A Little Leaven!

Amen! This doesn't have to be the "biggies", the sins that everyone can say are sins, it can be and often is just an attitude of arrogance and the need to feel superior to others. All sin, even the smallest sends people to hell if they have not trusted in Christ or if they have falsely claimed to trust in Christ.

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Karen Puff Rosenkrantz is with Britt Williams.

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The Apostle Paul asked the Corinthians a probing question in 1 Corinthians 5:6, 'Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump?' He did so because they apparently had abandoned this fundamental kingdom principle. Leaven, according to Scripture, is defined as three different, but specific things, namely: false doctrine (Matt 16:11-12) hypocrisy (Lk 12:1) and sin (1 Cor 5:1-8; 6:1). This means that any Scripturally unchallenged, unconfessed, and unforsaken false doctrine, hypocrisy, or sin will destroy the spiritual entity where it's tolerated. There is no other way to negate the destructive influence of leaven, even a little leaven, by any other means than to PURGE IT (1 Cor 5:7). The Apostle also chastised the Corinthians in the same chapter, pointing out their refusal to confront fornication (leaven) in their midst was an indication they were both puffed up (v. 2, meaning PROUD) and glorying (v. 6a, meaning OVER-CONFIDENT). Let me reiterate, any individual, any marriage, family, or church that tolerates the slightest false doctrine, hypocrisy, or sin WILL BE DESTROYED by the very compromise it overlooks--no exceptions. No matter how spiritually strong; no matter how holy and consecrated every one else is, the little leaven (not a lot, not an overwhelming balance, just a 'little') will influence the whole and not the other way around. Take heed, tolerating sin is not merciful, kind, or loving. It's disobedience to God, PRIDE and OVER-CONFIDENCE.

Judging by the common moral/spiritual decisions of individual believers, families, and local churches in this hour, the question must be asked, 'Does anybody believe this anymore?'

~Britt Williams

Christ Goes Through with Us!

When we trust Christ our circumstances might not change but our perspective about them does change.

Obedience to God no Matter What!

When God compels us to do something He has a reason even if we don't understand. Obeying Him will always be the best for us as born again believers.

Romans 8:28: "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose".

Perhaps this year we will trust Christ more with each passing day. Even through our tears, He is there, through our victories He is there and no one can take our relationship with Him away from us.

Paul the Apostle was arrested, imprisoned, and beaten many times. He was also accused in lawsuits, interrogated, and ridiculed. He was shipwrecked and adrift at sea for a day and a night. He was in danger from many sources, including rivers, bandits, Jews, Gentiles, false believers, and robbers. He often went without sleep, food and water. He was cold and naked. He suffered from deep concern about the state of the churches. He had a disagreement with Barnabas and parted ways with him.

Have any of us gone through as much as Paul did? My guess is that like me, most believers have encountered emotional pains but nothing like that of Paul, and at the end of his life he was beheaded.

Here is what Paul said at the end of his life knowing he was going to be killed:

2 Timothy 4:6-8 "6 For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come.

7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.

8 Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing."

Judas: Betrayed Jesus and then hanged himself.

Peter: Crucified upside down in Rome at his request.

Paul: Beheaded in Rome under Emperor Nero.

John: Survived being boiled in oil in Rome and is commonly believed to have died of natural causes.

Andrew: Crucified on an X-shaped cross in Greece.

Matthew: Martyred in Ethiopia by a sword wound.

Mark: Dragged through the streets by horses in Alexandria, Egypt.

Luke: Hanged in Greece for his fervent preaching.

Bartholomew: Flayed alive in Armenia.

Thomas: Impaled in India with a spear.

Simon the Zealot: Reportedly martyred at an old age.

Jude: Killed with arrows for refusing to renounce his faith. (AI)

Would a born-again believer today be able to maintain their faith under the circumstances Paul endured? The answer is YES, God would give a believer what they need when they need it.

It is wonderful and amazing that Christ in us is ready to be our strength.

Philippians 4:13

"I can do all this through him who gives me strength"

2 Corinthians 12:9-10

"But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness'"

Psalm 28:7

"The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and he helps me"

Isaiah 40:31

"But they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk"

Wow, really puts our heartaches at being emotionally rejected by the family into perspective, doesn't it?

May we look to Christ and thank Him that we have not been called to suffer as the apostles and others who have been martyred. Our emotional trials are small in comparison.

There is a special reward for those who have been martyred for Christ and if it comes we praise God, if it does not come praise Him for safety. Praise Him no matter what we go through. Hallelujah!!!!

Focus on Christ Always

When we focus on what the devil is doing to us we will be weak, but when we focus on Christ we will see the tactics for what they are and be able to remain full of faith, full of love unintimidated by any of it.

 
Praise the Lord for Christ Who lives in us everyday through everything!!!!!

Proverbs 3:5-6
"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to Him, and He will make your paths straight"

Decent People Do Not Hurt Others No Matter How Much They Have Been Hurt

It's not true that "hurting people hurt people" as they say.

 
Good people do not hurt others when they are hurt, they do not want to hurt others because they have been hurt. The choice to hurt others is based on an angry heart. I have known people who were treated well by others but they wanted to be superior to others so they used their drug of choice, that being intimidation, mocking,

demeaning, gossip and everything evil to have power over others, it is a choice.

These offenders cherish power over others caring nothing about love.
I have known good people who were treated shamefully who do not do mean things to others, they cherish kindness and love. These people have made the choice to respond to the hurt done to them by treating others better than they were treated.

 
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 [a]keeps every confidence, it believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.8 Love never fails; "

Lashing out at others because someone have been hurt is revenge on the one who hurt them but to others who did nothing to them, its irrational and shows an angry spirit that looms in them all the time. The devil is twisting minds to make them believe they are justified through false narratives about the ones they attack.

 
Proverbs 29:11
"A fool gives full vent to his spirit, but a wise man quietly holds it back."

Proverbs 22:24-25
"Make no friendship with a man given to anger, nor go with a wrathful man, lest you learn his ways and entangle yourself in a snare."

Proverbs 20:22
"Do not say, “I will repay evil”; wait for the Lord, and he will deliver you."

Proverbs 15:18
"A hot-tempered man stirs up strife, but he who is slow to anger quiets contention."

It is psychology that came up with all these pat phrases that are opposite of what God says in His Word.

 
Forgiving someone who is not sorry is another idea that was developed by Darwin who was raised in a Christian home but spurned his childhood teaching by seeking to prove there is no God.

 
We are not animals who respond to stimuli. If you are good to an animal from birth the animal will be loyal all their lives. This is not true of people. Often the wicked heart of a rebellious person will hurt those who have not harmed them just to feel power over them, often out of jealousy. Mean-spirited people hate the happiness and confidence of others, they must try to do something to destroy it.

 
Jeremiah 17:9
9 “The heart is more deceitful than all else
And is desperately sick;
Who can understand it?"

The devil operates the way of the angry person. He hated God and his response to God is to attempt to destroy everyone else who loves God. The devil does this because he wants power over God and others. Since he cannot have power over God he will attempt to ruin the relationship between God and His children.

 
People do this too, out of jealousy and control over others some people will gossip to destroy the support system of the one they hate just to be able to hurt them for no other reason than to feel superior to their target. Often these haters do not have a good reason so they make one up, they pretend bad things about their target so they can feel justified in their hatred. And, these wicked ones must have others on their side, so they enlist those who are predisposed to gossip.

 
Control and power are the objectives of those who are jealous and often there is no other reason except the hatred they have for the success or happiness of those they repeatedly offend.

 
The mentality of anger comes directly from the devil. He uses the natural bent of sin in people to entice those who are not trusting in God to destroy those who have trusted in Christ.

 
When we know this we don't have to take anything personally and we can choose with clarity our companions to be able to remove from our lives those who are troublemakers used by the devil. Not only is it wise to remove ourselves from angry people we must also remove those who follow and believe the lies of the angry person.

 
The institutional church operates from many lies now that come from the satanic system of psychology. Psychology has some things right in what is observed but do not have the proper answers to the problems. Just like from the beginning, the devil adds a little truth to a whole lot of lies deceiving many.

 
When we know the scriptures we will not be deceived by the worldly satanic lies that we hear daily to excuse and justify sin. Sin is growing, and attitudes are becoming more harsh and unrepentant because the general populous, including the apostate church, have swallowed these lies that sound good but bring devastation.

 
2 Timothy 3:1-5
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."

Stop believing what others say and begin asking God if what they say is true while searching His Word to compare it with what was said. When we do this we find much of what is said is not at all what God said, and then we must disregard it, never teach the humanistic wisdom and speak God's Words.

 
When you do this your soul will be delighted at what God shows you and you will become hated by nearly everyone around you for thinking differently from them.
Praise God for the freedom we have in Him to think with His mind.

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No Bitterness When We Trust in Christ

We won't become bitter when we know everything in this life for the believer has a purpose, for now and for eternity.

Bitterness is deep anger at what is happening to us or who is doing it to us, but believers should not be looking to circumstances but to Christ for their strength and purpose. We can look with pity on those who do not have Christ as we pray for their deliverance from the snare of the devil.

1 Peter 5:8: "Be sober-minded and alert, because your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour".

When we don't care what others think of us or do to us we can walk with confidence that Christ knows about it, He sees everything and knows what is to be done. All we have to do is trust Him as we battle the devils who attempt to make us weak.

1 John 4:4

"4 You are from God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world."

Isaiah 40:31

"31 Yet those who wait for the Lord

Will gain new strength;

They will mount up with wings like eagles,

They will run and not get tired,

They will walk and not become weary."

Keep Looking up brothers and sisters, we are going home soon!!!

The tactics of the devil need not concern us, we have Christ Who will fight against him for us, we just have to trust Him.

Be Changed by Christ

Many people will "say" they believe in Jesus Christ but have no desire to be changed by Christ into a new creation. They are attempting to be good by their own strength hoping people will think of them as a good person.

 
They like being members of a happy and safe club but do not want to obey Christ. They even become angry when someone else challenges their stubborn attitude and lack of adherence to the principles of the Bible.

 
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. 22 On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ 23 And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’"

John 14:15-31
15 “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments."

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Our Wisdom is Foolishness Compared to Holy Spirit Wisdom

"Want to make God laugh? Tell Him your plans." Something I heard, here are some others we might consider.

Want to make God laugh? Tell Him how much better your pastor's knowledge is than the Holy Spirit's Wisdom!

Want to make God laugh tell Him all the things you want that are better than His plans.

4 Undeniable Signs Narcissists are Influenced by Demons

Believe Christ not People

There are so many things I was raised to believe and sadly passed on to my children that were not Biblical but fit into cultural Christianity very well.

When I began to see things that didn't make sense to me, as a result of reading the Bible and praying for wisdom from the Holy Spirit after I trusted Christ, those questionable things began to enlarge so intensely that I became repulsed by them.
The confusion came when everyone I knew believed the things I was raised with and were resistant to questioning them because, "everyone else followed them so they must be right" or so church attendees expressed to me from time to time.

 
I was accused of arrogance because I didn't have a seminary degree so I was nobody capable of hearing from God. As I began to realize most people were not depending on the Holy Spirit, they were depending on college-educated people who themselves were unteachable by anyone but those professors at those colleges.
The traditions of men are so powerful, dominating the minds that have been trained by them, that intense guilt sets in when those traditions are challenged. There is little faith in the power of the Holy Spirit Who is called our "Teachers."

 
When we finally have the courage to ask God to show us truth even if it means being maligned and rejected by others, the floodgates of understanding and wisdom emerge.

 
Once we have seen the truth and dedicated ourselves to it and Christ, our eyes can never be closed again. There is no going back to the old ideas, they are repugnant to us because they are not truth.

 
When we begin to see clearly the truth it becomes like an addiction to us, we want more and all of what God has for us to learn. It is only then that God will continue exposing lies and imparting truth.

Everyone can have this wisdom but they have to ask God and they must to be willing to discard anything they have learned over the years which is false.
In removing all the false teachings we will be faced with opposition, even if we don't tell anyone else they will see our life very differently from what it was before and it will irritate them.

 
James 1:4-6 "…4 Allow perseverance to finish its work, so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. 5 Now 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."

Proverbs 2:6
"For the LORD gives wisdom; from His mouth come knowledge and understanding."

Matthew 7:7-8
"Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you. / For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened."

We must never settle for the opinions of others who think they know the truth. They may know some truth but most have only what they have been trained to believe and are impervious to anything different from what they were trained to believe.

It is the Holy Spirit we must trust for the truth, He is the very essence of Truth because He is the Spirit of Christ.

 
John 16:13 "But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come."

I am convinced from my personal interactions with Christians that most of them will say they believe in the Holy Spirit but will not consult with Him, they trust only their "pastors", themselves and others but not in Christ.

 
John 14:26
"But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have told you."

John 15:26
"When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father—the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father—He will testify about Me."

When the Lord made known clearly to me the power of Christ in me through the Holy Spirit I could no longer trust a man. I listen to preachers, I enjoy those who are Biblical but I place my trust only in Christ. When a preacher speaks the truth I rejoiced, when a preacher speaks untruth I grieve and reject that message that was wrong.

 
Colossians 1:15-23
15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation: 16 for by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones, or dominions, or rulers, or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him.

17 He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.
18 He is also the head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything.
19 For it was the Father’s good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him,
20 and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross."

Why would anyone claim to be a Christian trust in anyone or anything else knowing Christ is the creator of the world and is called the Word AND, lives in us?!!!!!

Misfits in the World

If you love Jesus Christ with all your heart, soul, and mind, you will be a misfit among family and even in most church settings.

You will be treated contemptuously with dismissiveness, subtle ignoring, and even mockery because you are not like those others who all blend with one another.

The love and acceptance everyone else enjoys will not include you. Some may even be friendly to you but exclude you when the others show up.

Any attempt to engage in a conversation with the others will be met with empty stares and disregard as though they never heard your comments or think that you said something outrageous when it was merely Biblical.

The interesting thing is "the others" don't want you to be or do anything, but they want you to show up. A long time ago God enlightened me about this dynamic. I asked God why "the others" wanted me to show up at the gathering but extended no respect while I was there, the answer came back loudly and clearly, "they want you to come so you can see them ignoring you."

If we don't show up at the gatherings of superficial friendliness, we are seen as not validating those who wish to damage and disable our confidence. They have no tolerance for those who are different from them as we walk in our own assurance about truth and good old-fashioned horse sense. The group thinkers are intimidated by those who have confidence in what they believe and can stand alone with Christ.

There is no validation from the world for the Christ-follower. If anyone says they are a Christian but are cursed with popularity I have to believe they are compromising in something to remain well-liked by the group-thinkers.

We know this is true because of what God told us in His word about how people would treat us when we are completely dedicated to Christ.

Matthew 10:22 "22 You will be hated by everyone because of My name, but the one who perseveres to the end will be saved."

John 15:18-21

"If the world hates you, understand that it hated Me first. If you were of the world, it would love you as its own. Instead, the world hates you, because you are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. / Remember the word that I spoke to you: ‘No servant is greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will persecute you as well; if they kept My word, they will keep yours as well."

This is what is happening to all of us who are willing to disregard the world and embrace the truth of Christ. He is called "the WORD", He is the Author of the Bible, and every command and principle are our marching orders and instruction for this life.

Those who use the Bible as a book of good suggestions will ignore parts of His word and misinterpret other parts to fit into their desired belief. They are dishonest people, claiming to love Christ while spurning anyone who suggests we follow Him and what He has written.

There is no more freedom than to walk with Christ no matter how we are treated by the world, even the "Christian worldly system" that has devalued Christ on many levels while claiming to love Him. Most Christians today like the idea of Christ as the lover and protector but refuse to face that He is also a God of justice and great wrath for those who refuse to love His Word.

Matthew 15:8-9

"8 ‘This people honors Me with their lips,

But their heart is far away from Me.

9 And in vain do they worship Me,

Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’”

John 16:1-4

“I have told you these things so that you will not fall away. They will put you out of the synagogues. In fact, a time is coming when anyone who kills you will think he is offering a service to God. They will do these things because they have not known the Father or Me."

Notice the passage in John, "They will put you out of the synagogues", it reminds me of what is going on right now in the organized churches of our day. If we challenge these groups to obey the Word of God, who claim to be Christian, we are put out in the sense that we are ignored and secretly derided in gossip to keep others from listening to us.

I know this might sound strange, but I praise God that He opened my eyes to these tactics of the devil to keep people who claim to be Christian from seeking Christ. Most people who say they are Christians don't know the Bible and have many false beliefs they think are in the Bible but are not there. They would rather listen to their favorite "pastor" than seek Christ themselves in prayer and Bible study.

My advice to any born-again believer is to stop accepting everything a preacher says and know the Bible well enough that you will be able to discern when a preacher has misrepresented Christ on some level. When we do this we can listen while taking what is true and openly proclaiming what is false so that others will be warned about the errors, while using Scripture to prove every point.

The world hates to be accountable to anyone or anything, they are rebellious and contemptuous toward truth even while claiming they have the truth.

When we know these things we can walk in joy and peace that God is with us as we navigate through all the muck on this earth before He takes us Home.

1 Timothy 1:18-20 "…18 Timothy, my child, I entrust you with this command in keeping with the previous prophecies about you, so that by them you may fight the good fight, 19 holding on to faith and a good conscience, which some have rejected and thereby shipwrecked their faith. 20 Among them are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan to be taught not to blaspheme.…"

Brothers and Sisters, walk confidently with Christ as you ignore the noise of those who are not walking with Christ.

Believing God Alone

Sometimes it is overwhelming to the authentically born-again believer as they watch all the lies and deceptions that have crept into the organized church system of today.

Once someone has been trained all their life through continual repetition, to believe something it is very hard to bring the truth to them, they resist bitterly as though the truth-teller is a heretic without knowledge of the truth.

Even when those who have been raised in the false system are exposed to the truth they fight against it because it is so unfamiliar to them.

This brings to mind a saying I have heard as a young child. Until now I wasn't sure what it meant but it seems to fit the modern church age in these last days before Christ comes for the church. That phrase is; "familiarity breeds contempt." Is it possible that those who are contemptuous are those who worship familiarity and reject truth if it does not make them feel comfortable and happy?

Perhaps the meaning of that phrase; "familiarity breeds contempt" ought to be translated as; "those who love familiarity are contemptuous toward anything new that they don't understand."

Instead of praying and asking God for wisdom, people tend to stay with what is familiar even if it has no truth to it at all and reject those who clarify things to express truth.

We are seeing this daily in our interactions with others. The most resistance to truth I have seen has been among "Christians" who don't know the Bible but think they do and who will not ask God to show them the truth.

The best way to discern truth is to read the Bible with the desire for God to show us. Without this there can be no godly discernment, everything is acceptable that pleases us and sounds good.

Judges 21:25 In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes.

Proverbs 14:12

"There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death."

Proverbs 21:2

"All a man’s ways seem right to him, but the LORD weighs the heart."

Deuteronomy 12:8

"You are not to do as we are doing here today, where everyone does what seems right in his own eyes."

Someone might say, "I do this for God, He knows my heart." I would say to that person, "did you ask God, or did you do what you like and declare it was for God?"

God cares that we obey Him. Our sacrifices for Him that He never commanded are often if not always for the purpose of elevating self, feeling good about ourselves and our personal pleasure. In other words, we lie to ourselves that it was for God but in our hearts it was for ourselves.

I have watched those who claim to do worldly things for God deny the principles of God but claim what they do and what they like that God never told them to do, is for God.

Satan is so very clever, he told Eve she could be like God, doing her own thing her own way without Him and she would be happier. Sadly she feel into it, disobeyed God and mankind fell bitterly into a sinful nature. If Eve was guilty of this so can all of us be guilty of it. It is only Salvation through Christ that we can reject the ways of the devil and embrace the commands and principles of Christ.

May born-again believers begin to search God's Word for His truth and ask the Holy Spirit to enlighten their eyes to never again believe the false doctrines they learned, replacing the lies with the truth.

This will take the strength of God because they will be rejected by nearly everyone around them, even their own families will hate them for telling the truth.

Luke 21:15-17

"15 for I will provide you eloquence and wisdom which none of your adversaries will be able to oppose or refute. 16 But you will be betrayed even by parents, brothers and sisters, other relatives, and friends, and they will put some of you to death, 17 and you will be hated by all people because of My name."