How a Narcissist Relates to God

Amen, Amen!!!! We cannot act outwardly in a way that is not already on the inside. Narcissists often concoct things in their heads that they want to believe about their target but are not at all true. They often judge those they don't even know to elevate themselves. A man I know was treated special by his parents to the degree that they endorsed his bad behavior excusing him while blaming his target for "being too sensitive" or "he didn't really mean it the way you took it." The excuses for selfish mean spirited narcissists are many. Arrogance is huge in these people, it takes a work of God to break it down but most refuse to be broken.

What to Do When You Don’t Know What to Do

How to Biblically Handle Adult Toxic Children

Pastor Lutzer | 9 Lessons for America from the Prophet Jeremiah

Rescued From Religious Self-Deception

Pastor Lutzer | Rescued From Moral Self-Deception

God Commanded Us To Judge

Amen!!!! It makes perfect sense in these last days that the apostate church would teach the opposite of what God teaches. So many people say "Don't judge", when God says we are to judge righteous judgment. Christ lives in us and He shows us what and how to judge properly. To say we should not judge is the same as saying Christ is not living in us or that HE is not capable of judging properly and imparting that to the one He dwells in.

Like

Comment

Share

0 Comments

Keep Your Eyes Upon Jesus!!!!

Adrian Rogers: How to Prepare for Persecution [#1998]

The Home Bible College Stephen Pugh Aug 27th 2 Cor 12

Take a Lesson from the Butterfly

The butterfly is a natural example of salvation. When the worm emerges from the cocoon and becomes a butterfly it can no longer go back to the worm state again.

When we have been changed into a new creation by Christ in response to our desire to belong to Him, He then sends His Son to live in us and begins the process of cleansing.

With each sin that He convicts us of we confess and lose any desire for that sin, it even becomes disgusting to us. We don't have to try, the victory over the sin comes from Christ, He changes our mind to be like His.

When we are ponGod'sdering our life before salvation the Holy Spirit confronts us with our "sinful nature", then when we accept that we are sinful we hate it and want to be delivered from it.

John 3:16-18

16 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish, but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but so that the world might be saved through Him. 18 The one who believes in Him is not judged; the one who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God."

1 Corinthians 15

The Fact of Christ’s Resurrection

"15 Now I make known to you, brothers and sisters, the gospel which I preached to you, which you also received, in which you also stand, 2 by which you also are saved, if you hold firmly to [a]the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain."

Romans 6:23

"23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gracious gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."

Christ will never ignore the prayer of a sinner to be cleansed of their sin. Once He has taken our desire for sin away from us we continue in that cleansing process with the individual sins as Christ reveals them to us through conviction in the heart and through His Word as we read the Bible to find His heart.

When a sinner is changed by Christ He becomes a saint. His sins are no longer counted against us.

There are those who think we no longer have free will if we cannot walk away. The problem with this thinking is that when Christ changed us we can never undo what He did. He merely gave us what we wanted and promises to keep us that way.

Ephesians 1:13-14

"13 In [a]Him, [b]you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also [c]believed, you were sealed in [d]Him with the Holy Spirit of the promise, 14 who is a first installment of our inheritance, in regard to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory."

However, there are many people who pretend to be Christian but have never wanted to be changed by Christ and who never wanted to be free of their sin. They attend churches, and use "God-talk" but care nothing about being changed by Christ. They are mentioned in Matthew 7:21-23.

Matthew 7:21-23

21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. 22 Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many [a]miracles?’ 23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; leave Me, you who practice lawlessness.’"

In this passage God describes those who attempted to do their Christianity in their own flesh, working their own way to heaven without being changed by Him. They remain in their sinful state, love the things of the world and are even hostile when confronted with the Words of God from the Bible. They want God's protection and blessings but they don't want Him.

Remember that God will not change a person into a new creation who only wants to join a Christian club while trying real hard in their own flesh to be a good person. Anyone who thinks they can become a good person in their own effort will not be leaning on Christ, they will always lean on their own ability, of which they do not really have and very likely fall away at some point, self effort gets tiring and overwhelming to the one who relents of their decision to be a Christan.

When we have trusted in Christ we no longer take any credit for the change we have become. He is the only One Who can change us. When our heart is changed by Him we no longer think or act the way we did before. The things of the world we used to love we now hate and the things of God we used to hate we now love.

Anyone who is still relying on their own good works to earn them heaven are on their way to hell. It is when we confess our sinfulness and inability to be good enough while trusting in Christ that we will be seeking Him for all things.

1 Corinthians 6:11 "10 nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor verbal abusers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God. 11 And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God."

The salvation message is so simple and yet so hard for those who choose their own will. Those who cannot submit to others don't realize all the blessings that are missed through their self-righteous and self-exalting stance.

The blessings of submitting to Christ are beyond wonderful, perhaps there is no word to describe them. We gain Christ Who lives in us continually guiding and helping us, healing our sin-sick hearts to become like His lovely heart.

Proverbs 3:5-6

"Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths."

Elevating Men Over Christ is Idolatry

So many people misunderstand the terms; "Calvinism" and "Arminianism."

My question would be why are Christians assigning human names to any doctrine claiming to be from the Bible? Why are they following men instead of Christ?

No man is worthy of being assigned anything that is coming from God. We call ourselves Christian because we follow Christ.

Both Arminius and Calvin had bad doctrines in their teachings. Both said things against God's Word, so why would a Christian follow them?

Here's why!!!! People want a god they can see, one whom they expect to be smarter than themselves. A born-again believer ought never to place trust in any man, their calling is to trust in Christ Who lives in them. The moment they begin trusting in men, impressed by education and titles, they will wander from the truth. The very reason we have apostasy in the church today is because Christians have been elevating men instead of Christ.

Proverbs 29:25

"The fear of man lays a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is safe."

Hebrews 13:6

"So we can confidently say, “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?”

If someone says they are Calvinists, they are saying they follow the man Calvin rather than Christ.

If someone says they are an Arminian, then they are saying they follow Arminius, the man, rather than Christ.

It is pride that causes Christians to follow a man that impresses others. They wish to be seen as special for following a special man, a sort of "special by proxy" in their own minds.

It is forbidden to have other gods or idols of any kind in our lives. When someone quotes the doctrines of men instead of Christ that is their idol.

Galatians 1:10

"For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ."

Every born-again believer must stop elevating men as special based on their education or the titles given to them by men.

Matthew 23:5-6 " 5 All their deeds are done for men to see. They broaden their phylacteries and lengthen their tassels. 6 They love the places of honor at banquets, the chief seats in the synagogues,…"

This passage was written about religious leaders, the Pharisees. We have Pharisees in the pulpits today. They use manipulation, levity and foolishness to keep the people coming back. They have departed from the Word of God to please the pew people. The pew people place their trust in that man in the "pulpit" not in Christ.

If you doubt what I say about the pitfalls of following a man just challenge a man with a title who is the "pastor" of any church and watch what comes out of him. It has been my experience frequently that men with titles who have been educated by men, often act arrogant and dismissive of anyone who challenges their false statement. In other words, they have placed their trust in their education and the men who taught them more than they do in Christ if they trust Christ at all.

Let me ask an important question here; "Who has more wisdom and knowledge than Christ Who dwells in the born-again believer?"

The second question; "Why would a born-again believer indwelt by Christ Himself ever consult with a man before seeking Christ?"

Just asking!!!!

God or the World: You Choose

Ragingly Insane Times a Blessing for the Born-Again Believer?

We cannot choose worldly ungodly friends and expect to move forward toward holiness or Spiritual thinking.

Ungodly friends will distract us from righteous mindsets because they will not understand the mind of Christ as well as they will attempt to convince us to think the way they think.

Everyone wants to be in groups that think their way. If we want to think with the mind of Christ we must cleanse our lives from people who want to think the world's way.

Even most people in the church gatherings do not have the mind of Christ and they enjoy thinking of the world far more if not entirely.

We can discern this worldly mindset by their responses or lack of response to Scripture and the name of Christ when we bring these things up. Do they get excited about the Word of God, or do they act embarrassed, and in some cases even angry?

Matthew 10:32-34 "32 Therefore everyone who confesses Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father in heaven. 33 But whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father in heaven. 34 Do not assume that I have come to bring peace to the earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword."

If control over you is more important than the Word of God, control to make you submit to their thinking, then we know we have met an apostate.

No one who is born again by the Holy Spirit of God is hostile toward His Word. Even if they are not obeying Him, they will not become enraged when we confront them with Scripture. It is the devil who rages at the truth of God's Word, he is the one who controls the thinking of the angry man.

God told us in His Word that the very end of days, the last years of the dispensation of grace would be marked with total rebellion against God even in the churches that claim to know Him.

2 Timothy 3:1-5

Difficult (ragingly insane) Times Will Come

"3 But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come.

2 For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, slanderers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy,

3 unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good,

4 treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God,

5 holding to a form of godliness although they have denied its power; avoid such people as these."

This is the description of the last day's church, having a form of religion but denying God in their life practices and their speech.

Matthew 15:7-9 "…7 You hypocrites! Isaiah prophesied correctly about you: 8 ‘These people honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me. 9 They worship Me in vain; they teach as doctrine the precepts of men.’ "

Notice the terrible devastating attitude described in 2 Timothy, this is a description of those who have a form of godliness but are controlled by devils.

Isaiah 29:13

"Therefore the Lord said: "These people draw near to Me with their mouths and honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me. Their worship of Me is but rules taught by men."

Many false ideas are being taught in church gatherings today, negating God's meaning by adding man's wisdom to the Bible in an attempt to make the Bible say what they want it to say. They are dishonest with God's Word as well as intimidating and brutal with anyone who does not think their way.

Isaiah 29:13

"Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men:"

Ezekiel 33:31

"And they come unto thee as the people cometh, and they sit before thee as my people, and they hear thy words, but they will not do them: for with their mouth they show much love, but their heart goeth after their covetousness."

We are watching prophesy play out but sometimes we question ourselves because we are accustomed to this culture, thinking we must be making too much of this because in our culture selfishness and rudeness is seen as a strength. Confronting the rudeness is seen as rude. Bad is called good and good is called bad.

Brothers and sisters, never allow these facts about the end times to discourage you, they are actually a blessing. We have been told what to look for, how not to be sucked into the ways of these times and that we are going home soon after watching these things occur.

Luke 21:27-29 "…27 At that time they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. 28 When these things begin to happen, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.” 29 Then Jesus told them a parable: “Look at the fig tree and all the trees.…"

By the way: the fig tree is Israel having fulfilled prophesy in 1948 when the Jews came back into the land. How can anyone not be excited about this fact as we watched prophesy unfold then and even more now as so many more prophesies are coming to pass before our very eyes?

Hallelujah!!!

Political or Christian, They are not one and the Same!

When I see almost entirely political articles, ads and cultural complaints, without anything about God on the posts of "Christians" I have to wonder if they are ashamed of the gospel or are not interested in Jesus Christ. Therefore are they saved or just pretending?

Just Wondering.

Matthew 10:32-34 "32 Therefore everyone who confesses Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father in heaven. 33 But whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father in heaven. 34 Do not assume that I have come to bring peace to the earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.…"

Just so you know; being conservative does not mean someone is born again.

Genealogies will Distract Us!

Our culture is very interested in genealogy, the records and the study of ancestry. Did you know that born-again believers have no Spiritual connection to their biological family unless someone from that family is born-again?

Genealogy is a form of necromancy, the desire to stay connected to dead people who no longer have any input into our lives other than a name on a line in a tree. When a person desires to have a connection with a dead person they have in their heart the wish that they could speak to the dead, so they pretend the dead can hear them and speak to their grave.

Many people now go to the graves to look at the stones of those who have passed, as though there is some value or connection to them by that visit.

In the Catholic church when I was still in that cultic system, rituals, statues, and amulets were important, they made people feel safe and connected to the person who was supposed to be the representation of the person they wanted to connect with. Sadly many traditions and rituals that "protestants" do come from the Catholic church.

It is entertaining to visit a grave, but I cannot see any spiritual value that brings someone closer to Christ. And, the dead cannot hear us, they are gone never to return.

Any relationships we connect with should be in this life while people are still walking this earth.

Most of the people in the genealogy tree we have never met and will not ever meet. We have no way to know what their life was like, whether or not they loved Christ. Most people do not love Christ, in the past or the present. We know this because Christ said "few will find the narrow way", and "most will reject Christ."

Isaiah 43:18-19

“Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert."

Philippians 3:13-14

"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."

So what are people doing honoring those who may have hated Christ after they are dead.? To honor a person who did not love Christ is to dishonor Christ.

2 Corinthians 5:17

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come."

When we take the time to find out where a ritual originates and whether or not God commanded it in the Bible we realize how many rituals and practices we follow that come against the Bible.

If the Bible is our source for all truth and wisdom then we ought to be seeking the Holy Spirit and His Word the Bible to find God's heart and desire for us.

Those who have left behind all humanistic and paganistic rituals are the freest people you will meet. They have no compulsion to do things God never commanded just because others expect it of them.

There is bondage associated with rituals, the sense that if we do not do something we will not be safe, or that others will not like us and we will lose the love of family and friends who want us to do what they do. Titus 3:9
"But avoid foolish controversies, genealogies, dissensions, and quarrels about the law, for they are unprofitable and worthless."

Genealogy is a distraction to the walk of Christ and even paganistic.

Galatians 2:20

"I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me."

Christ is not pleased with the rituals we do and claim God is pleased with them. He is only pleased when we seek Him and obey what He tells us from His Word.

Did you know Jesus Christ is the very essence of His Own Word? When we read the Bible and ask the Holy Spirit to show us the truth we are hearing from the heart of Jesus Christ.

Think about it!

Finding Jesus in the Book of Joel

Want to live your life for God? Make this one shift. #shorts

The Lost in the World and the Lost in the Church

Do not be surprised when you are mocked, demeaned, rejected, ignored, and gossiped about as a born-again believer. Not only by the world but also by others who say they are Christians but lack the fruit of the Spirit.

Matthew 7:15-20

A Tree and Its Fruit

15 “Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. 1

6 You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes, nor figs from thistles, are they?

17 So every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit.

18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit.

19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 So then, you will know them by their fruits."

What is the fruit of the Spirit?

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."

The fruit of the Holy Spirit Who lives in us are the character qualities of Christ. A believer can discern these qualities in another believer easily.

We are only confused in our culture because we have been indoctrinated that we should not judge, which is unbiblical.

Many people who say they are Christians have never been born again, this is why they act and speak no different from the world. They are superficial but attend churches every week. These people rarely speak of Christ outside the building they call a church.

Pretenders want to feel safe and protected by God but want nothing to do with His Word. Some read the Bible to feel superior to others but care little about obeying its principles, even twisting His Word to say what they want it to say and not what God intended.

In fact, in our day of apostasy, those who attend church gatherings disobey more of the word than they obey and claim they believe the Bible is the Word of God.

I find the hearts of learned pretenders more difficult to reach for God than a non-believer who does not profess Christianity. They are both the same, that is unsaved, but one is proud because of how much they think they know and the other just doesn't know much if anything.

Someone once told me I was "preaching to the choir", I reminded that person that most people in the choir can't sing."

Remember to pray for salvation for both the lost in the world and the lost in the church.