wrong and replace them with the truth.
John 8:32 "And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
1 Thessalonians 5:21 "But test everything; hold fast what is good."
2 Timothy 2:15 "Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth."
Notice that God never tells us to go to educated men who have titles to ask for truth. He told us to depend on the Holy Spirit, willing to discard anything that men taught us that was not His truth.
John 16:13-14 "13 However, when the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all truth. For He will not speak on His own, but He will speak what He hears, and He will declare to you what is to come. 14 He will glorify Me by taking from what is Mine and disclosing it to you."
John 15:26 "When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father—the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father—He will testify about Me."
John 14:17 "the Spirit of truth. The world cannot receive Him, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him. But you do know Him, for He abides with you and will be in you."
John 14:26 "But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have told you."
The Holy Spirit of Jesus Christ is our Advocate; we can depend on Him to tell us everything He wants us to know.
1 Corinthians 2:10-13 "But God has revealed it to us by the Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. / For who among men knows the thoughts of man except his own spirit within him? So too, no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. / We have not received the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us."
Hallelujah for the Holy Spirit Who tells us everything we want to know if only we will ask Him.
The Holy Spirit can remove all the lies we were trained in and show us the truth, all we have to do is ask Him to show us all the things we were taught that were wrong and replace them with the truth.
John 8:32 "And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
1 Thessalonians 5:21 "But test everything; hold fast what is good."
2 Timothy 2:15 "Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth."
Notice that God never tells us to go to educated men who have titles to ask for truth. He told us to depend on the Holy Spirit, willing to discard anything that men taught us that was not His truth.
John 16:13-14 "13 However, when the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all truth. For He will not speak on His own, but He will speak what He hears, and He will declare to you what is to come. 14 He will glorify Me by taking from what is Mine and disclosing it to you."
John 15:26 "When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father—the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father—He will testify about Me."
John 14:17 "the Spirit of truth. The world cannot receive Him, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him. But you do know Him, for He abides with you and will be in you."
John 14:26 "But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have told you."
The Holy Spirit of Jesus Christ is our Advocate; we can depend on Him to tell us everything He wants us to know.
1 Corinthians 2:10-13 "But God has revealed it to us by the Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. / For who among men knows the thoughts of man except his own spirit within him? So too, no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. / We have not received the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us."
Hallelujah for the Holy Spirit Who tells us everything we want to know if only we will ask Him.
Stronger Because of Christ
Those who have Christ living in them are stronger because of trauma; I have seen it and experienced it.
John 16:33 "I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”
James 1:2-4 "2 Consider it all joy, my brothers and sisters, 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."
Those who have Christ living in them are the ones who become stronger when they are in trials because their strength comes from Him.
Some people will quote all day long the phrase for athletes, "no pain no gain", but will not believe it for trials in their lives. They understand that breaking down muscles for them to grow back stronger is a principle all athletes practice, but do not believe it for emotional pain.
Only those who have trusted in Christ will fully understand the strength they receive from Christ in the middle of their trials.
We can weep and maintain joy at the same time. We know that all trials will bring lessons and mental resilience because of Christ Who lives in us.
James 1:19-25 "19 You know this, my beloved brothers and sisters. Now everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger;
20 for a man’s anger does not bring about the righteousness of God.
21 Therefore, ridding yourselves of all filthiness and all that remains of wickedness, in humility receive the word implanted, which is able to save your souls.
22 But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not just hearers who deceive themselves.
23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror;
24 for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was.
25 But one who has looked intently at the perfect law, the law of freedom, and has continued in it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an active doer, this person will be blessed in what he does."
John 16:33 "I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”
James 1:2-4 "2 Consider it all joy, my brothers and sisters, 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."
Those who have Christ living in them are the ones who become stronger when they are in trials because their strength comes from Him.
Some people will quote all day long the phrase for athletes, "no pain no gain", but will not believe it for trials in their lives. They understand that breaking down muscles for them to grow back stronger is a principle all athletes practice, but do not believe it for emotional pain.
Only those who have trusted in Christ will fully understand the strength they receive from Christ in the middle of their trials.
We can weep and maintain joy at the same time. We know that all trials will bring lessons and mental resilience because of Christ Who lives in us.
James 1:19-25 "19 You know this, my beloved brothers and sisters. Now everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger;
20 for a man’s anger does not bring about the righteousness of God.
21 Therefore, ridding yourselves of all filthiness and all that remains of wickedness, in humility receive the word implanted, which is able to save your souls.
22 But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not just hearers who deceive themselves.
23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror;
24 for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was.
25 But one who has looked intently at the perfect law, the law of freedom, and has continued in it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an active doer, this person will be blessed in what he does."
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)