Do Not Quench the Holy Spirit

When we do sin we have an advocate with the Father 1 John 1:9 and God disciplines those who belong to Him.

Hebrews 12:5-7 "…5 And you have forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons: “My son, do not take lightly the discipline of the Lord, and do not lose heart when He rebukes you. 6 For the Lord disciplines the one He loves, and He chastises every son He receives.” 7 Endure suffering as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father?"

Never think a believer never sins, it will cause pride in those who try so hard in their flesh to be perfect and it will cause harsh judgment on anyone who falls but repents.

1 John 1:8-10

"If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us."

These passages were written to born again believers not to the unsaved.

The more we confess our sin soon after we catch ourselves the more we grow in holiness and a change of behavior. We are not sinless but we do sin less, that is if our repentance was genuine and Christ changed us.

Those who become angry at being confronted with their sinful attitudes are those who have not been born-again. Those who are born again and are stubborn will be severely spanked to show them their need to confess their sin to be cleansed of it.

Without confession of sin there is no Spiritual and emotional growth, there is only immaturity and the quenching of the Spirit of God. Those who ignore the Holy Spirit conviction will cause the Spirit to go silent and leave us without instruction and without help.

1 Thessalonians 5:19-22

"19 Do not quench the Spirit, 20 do not utterly reject prophecies, 21 but examine everything; hold firmly to that which is good, 22 abstain from every form of evil."

When Someone Is Not Willing to Change

Amen! YES, YES!!!!! This is what God has been telling me about so many people who have been in my life but were working to dilute my faith. 

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Freedom from the Opnions of Others about Us

Do not become in bondage to what others think of you. Tell the truth and take your lumps as all persecuted believers must endure.

The False god of Calvinism

The false god of Calvinism makes God out to be unjust and a monster, it is a doctrine of demons.

It is not "just" or "righteous" to create someone without a choice to follow Christ and then punish them for not choosing, that is completely irrational.

Jesus Christ said He wished that all would come to a saving knowledge and I believe Him.

1 Timothy 2:4-7

"who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time."

1 John 2:2

" 2 He Himself is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world."

John 4:42

"They said to the woman, "We now believe not only because of your words; we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man truly is the Savior of the world."

Notice God said: "Savior of the WORLD", not just of some in the world.

Calvinism is a demonic doctrine discouraging people from evangelizing all people. They may say they believe in evangelism, but this too does not make sense. What would be the purpose of evangelizing those who have not been given a choice to follow Christ? It's nonsense at its worst.

We are living in times when people are twisting scripture to feel elevated above others, walking in pride they determine they are the chosen ones but they cannot tell you why they think they are chosen. Do they believe they are chosen because they believe Calvin? Or because of a particular doctrine they espouse? What evidence do they have that they have been chosen and not others? Just asking!!!!!!!!!!

I reject Calvinism and all its foolishness and pride.

Zechariah 12:1-10 Israel will be attacked and God will protect her!

Jerusalem to Be Attacked & Protected by God

"1 The pronouncement of the word of the Lord concerning Israel:

The Lord who stretches out the heavens, lays the foundation of the earth, and forms the spirit of a person within him, declares:

2 “Behold, I am going to make Jerusalem a cup that causes staggering to all the peoples around; and when the siege is against Jerusalem, it will also be against Judah.

3 It will come about on that day that I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples; all who lift it will injure themselves severely. And all the nations of the earth will be gathered against it. 4 On that day,” declares the Lord, “I will strike every horse with confusion and its rider with insanity. But I will watch over the house of Judah, while I strike every horse of the peoples with blindness.

5 Then the clans of Judah will say in their hearts, ‘The inhabitants of Jerusalem are a strong support for us through the Lord of armies, their God.’

6 “On that day I will make the clans of Judah like a firepot among pieces of wood and a flaming torch among sheaves, so they will consume on the right and on the left all the surrounding peoples, while the inhabitants of Jerusalem again live on their own sites in Jerusalem.

7 The Lord also will save the tents of Judah first, so that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem will not be greater than Judah.

8 On that day the Lord will protect the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and the one who is feeble among them on that day will be like David, and the house of David will be like God, like the angel of the Lord before them.

9 And on that day I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.

10 “And I will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and of pleading, so that they will look at Me whom they pierced; and they will mourn for Him, like one mourning for an only son, and they will weep bitterly over Him like the bitter weeping over a firstborn."

Things that Hinder Fellowship: Adrian Rogers

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_e88M1bUGlw

If We have the Love of Christ We will be Walk as He Walked

I am more concerned about prideful family members who say they are Christians than anyone else. When there is arrogance and lack of the fruit of God's Spirit it is harder to reach them for Christ because they are already delighted with themselves. Convincing someone they have not trusted Christ when they think they have is nearly impossible.

Standing on their own pedestal they parade their knowledge as a badge of honor without regard to humility and meekness that can only be present in those who love Christ with their whole heart. These are those who use scripture out of context to suit their own pleasures and to fit into the world system while still "feeling" they are special.

Just as the Pharisees wallowed in arrogance and disdain for others these modern self-righteous persons ignore more of the Bible than they obey when it comes to the weightier matters.

Matthew 23:23-24 "23 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You pay tithes of mint, dill, and cumin. But you have disregarded the weightier matters of the law: justice, mercy, and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former. 24 You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel.…"

Hautily, the arrogant ones seek to judge small matters while they themselves violate larger ones. The pretenders love to see others fall and enjoy rebuking them without mercy and kindness. They love to boast of their knowledge but that knowledge is mixed with and tainted by worldly ideas that offend God.

Love drives the heart of the born-again believer. When we love we grieve over the fallen but the arrogant ones glory in the fall of someone else while believing they have never fallen.

Matthew 23:13

"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the kingdom of heaven in men's faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let in those who wish to enter."

What love looks like for the authentically born-again believer:

1 Corinthians 13:4-8

"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."

May the Lord Jesus Christ work mightily in the hearts of those who genuinely love and are submitted to Christ. May the Lord expose to those who are pretenders their need to become submitted to Christ through brokenness over their own sin of pride.

1 Corinthians 13:3 "…3 If I give all I possess to the poor and exult in the surrender of my body, but have not love, I gain nothing."

The Narcissists in the Debate were Embarrassing!

I have encountered enough narcissists in my life to be able to recognize two of them on a stage pummelling one another to appear superior.

Also, both debtors were abysmal. If I were a high school teacher and these two came before me in a debate they would both get an F for lack of content, decorum, and arrogance that dominated both of these characters. Sorry to say, I will vote for Donald but holding my nose while doing it. Who knows God may tell me to ignore the whole mess and allow Him to take care of it.

I am old enough to have seen Ronald Reagan's speeches and debates, he was articulate and focused on the things he was going to do.

There was little content in this "Donald vs. Joe" debate that anyone could hang onto. It was embarrassing, to say the least.

Boasting about themselves is not proof of anything. Boasting is a sign of deep narcissism without evidence. Sad, Sad, Sad, that this is all we have to choose from in this election.

If someone does not like my honesty because they are looking for fantasy thinking that makes them feel better, then they will not be prepared for what is coming.

Trump's words do not always match his actions. Sending the matter of the murder of babies back to the states to decide is nothing more than passing the buck.

We need another "emancipation proclamation" for the unborn just like Lincoln did for the blacks on January 1st 1863 in which he freed the blacks. And, it needs to be done by the highest leader in the land.

No person should be a slave or property to any other human being. When the unborn is nothing more than property to their parents all love and tenderness are removed and replaced with raw ownership subject to the whims of unscrupulous selfish parents.

Sorry, passing the buck as Pilot did is just as abominable as endorsing the act of murder for certain people.

We will not recover from this mess as a country because everyone has been trained to fear what others will think of what they do without any concern about what God thinks. They lie and say they believe in God but violate more of His principles than they obey while endorsing many sins that have become acceptable to our culture even in the "Christian" church system.

2 Timothy 4:2-4

…2 Preach 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.…

Our country has a form of religion but denies God as they pretend to love Him they ignore Him and those who warn them about His wrath to come. I cringe every time one of these candidates uses the Bible or asks for a blessing for America. I never hear them encouraging anyone to repent. They pervert the Word of God for their own gain.

Our culture is stubborn, rageful, and disrespectful to God and all those who love Him.

Repentance is the only way out of this mess but the nation is too far gone for this to happen. Once a nation cross the line into total rebellion and perverseness there is no turning back. The entire culture is accustomed to evil so much so that even the church attendees accept some of the sin as normal.

This is the state of our nation today:

Isaiah 30:10

They say to the seers, "Stop seeing visions!" and to the prophets, "Do not prophesy to us the truth! Speak to us pleasant words; prophesy illusions."

2 Timothy 3:1-6

This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come…

1 Timothy 4:1-3

Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; …

The hope of the believer is not in this world, it is in Christ and our homegoing. We no longer want any part of this world, our heart is in heaven with Christ.

Be at Peace even if others are not at Peace

Romans 12:2-4 "…2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.

3 For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought but think of yourself with sober judgment, according to the measure of faith God has given you.

4 Just as each of us has one body with many members, and not all members have the same function,…"

Romans 12:16

"Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but enjoy the company of the lowly. Do not be conceited."

Others may not be in harmony with us because they hate Christ but we will always be exhibiting the fruit of the Spirit no matter how others are responding to us as long as we walk in the Spirit. We will not be fighting even when they are fighting.

We make peace by telling the truth for the purpose of correcting what is wrong, not to win or to be superior. A peacekeeper is one who hides things and pretends, avoiding any discussion, this person never helps to resolve they only enable.

Matthew 5:9

"9 Blessed are the peacemakers,

for they will be called sons of God."

Making peace is hard work, it means having a discussion to see all sides of a matter. Peacemaking cleans things up while peacekeeping leaves the dirt and allows it to grow pretending there is no problem. In fact, often the peacekeeper blames the one who wants to have a discussion to resolve matters for starting a fight when they were not fighting at all. The one who is fighting is the one who refuses to value anyone but themselves in the room by declining to talk through a matter.

Peacekeepers do not value people to be able to engage they harm the one who wants to resolve a matter and coddles the one who loves their own opinion without respect for others.

Peacekeepers pretend everything is alright causing the evil thing to spread, all the while denying anything is wrong.

Denial is a form of lying to protect oneself, it not only helps the growth of yeast to continue but causes the carriers of the yeast to feel proud of themselves for their deception.

Galatians 5:9-10 " 9 A little leaven works through the whole batch of dough. 10 I am confident in the Lord that you will take no other view. The one who is troubling you will bear the judgment, whoever he may be.…"

1 Corinthians 5:6

"Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven works through the whole batch of dough?"

There are those who boast that they keep the peace by quenching all conversation that might resolve things, thinking they have stopped a fight. What they don't realize is that discussions do not have to be fights, they can be delightful discussions when both parties are seeking truth and turning to God's Word for their guidance. However, this takes respect and love for others in a discussion.

Romans 12:9-11 "9 Love must be sincere. Detest what is evil; cling to what is good. 10 Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Outdo yourselves in honoring one another. 11 Do not let your zeal subside; keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.…"

It is not love to avoid all discussions with those with whom we disagree.

Philippians 2:3

"Do nothing out of selfish ambition or empty pride, but in humility consider others more important than yourselves."

1 Peter 1:22

"Since you have purified your souls by obedience to the truth so that you have a genuine love for your brothers, love one another deeply, from a pure heart."

When we love one another we enjoy discussion about important things and we have no need to win over anyone else. God's truth is what is important not our own pride.

Do not Assume Anything, Assess Everyone

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/vJ2MWIVhmqg

Salvation is Through Christ and not of Ourselves

Anyone who still walks in pride thinking they are a good person is not born again!!!! Repent and confess to be changed by Christ.

All His Work None of Our Own

Our salvation is dependent on two things, our confessing our sinfulness to God in brokenness and His responding by changing us into a new creation.

Initially, we desire to be changed by Him and then in response to our brokenness and desire to be changed He does all the work in us, we cannot do that work, it is Him, all of it.

Ephesians 2:10 "10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them."

Anyone who thinks they can change their own character by their own deeds is their own false god.

The Change is Dramatic When Someone Becomes Born Again

I have seen cases in which the man became a Christian to become married to the woman. He knew she would not marry him unless he was a Christian so he decided to become one, but it was not real, it was manipulation and pretense to gain something he wanted.

Then the woman is shocked when there is no change in the man's character or he changes for a short time and then regresses to the point of disinterest in Christ or the things of the Lord.

We see this sort of thing often in our culture because "words" take priority over actions and change is no longer considered relevant in "becoming a Christian."

No one chooses to be a Christian in the sense that one day they decided to join the group, especially if they join to gain something they want.

A person is changed by Christ into a new creation when they confess their sinfulness and desire to be changed by Him. There is a deep sense of sadness that comes over those who realize they have offended the Holy God as well as a desire to be cleansed of their sin. Without this process of brokenness over sin there is not salvation.

We see so many pretenders in the church today because the element of brokenness over sin is left out and no longer required to be one of the evidences of someone who no longer wants to offend God.

In fact, many people come to Christ to feel safe and to gain praise in a community, they have no sense of their own wickedness, they even think they have something to offer God without any inclination that change is needed to have a relationship with Christ. I don't mean someone needs to change themselves to have a relationship with Christ, I mean they must desire Him to change them to have a relationship with Christ.

1 John 1:9: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."

Acts 19:18-19 "18 Many who had believed now came forward, confessing and disclosing their deeds. 19 And a number of those who had practiced magic arts brought their books and burned them in front of everyone. When the value of the books was calculated, the total came to fifty thousand drachmas.…"

When we have been changed by Christ we begin to hate what we used to love. We don't burn our idols to become saved, we burn them because Christ changed our thinking and we hate what He hates and love what He loves.

When someone became a Christian and nothing changed, their heart still likes themselves more than they love Christ then they were never born again. When pride still remains and stubbornness to the Word of God still remains then they were never changed by Christ because they joined the Christian club for their own sense of safety.

It is notable that when people feel unsafe they run to God but as soon as they feel safe again they ignore Him. This happened in 9/11 when the towers came down. People flocked to the buildings that purported to be Christian safety zones, but not long after the impact of the tragedy they began to ignore God again.

This practice of using God to feel safe has been going on from the beginning of Christ's ministry.

Matthew 5:3-4 "3“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 4 Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. 5 Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth."

God will not save the proud who elevate themselves but He will change anyone who sees themselves in truth as desperately wicked unable to save themselves.

If arrogance and superiority remain in someone then Christ has not changed them. If there is the lack of the fruit of the Spirit then Christ has not changed the person who claims with their mouth that they are a Christian but still remains full of self-exaltation and stubbornness.

Those who have been changed by Christ have all the fruit of the Spirit of God. These characteristics are the attributes that are the very essence of Who Christ is, they are not human and only those changed by Christ into a new creation will have these traits.

There will be those who appear to have them but revert to their old self at the slightest hint of pressure about anything from anyone. These people were attempting to appear to have this fruit but it was an act not brought on by the power of Christ but their own theatrics. This is the majority of people who attend the apostate churches today, they are performing for their audience but still remain selfish, entitled and arrogant on the inside.

We cannot be different on the inside than our true character. When someone seems to step out of character there has not been a change they are only reverting to their true nature that was never changed, it was an act. This act can go on for years all the while the lack of fruit would only be seen by those who are discerning and know the Scriptures well.

Matthew 23:26-28 "…26 Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, so that the outside may become clean as well. 27 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside, but on the inside are full of dead men’s bones and every kind of impurity. 28 In the same way, on the outside you appear to be righteous, but on the inside, you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.…

Those who love Christ will never regress into selfishness and sin, because it was Christ who changed their hearts.

There are many preachers in pulpits today who are not saved, they think they are because they attended a special school, or that they have lived what they believe to be a good life but they were never dedicated to the truth of the Word of God, they are playing a role and fooling many undiscerning soles.

Galatians 5:22-23: "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law".

May we develop a heart of discernment through the study of the Bible, so that we will be able to know the difference between a true believer and a false believer.

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.’"

Satan is not Against Religion He is Against God

Amen, Amen, and, satan couldn't make everyone accept false religions so he came into the church defiling God's Word with false doctrine and false practices to entice unbelievers to filter in unnoticed and to cause believers to become silent in their witness. 

Now Most church gatherings are nearly completely apostate operating according to human standards while negating the Word of God.

Mark 7:13 "thus invalidating the word of God by your tradition which you have handed down; and you do many things such as that.”

Loving Christ and One Another

Unbelievers who are jealous of our freedom in Christ will work to disconnect us from other believers so they can more fully influence us, or at least in their own minds.

The fear of God's truth is so enormous in the minds of those who love themselves more than God that they labor to isolate us from others who love God and punish us while in their mob so that we fear rejection by the ungodly.

Mocking is a favored tactic of the unbeliever who is jealous of our joy and peace because of Christ.

Galatians 4:16-17 "…16 Have I now become your enemy by telling you the truth? 17 Those people are zealous for you, but not in a good way. Instead, they want to isolate you from us, so that you may be zealous for them."

This is why the Lord has led me to spend time with unbelievers rarely and never in groups of them. Groupthink is powerful when in the company of unbelievers. They feed off of one another unable to think separately from the others in the room.

I see the value of spending time with unbelievers only individually so that there is no support for them to argue and fight against the truth.

Most people do not have the courage to fight and argue unless they know they have support from others.

It is impossible to have a rational, reasonable, and enjoyable conversation about the things of God while in a crowd of people who do not love God.

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.…"

1 John 4:7-9 "7 Beloved, let us love one another, because love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9 This is how God’s love was revealed among us: God sent His one and only Son into the world so that we might live through Him.…"

Our goal is never to be accepted by unbelievers, it is to bring them the truth about Christ and move on when they make the choice to reject our message.

Remaining with those who have "a form of religion" but deny Christ in their lifestyle is to count them as more important than Christ. We cannot love people more than we love Christ, to do so is to show that we have not desired a relationship with our Savior yet, we are still hanging onto this world.

Psalm 1:3-5 "…3 He is like a tree planted by streams of water, yielding its fruit in season, whose leaf does not wither, and who prospers in all he does. 4 Not so the wicked! For they are like chaff driven off by the wind. 5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous."

John 3:30-35

30 He must increase, but I must [b]decrease.

31 “He who comes from above is above all; the one who is only from the earth is of the earth and speaks of the earth. He who comes from heaven is above all.

32 What He has seen and heard, of this He testifies; and no one accepts His testimony.

33 The one who has accepted His testimony has certified that God is true.

34 For He whom God sent speaks the words of God; for He does not give the Spirit sparingly.

35 The Father loves the Son and has entrusted all things to His hand."

Because we love Christ we love those who love Him. Those who do not love us do not love Christ.

1 John 2:10

"Whoever loves his brother remains in the light, and there is no cause of stumbling in him."

1 John 5:2

"By this we know that we love the children of God: when we love God and keep His commandments."

Romans 12:9-11 "9 Love must be sincere. Detest what is evil; cling to what is good. 10 Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Outdo yourselves in honoring one another. 11 Do not let your zeal subside; keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.…"

We know that there is no love in those who poke and prod at those who speak boldly for the truth of God's Word. Those who love God love to hear about Him and His principles.

1 Thessalonians 4:9

"Now about brotherly love, you do not need anyone to write to you, because you yourselves have been taught by God to love one another."

Hallelujah!!!

Understanding God!

https://youtube.com/shorts/TioYPge-_cI?si=11d7SIhAYUuBgpcW

We are the Temple of the Holy Spirit, whoever is born of Christ

Born again believers do not worship in a temple built by men, we are the temple of the Holy Spirit and we can worship any time, in any place and with anyone of our siblings in the Lord. We have no special day or special place and no rituals except as given by Christ, the Lord's supper. Just us and the Lord.

Romans 14:4-6 "…4 Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To his own master he stands or falls. And he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand. 5 One person regards a certain day above the others, while someone else considers every day alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. 6 He who observes a special day does so to the Lord; he who eats does so to the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who abstains does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God.…"