Thursday, April 9, 2020
Spiritual Growth or Back-slidden State?
Remembering back in the day when we were heathens without Christ, over the years we became disappointed at those who were supposed to be more spiritual than us. perhaps even have influenced us in some way toward the Lord.
Why the disappointment? Because you see how much you have left behind and where God has brought you all these years realizing that those who influenced you were now backslidden.
Or should I say they are where they were before but you didn't realize their attitudes were ungodly because they seemed so much better than us at that time?
When we have grown in the Lord it is often the case that those who were our friends when we were heathen enjoyed us more when we were ungodly, perhaps it made them feel superior to hang out with us.
After we began to grow because we trusted Christ our hunger grew too. We were famished for the word of God never looking back and always peering into the Bible for our answers. Those friends we looked upon as icons now seemed like faded glory, dimming in fervor, almost out from the lack of light.
While our friends were attending endless seminars to learn how to be spiritual we were delving into the word of God as though our life depended on it, and it did.
The more I learned the truth from God's word the more I realized the Christianity we saw in our baby years was only a superficial social Christianity based on feelings and a desire to appear spiritual without the depth that comes with Spiritual growth, that is growth from seeking Christ and walking the way He instructed us to walk.
Many of my former friends could no longer tolerate me because they were not moving, in fact, I noticed they were regressing, less tolerant of my enthusiasm to make all my thoughts based on the Word of God.
This is why I wrote the theme of my Facebook and my blog in these words:
"Rejecting the cultural Christianity I grew up with to embrace and enjoy a relationship with Christ."
There are many people who say they are Christians, whether or not they are is up to God, but I grieve to watch them indulging in worldly thoughts and actions that make them popular but do not glorify Christ.
1 Corinthians 10:31
"So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God."
Psalm 115:1
"Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your name give glory, for the sake of your steadfast love and your faithfulness!"
Psalm 86:12
"I give thanks to you, O Lord my God, with my whole heart, and I will glorify your name forever."
May the Lord wake up all of us to reject the false ways we believe that are not Biblical. Anyone who questions God to know the truth will not be disappointed. God will always answer an honest plea to know the truth.
James 1:4-6 "…4 Allow perseverance to finish its work, so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. 5 If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. 6 But he must ask in faith, without doubting, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.…"
Lastly: never compare ourselves with others, always compare with God and we will find things that need improvement. Often we will be ashamed and confess to be cleansed.
1 John 1:9 "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."
Why the disappointment? Because you see how much you have left behind and where God has brought you all these years realizing that those who influenced you were now backslidden.
Or should I say they are where they were before but you didn't realize their attitudes were ungodly because they seemed so much better than us at that time?
When we have grown in the Lord it is often the case that those who were our friends when we were heathen enjoyed us more when we were ungodly, perhaps it made them feel superior to hang out with us.
After we began to grow because we trusted Christ our hunger grew too. We were famished for the word of God never looking back and always peering into the Bible for our answers. Those friends we looked upon as icons now seemed like faded glory, dimming in fervor, almost out from the lack of light.
While our friends were attending endless seminars to learn how to be spiritual we were delving into the word of God as though our life depended on it, and it did.
The more I learned the truth from God's word the more I realized the Christianity we saw in our baby years was only a superficial social Christianity based on feelings and a desire to appear spiritual without the depth that comes with Spiritual growth, that is growth from seeking Christ and walking the way He instructed us to walk.
Many of my former friends could no longer tolerate me because they were not moving, in fact, I noticed they were regressing, less tolerant of my enthusiasm to make all my thoughts based on the Word of God.
This is why I wrote the theme of my Facebook and my blog in these words:
"Rejecting the cultural Christianity I grew up with to embrace and enjoy a relationship with Christ."
There are many people who say they are Christians, whether or not they are is up to God, but I grieve to watch them indulging in worldly thoughts and actions that make them popular but do not glorify Christ.
1 Corinthians 10:31
"So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God."
Psalm 115:1
"Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your name give glory, for the sake of your steadfast love and your faithfulness!"
Psalm 86:12
"I give thanks to you, O Lord my God, with my whole heart, and I will glorify your name forever."
May the Lord wake up all of us to reject the false ways we believe that are not Biblical. Anyone who questions God to know the truth will not be disappointed. God will always answer an honest plea to know the truth.
James 1:4-6 "…4 Allow perseverance to finish its work, so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. 5 If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. 6 But he must ask in faith, without doubting, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.…"
Lastly: never compare ourselves with others, always compare with God and we will find things that need improvement. Often we will be ashamed and confess to be cleansed.
1 John 1:9 "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."
The Way We Think Determines Our Actions
Do not help people who are not willing to change. Do not waste precious time battling with those who will not seek Christ for deliverance from their sinful habits.
Proverbs 1:7
"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction."
Those who want to change will seek Christ, listen to wisdom from God's Word and begin to change, not for their own trying but because Christ is changing the WAY they think.
The WAY we think determines our actions and attitudes about everything. Watch what people do, their responses to life experience and their response to correction and you will see "the way" they think.
Proverbs 28:26
"Whoever trusts in his own mind is a fool, but he who walks in wisdom will be delivered."
Those who want to be delivered by Christ will be, those who do not want to be delivered will not change to their own peril.
Proverbs 10:23
"Doing wrong is like a joke to a fool, but wisdom is a pleasure to a man of understanding."
Proverbs 1:7
"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction."
Those who want to change will seek Christ, listen to wisdom from God's Word and begin to change, not for their own trying but because Christ is changing the WAY they think.
The WAY we think determines our actions and attitudes about everything. Watch what people do, their responses to life experience and their response to correction and you will see "the way" they think.
Proverbs 28:26
"Whoever trusts in his own mind is a fool, but he who walks in wisdom will be delivered."
Those who want to be delivered by Christ will be, those who do not want to be delivered will not change to their own peril.
Proverbs 10:23
"Doing wrong is like a joke to a fool, but wisdom is a pleasure to a man of understanding."
Who Influenced Peter
When Christ looked at Peter to say; "get thee behind me Satan", He did not address Peter, He was addressing the devil that was influencing Peter.
Peter didn't realize he was being influenced and used by the devil, he just spoke what came to his mind, but Christ knew it was a devil who was using Peter.
This is what is happening in our relationships now in these end days. People are having ill feelings about others that are not based on facts, so they try to figure out what is wrong with someone to justify their feelings.
When we find this happening we must think rationally and with facts to keep the feelings in their proper place, that ignores them to reason Biblically.
If Peter had taken the time to think before he spoke He would have realized Christ is God and would know the right things to do, rather than suggesting to Christ what He should do.
Isaiah 1:18
18 “Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord:
though your sins are like scarlet,
they shall be as white as snow;
though they are red like crimson,
they shall become like wool.
God wants us to think about using facts rather than leaning into feelings that are often not factual even often the opposite of the truth.
1 Corinthians 2:15-16 "…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."
Peter didn't realize he was being influenced and used by the devil, he just spoke what came to his mind, but Christ knew it was a devil who was using Peter.
This is what is happening in our relationships now in these end days. People are having ill feelings about others that are not based on facts, so they try to figure out what is wrong with someone to justify their feelings.
When we find this happening we must think rationally and with facts to keep the feelings in their proper place, that ignores them to reason Biblically.
If Peter had taken the time to think before he spoke He would have realized Christ is God and would know the right things to do, rather than suggesting to Christ what He should do.
Isaiah 1:18
18 “Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord:
though your sins are like scarlet,
they shall be as white as snow;
though they are red like crimson,
they shall become like wool.
God wants us to think about using facts rather than leaning into feelings that are often not factual even often the opposite of the truth.
1 Corinthians 2:15-16 "…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."
The Devil Seeks to Destroy Relationships
Beware the devil is roaming around looking to twist the minds of believers to cause division within God's church. If the devil can turn people against one another he can destroy any witness or bonding that should happen between believers.
This is not an admonition to remain silent about everything so everyone is peaceful in their own ways. This is an admonition for everyone to test all beliefs by the Word of God.
1 Peter 5:8 "Be sober, be vigilant, because of your adversary the devil walketh about as a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour."
Ecclesiastes 4:9-12
"Two are better than one because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up! Again, if two lie together, they keep warm, but how can one keep warm alone? And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him-a threefold cord is not quickly broken.
The solution: Seek Christ, remove anything that distracts us from the Word of God. Distractions from the Word are what divide the people of God. When we diligently search the scripture for truth we will agree on everything.
Colossians 2:8
"See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ."
Corinthians 1:10-11
"I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment. For it has been reported to me by Chloe's people that there is quarreling among you, my brothers."
How is it possible for everyone to agree? Only through scripture study together and prayer can we see the truth from God's Word. God never tells one person something different from another. If there is disagreement then we must go back to the Word to discover the truth. Without the guidance of the Holy Spirit, we will only be thinking with our human minds.
Eliminate any traditions of man that are also a distraction. I have seen people fight bitterly over the traditions of men that are not Biblical to maintain what makes them feel comfortable.
Mark 7:13-14 "13 Thus you nullify the word of God by the tradition you have handed down. And you do so in many such matters.” 14 Once again Jesus called the crowd to Him and said, “All of you, listen to Me and understand:…"
Our culture is full of man's traditions that believers will dare to fight over. So many things man has attempted to incorporate into their understanding of the Bible in order to hang onto their favored traditions.
The final question, do we love God more than anything else? Do we love Him more than our man-made traditions?
This is not an admonition to remain silent about everything so everyone is peaceful in their own ways. This is an admonition for everyone to test all beliefs by the Word of God.
1 Peter 5:8 "Be sober, be vigilant, because of your adversary the devil walketh about as a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour."
Ecclesiastes 4:9-12
"Two are better than one because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up! Again, if two lie together, they keep warm, but how can one keep warm alone? And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him-a threefold cord is not quickly broken.
The solution: Seek Christ, remove anything that distracts us from the Word of God. Distractions from the Word are what divide the people of God. When we diligently search the scripture for truth we will agree on everything.
Colossians 2:8
"See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ."
Corinthians 1:10-11
"I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment. For it has been reported to me by Chloe's people that there is quarreling among you, my brothers."
How is it possible for everyone to agree? Only through scripture study together and prayer can we see the truth from God's Word. God never tells one person something different from another. If there is disagreement then we must go back to the Word to discover the truth. Without the guidance of the Holy Spirit, we will only be thinking with our human minds.
Eliminate any traditions of man that are also a distraction. I have seen people fight bitterly over the traditions of men that are not Biblical to maintain what makes them feel comfortable.
Mark 7:13-14 "13 Thus you nullify the word of God by the tradition you have handed down. And you do so in many such matters.” 14 Once again Jesus called the crowd to Him and said, “All of you, listen to Me and understand:…"
Our culture is full of man's traditions that believers will dare to fight over. So many things man has attempted to incorporate into their understanding of the Bible in order to hang onto their favored traditions.
The final question, do we love God more than anything else? Do we love Him more than our man-made traditions?
The Plight of the Born Again Believer
Have you ever felt like a fifth wheel, the one who thinks so differently that you don't fit in anywhere? Get used to it, it is the plight of the born again believer.
Matthew 10:21-23 "…21 Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; children will rise against their parents and have them put to death. 22 You will be hated by everyone on account of My name, but the one who perseveres to the end will be saved. 23 When they persecute you in one town, flee to the next. Truly I tell you, you will not reach all the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes.…"
Proverbs 29:27
"An unjust man is detestable to the righteous, and one whose way is upright is detestable to the wicked."
Isaiah 66:5
"You who tremble at His word, hear the word of the LORD: "Your brothers who hate and exclude you because of My name have said, 'Let the LORD be glorified that we may see your joy!' But they will be put to shame."
Matthew 10:21-23 "…21 Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; children will rise against their parents and have them put to death. 22 You will be hated by everyone on account of My name, but the one who perseveres to the end will be saved. 23 When they persecute you in one town, flee to the next. Truly I tell you, you will not reach all the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes.…"
Proverbs 29:27
"An unjust man is detestable to the righteous, and one whose way is upright is detestable to the wicked."
Isaiah 66:5
"You who tremble at His word, hear the word of the LORD: "Your brothers who hate and exclude you because of My name have said, 'Let the LORD be glorified that we may see your joy!' But they will be put to shame."
The Stinging Locust of Revelation
Have you ever wondered why the people described in Revelation will not be able to die when stung by gigantic locusts?
They will not die because the locusts are demons, the pain is real but it is an illusion just like someone who is on a bad LSD trip.
Those who have been on LSD or those who thought they had been abducted by aliens will tell you they saw the spiders crawling, they felt the bites but none of it was real, it was all happening between their ears in their minds. The people who have been abducted really did see and feel things that were not actually there.
The antichrist will deal in "lying wonders and miracles", the reason they are lies is that they are illusions, but will seem real to anyone watching. The devil does not deal in reality, he deals in perceptions and senses but not reality.
John 8:44
"You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies."
2 Corinthians 11:14
"No wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light."
2 Corinthians 11:3
"But I am afraid that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds will be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ."
They will not die because the locusts are demons, the pain is real but it is an illusion just like someone who is on a bad LSD trip.
Those who have been on LSD or those who thought they had been abducted by aliens will tell you they saw the spiders crawling, they felt the bites but none of it was real, it was all happening between their ears in their minds. The people who have been abducted really did see and feel things that were not actually there.
The antichrist will deal in "lying wonders and miracles", the reason they are lies is that they are illusions, but will seem real to anyone watching. The devil does not deal in reality, he deals in perceptions and senses but not reality.
John 8:44
"You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies."
2 Corinthians 11:14
"No wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light."
2 Corinthians 11:3
"But I am afraid that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds will be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ."
The Devil is on the Prowel!
When Christ looked at Peter to say; "get thee behind me Satan", He did not address Peter, He was addressing the devil that was influencing Peter.
Peter didn't realize he was being influenced and used by the devil, he just spoke what came to his mind, but Christ knew it was a devil who was using Peter.
This is what is happening in our relationships now in these end days. People are having ill feelings about others that are not based on facts, so they try to figure out what is wrong with someone to justify their feelings.
When we find this happening we must think rationally and with facts to keep the feelings in their proper place, that ignores them to reason Biblically.
If Peter had taken the time to think before he spoke He would have realized Christ is God and would know the right things to do, rather than suggesting to Christ what He should do.
Isaiah 1:18
18 “Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord:
though your sins are like scarlet,
they shall be as white as snow;
though they are red like crimson,
they shall become like wool.
God wants us to think about using facts rather than leaning into feelings that are often not factual even often the opposite of the truth.
1 Corinthians 2:15-16 "…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."
Peter didn't realize he was being influenced and used by the devil, he just spoke what came to his mind, but Christ knew it was a devil who was using Peter.
This is what is happening in our relationships now in these end days. People are having ill feelings about others that are not based on facts, so they try to figure out what is wrong with someone to justify their feelings.
When we find this happening we must think rationally and with facts to keep the feelings in their proper place, that ignores them to reason Biblically.
If Peter had taken the time to think before he spoke He would have realized Christ is God and would know the right things to do, rather than suggesting to Christ what He should do.
Isaiah 1:18
18 “Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord:
though your sins are like scarlet,
they shall be as white as snow;
though they are red like crimson,
they shall become like wool.
God wants us to think about using facts rather than leaning into feelings that are often not factual even often the opposite of the truth.
1 Corinthians 2:15-16 "…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."
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