Has anyone noticed how quickly the weeks pass? There is no time to waste anymore. The Lord will be returning very soon and the days are flying!
Wednesday, December 20, 2017
Exercise is of Little Value
I am convinced any exercise other than walking is bad for people, they are injuring their bodies incrementally. If other things can wear out from use, why not our bodies.
Want to live longer and healthier? Just take a nap every day!
1 Timothy 4:7-9
7 But reject irreverent and silly myths. Instead, train yourself for godliness. 8 For physicalexercise is of limited value, but godliness is valuable in every way, holding promise for thepresent life and for the one to come. 9 This is a trustworthy saying, worthy of full acceptance.…
Want to live longer and healthier? Just take a nap every day!
1 Timothy 4:7-9
7 But reject irreverent and silly myths. Instead, train yourself for godliness. 8 For physicalexercise is of limited value, but godliness is valuable in every way, holding promise for thepresent life and for the one to come. 9 This is a trustworthy saying, worthy of full acceptance.…
Saved by Grace Expected Obedience
We are saved by grace, that means that we did not have to pay for our salvation, because of that same grace we have the desire and ability through the Holy Spirit to obey God. When we do not obey Him, we are in sin and it needs to be dealt with through accountability of other believers as well as the conviction of the Holy Spirit.
Never use the excuse that we are saved by grace therefore sin doesn't matter. Anyone who says this may not be born again, because those who become born again hate their own sin when it happens.
Hebrews 10:26
"For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins,"
2 Timothy 4:2-3 " 2 Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and encourage with every form of patient instruction. 3 For the time will come when men will not tolerate sound doctrine, but with itching ears they will gather around themselves teachers to suit their own desires.…"
It is the love of God that causes believers to correct one another to help spiritual growth in holiness.
Now that you know that deliberate sin after becoming born again is rebellion against God, you might want to drop the nonsense that "grace" covers sin. NO, grace does not cover sin, the blood of Jesus does, so why would we want to believe that sin is no big deal when it took the horrid death and shedding of blood of the Son of God, God Himself.
Never use the excuse that we are saved by grace therefore sin doesn't matter. Anyone who says this may not be born again, because those who become born again hate their own sin when it happens.
Hebrews 10:26
"For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins,"
2 Timothy 4:2-3 " 2 Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and encourage with every form of patient instruction. 3 For the time will come when men will not tolerate sound doctrine, but with itching ears they will gather around themselves teachers to suit their own desires.…"
It is the love of God that causes believers to correct one another to help spiritual growth in holiness.
Now that you know that deliberate sin after becoming born again is rebellion against God, you might want to drop the nonsense that "grace" covers sin. NO, grace does not cover sin, the blood of Jesus does, so why would we want to believe that sin is no big deal when it took the horrid death and shedding of blood of the Son of God, God Himself.
The Holy Spirit Emanates from Believers
When we had an ice cream business we would take our ice cream to the fairs. Serving out of the booth, we had many customers, it was enlightening the things I noticed from behind the counter.
Sometimes scantily clad women would approach the booth to buy ice cream. I was always friendly with everyone but some of them would begin to pull their cloths together to try to cover up, as though they were embarrassed. When I had not looked any particular way or said anything at all except to smile at them, they watched me sheeplishly as though being humbled.
I always attributed the reactions of some customers to the Holy Spirit. They were being confronted by the Holy Spirit in me and probably thought it was something about me. I am convinced that this happens a lot when we can't figure out why someone would not like us or would feel uncomfortable in our presence when we have not even had time to say or do anything.
When extended family act like they don't like you, but you can't figure out what they dislike, it very well could be Christ in us and not us at all.
There are times when it seems like people are fabricating reasons to dislike us but even they cannot find a real reason, so they make one up.
This is why, at times there seem to be irrational actions and attitudes that even those who hold us in disregard can't say exactly why they are not comfortable around us. I have had people "guess" what was wrong with me when there had no evidence of what they were saying.
John 16:7-9 "…7 But I tell you the truth, it is for your benefit that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you. 8 And when He comes, He will convict the world in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment: 9 in regard to sin, because they do not believe in Me;…"
Notice in verse 8 that God says that it will be the Holy Spirit that convicts unbelievers of sin. Even when we say nothing the unbeliever senses the Holy Spirit in us and are made to feel strange, believing it is something about us they are sensing.
Since the unbeliever cannot see the Holy Spirit, they come against the one they can see, that is us.
Ian Thomas said this:
"The Holy Spirit is like a man with a lamp entering a dark and dirty room, and what you have learned to live with in the dark becomes repugnant in the light."
Sometimes scantily clad women would approach the booth to buy ice cream. I was always friendly with everyone but some of them would begin to pull their cloths together to try to cover up, as though they were embarrassed. When I had not looked any particular way or said anything at all except to smile at them, they watched me sheeplishly as though being humbled.
I always attributed the reactions of some customers to the Holy Spirit. They were being confronted by the Holy Spirit in me and probably thought it was something about me. I am convinced that this happens a lot when we can't figure out why someone would not like us or would feel uncomfortable in our presence when we have not even had time to say or do anything.
When extended family act like they don't like you, but you can't figure out what they dislike, it very well could be Christ in us and not us at all.
There are times when it seems like people are fabricating reasons to dislike us but even they cannot find a real reason, so they make one up.
This is why, at times there seem to be irrational actions and attitudes that even those who hold us in disregard can't say exactly why they are not comfortable around us. I have had people "guess" what was wrong with me when there had no evidence of what they were saying.
John 16:7-9 "…7 But I tell you the truth, it is for your benefit that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you. 8 And when He comes, He will convict the world in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment: 9 in regard to sin, because they do not believe in Me;…"
Notice in verse 8 that God says that it will be the Holy Spirit that convicts unbelievers of sin. Even when we say nothing the unbeliever senses the Holy Spirit in us and are made to feel strange, believing it is something about us they are sensing.
Since the unbeliever cannot see the Holy Spirit, they come against the one they can see, that is us.
Ian Thomas said this:
"The Holy Spirit is like a man with a lamp entering a dark and dirty room, and what you have learned to live with in the dark becomes repugnant in the light."
Rejection for Boldness
Facebook December 20, 2016
Let me describe what I have seen many believers are feeling;
They are full of joy and boldness, continually rejected by rebellious hears, accused of "negative" attitude as they are compelled by the Holy Spirit to expose evil because of their love for Christ first and then their love of those to whom they speak.
Believers have a deep concern for the spiritual growth of their brothers and sisters in Christ as well as an even deeper concern for those who are unsaved and on their way to the fires of hell.
Our hearts leap with joy over our hope of going home, when all this mess we live with every day torments our souls as it tormented the soul of Lot.
We rejoice at what God has made us, where we are going and the joy of our love for Christ, while simultaneously grieving over the dying and evil world all around us.
2 Peter 2:6-8 "6 if He condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to destruction, reducing them to ashes as an example of what is coming on the ungodly; 7 and if He rescued Lot, a righteous man distressed by the depraved conduct of the lawless 8(for that righteous man, living among them day after day, was tormented in his righteous soul by the lawless deeds he saw and heard)—…"
Those who would accuse of a believer being too negative, perhaps does not understand the world they live in, the working of the Holy Spirit or the depth of depravity he or she is surrounded by.
These same people hate correction and instruction themselves, so they interpret these necessary elements of Christian life as saddening, rather than things that could bring joy to anyone who heeds the warnings and become born again because of it.
Anyone who cannot face truth, will never lead anyone to the Lord. Should we make people feel comfortable in their wickedness, or would it be better to warn them and watch them seek God because of the conviction they have toward their sin?
Romans 1:21-22 "21 For although they knew God, they neither glorified Him as God nor gave thanks to Him, but they became futile in their thinking and darkened in their foolish hearts. 22 Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools,…"
Anyone who hears the "negative" truth of hell and damnation and heeds its' warning will be excited and blessed that they have been saved out of it and on their way to heaven.
2 Corinthians 7:8-9 "8 Even if I caused you sorrow by my letter, I do not regret it. Although I did regret it, I now see that my letter caused you sorrow, but only for a short time. 9 And now I rejoice, not because you were made sorrowful, but because your sorrow led you to repentance. For you felt the sorrow that God had intended, and so were not harmed in any way by us.…"
The reality is this, those who avoid sounding negative while living in the dilution that everyone should be happy happy all the time are negating the Word of God and the effectiveness of the Holy Spirit to show us our sinful nature after which we become joyful that Christ provided a way out of sin and hell.
Would we rather a person go to hell for eternity, so that others will like us, or do we grief over evil and attempt to convince others to turn to Christ for their salvation?
"Romans 1:26-27
"26 For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is [a]unnatural, 27 and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing [b]indecent acts and receiving in [c]their own persons the due penalty of their error."
Let me describe what I have seen many believers are feeling;
They are full of joy and boldness, continually rejected by rebellious hears, accused of "negative" attitude as they are compelled by the Holy Spirit to expose evil because of their love for Christ first and then their love of those to whom they speak.
Believers have a deep concern for the spiritual growth of their brothers and sisters in Christ as well as an even deeper concern for those who are unsaved and on their way to the fires of hell.
Our hearts leap with joy over our hope of going home, when all this mess we live with every day torments our souls as it tormented the soul of Lot.
We rejoice at what God has made us, where we are going and the joy of our love for Christ, while simultaneously grieving over the dying and evil world all around us.
2 Peter 2:6-8 "6 if He condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to destruction, reducing them to ashes as an example of what is coming on the ungodly; 7 and if He rescued Lot, a righteous man distressed by the depraved conduct of the lawless 8(for that righteous man, living among them day after day, was tormented in his righteous soul by the lawless deeds he saw and heard)—…"
Those who would accuse of a believer being too negative, perhaps does not understand the world they live in, the working of the Holy Spirit or the depth of depravity he or she is surrounded by.
These same people hate correction and instruction themselves, so they interpret these necessary elements of Christian life as saddening, rather than things that could bring joy to anyone who heeds the warnings and become born again because of it.
Anyone who cannot face truth, will never lead anyone to the Lord. Should we make people feel comfortable in their wickedness, or would it be better to warn them and watch them seek God because of the conviction they have toward their sin?
Romans 1:21-22 "21 For although they knew God, they neither glorified Him as God nor gave thanks to Him, but they became futile in their thinking and darkened in their foolish hearts. 22 Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools,…"
Anyone who hears the "negative" truth of hell and damnation and heeds its' warning will be excited and blessed that they have been saved out of it and on their way to heaven.
2 Corinthians 7:8-9 "8 Even if I caused you sorrow by my letter, I do not regret it. Although I did regret it, I now see that my letter caused you sorrow, but only for a short time. 9 And now I rejoice, not because you were made sorrowful, but because your sorrow led you to repentance. For you felt the sorrow that God had intended, and so were not harmed in any way by us.…"
The reality is this, those who avoid sounding negative while living in the dilution that everyone should be happy happy all the time are negating the Word of God and the effectiveness of the Holy Spirit to show us our sinful nature after which we become joyful that Christ provided a way out of sin and hell.
Would we rather a person go to hell for eternity, so that others will like us, or do we grief over evil and attempt to convince others to turn to Christ for their salvation?
"Romans 1:26-27
"26 For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is [a]unnatural, 27 and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing [b]indecent acts and receiving in [c]their own persons the due penalty of their error."
Believing the Truth
Often those who are guilty of sin choose to believe we are bad for exposing it, when in their hearts they are deeply convicted.
Those who are evil pretend we are bad to relieve themselves of their own guilt.
If they were not guilty or really didn't know they did something wrong, they would not be raging at us, they would merely want to hear the truth.
We live in a monstrously rebellious world now, so evil that even many in the church prefer to defend their sin rather than exposing it to heal.
Many do not heal from their sin, rather choosing to be spiritually miserable to "appear" alright. Nothing is ever cleansed or resolved when there is denial of truth.
John 8:31-32 "31 So He said to the Jews who had believed Him, “If you continue in My word, you are truly My disciples. 32 Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
Those who live in lies to feel superior are never absolved of their sin, they are in bondage to it. There can be no peace for these people, they ruminate continually on defending themselves, when confession and brokenness over their sin would set them free.
John 8:36 "36 So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. "
We are only freed from the weight of our sin by confessing it while desiring to be cleansed of it by Christ. If we cannot confess bitterness, anger, hate and greed, then we will remain in bondage to it.
The hypocrites way is to accuse others of the very sins they have to take the pressure off of themselves. The real solution to sin is to confess it and ask the Lord to cleanse us from it. Without admitting and confess, the sin will continue to dominate our being until we do what is needed, that is tell the truth about ourselves.
So often in this life when we realize a need for speaking truth, we will be envied by those who are not free in their soul to do what is needed. The pride of life is far too great to ever admit something that will only be fixed if we merely confess.
James 5:15-16 "…15 And the prayer offered in faith will restore the one who is sick. The Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. 16 Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man has great power to prevail."
The devil loves the "self esteem" teachings that have take captive the people of this country. It manages to keep people focused on how good they think they are, eliminating any real solution of repentance for a changed heart.
Pretending nothing is wrong only results in more sin, greater bondage and a less of a chance of ever being cleansed.
God's healing in the world has more to do with healing us of our sin than it does with physical healing. Perhaps often physical pain causes us to see our frailties and sins to be cleansed. Continual health and lack of adversity only serves to bring smugness and pride, diverting our gaze from Christ to ourselves.
The false gospel of health, wealth and prosperity has only served to built arrogance, self righteousness and meanness into our culture, so much so that when someone comes along to point out a need for repentance and healing, the hearer chooses to defend their sin sick soul over the swallowing of their pride to be healed.
1 Corinthians 11:30 "30 That is why many among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep. 31 Now if we judged ourselves properly, we would not come under judgment.…"
There are those that would accuse the believer of being too negative to be helpful. Sadly the clamor for positive thinking in our day has kept many people spiritually ill and blind without hope of change or growth.
Let's not worry about how positive we are, let's be more concerned about how helpful we can be, the right way. If I have an illness that requires an operation to make me well, I prefer a doctor who will tell the truth about the need to cut into me, than one who will pretend no operation is necessary just to make me feel emotionally good for the moment.
The good doctor speaks the problem and presents the cure. We want to be helpers who bring solutions much more than temporary happy feelings that seldom resolve anything.
Those who are evil pretend we are bad to relieve themselves of their own guilt.
If they were not guilty or really didn't know they did something wrong, they would not be raging at us, they would merely want to hear the truth.
We live in a monstrously rebellious world now, so evil that even many in the church prefer to defend their sin rather than exposing it to heal.
Many do not heal from their sin, rather choosing to be spiritually miserable to "appear" alright. Nothing is ever cleansed or resolved when there is denial of truth.
John 8:31-32 "31 So He said to the Jews who had believed Him, “If you continue in My word, you are truly My disciples. 32 Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
Those who live in lies to feel superior are never absolved of their sin, they are in bondage to it. There can be no peace for these people, they ruminate continually on defending themselves, when confession and brokenness over their sin would set them free.
John 8:36 "36 So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. "
We are only freed from the weight of our sin by confessing it while desiring to be cleansed of it by Christ. If we cannot confess bitterness, anger, hate and greed, then we will remain in bondage to it.
The hypocrites way is to accuse others of the very sins they have to take the pressure off of themselves. The real solution to sin is to confess it and ask the Lord to cleanse us from it. Without admitting and confess, the sin will continue to dominate our being until we do what is needed, that is tell the truth about ourselves.
So often in this life when we realize a need for speaking truth, we will be envied by those who are not free in their soul to do what is needed. The pride of life is far too great to ever admit something that will only be fixed if we merely confess.
James 5:15-16 "…15 And the prayer offered in faith will restore the one who is sick. The Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. 16 Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man has great power to prevail."
The devil loves the "self esteem" teachings that have take captive the people of this country. It manages to keep people focused on how good they think they are, eliminating any real solution of repentance for a changed heart.
Pretending nothing is wrong only results in more sin, greater bondage and a less of a chance of ever being cleansed.
God's healing in the world has more to do with healing us of our sin than it does with physical healing. Perhaps often physical pain causes us to see our frailties and sins to be cleansed. Continual health and lack of adversity only serves to bring smugness and pride, diverting our gaze from Christ to ourselves.
The false gospel of health, wealth and prosperity has only served to built arrogance, self righteousness and meanness into our culture, so much so that when someone comes along to point out a need for repentance and healing, the hearer chooses to defend their sin sick soul over the swallowing of their pride to be healed.
1 Corinthians 11:30 "30 That is why many among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep. 31 Now if we judged ourselves properly, we would not come under judgment.…"
There are those that would accuse the believer of being too negative to be helpful. Sadly the clamor for positive thinking in our day has kept many people spiritually ill and blind without hope of change or growth.
Let's not worry about how positive we are, let's be more concerned about how helpful we can be, the right way. If I have an illness that requires an operation to make me well, I prefer a doctor who will tell the truth about the need to cut into me, than one who will pretend no operation is necessary just to make me feel emotionally good for the moment.
The good doctor speaks the problem and presents the cure. We want to be helpers who bring solutions much more than temporary happy feelings that seldom resolve anything.
Truth or Consequences
Those who can face truth will have resolutions to problems.
Those who cannot face truth perpetuate problems.
Those who cannot face truth perpetuate problems.
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