Wednesday, November 8, 2023
Spiritual and Emotional Growth Only Comes Through Trials
Those who were sweet and loving as young people tend to grow more sweet and loving as they age. Those who are mean as young people become more mean.
Whatever we are on the inside while we are young is intensified as we age because our real character comes from within no longer hidden.
Old people do not become rude and mean because they get older, they only stop hiding what they were all their lives.
Old people who are kind and loving become more so as they age because this was the real them all along.
Old age does not make anyone rude or mean, nor does it make anyone sweeter, whatever is inside all our lives will be what we are on the outside when we no longer have the strength to hide it.
May believers remember this dynamic and strive to become more Christlike as they move through life, that toward the end of their lives they are a dynamic witness of Christ to those who watch their infirmities increase as their trust in Christ increases.
May the world see Christ in us as we move through all the trials of old age. Anyone can pretend life is perfect when there are no trials and they can even deny the trials to pretend God's favor is on them.
The problem with denying trials to appear superior is that it has no power from God to show our strength in all the things of life including infirmity. Unbelievers can spot a fake and will not be impressed with those who hoodwink others into believing they are spiritual for lack of trials.
Hebrews 12:7-9
"7 It is for discipline that you endure; God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline?
8 But if you are without discipline, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate children and not sons.
9 Furthermore, we had earthly fathers to discipline us, and we respected them; shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits, and live?"
James 1:2-8 "2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds,
3 because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.
4 Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.
5 If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.
6 But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.
7 That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. 8 Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do."
Those who do not have trials do not grow emotionally or Spiritually, those who deny they have trials also do not grow emotionally or Spiritually.
Growth only comes through the working of the Holy Spirit on our lives when we submit to Him. Authenticity, honesty and humility are the elements that must be present to be able to grow.
Whatever we are on the inside while we are young is intensified as we age because our real character comes from within no longer hidden.
Old people do not become rude and mean because they get older, they only stop hiding what they were all their lives.
Old people who are kind and loving become more so as they age because this was the real them all along.
Old age does not make anyone rude or mean, nor does it make anyone sweeter, whatever is inside all our lives will be what we are on the outside when we no longer have the strength to hide it.
May believers remember this dynamic and strive to become more Christlike as they move through life, that toward the end of their lives they are a dynamic witness of Christ to those who watch their infirmities increase as their trust in Christ increases.
May the world see Christ in us as we move through all the trials of old age. Anyone can pretend life is perfect when there are no trials and they can even deny the trials to pretend God's favor is on them.
The problem with denying trials to appear superior is that it has no power from God to show our strength in all the things of life including infirmity. Unbelievers can spot a fake and will not be impressed with those who hoodwink others into believing they are spiritual for lack of trials.
Hebrews 12:7-9
"7 It is for discipline that you endure; God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline?
8 But if you are without discipline, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate children and not sons.
9 Furthermore, we had earthly fathers to discipline us, and we respected them; shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits, and live?"
James 1:2-8 "2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds,
3 because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.
4 Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.
5 If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.
6 But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.
7 That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. 8 Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do."
Those who do not have trials do not grow emotionally or Spiritually, those who deny they have trials also do not grow emotionally or Spiritually.
Growth only comes through the working of the Holy Spirit on our lives when we submit to Him. Authenticity, honesty and humility are the elements that must be present to be able to grow.
The Anger of the Ungodly
When the ungodly become angry at your attempts to speak to them rationally about God they will often gossip to ruin your reputation, expect it!
This is why God told us to remove ourselves from those who reject Christ when we share the gospel or when we share the truth of Scripture with someone who pretends to be a Christian but has never been born again.
Those who batter others through intimidation and mocking are not obeying God, they do not have a heart for people they only wish to dominate others.
1 Corinthians 13:3-7
"… 3If I give all I possess to the poor and exult in the surrender of my body, but have not love, I gain nothing. 4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no account of wrongs.…7 it keeps every confidence, it believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things."
Those who lack love and empathy for others do not have the love of Christ. They are attempting to obey God through their own fleshly means. God says that truth without love is like a sounding gong, an irritating ineffective noise. It is not obedience to God when we elevate ourselves above others, dominating and mocking them to be superior to them. This is the opposite of love and is disobedience, not led by the Spirit of God but by the flesh.
Those who love Christ walk in kindness all the time to everyone. Those who are self-absorbed spend more time judging the small insignificant things to find fault to be superior. They develop in their minds scenarios that are not true but they desire to believe. The need for superiority over others is sin, plain and simple.
Those who snap and snarl at others in disagreements are full of self-exaltation, their heart is revealed in their response to correction or disagreement. These people re unreachable and unteachable. It is best to walk away and leave them to God, they are Pharisees who love praise and adulation from others but have none for anyone else.
Matthew 23:4-6 "…4 They tie up heavy, burdensome loads and lay them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them. 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,…"
Matthew 23:27-28
27 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness. 28 So you too, outwardly appear righteous to people, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness."
Rules without love are not Christlike. The principles of God flow from the heart of God with great love and concern for others. The rules are not the objective, the transformation of the person is the concern of those who love Christ. We are only messengers, the Holy Spirit moves in the heart.
Cherry-picking Verses Out of Their Context is a Sin Against Jesus Christ
In speaking the name of Jesus Christ we are proclaiming all of His doctrines, He is called "The Word", He is the Author of His Own Word the Bible. Denying any part of it to satisfy our own egos is to deny Him.
Those who say they believe in Christ but negate His Word are lying. They are basing their proclamation on feelings and not facts.
Those who cherry-pick verses out of context to justify their desires believe are not seeking Christ but their own appetite for self glory.
John 14:15-17 "16 I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, so that He may be with you forever; 17 the Helper is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive because it does not see Him or know Him; but you know Him because He remains with you and will be in you."
Those who cherry-pick verses out of their context without concern for truth are not born-again, they are pretenders.
All Believers are Chastised if They are Born Again
Hebrews 12:7-9
"7 It is for discipline that you endure; God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline? 8 But if you are without discipline, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. 9 Furthermore, we had earthly fathers to discipline us, and we respected them; shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits, and live?"
Christ Walks Through This Life With Us, He is Our Strength
Romans 8:36
"36 As it is written, “For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.”
There cannot be continual conflict between human beings when we are dying to ourselves. Conflict, arguments, and resistance to the truth only happen when people fight against God.
Those who love Christ are peaceful people, they do not accept sin in themselves or others because of this they speak the things of God with boldness because of the love in their hearts. They freely and easily confess when they are wrong allowing them to grow in holiness. Without confession, there is no Spiritual growth.
When we become angry at what someone says it is protection of self rather than love of the truth.
Luke 9:23
"23 And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me."
In our day we see many people if not most who walk around angry all the time. They are easily rattled, raging at the slightest challenge to seek Christ.
2 Timothy 4:2-4 "…2Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and encourage with every form of patient instruction. 3 For the time will come when men will not tolerate sound doctrine, but with itching ears they will gather around themselves teachers to suit their own desires. 4 So they will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.…"
Why is it this way? Answer:
We are living in days just like those of Noah's day, when everyone has a very high opinion of themselves refusing to be corrected, refusing discipline to be changed.
Matthew 24:37-39
"37 For [a]the coming of the Son of Man will be just like the days of Noah.
38 For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark,
39 and they did not understand until the flood came and took them all away; so will the coming of the Son of Man be."
Jeremiah 6:14-16 …14 They dress the wound of My people with very little care, saying, ‘Peace, peace,’ when there is no peace at all. 15 Are they ashamed of the abomination they have committed? No, they have no shame at all; they do not even know how to blush. So they will fall among the fallen; when I punish them, they will collapse,” says the LORD. 16 This is what the LORD says: “Stand at the crossroads and look. Ask for the ancient paths: ‘Where is the good way?’ Then walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls. But they said, ‘We will not walk in it!’"
Not only are people not ashamed of their sinful attitudes that lead to sinful actions, but they are also angry with anyone who will challenge them to repent or even consider themselves to be sinning.
Yes, we are living as in the days of Noah right before Christ comes to remove His church, right before the tribulation begins. So many people who say they are Christians will be shocked when they do not go up with the saints in the rapture. Their high opinion of themselves has caused them to trust in themselves rather than Christ.
Pride drives this world to such an extent that nearly everyone except the born-again believers thinks arrogance is a strength, when God says it is the height of weakness.
2 Corinthians 12:8-10
"8 Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. 9 And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong."
May we not lament over our weaknesses but glory in God's sufficiency as He walks through everything with us. Hallelujah!!
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