The Pollyanna's are not Helpful

Often I speak with "Pollyanna" type of people who see only the good in life. I pray that I never become one of them.

When we choose to see only the "positive" side of life we must deny what is real. This denial is a form of lying. Since we live in a wicked world that is becoming more and more wicked all the time, we will see daily, many things that grieve the heart of God and should grieve us to the point of prayer.

Psalm 74:3 "Do not forget the voice of Your enemies; The tumult of those who rise up against You increases continually."

We become stronger in our faith when we can face things head-on and call them what they really are. It is a weak man or woman who must only see the "positive" in order to have faith or contentment.

Proverbs 24:5 "A wise man [is] strong, Yes, a man of knowledge increases strength;"

We cannot be of help to those who are struggling with hardship and persecution if we turn our heads away from all that is unpleasant.

Isaiah 40:28 "Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the LORD, The Creator of the ends of the earth, Neither faints nor is weary. His understanding is unsearchable.

Isa 40:29 He gives power to the weak, And to [those who have] no might He increases strength.

Isa 40:30 Even the youths shall faint and be weary, And the young men shall utterly fall,

Isa 40:31 But those who wait on the LORD Shall renew [their] strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint"

Fear causes us to interpret things in terms of "happy" or "positive." I see many believers busying themselves with the mundane things of the world in an attempt to avoid thinking about what is unpleasant.

How can we agonize in prayer over serious matters, if we refuse to see them? How can we develop a deep sense of concern for fellow believers if we deny their infirmities or troubles?

When our goal is to know the truth, all of it, that we might be useful for the kingdom of God, then and only then will we gain an understanding into the heart of God. Those who are emotionally weak and cannot look at all things and call them by their name, will not be helpful to anyone in need. They will choose to satisfy those needs that glorify themselves and take the slightest effort to fulfill them.

May we pray for the strength to see life as it really is, so then we can be useful and contented at the same time.

Isaiah 30:27 "Behold, the name of the LORD comes from afar, Burning [with] His anger, And [His] burden [is] heavy; His lips are full of indignation, And His tongue like a devouring fire."

If we are born again, we have the God of the universe mentioned in Isaiah living in us. He does not ignore the plight of His people, nor does He ignore what the evil person does to those who belong to Him. He pays attention to all of it.

2 Thes. 3:1 "Finally, brethren, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may run [swiftly] and be glorified, just as [it is] with you,

2Th 3:2 and that we may be delivered from unreasonable and wicked men; for not all have faith.

2Th 3:3 But the Lord is faithful, who will establish you and guard [you] from the evil one"

Changed by Christ the Focus is Different

When we are born-again our thinking is completely changed into a new mindset. We love the things of the Lord searching His Word for truth. And, we hate sin and evil.

If we are authentic believers seeking Christ we will be as fish swimming against the current, often beaten up by those who are following the "group-think" of the modern church.

Have you ever seen a Salmon who has been swimming upstream, they are battered by rocks, bruised, and injured.

We are believers who are swimming against the current when we hold onto the principles of the Bible in our own walk and desire to help other "Christians" to see their need for following Christ instead of the world.

Matthew 6:7-8

"And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words. “Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him."

Often within the modern church things are done by ritual and rote. The people in the pews are "dead-pan" without enthusiasm toward Christ so their ritualistic responses to things are more out of obligation than dedication to Him.

When our faith becomes obligation and self-safety, it has become "religion" not a relationship with Christ.

It would be an interesting study to ask people why they attend church gatherings. Here are some responses I have heard from people:

"I like the music"

"I feel safe going to church"

"I am surrounded by good people whom I love"

"It's the decent thing to do"

"I want to be a good person"

"I like the preaching"

"I like the pastor"

"They have activities I enjoy attending"

Rarely have I heard from people that they attended the gathering to meet corporately to worship and honor Jesus Christ. In fact, the answers often have nothing to do with Christ and a move of the Holy Spirit. The answers that were given were the same responses we would hear from any secular club someone might join.

People for the most part do not even think about the Holy Spirit. They do not speak of how He has worked in their lives or what He has taught them lately.

I once mentioned the Holy Spirit as being the One Who must guide us and the "Christian" listening laughed at me as though it was a cop-out, a pat answer, and not worthy of respect.

That led me to believe that most church attendees do not think about the Holy Spirit at all. They operate under a system of rules sprinkled liberally with human wisdom to make themselves feel like a better person and still able to fit into the culture around them.

These people are resistant to correction from the Word of God, sadly while saying they are "Bible-believing."

1 John 2:15-16 " 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.…"

The world has moved into the church overtaking it with reckless abandon. Abandoning the Word of God and worse, changing the meaning of God's Word, they pretend to love God but have no relationship with Christ, even denying Him by lack of use of His name.

We are living in very difficult, ragingly insane times that try our patience and keep us engaged in a Spiritual battle.

2 Corinthians 10:3-5

3 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not wage battle according to the flesh,

4 for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses.

5 We are destroying arguments and all arrogance raised against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ,"

The more we obey and the more we speak the truth the fewer friends and supporters we will have around us in these last days.

Never allow the temptation to believe you must be doing something wrong because everyone around you is contemptuous of you. The chances are good if you are following Christ you will be hated by most people.

Matthew 10:21-22 "…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 because of My name, but the one who perseveres to the end will be saved. "

Christ does not Remember Our Past Forgiven Sins

Did you know that born-again believers do not have a past sinful life?

When we have repented from our sinful lifestyle when we become born-again God wipes away our sinfulness and forgives our individual sins as if we had never sinned.

Those who love to hold onto the sins of others are forgetting their own need for repentance, particularly the sin of pride that makes them love to view others as beneath themselves.

There are many people in our day who gossip about the pasts of others in order to feel superior. If they can hang onto past forgiven sins of others it diverts them from having to face their own sins and demons.

Proverbs 25:9-10

"9 Argue your case with your neighbor,

And do not reveal the secret of another,

10 Or one who hears it will put you to shame,

And the evil report about you will not pass away."

Proverbs 20:19

"19 One who goes about as a slanderer reveals secrets;

Therefore do not associate with a gossip."

Those who freely speak of the past forgiven sins of others cannot be trusted to help anyone through their rough patch of repentance and restoration.

As born-again believers, we are more interested in praying for, correcting, and rebuking an individual to restore them. We have no interest in making sure everyone else hears of their sin.

We must expose false teachers and those who may try to influence others to disobey God, but we do not need to be divulging the past sins of those who have changed their lives and now live for Christ.

Only those who feel superior to others desire to ruin the reputations of those who love Jesus Christ.

Sadly there are those who want to ruin others so they can retain the loyalty of those in their sphere. Jealousy is a factor in gossip, the fear that someone might enjoy and love the person they hate.

Romans 1:29

"29 people having been filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, and evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, and malice; they are gossips,"

2 Corinthians 12:20

"20 For I am afraid that perhaps when I come I may find you to be not what I wish, and may be found by you to be not what you wish; that perhaps there will be strife, jealousy, angry tempers, selfishness, slanders, gossip, arrogance, disturbances;"

Gossip is the destroyer of relationships. The one who gossips to elevate themselves or justify their own anger and jealousy toward someone will eventually be found out and come to ruin themselves.

Proverbs 18:24

"24 A person of too many friends comes to ruin,

But there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother."

It is hard to find a friend like this in these days of apostasy, however, we can be this kind of friend to others when we encounter them. We can choose to treat others with respect, love, and kindness so that we will be a reflection of Christ Who lives in us.

The gossipers will not change until they become born-again. They will continue their path of unrighteous jealousy and anger until they repent. It is impossible to retain a relationship with those who gossip. When we find out that someone will not keep a confidence and will enjoy gossip we must remove them as our friends. They have nothing good in mind for us or others with whom we associate.

From Pruitt Cares Foundation Article

"Proverbs 18 says this person will stick closer than a brother. The word sticks comes from a Hebrew word that’s often translated in the Old Testament as cleave. It means commitment out of a passionate love."

This kind of friendship goes beyond "obligation" to a deep love and concern. This is rare in our world today because the world has lost God's kind of love.

1 Corinthians 13:4-8a

"4 Love is patient, love is kind, it is not jealous; love does not brag, it is not arrogant.

5 It does not act disgracefully, it does not seek its own benefit; it is not provoked, does not keep an account of a wrong suffered,

6 it does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; 7 it keeps every confidence, it believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 8 Love never fails;"

When we walk in love we are more concerned about someone repenting and becoming born-again than we are about gossiping to others for the purpose of character and reputation assassination. There ae those who cannot let go of the past because they have never repented from their own past sins. Focusing on others relieves them of guilt over their own past.

Reading the book of 1 Samuel will show us the deep love of Jonathan and David, a friendship that went beyond superficial friendliness.