If we want to be completely Biblical as far as we are able, then it is profitable to research in the Scriptural principles, sometimes going back to the Greek and Hebrew to see the meanings of words. Then compare what we know with the traditions we have been following. If there is no Biblical example for what we do, then it would be good to eliminate that tradition from our lives.
Since I have done this, my life is far more peaceful and much less expensive. Most people who enjoy the holidays do not realize just how exhausting they are and how quickly they are forgotten until they eliminate them.
Isn't following Christ and maintaining a peaceful life far better than a faded memory of a happy time. We can live our joy in the present, never having to look back to gain joy from those things that are no longer happening.
Each day is a new day, let this one be lived in the present, in the joy and happiness for this day. Attempting to get back the feelings we had in the past is an exercise in futility. The feelings we had at the time can never be recreated, they really have no value in the present.
Philippians 4:13-14 “Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”
Luke 9:62 “Jesus replied, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.”
Those who live in the past rarely enjoy the present. The yearning for bygone days only tugs at the emotions leaving a feeling of hopelessness that we have lost something we will never get back.
I prefer to live in the present, in the moment, only remembering the lessons I learned that brought me to where I am today. Those who attempt to keep us stuck in the past have not grown into maturity. How can we grow if we refuse to leave what is in the past....in the past.
When we trust in the Lord for each day, we are full of joy, nothing from the past can compare to that present and current joy. Nothing from the past can control or affect our lives anymore, they are gone and done with forever.
Philippians 3:13 "Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended it, but this one thing I do: forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,"
There are many cults who teach false doctrine, from women should never speak about the Lord to others to women who speak in the pulpit as leaders over men. Both of these ideas are not Biblical, there is another view that is Biblical but most cannot wrap their minds around .
This other view comes from 1 Corinthians 11 in which the order of the service is explained. Women are permitted to share in the Lord's supper, praying, expounding on the Word and singing as long as they are covered. In most gatherings that have elderships and the women are covered, the woman does not speak during the worship, that being the Lord's supper.
The misunderstood passage that says women must remain silent, is easily explained in the original language.
1 Corinthians 13:33-35 "…33 For God is not a God of disorder, but of peace. As in all the congregations of the saints, 34 women are to be silent in the churches. They are not permitted to speak, but must be in submission, as the Law says. 35 If they wish to inquire about something, they are to ask their own husbands at home; for it is dishonorable for a woman to speak in the church."
The word "speak" in this passage does not have to do with sharing in prayer or the Word, it would negate the 1 Corinthians 11 passage that tells a woman to be covered when she prays and prophesies in the gathering. In these passages the woman is not the leader but she does share as led by the Holy Spirit.
In 1 Corinthians 13 the women were chattering, asking their own husband in the middle of the teaching, being disruptive, so they were commanded to remain silent and ask their own husbands at home. This was the beginning of the church in which many did not know much about the Bible and did not have the New Testament in their own homes to read.
From Christian Corner "Silence in the Church"
"Sigao" is a verb that denotes not whimpering, complaining or disruptive, it is not that a woman cannot speak at all, it's that she is to be under submission and is to be led by the Holy Spirit. If she is not led by the Holy Spirit then she is to remain silent.
"(1) One who has the gift of tongues is to keep silence if he has no interpreter to use with his alien audience (28).
(2) If a brother is speaking, and another receives a more current revelation, the former is to keep silence (30).
(3) Finally, women are to keep silence (34)."
Unquote
If total silence were the command in these passages then 1 Corinthian 11 would contradict that and allowing women to sing would also violate it.
The woman is not to be teaching in a public setting over men as the leader, however she is allowed to share in the general gathering along with all the other saints in the Lord's supper and teaching the younger women as mentioned in Titus 2.
Titus 2:3-5
"3 Older women likewise are to be reverent in their behavior, not malicious gossips nor enslaved to much wine, teaching what is good, 4 so that they may [a]encourage the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, 5 to be sensible, pure, workers at home, kind, being subject to their own husbands, so that the word of God will not be dishonored."
When we are in a gathering that has the rule that woman should remaining silent, we can adhere to their rules without hindering our own worship. There is no place I have heard of that understands these principles, we have lived under the ritual of the woman not speaking at all for so long now, most cannot wrap their minds around it, but that's alright. It's not a salvation issue that we should be arguing over.
A woman who goes into a gathering in which the women are commanded and expected to remain silent, except for the singing, we can adhere to that so as not to draw attention away from the Lord. Our worship toward the Lord is more important than exerting our right to pray or speak on the Word aloud.
I wonder though how the leaders who taught total silence for women came up with the allowance to sing? If anyone has an answer to this I would be interested in hearing it. If total silence were the command as they think, then why are the women permitted to sing. It sounds like a concession toward women that was invented by men. I see no place in the Word that says "women must be completely silent except to sing."
Traditions of men leave many unanswered confusing questions as well as being inconsistent.
This is just one more misunderstanding because of our English translations that were translated in a time when women were expected to be seen and not heard. This too was not Biblical but it was the condition of the culture of the time of the translation.
When an unbiblical rule is in place that is not a salvation issue, then we need to place Christ first and take a back seat to the traditions that men have hung onto for so many years.
It is interesting that men have done away with the head covering as well as the women sharing in the Lord's supper. They seem to go hand in hand.
Please do not misunderstand this post as a stab at "women's lib", anyone who knows me understands how much I despise the women's lib movement. I have spent 47 years at home as the keeper of my home in spite of nearly every woman I know who was asserting their rights to work outside the home and mocking my choice as a homemaker.
It is not my desire to assert myself in the gathering, however, it is my desire to know truth, that is more important to me than fitting in with the traditions of men. And believe me, there is precious few that I fit in with, in this age where the traditions of men are valued over the truth of the Scriptures.
Just saying!
Christ said that we have murder in our hearts if we so much as hate someone. The act itself does not have to occur for us to have murder in our hearts. Every evil act starts with what is already in the heart. If we never murder but we wish we could, we are judged the same as if it had happened. God looks at the heart.
The modern church gets this backward, some will say, while in sin, "God knows my heart", yes He knows you have sin in there, the act proves it. We ought to stop accepting the excuse that God knows the heart to justify sin.
Someone once said to me that we are not liars just because we told one lie. If we were not already liars we could not tell even one lie. The outward lying is evidence of what is in the heart.
Christ died for man kind before most of us were born. He did that because He knew our sinful hearts. Those that think they have no sin because they don't carry out the desires of their heart must be hiding, hiding from God and hiding from others. Every sin is preceded by a heart that is sinful.
There are those who have never committed what they think are the big sins. The ones that destroy people's lives or cause devastating consequences. These people often think they do not sin, when in their heart dwells jealousy, anger and self-will that are seen by God and those who are discerning. Character can be seen even without acts, in the prideful expression of self goodness.
Self righteousness is a sin, that all by itself is enough to plunge someone into hell. There are many people like this in church gatherings today, they are hell bent on earning their way to heaven by their deeds or lack of sin. One cannot become born again, who thinks they can be good enough to gain heaven.
1 John 1:8-10 "…8 If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say we have not sinned, we make Him out to be a liar, and His word is not in us."
1 John 3:14-15 "…14 We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love our brothers. The one who does not love remains in death. 15 Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that eternal life does not reside in a murderer. "
1 John 4:19-21
We love because he first loved us. If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother.
Our good deeds done in the flesh are nothing to God, they are even rejected by Him. It is only the good that Christ does in us that counts, because it is only Christ Who counts. He loves us, but not because of us, rather in spite of us. I know this is hard to hear, but we cannot love unless Christ loves through us.
Self righteousness is not love for others or God, its only love for self. We cannot love as God loves when we are self focused. Christ was "others" focused, He died for man kind while we were still sinners, while we had no love for Him, that's God's kind of love. Man tends to sacrifice a little for someone to gain the love of others. God sacrificed Himself to give His love to those who could not love Him back. He wants to create authentic love in us through Him.
Man loves to get something, Christ loved when we had nothing to give Him. When we love like Christ loved, then we will be letting Him work in us to be the love for others that He would be. We cannot take credit for our Christlike love, it is all Him in us.
Self righteousness is based on how good we think we are, but Christ righteousness is based on how good Christ is, a very big difference.
There can be no arrogance or grandiosity in those who have been changed into a new creation by Christ. We had to come to Christ over our own sinfulness, after that we no longer think of ourselves as good or better than others, our focus is on Who Christ is, that Perfect and Wonderful Savior Who did it all for us.
Galatians 3:13-15 "13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”— 14 in order that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we would receive the promise of the Spirit through faith."
1 Peter 1:18-19
"Knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot."
Many Christians do not understand the working of the Holy Spirit in believers. I have been mocked by Christians when I say the Holy Spirit speaks to me. They equate speaking in terms of verbal expressions or visions, but that's not it, we hear the Holy Spirit in spiritual inklings that cannot be explained to people other than those who have experienced it.
I know when the Holy Spirit is speaking and I know when my own thoughts are just me, there is a big difference.
John 16:13 "However when He, the Spirit of Truth, is come, He will guide you into all truth; for He shall not speak from Himself, but whatsoever He shall hear, that shall He speak; and He will show you things to come."
14 For this reason I bow my knees before the Father,
15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name,
16 that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man,
17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love,
18 may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth,
19 and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God.
20 Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, 21 to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen.
Hallelujah!!!!
Remember if someone is speaking down to you or treating you like a child, this is disrespectful, move on to more healthy relationships that value you! This form of mocking is a violation of scripture.
Philippians 2:3 "Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem the other better than himself."
Condescending is unscriptural, we must treat others with respect, allowing them their own personality. Mocking and demeaning people is not a personality trait it is pride and sin.
It was changed from the Lord to Come to the Lord has already Come!
The Passover was kept as a picture of Christ to come, now that He has fulfilled that we celebrate what He gave us to do and that is the Lord's Supper whenever we come together.
1 Corinthians 11:23-33 "23 For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus in the night in which He was betrayed took bread; 24 and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” 25 In the same way He took the cup also after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.” 26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.
27 Therefore whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner, shall be guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord. 28 But a man must examine himself, and in so doing he is to eat of the bread and drink of the cup. 29 For he who eats and drinks, eats and drinks judgment to himself if he does not judge the body rightly. 30 For this reason many among you are weak and sick, and a number sleep. 31 But if we judged ourselves rightly, we would not be judged. 32 But when we are judged, we are disciplined by the Lord so that we will not be condemned along with the world.
33 So then, my brethren, when you come together to eat, wait for one another. 34 If anyone is hungry, let him eat at home, so that you will not come together for judgment. The remaining matters I will arrange when I come."
I am not looking for the Savior to come, I rejoice that He already did that, I look for His return for His bride. The work of the shedding of His blood as the atonement for sin is finished, He said so on the cross. "it is finished", and I believe Him.
There are those who cannot tolerate correction, they become angry when anyone is called out for false doctrine or exposed as a false preacher. Many believe we should not speak against anyone because there might be some good in them.
It is not the good that needs exposing, it is the evil. Everyone can see the good they want to see, but the evil is often cloaked in the good to hide real intent and insidious sin.
Whenever we hear a warning from someone we ought to pay attention. Paul warned others about false teachers and even named them.
There are those who would say all day long that we should not judge, this is opposite of what God tells us. We are to discern a right or wrong spirit in someone, it helps us to decided whether to endorse them or not. If we do not judge anyone then we will not be able to discern right from wrong in many areas of life.
Let's be careful not to mock and attempt to intimidate those who walk in discernment through meaningless and unbiblical mantras. They are not useful in being able to judge righteously. Instead of criticizing someone for making a decision about a false teacher, we ought to be going to research to find our for ourselves if it is true. We are to be wise and sensible using the discernment of God to be able to accept or reject those who are walking disobediently.
Titus 3:10-11 "Reject a factious man after a first and second warning, knowing that such a man is perverted and is sinning, being self-condemned."
In order to reject a contentious and false teacher, we must be able to judge that they are that. We can only do that through knowing the Word of God. In politics we must know the word of God so well that shining the light of it against the backdrop of the unbelievers life we will prevent us from ever becoming infatuated with those who do not line up with God's Word.
1 Corinthians 2:14-16 "…14 The natural man does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God. For they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned. 15 The spiritual man judges all things, but he himself is not subject to anyone’s judgment. 16“For who has known the mind of the Lord, so as to instruct Him?” But we have the mind of Christ.…
2 Timothy 3:8-9 "8 Now as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, reprobate concerning the faith.
9 But they shall proceed no further: for their folly shall be manifest unto all men, as their's also was."
2 Timothy 2:17-18 "…17 and the talk of such men will spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus, 18 who have deviated from the truth. They say that the resurrection has already occurred, and they undermine the faith of some. "
"I believe today that my conduct is in accordance with the will of the Almighty Creator."
"Make the lie big, make it simple, keep saying it, and eventually they will believe it."
"The victor will never be asked if he told the truth. "
"It is not truth that matters, but victory. "
Take a look at how many politicians operate in this vain. Yes these are quotes that could be said by nearly any modern day elected official behind closed doors, but these quotes came from the mouth of Hilter! One of the most monstrous men in the history of mankind said things that his voters would have liked.
1 Corinthians 14:26-33 has the order of the church gathering. There is no leader and it is centered around the Lord's supper. One man will get up and offer a song or a Bible reading with explanation, each one as they pray are led by the Lord. If one speaks another can get up and evaluate what is said, others can correct wrong doctrine or expound further on what others say, using the Word.
The Brethren still do this. They have a man who is chosen to speak for the Bible lesson after the worship of the Lord's Supper. It may be a different man every week or the same man who has a series of messages. No one is paid and no one is in charge. However there are elders who make decisions together but they must all agree before anything is implemented.
I actually heard a young pastor say he needs to protect his pulpit. First of all, there were no pulpits in the first century church and one man would never be allowed to dictate what is being said or who is saying it.
This is the mentality of the modern church, they feel they must have a leader who "keeps things under control."
In the Brethren it is recognized that no one man is in control, the elders, plural make decisions and only after prayer and full agreement.
The "prophesying" as mentioned in verse 3 is not future telling but rather expounding on the Word that is already in the Bible.
This is the Biblical model of the church gathering, it is being violated times thousands every week around this country. There is much error in the body because the pastor is not corrected openly in the gathering, so many leave the service believing everything one man says and thinks because he has been trained by men in seminary, he is the authority.
There are no "trained" men in the first century church, they have been led by the Holy Spirit as they read the Word. The training in Bible school and seminary never existed in Bible times and teach many wrong things as the men who go to them believe what they hear and take it back to their churches. This is man's idea of how to help God out, because they didn't trust the Holy Spirit to do it well.
Seminary at this time in history is corrupting, it leads people to believe you cannot know truth unless you go to one of these institutions. The fact is, this is nothing more than the mentality I ran into as a Catholic. Only those who have been "educated" by other men can know, everyone else has to just believe them.
One way to control people is to proclaim you are the only one who can know and then intimidate them if they attempt to challenge or correct you. This mentality is not of God and should be avoided.
In the comments section I will place the scripture that pertains to this post.
1 Corinthians 14:26-33
"26 What is the outcome then, brethren? When you assemble, each one has a psalm, has a teaching, has a revelation, has a tongue, has an interpretation. Let all things be done for edification.
27 If anyone speaks in a tongue, it should be by two or at the most three, and each in turn, and one must interpret;
28 but if there is no interpreter, he must keep silent in the church; and let him speak to himself and to God.
29 Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others pass judgment.
30 But if a revelation is made to another who is seated, the first one must keep silent.
31 For you can all prophesy one by one, so that all may learn and all may be exhorted;
32 and the spirits of prophets are subject to prophets;
33 for God is not a God of confusion but of [a]peace, as in all the churches of the saints."
Many years ago, back in the day, parents had charge of community schooling, they vetted and hired the teachers and were the school board in each community.
Sadly government, whoever they were, decided that if schools could be monitored and run by the "experts", they could train the teachers to influence the thinking of the children, not how to think and what is truth, but "what" to think.
This came in very subtly as the teachers began to be more concerned about their pay check than they were about truth. They began to indoctrinate the children in liberal thinking. Now we have children who mock the wisdom of their parents and defend the teachers when the two do not agree.
This is why Christian parents need to keep their children out of those government schools. The parents have lost the control over what their children learn. The teachers in those schools have the childrenm day in and day out, longer even than the parents have them.
This was a plot from the beginning of the public school system. We don't see in Scripture a model of "public school" in which the children go off to be educated by what amounts to strangers. These strangers were not vetted by the parents, but approved of by liberal boards that the parents had no control over.
Children are being indoctrinated every day now in the vein of liberal thinking. They are pressured by teachers and their peers to "group think", that is, not to think outside the box of the liberal teachers. Children are not strong enough emotionally to stand up against groups of people, they are still tender and forming their ideas and strengths.
When we were growing up, we were taught to think for ourselves, making decisions from evaluating right from wrong and deciding based on that. Children in public schools now are discouraged from thinking for themselves, even mocked if they do not agree with the rest of the students or the teacher.
If you want to be the primary influence in your child's life then you must keep them home with you. If you want them to go the way of the world put them in those government schools and watch the deterioration of the family as a unit.
Just Sayin!!!!
God never told us to invite non-believers to our worship, they should not be there. We are to "go into the world" preaching and teaching and when the unsaved become saved then they will come in as believer and followers of Christ. If a non-believer happens to come, then probably he is open to the truth, but we should not be inviting unsaved friends who ultimately learn the Christian lingo, begin acting like Christians but are not born again, they have not been changed from the inside, so their acting on the outside does not remain. Therefore they corrupt the gathering with their worldly ideas and false persona. This is where the apostate church is today, it got that way because many people compromised the truth to placate the unbeliever.
The apostate church violated more scripture than it obeyed, in the process is it no longer a gathering of Christlike people indwelt by the Holy Spirit, but rather a social gathering that capitulates to the ungodly thinking of the unbelievers who are present. Now, it is likely we have more unsaved people in the "Christian" churches than we have saved ones. Therefore most gatherings, especially if they are large ones, will be accepting many wicked sins within their group.
2 Timothy 3:1-5 God warned us about these people and tells us to stay away from them.
"1 This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.
2 For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,
3 Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good,
4 Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;
5 Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away."
Beware of false doctrine based on psychology that fosters guilt in us for not obeying their ideas, the ideas that negate the purposes of the Word of God.
Just recently I was chastised by a believer for asserting that we need to be bold and completely honest with the non-believer. The only phrase I heard, in a mild form of rage, was that "its all about love." When I asked the question, "what is love"?, the rage escalated and there was a refusal to answer. My guess is that most people who use cliches don't know the meaning of those cliches. These cliches sound good so they are embraced, that's all they have, meaning is not very important, only the right words to make us sound compassionate. Interesting too that the one raging at me didn't have that love he so adamantly declared, for me.
It is not very compassionate to make an unbeliever feel good about themselves, only to have them go into the fires of hell at the end of this life. Wouldn't it be more compassionate to tell the truth with urgency and watch them go to heaven later?
Every cliche in the book will be thrown at us from pretenders. When appearances are the goal, then anything that goes any deeper than superficiality will be summarily rejected. Anything that makes someone accountable or shows a need for brokenness over sin, will be rejected and attacked.
2 Timothy 4:4-5
"4 and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths.
5 But you, be sober in all things, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry."
There have been two others I have heard today referring to the apostasy of the church, its as though the prophets and prophetesses are warning the people but the people are not listening.
We have many prophetesses and prophets still here in our land, they are the born again believers who have been commissioned by God to speak the truth and live righteous lives.
By prophets and prophetesses I do not mean future telling, but those born again believers who are rightly dividing the word and warning of what is coming and urging people to get back to the Word of God as their standard. These people are also speaking and writing frequently about the rapture as well as the gospel of Jesus Christ for those who do not yet know Him.
We no longer need future revelations, we have all we need in the Bible. Its all right there, nothing more is needed. We can watch today as those prophesies from the patriarchs are being fulfilled before our very eyes.
I don't know about you but it is exciting to me while at the same time grievous that so many people who attend churches and family members are clueless as to truth of the Word or the order of the Church gathering.
There are many too, who would consider themselves conservative, who are fixated on having an earthly king. We saw what happened to Israel when they chose a King over God to rule them. When we have Christ is doesn't matter what the government is doing we will follow only Christ., our leader is Jesus Christ. Nothing the government does changes how we operate as believers, we still follow Christ first and our governmental laws when they do not violate the Word of God.
If the people of a nation are not focused on Christ they will want their safety to come through a king. We are living in wicked times, the people are evil so the leaders we will have are also evil. Even the one we think will get us some of what we want, that is "peace and safety."
Just because we think some good things are happening, that does not mean that righteousness is prevailing, just the opposite. All this conservatism is an illusion concocted by those who needed the "Christian" voting block to participate. All those in the planning stages of the plot knew that if they could fool those Christians into believing they would get them what they wanted, they would be able to sway the vote in their direction.
I was involved in politics for a few years, I know how the politicians think, I know the way they manipulate the people, it is positively clever. By the way, there are many clues that are ignored when the tricksters work their wiles, but the people like what is said so they ignore the clues. Seeing the clues takes discernment and critical thinking, nothing said can be taken at face value. Remember words are nothing, they are easily expressed, it is in the actions that one is proven to be righteous.
Our nation will only be a righteous nation through changed hearts of the people. When a nation gets to the point in which they accept the decrees of their leaders to defend sin in every form, then we have lost the nation.
The very people we think are righteous leaders are not at all, they have allowed pornography to be so entrenched that the United States is the leader of the distribution of it for the entire world. We have the blood of 65 million babies on the land and counting, as our courts have defended and allowed abortion. Notice something, only less than half the people are against abortion in our country and many of the other half have comforted those who do have abortions.
If we have some godly leaders but most are not in our government system, then we can surmise that most of the people of the United States are wicked. Those who are godly cannot get anything done because they are outnumbered. We have seen this in church gatherings too, in which the leaders are apostate, the one who calls it out is the one who is driven out.
With the United States becoming worse morally we cannot expect the leaders to do better. The voters drive the leaders, they create the climate for the government. Even those that do not vote drive the government by letting the few make the voting decisions. In short, most people in this country are not interested in righteousness, only in getting what they want, that is "peace, security and prosperity."
Jeremiah 7:26-28 "…26 "Yet they did not listen to Me or incline their ear, but stiffened their neck; they did more evil than their fathers. 27 "You shall speak all these words to them, but they will not listen to you; and you shall call to them, but they will not answer you. 28 "You shall say to them, 'This is the nation that did not obey the voice of the LORD their God or accept correction; truth has perished and has been cut off from their mouth.…"
Let's recap a little to get perspective, abortion, pornography, prostitution, teaching of sex in schools rather than parents privately instructing their own children, filthy movies on television and at the theaters have poisoned the mind of two generations as they indoctrinate the watchers into a particular mindset of self worship and pleasure. Then there is the foolishness of coddling the young people to think they should have everything they want without having to earn it or wait for it.
We are living in wicked times fraught with self will, harshness toward those who speak truth, lack of love while filled with a desire for personal aggrandizement.
Isaiah 30:9-11 "…9 For this is a rebellious people, false sons, Sons who refuse to listen To the instruction of the LORD; 10 Who say to the seers, "You must not see visions"; And to the prophets, "You must not prophesy to us what is right, Speak to us pleasant words, Prophesy illusions. 11 "Get out of the way, turn aside from the path, Let us hear no more about the Holy One of Israel."
Do not become agitated when the world hates you. When they mock you, lie against you and leave you without help, it is not about you at all. Those who do these things to God's people are operating against God.
Those who come against God's people are looking at us and hating the One Who dwells in us. They are not seeing us at all, we are an object to them, it is Christ in us that they fight against. Perhaps we see an angry person before us, but that person has been deeply influenced by the whispers of the devil. The person has no rational of his own to hate us, he is simply operating on the emotions and distorted thinking of the devil who has his grip on the helpless person, but not entirely helpless, the devil uses those who love their hatred.
2 Corinthians 4:4 "4 In their case the god of this world (the devil) has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God."
Do not take it personally when others mock, demean and attempt to manipulate you, they are doing this to God.
Remember this always, they may mock you, lie against you and leave you without help, but God loves you, knows the truth and will be our help when we need it.
Psalm 46:1 "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble."
Philippians 4:13
"I can do all things through him who strengthens me."
God does not say we can do all things with the help of others, He says we can do all things because of His strength in us.
Proverbs 3:5-6
"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths."
It is wonderful when we have love and the companionship of others who are walking the same path that we are walking, but when it is not possible, Christ can be everything for us.
It is interesting that the words in 2 Timothy 3, "lack of natural affection", is a condition of the end times mentality, really means a "hard heartedness toward kindred", meaning lack of the natural love between family members. The word is "astorgos", love of family. These people will pretend to be spiritual, but in fact are not at all what they portray. God tells us in verse 5 to avoid them, they can only harm us.
2 Timothy 3:1-5
1 This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.
2 For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,
3 WITHOUT NATURAL AFFECTION, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good,
4 Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;
5 Having a FORM OF GODLINESS, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away."
We see this lack of love in families taking many different forms. One of those forms is the women leaving the care of the children in favor of a career, the proliferation of abortion in our day, the lack of kindness and love shown to mothers-in-law or fathers-in-laws, the snarky rebelliousness adult children show aging parents, the waiting for parents to die so the children can have the inheritance and much more.
Many adult children today are angry when their aging parents won't give them the things the parents worked all their lives to earn. The children want those things for free, as though the parents owe it to them.
Demanding that parents do the bidding of their adult children seems to be nearly normal these days. Those parents that do the bidding of their adult children are in bondage to their own children. Perhaps the children were in charge when they were toddlers, the reason they think they should be in charge as they become adults.
The parents who do not do the bidding of their adult children are punished for creating reasonable boundaries that any normal person would erect. If the parents acted toward their children the way the children act toward their parents, the children would become enraged that anything was expected of them, and yet they feel entitled to the parents things.
Notice I said "the parents things", many adult children today do not want their parents, do not love their parents nor have any modicum of concern for them, they just want their money, their help and their protection, without reciprocating. It's not about a relationship with the parents at all. This is how many pretenders treat God, they want all His stuff but want nothing of Him.
Many parents give into their monstrously entitled children out of fear of being alone, especially in their aging years. When we are born again, Christ is our help and our joy, we trust Him more than we depend on our children.
May every aging believer place their trust in Christ in these difficult and loveless times rather than in entitled family members who ought to be given their walking papers.
We should not allow our disrespectful and entitled children to dictate our lives. We did our job as a parent, when they leave the home to be on their own as they should, they are no longer under our care, they need to make their own way the same way we had to. They want their independence, give it to them. Independence means they do not come to you for needs, they work out their own problems and earn their own money. The requirement to make their own way in the world is helpful to them bringing them accomplishment in their own lives. If they are wise they will seek the counsel of the aging parents who have had a proven record of working out problems sensibly.
Helping occasionally when a child is acting responsibly and not demanding it is acceptable. However constantly bailing them out of difficulties they made for themselves by not operating in maturity, is not acceptable. We have no obligation to help them. Any gifts we give to them ought to be our own idea, not capitulating to the demands of a brat who would rather not have to work for what they need.
Note too that most requests by entitled people are not needs but wants. Often they waste their money on foolish unnecessary things while expecting other people to pay their rent, their groceries and other bills.
We are seeing a lot of thirty somethings coming back home to live with Mommy and Daddy because they didn't take care of business. They played, wasted their funds and then come crawling back when the money runs out. If you love your children you will push them out of the nest when they are of age and not bail them out of their troubles. Troubles grow character but only if we work through them wisely.
When a child must make their own way without help they often become more hard working and creative with the money they have. If you love your child you will teach them to make their own way in the world. To operate as though they can't make their own way in the world is a "show of no confidence" in their ability. These aging parents are demonstrating to the child that they are not capable or smart enough to figure things out and be successful.
When the mother bird pushes the fledgling out of the nest, it must fly or fall to the ground, it nearly always flies. The bird that has been extricated from the nest will not return to the mother bird ever again.
In the human experience though, according to God's standard, the children do not come back to live with parents, but the parents go to their children when they are in need of help or cannot operate entirely on their own. The roles are somewhat reversed, the parents are then taken care of by their responsible and loving children as they live out their lives in frailty. This does not remove the command to honor parents, just the opposite. When our parents are aging we ought to show even greater respect, they have enough pain in their lives, they don't need a disrespectful and careless adult child treating them like a child.
Sadly those children who have been indulged by their parents will be living off of their aging parents without being helpful to them. I have heard of many cases like this, in which the aging parent still does all the work and care of their adult children while the children do not help with anything. The aging parent is burdened to the very end of their lives with the care of selfish, mean spirited and entitled adult children who make their lives miserable. Believe me, it is better to be alone in your old age than to be saddled with the whims and tantrums of adult children who care nothing about you.
This sounds very frightening to those who have not seen it, they think its not possible for adult children to act this way, but I have seen it and the misery only ends when the aging parent dies.
What is the moral of this story? Its simple, as aging parents set boundaries for your own home, do not allow adult children to come back and take over the household unless it is to care for you. When elderly parents must live with their children in their children's houses, it would be good to be grateful and unassuming about how things will operate. Making our stay with your adult children an asset to them as much as possible. Even aging parents can do some things that help out around the house, even if the only thing you are capable of is snapping green beans on the porch so that others can be free for the other duties.
When families operate God's way, the presence of adult children with aging parents can be pleasant and endearing, memories that last the rest of the adult children's lives.
Advice I give to children who have troublesome aging parents, is that we never want to be left with guilt over the ill treatment of our parents when they were alive, after they have died. If we have to put up with things from them before they die, it is far better to "suck it up" and remain respectful, than to have to deal with the guilt after they are dead.
Just a thought!
After Enoch was taken into heaven with God without dying, the people looked for him but could not find him.
This is a picture of the rapture, we will disappear, it will frighten those who are left behind, they will worry about how it happened and wonder if it could happen to them.
Yep, there you have it folks, our president, the most powerful leader of the free world proclaiming that he would like to go to fisticuffs with the ex-vice president behind the high school if they were still youngsters.
I told my husband that I was going to vote for Trump because I believed it would prove to be the most entertaining administration of any we have seen and because he wanted me to vote. I was right, this administration is proving to be a laugh a minute.
While I do agree with many of the verbal expressions of the presidents policies, some of which have been accomplished, I have to wonder about the thinking process of someone who acts like the thug in high school or the streets of the Bronx, never having matured in all his years.
Please don't anyone chastise me for telling the truth about our president. I have never had any illusions that he would save our country or even do all the things he said he would do. I voted for him because I have voted all my life, and because he was not Hillary. Having pretty much given up on the hope that America would be anything better than what it is right now, in fact I am convinced it will continue down the slippery slide to destruction, my vote was not more important to me than obeying God. My hope is not on this earth but in Christ and my home with Him.
Trump is being used by God for His purposes, but not to save America, to bring us more intensely into the end times mess as we move toward the tribulation. The world thinks that Trump represents conservatism, yes to a degree he does, but he does not represent God's righteousness, far from it.
In order for the tribulation to become its fullest, America must no longer be a world power. America remaining a world power is no more important to me than my local high school foot ball team winning the state championship. Neither carry much weight with me, my home is not here, it is somewhere else much better than this country or this earth.
As believers we are not citizens of this world and only citizens of this country on paper. Soon the believers will be going home and what we thought was so important down here will look positively foolish to us when we reach our heavenly home.
Philippians 3:18-21
"18 For many, of whom I have often told you and now tell you even with tears, walk as enemies of the cross of Christ.
19 Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things.
20 But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ,
21 who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself."
There you have it....my opinion.
I still love those of you who may disagree with me.
Isaiah 3:11-13 "…11 Woe to the wicked! It will go badly with him, For what he deserves will be done to him. 12 O My people! Their oppressors are children, And women rule over them. O My people! Those who guide you lead you astray And confuse the direction of your paths. 13 The LORD arises to contend, And stands to judge the people.…"
Think about it, do we not see the children bossing their parents, ruling the household in families these days? I see it a lot where I live.
Sometimes I can hardly stand watching the parents who allow their children to rule the household, dictating terms and executing revenge through tantrums when the parents won't submit to the child immediately.
Just the other day while shopping in a public place, I heard a rebellious toddler screaming as loud as he possibly could to bring the parent to their knees. The response of the parent was to ignore it hoping it would go away on its own. Finally the parent got tired of the tirade and gave the little monster what he wanted, re-enforcing that his tantrum worked and would continue.
This same child will be punching out his parent when he is taller than she. He will use intimidation and manipulation to keep the parent under his control. This woman is looking at a very hellish teen years, but even worse than that a hellish elderly stint when she can no longer give the child everything he wants, he will be discarding and even abusing his mother because she is inconvenient to him. Just saying!!!
Proverbs 19:26-27 "26 He who assaults his father and drives his mother away Is a shameful and disgraceful son. 27 Cease listening, my son, to discipline, And you will stray from the words of knowledge.…"
The problem I see in this culture is the resistance of the parents to do the necessary discipline God's way. What is God's way?
Proverbs 13:24
"Whoever spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him is diligent to discipline him."
A parent who does not discipline properly only loves themselves. It is unpleasant to many parents to have to discipline a child. I didn't think of it that way, because I saw it as nothing more than any other task in the household. You have to clean the bathroom, cook the food and spank the child, that's just life, why have any bad feelings about it, unless one has been brainwashed that it is mean to spank.
Hebrews 12:11
"For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it."
If we let the bathroom commode become filthy over the course of several years, it may not be able to be clean ever again no matter how much scrubbing one does. That commode would not only be filthy but smelly too. It is an unpleasant job, but necessary, we don't "feel" anything about it, we just do it to maintain the standard of the household.
The same is true with the child, if a parent neglects the disciplining of the child long enough, soon that child will be so arrogant and rebellious that nothing will work with him anymore.
After this neglect has occurred over many years, then the child will have to be trained by God, the harsher way, through many life failures. In my estimation it is better to do it God's way and actually be able to enjoy the teen years with your children.
There is no guarantee that a child will become godly because we obeyed God, but there is a better chance and our conscience is free from regret when we know we did it God's way.
The narcissist does not show respect to anyone who will not elevate them as special.
Narcissists have a need for others to be bad so they can feel good.
When it is important to someone to be special or above others, we are watching an excessive pride that can never admit anything needs work in themselves, this is why they never grow emotionally or spiritually.
Secure and mature human beings are able to easily say, "wow that was a dumb thing I did", in reference to their own missteps.
It is only when we can laugh at ourselves while freely admitting mistakes that we can grow in all areas of our life.
This is why flattery is so dangerous, not to mention inauthentic. It praises the ego in a person removing the desire for the person being flattered, to improve themselves. This is why we have so many people today who cannot tolerate correction, they are not used to admitting their own failures. Their life experience has been one of continual praise and personal glory, as the kids say, "just to encourage them."
The culture has lost the meaning of encouragement. They use that word in place of praise. They are not encouraging people to work harder or improve, they are simply praising them for doing something at all, no matter how inferior the work may be, just doing it brings adulation (excessive praise).
Encouragement is the act of showing the right direction and helping to walk in it. I might be encouraging my children in their homework by instructing them to do it right and turn it in on time. This encouragement produces productivity and excellence.
Praise has little value, even causing laziness in the one who is praised. If a child is praised for tying his shoe, even if it is messy, then he will feel no need to become excellent in the execution of the task. Praise is nothing more than flattery.
Proverbs 29:5
"A man who flatters his neighbor spreads a net for his feet."
Flattery keeps the person it is directed at, satisfied with shoddy workmanship. It is a stumbling block to productivity. Even worse is flattery about our appearance diverts the attention of our friends from important things to the superficial.
Encouragement to the child in the shoe tying might be when we see that it is messy, we would tell him he needs to try again for it to be tidier. This is conveying to the child that we know they can do the job well, it just takes practice. When we praise when something is not done well, then we are sending the message that we don't think they are capable of anything better so we just give up on them and let them be sloppy. And, I do believe children can see lazy flattery to gain the love of the child, it creates anger in them.
One of the ways we were taught in school when I was a child, in this matter of excellence, was in penmanship. We had to practice and receive a grade in penmanship class, but not only in that class, every paper was evaluated in terms of our penmanship, even in math. If the teacher could not read our writing then we had points removed for poor penmanship. That's why we not only worked hard to develop every subject, we also took note of our penmanship in order to receive a good grade.
For those who are young enough that they don't know the meaning of the word "penmanship", here is the definition; "the art or skill of writing by hand." Everything in elementary school, after second grace and into high school was done in long hand, that is cursive. When someone has learned cursive proficiently they can write much faster than those who print their letters individually, not to mention the beauty of the art of cursive writing.
For those of you who were not trained in cursive writing, here is that definition; "rapid handwriting in which letters are set down in full and are cursively connected within words without lifting the writing implement from the paper."
Teaching cursive and penmanship in school develops a sense of discipline and excellence that is missing from the lives of many young people today. Having to practice at something until it is beautiful will develop a mentality of working that hard at everything we do. It is more than a beautiful way of writing, it is a mindset of excellence that becomes a habit in every area of our lives.
When we expect excellence in the work of our children, we train them to focus on the task and not on themselves. When we are excessively focused on self we will do things for the easy praise rather than the creation that is excellent.
Everything becomes about a product well made or a job well done when our mind is on the work. When this is the goal, then the very good feeling of a job well done is enough, we don't even need the notice of others, we are satisfied in the work itself.
Colossians 3:23
"Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men,"
The more we obey and please God, the less we need the praise of men to carry on in our walk with the Lord. Our lives are about the Lord and the job we have to do, not whether men will like us.
Proverbs 2:1-5
1 My son, if you will receive my words
And treasure my commandments within you,
2 Make your ear attentive to wisdom,
Incline your heart to understanding;
3 For if you cry for discernment,
Lift your voice for understanding;
4 If you seek her as silver
And search for her as for hidden treasures;
5 Then you will discern the fear of the Lord
And discover the knowledge of God.
Notice that wisdom is likened to a woman, ships are named after women, cities are referred to as "she." I find this interesting that women who walk in truth are valued for their wisdom. And, the men protect the cities, the ships and the women, they are highly valued as his helpers. Not that women are objects, but that they are so valued by God and godly men that they are protected as treasures.
A woman has the ability to destroy a man or help him to be successful in all that he does. Women who will not see her husband and children as their primary ministry, will seek self expression that has the potential of destroying families.
Proverbs 31: 11-12 An excellent wife, who can find?
For her worth is far above jewels.
11 The heart of her husband trusts in her,
And he will have no lack of gain.
12 She does him good and not evil
All the days of her life.
Believing men and woman alike must pursue wisdom to be able to operate in God's principles. Without wisdom the world will influence the actions and reactions of those who are not equipped to refute what they see and hear coming from the world.
Today we see many people in the church who know these words in Proverbs but are unaffected by them because they interpret what they read in terms of the world's wisdom. We can only understand the Words of the Bible if we are willing to obey them. Knowing gets us nothing and does not impress God, even the devil knows all this. God is only blessed when we seek His Word to obey Him, to know Him and to love Him.
Proverbs 1: 6-22
6 For the Lord gives wisdom;
From His mouth come knowledge and understanding.
7 He stores up sound wisdom for the upright;
He is a shield to those who walk in integrity,
8 Guarding the paths of justice,
And He preserves the way of His godly ones.
9 Then you will discern righteousness and justice
And equity and every good course.
10 For wisdom will enter your heart
And knowledge will be pleasant to your soul;
11 Discretion will guard you,
Understanding will watch over you,
12 To deliver you from the way of evil,
From the man who speaks perverse things;
13 From those who leave the paths of uprightness
To walk in the ways of darkness;
14 Who delight in doing evil
And rejoice in the perversity of evil;
15 Whose paths are crooked,
And who are devious in their ways;
16 To deliver you from the strange woman,
From the adulteress who flatters with her words;
17 That leaves the companion of her youth
And forgets the covenant of her God;
18 For her house sinks down to death
And her tracks lead to the dead;
19 None who go to her return again,
Nor do they reach the paths of life.
20 So you will walk in the way of good men
And keep to the paths of the righteous.
21 For the upright will live in the land
And the blameless will remain in it;
22 But the wicked will be cut off from the land
And the treacherous will be uprooted from it.
Matthew 22:36-40
36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” 37 And He said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the great and foremost commandment. 39 The second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.”
If we love God will all our heart we will obey Him. If we love people secondly we will be more concerned about whether or not they are born again and following Christ than we are about their "emotions" or "momentary feelings."
Our feelings get hurt when we are corrected, it is human nature, that's the pride that dwells in the human heart. Once we get past the feelings of hurt from being corrected, then we can move on to rational thinking that leads us to see the needed changes in our heart.
The more we grow in holiness and righteousness, the more joyful we are and the more productive for the Lord.
Cain killed Able because of jealousy. Did you know that jealousy is anger that someone else had something you wanted but couldn't have, whether that be physical things or character qualities?
Able's sacrifice was pleasing to God not because it was the right kind of sacrifice, it probably was, but because Able respected God, his heart was right with God.
Cain was not rejected by God for the wrong kind of sacrifice, it probably was, but God rejected him because his heart was evil, he did not respect God and disrespected Able for being loved by God.
We have proof that Cain did not respect God, that proof was that he killed the one that God loved, the one that loved God. The rage Cain felt led him to end the relationship between God and Able or so it was in his own mind. Killing Able did not destroy the relationship between God and Able, but it did destroy the relationships between God and Cain.
Those who demonstrate jealousy toward others have murder in their heart. Not because Cain killed Able, but because jealousy is hatred an absence of love, God says if we hate then we have murder in our hearts.
1 John 3:15
"Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him."
To be angry toward someone merely because they have something we want and can't have, is hatred. When we choose not to engage in their joy with them over their accomplishment or pleasure, we are demonstrating hatred and revealing the murder that dwells in our heart.
Romans 12:15-16 " 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice; weep with those who weep. 16 Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but enjoy the company of the lowly. Do not be conceited."
It is common for the jealous person to refrain from engaging in the emotions of others because they cannot stand that the one they are jealous of is enjoying something. If the joy is not about them, then they have a desire to ruin the happiness of those that have the joy.
Those who feel a need to be superior to others will often demonstrate jealousy. Cain wanted to be superior to Able, when he saw that he was not and that his sacrifice was not acceptable, he allowed the rage in his heart to escalate into murder.
Cain could not ruin Able because God was on Able's side, so his hatred for God and for Able caused him to commit murder out of rage, at the two who caused his pain. Raging to cause hurt or becoming stone faced is a way of killing the other person off. even if the jealous person does not actually commit murder.
Ignoring others because of jealousy or ruining whatever they accomplished are tactics that are often used by jealous people. Jealousy can only exist when there is a deep and intense self focus.
If we are to refrain from jealousy we must have our own joy based in our relationship with Christ. When Christ is our focus we do not feel a need to be superior, nor do we want what others have so much so that we are willing to destroy relationships and reputations.
Think about it! What does anyone accomplish by their jealousy? The only thing they accomplish is continual trauma in their own soul and destroyed relationships. If we find ourselves involved in jealous feelings or thoughts, then it is time to confess that sin before it ruins someone.
It is interesting to me that science is now beginning to realize that a person's heart actually thinks, the brain is only a part of the thinking that we do. When we believe God, we can know the truth without scientific evidence, but its always exciting when the scientists finally discover what the Bible had been telling us all along.
Psalm 51:10
"Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me."
Ezekiel 36:26
"And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh."
Jeremiah 17:9
"The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?"
Proverbs 4:23
"Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life."
Matthew 5:8
“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God."
Yes, what an exciting day for Noah when he saw God fulfilling what He said He would do. Noah must have lost lots of family members in that flood, but he never invited them to come aboard or built the ark bigger to accommodate them. He merely obeyed God. He preached before the wrath of God came and accepted the fate of those who refused to repent.
I was listening to a video this morning on the principle of programming an animal to do something, in regard to how people can also be programmed.
B.F. Skinner did an experiment with pigeons. He allowed the pigeons to press a button and a treat would come out. When they pushed the button and nothing came out they would leave after several tries.
However if they pushed the button a few times and the treat came out randomly, every other time or after three pushes, the pigeon would remain pushing until a treat would come. They would stay there and continue to push even though they never knew how many times a treat would emerge.
This is the principle of the gambling industry, if they allow the customer to win at the slot machines a little in the beginning and randomly after, then the person will stay even when nothing is coming out. They will put in their coins continually as long as there is some reward at some time, even if its small because in their minds the next one might be the big one.
People at the gambling houses in front of the slot machines are "pigeons" because they have been programmed to keep trying even when nothing is coming out. "The Royal We"
This is the same with relationships, a narcissist can treat us very badly several times in a row, but if they sneak in a little niceness once in awhile, we remain hoping for the next time that they will show a little friendliness. They only display friendliness, not kindness, they are two different things. When they think our guard is down and they have sucked us back in, they will begin their dastardly actions and reactions all over again.
We don't have to be like pigeons, unless we were bird brains. We have enough thinking power to decide whether or not we want to be continually abused by those who get pleasure out of demeaning and mocking those they wish to dominate.
I promise, it is better to be alone with God than to remain with an abuser simply to keep from being lonely. But we don't have to be without people. Pray that the Lord will bring you to others who agree on important matter and value you, is the best course of action. There are plenty out there who would love and value you, even if only on facebook.
There is a wonderful place, that place is the place of peace dwelling with Christ. He will bring others into your life when He is ready for us to have human companions. One good friend is enough, crowds don't usually foster close relationships, it is best to hold out for the deeper relationships that help us grow and want what we have to offer too.
Proverbs 18:24 "A man of too many friends comes to ruin,
But there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother."
Each person must find their own path. We will be judged on whether we follow Christ or man. If we obey Christ we will be blessed in our soul, if we obey man we will be in bondage to man's rules.
If your spouse is not obeying God, then we must even if we do that alone.
Revelation 14:12
"12 Here is the patience of the saints; here are those[a] who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus."
The fruit of the Spirit are character qualities not actions. The character qualities will produce attitudes and actions pleasing to God, but the real fruit is in the character.
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."
May the Lord be the One doing all the work in us. What we do in our own flesh out of our own pride does not count and is not pleasing to our Lord.
He loves for us to trust in Him to work in us.
Ephesians 2:10
"10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them."
