The Devil Promotes Pride and Boasting

Attempting to make another person jealous by boasting is a sin. Why? Because it is a tactic to make another person sin.

Jealousy is what caused the devil to want to overthrow God. When anyone is trying to cause jealousy in someone else they are trying to make that person sin while elevating themselves.

Attempts to make others jealous or to cause others to sin is strong evidence that the showoff feels insecure and lacking good sense.

James 4:16

"As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil."

2 Timothy 3:1-5

"But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people."

When we see that someone is boasting creating a reaction, this is the time to begin avoiding them. If we are walking in the Spirit we will not be jealous and we don't want anyone to manipulate us into jealousy. It is true that bad company corrupts good character. The longer we ignore what they are doing the more likely we will be manipulated by them.

Be wise, we must make our companions those who love to please God.

Words Pretenders Do Not Want to Hear

The pretenders are those who attempted to pretend to be Christians but never cared about Christ, they were dedicated to "feeling" safe but didn't love Him. They had a little oil because they had become acquainted with Christ through knowledge and the presence of other true believers but they never wanted him. They did not possess the Holy Spirit only touched upon him but He never moved into their heart because they were pretenders.

Most people in the churches today have never been born again. They have all the lingo but very little wisdom and definitely no desire to be sold out to Christ.

1 John 2:14-16 "14 I have written to you, fathers, because you know Him who is from the beginning. I have written to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the evil one. 15 Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh, the desires of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not from the Father but from the world.…"

1 Corinthians 2:13-15 "…13 And this is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom, but in words taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words. 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.…"

Those pretenders in the church do not understand the things of God. They have some speech at times but they do not utter the name of Jesus Christ, notice it next time you talk to a pretender. They are embarrassed to hear the name of Jesus Christ let alone speak it themselves.

Some will speak the name of Jesus as a mantra to get what they want but they do not witness to others and they change the Word of God to fit their own desires.

Repent now if you are a pretender so that you will not be one of those who thinks they are going to heaven only to discover they didn't make it because they never trusted Christ.

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 miracles?’

23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; leave Me, you who practice lawlessness.’"

03. I Heard An Old Old Story: Written by Eugene Monroe Bartlett

God's Fruit is a Joy to Live

Tenderness and kindness is an embarrassment to narcissists, they have difficulty expressing these things authentically. But the Born Again believer loves to administer them.

Fruit of the Spirit

Galatians 5:22-23

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,

23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.