A Nation that has Forgotten God

I just hate it when I see a picture of a man depicting Christ wrapped in an American flag. First, we know that man is not a picture of Christ but sends the message that he is, and that He favors America.

The only nation God favors is Israel!!!!!

How anyone can believe God would favor America with all the rot and rebellion occurring here is beyond me.

 
I desire to be a good citizen of the country I live in, but that does not mean I think it is above all nations or that we can "do no wrong."

The believer must be more concerned about the gospel to individuals than saving a nation that has thrown God out of everything while promoting widespread paganism.

Psalm 9:17, "The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God".

Just Saying!

No One Knows the Day or the Hour of the Rapture

It is biblically incorrect to predict a particular day for the rapture because of what God tells us in His Word.

Matthew 24:36 "No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father."

Also, remember this: if someone predicts a day in the United States, it will be another day in Tokyo; if we are on Tuesday in the United States, Tokyo is on Wednesday.

And, Rosh Hashanah, celebrated in Israel, is celebrated on two days, not one. So to say the rapture will be on a particular day is not possible.

 
It is best to obey God, read His Word, and believe Him. He said, "no one will know the day or the hour", simple!

My New Mantra, "I Don't Believe That!"

It is nonsense to repeat "theories" we have no way of proving. Repeating what others say when we read something we cannot prove is a choice to accept their words.

 
If we cannot do anything about what is happening, we can't prove that it is true, and it makes no difference in our lives, it is foolish to repeat it to anyone else.

And, don't go looking for things to watch that do not glorify God or impart His principles that help others grow in holiness.

 
When the internet first came into homes, most Christians knew it was full of foolishness. Sadly, now many are falling into deception and repeating what they see and read, causing anxiety that is not warranted. I have adopted a new mantra for myself: "I don't believe that" when it comes to internet news.

 
Philippians 4:8 "
Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, think about these things."

The Wisdom of the Book of Galatians

There is an epidemic now of disrespect from adult children

Sadly, too many people feel obligated to remain with family no matter what, but this should not be the case. We are free to remove anyone from our lives and get on with our own without them.

 
Anyone who would pressure us to remain with those who disrespect us should also be removed. We do not need foolish drama in our lives that only perpetually torments us. No one else should pressure someone to have someone as a friend.

This is a subtle form of bullying. No one else can know the full dynamic of others in our lives; they must trust us to make our own decisions based on the leading of the Holy Spirit.

 
We love our children, but in our day of deep rebellion and arrogance, we must take control of our own lives without the continual dramatization of immature family members who cause trouble at every turn.

 
Matthew 10:21-23 "…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. 23 When they persecute you in one town, flee to the next."

I have a basic philosophy I am convinced is Biblical, which is, never remain with those who work to undermine your walk with Christ.

Those who misinterpret you deliberately without a desire to get to know you will never edify you in Christ and you will not be able to edify them because they do not value anything you say or do. I am happy to understand others, but when they not only don't want me to understand them and have no desire to understand me, then there is no basis for a relationship.

 
This modern culture has become so completely self-exalting to the degree that, as a rule, people do not care about one another, and empathy is almost entirely absent. We love to care about others, but when they see our caring as an intrusion, then we have to move on and pray that the Lord will present Himself to them.

 
2 Timothy 3:1-5 describes what we are experiencing right now, but we often walk in denial, hoping we can salvage the wreckage, only to be disappointed by the lack of results for our efforts.

 
2 Timothy 3:1-5
"Godlessness in the Last Days
3 But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. 2 For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, 4 treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5 having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people."

It is not mean or rude to politely decline to do things with family. It is not mean or rude to politely make our own choices and decisions to be with like-minded people who love the Lord as much as we do.

 
When those we have moved on from begin to realize their need for Christ and become born again, then we will be siblings in Christ. When this happens, the drama will no longer be present, and their entire way of viewing life will be changed, because they will be a new creation.

 
It is not unloving to make our own choices pertaining to friendships. We are called to do so in God's Word.

 
Proverbs 14:6-8 "…6 A mocker seeks wisdom and finds none, but knowledge comes easily to the discerning. 7 Stay away from a foolish man; you will gain no knowledge from his speech. 8 The wisdom of the prudent is to discern his way, but the folly of fools deceives them."

Proverbs 13:20 "He who walks with the wise will become wise, but the companion of fools will be destroyed."

1 Corinthians 15:33 "Do not be deceived: “Bad company corrupts good character.'"

Proverbs 9:6
"Leave your folly behind, and you will live; walk in the way of understanding."

We must pray for people, but this does not mean we will be friends with everyone.

Do not be Intimidated by Big Sounding Words

Do not be intimidated by those who use big-sounding words to appear authoritative. The Bible is for the simplest mind when Christ teaches those seeking Him.

1 Corinthians 2:3-5 "…3I came to you in weakness and fear, and with much trembling. 4 My message and my preaching were not with persuasive words of wisdom, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, 5 so that your faith would not rest on men’s wisdom, but on God’s power."

One does not have to be a scholar using big words to understand the Word of God and to be a teacher of His word.

Hebrews 5:11-13 "11We have much to say about this, but it is hard to explain, because you are dull of hearing. 12 Although by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to reteach you the basic principles of God’s word. You need milk, not solid food! 13For everyone who lives on milk is still an infant, inexperienced in the message of righteousness."

We have no need for someone to teach us because we have the Holy Spirit, but we edify one another as each one grows in wisdom, we share with one another. This is different from requiring a degree to teach or depending on seminary-educated people to tell us what to believe.

 
John 16:13-14 "13 However, when the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all truth. For He will not speak on His own, but He will speak what He hears, and He will declare to you what is to come. 14 He will glorify Me by taking from what is Mine and disclosing it to you.…"

Notice something in this passage in John, it is God Who is glorified, not the person who thinks of themselves as wise.

 
Sadly, in our day, modern scholars rely more on what others teach them than they do the Holy Spirit. The modern church system has deceived people into believing they must have more educated teachers, that the average man cannot gain wisdom without them.

 
This could not be farther from the truth. No one can teach better than the Holy Spirit, and anyone who possesses the Holy Spirit has wisdom to share.
May believers stop looking to men to prop them up, but seek the Holy Spirit to train and teach them.

 
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."
Nowhere in the Scripture do we find God instructing us to find "highly educated" men to teach or have authority over congregations.

 
1 Corinthians 2:10-13
"But God has revealed it to us by the Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. For who among men knows the thoughts of man except his own spirit within him? So too, no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. We have not received the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us."

Too often, people look to that "educated" pastor for everything as though he were the mediator between them and God. Even if they say he is not, they treat him as the authority over them. There is only one mediator between the born-again believer and God the Father and that is Jesus Christ.

 
1 Timothy 2:5 "5 For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;"

John 14:6 "Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me."

Romans 5:10 "For if, when we were enemies of God, we were reconciled to Him through the death of His Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through His life!"

"Through His life", when we are led and trained by the Holy Spirit, He gets all the glory. No one should receive glory for their teaching because it comes from Christ, if it is Biblical.

 
Hebrews 8:6 "Now, however, Jesus has received a much more excellent ministry, just as the covenant He mediates is better and is founded on better promises."

When man preaches in his own effort through his own training, he glorifies himself. When a man teaches in the power of the Holy Spirit, he glorifies God.
The church is falling into great deception because they are listening to those who love the praise of men, influenced by their education.

 
Matthew 23:5-7 "All their deeds are done for men to see. They broaden their phylacteries and lengthen their tassels. They love the places of honor at banquets, the chief seats in the synagogues, the greetings in the marketplaces, and the title of ‘Rabbi’ by which they are addressed."

Men in our day do not "broaden their phylacteries and lengthen their tassels" to impress others; they broaden their scope of education by man-made institutions to be revered by others. Because of this, they are using language no one understands while falling into doctrines and practices God never taught.

 
Our challenge is to follow Christ and not men.

Elders of the Ekklesia: The Role of Elders in Early Christian Assemblies

Christ Paid it all No Need to Pray for the Dead

Today, on a "Christian" ministry, I heard a "Protestant Pastor" say, "We should be praying for Charlie Kirk and his family." It upset me because I am a former Catholic who left behind all Catholic verbiage when I left the Catholic church.

Why would any born-again believer use a phrase like "pray for the dead"? Yes, I agree with praying for his family, but why would I pray for him if he were saved?

 
The dead who have been saved by God no longer need our prayers; they are with God. What would we pray for when praying for the dead? Those who believe in praying for the dead believe the person who died could not go into the presence of the Lord without first finishing the punishment themselves in a place called Purgatory, which Christ paid for on the cross. They believe in purgatory as a form of finishing work that the human does, as though they could add anything to what Christ did for them.

2 Corinthians 5:8 "but we are of good courage and prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord."

Unbiblical ideas, coupled with a lot of biblical language, are not something to ignore. Why were the other two hosts on that program not correcting the one who was calling for a prayer for the dead person? Fear of offending someone is the lie of Satan; correction is necessary when dealing with Biblical truth.

 
Christians ought to stop adopting the language of the unsaved to placate them. This is exactly what Catholicism did to entice the pagans to become members of the church many centuries ago. Over time, there became more paganism in the church than Biblical truth, making the church more fully cultic.

The idea that just "joining a church gathering" will make people Christians is itself a pagan idea. People do not become saved by being a member of any cult or pseudo-Christian organization. Nor do they become Christians by joining an authentic Christian gathering.

 
I began to understand when Kirk proclaimed to a Bishop that he was "very close to becoming Catholic." Whether or not he was saved, I do not know, but I thought his testimony was one of salvation. Now, I am confused. But none of that matters when we are focused on Christ instead of people.

 
Since most Christians in our day are more focused on political leanings than on Christ, I see how they might be easily fooled by emotional deliveries in which the speaker says all the right words. This is why it is important to focus on Christ and what He says in His Word and not on people who "appear" good.

 
The antichrist will say all the right things in the beginning, fooling many apostate Christians. He will do lying miracles, promising prosperity and safety. It will sound so good that most people will clamor to follow him.

 
It is human nature to want to follow and elevate a person they can see with their eyes. The danger with this is that it can and often does lead to worship of man above Christ. It is very subtle but amounts to the same thing.

 
I do not judge Kirk's Christianity based on anything he said, but I do take issue with declaring that a dead Christian person must pay further sacrifice with his own body to secure his salvation, and I reject the idea that we should pray for or speak to dead people.

 
Let's keep our focus on Christ, take a lesson from martyrs to follow Christ even if it means our death, not to follow a person, but to follow Christ.

What About Socialization?

2 Timothy 3:1-5
Godlessness in the Last Days
"3 But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty.
2 For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy,
3 heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good,
4 treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God,
5 having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people."

Next time someone tells you "what about socialization" in reference to homeschooling, say something like this:

 
"The public schools are now placing weapons detectors at the doors of the schools and locking the children in like prisoners to protect them from the bullies that might try to sneak guns and drugs into the schools. Those places are dangerous and wicked."

 
And

Say: "You mean drugs, alcohol, disrespect, and bullying? I don't think my children need that kind of socialization."

 
The intimidation that a parent is a bad parent because they do not place their children in harm's way every day, to an out-of-control culture, is the devil's lie.
Why people think the family is not enough "socialization", is beyond me. Absolutely silly that we need to be like the culture to live in.

 
We have no need nor desire to fit in with the culture; in fact, God commands us not to fit into the culture.

 
Most homeschooled children I have met have been more respectful, better educated, and higher achievers than those who go to public institutions. Those places train them to emulate foolishness more than they teach academics that will provide good skills for obtaining jobs when they leave. They are less respectful in those places and more self-absorbed under the teaching of self-esteem. They do not teach confidence; they teach selfishness, a very big difference. 

The socialization people think they are missing something, but only ruin the health and well-being of children lumped into a crowd every day with those who don't love them.

 
Deuteronomy 6:6-8 "6 These words I am commanding you today are to be upon your hearts. 7 And you shall teach them diligently to your children and speak of them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down, and when you get up. 8 Tie them as reminders on your hands and bind them on your foreheads"

Proverbs 22:6
"Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it."

These instructions were given to parents to train and teach their own children, not to hand them off to government institutions.

 
Just saying!!!!!

Changed By Christ not by Ourselves

2 Timothy 3:1-5 Godlessness in the Last Days
"3 But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. 2 For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, 4 treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5 having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people."

In this passage of 2 Timothy, for some time I wondered why "pride" and "arrogance" were mentioned because it seemed to me to be the same thing, why mention the same problem with two different words.

 
Then, as I discovered, at least in the English words, arrogance is pride on steroids in the sense that pride is a condition in which the person has excessive pleasure in themselves, thinking too highly of themselves. Arrogance is the condition of believing one is better than others.

 
Often, these two mentalities go together, as it is difficult to think of oneself as wonderful without also thinking that one is better than others.

 
What is sad is that anyone who is fully satisfied with themselves usually condemns others as inferior to them. It is challenging to distinguish between pride and arrogance, as one often leads to the other.

 
God couldn't have been clearer in His Word, the Bible, that all people everywhere have a sinful nature that will lead them to hell. No one is better than anyone else, and all sin leads to hell.

 
There are sins that have greater consequences than others, and sins that can easily be hidden because the impact on one's life seems minute compared to others. The problem is in measuring one sin against another. It is the heart condition that God looks at, not the size of the offense. A person who steals a piece of gum from someone else is going to hell as much as a murderer, but not because of the size and nature of the sin, but because they have a heart of theft that needs transformation. It is the heart condition that is the problem.

 
It doesn't matter how small a sin is; it is the nature of a man whose heart is sinful. Have you ever met a person who has never done anything anyone could point to as sin because his life was seemingly perfect without flaws?

There are people who think rudeness is not a problem as long as they don't hit someone. But the rudeness is a sinful heart that hits a person with words or subtle dismissiveness as though they are better than the one whom they believe does not deserve respect. The rudeness defies the fruit of the Spirit that is in every born-again believer.

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."

This person was never arrested, never used drugs, didn't beat their wives or kids, treated everyone well, and even gave to the poor. Their life appears to be picture-perfect. And yet, everything they did was to appear special to others. This person is not saved because their life was exemplary; they still had within them the sinful nature that made everything they do based on themselves.

 
Christ does not save someone because they have anything good in themselves; He saves those who know they have been entirely selfish, prone to self-exaltation without true love for others, who are broken over their own sinfulness and desire to be changed by Him into a new creation.

 
Everyone, no matter how good they look, needs to confess their sinful nature. Without confession, there is no cleansing. Christ does the changing and cleansing in those who want Him.

 
It is only when we realize how sinful we are and the need for Christ to cleanse us that we will be changed. If we are attempting to change ourselves, we are still depending on ourselves, remaining sinful.

 
Our sinful nature is what makes us worthy of death and hell. Christ went to the cross to die a brutal death on our behalf to pay our debt of sin. We must trust in Him to change us and cleanse us.

 
Anyone who is depending on themselves and their own goodness will not be saved. CHRIST DID THE DYING FOR US; HE MUST DO THE CHANGING IN US. Everything in our transformation is Him; He does it all when we hate our sinful nature and want Him to transform us.

 
There is no "revival" of the soul that can happen; it must be a total transformation. Revival implies there was once good there that must be revived, but there is no good there at all, and never was any. It is only the transformation by Christ that changes our very nature.

When someone becomes born again, they have been changed by Christ into the opposite of what they were before. They think completely the opposite of how they thought before, leading to actions that demonstrate righteousness. God gets all the glory, we get none.

 
Philippians 1:11 "filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God."

Notice this phrase; "that comes through Jesus Christ", not through our own efforts.
No one who is born again by the hand of Jesus Christ can ever think more highly of himself than he ought. If fleshly pride remains because we are trapped in the body of sinful flesh, then it must be expunged through prayer. Asking God to remove in us what is displeasing to Him will be what produces growth in holiness.

Psalm 51:10-19 "10 Create in me a clean heart, God,

And renew a steadfast spirit within me.
11 Do not cast me away from Your presence,"

Those who become born again but do not continue to self-reflect according to the standards of the Bible will be disciplined by God. And if sin is not confessed, the Holy Spirit will stop communicating with the believer who remains stubborn.

 
Psalm 66:18 "18 If I regard wickedness in my heart,

The Lord will not hear."

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."

Quench, meaning to put out the fire. The Holy Spirit will remain for ever in one who has trusted Christ but there will be discipline for everyone to grow in holiness.

 
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. 6For the Lord disciplines the one He loves, and He chastises every son He receives.” 7Endure suffering as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father?…"

Those who are born again are sealed by the Holy Spirit and eternally saved at the point of salvation.

 
Ephesians 1:13-14 "13 In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of the promise, 14 who is a first installment of our inheritance, in regard to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory."

When we have sinned after becoming saved the Holy Spirit will not allow us to be comfortable in that sin until we confess it to be cleansed.

1 John 1:9
"9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous, so that He will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness."

1 John 2:1-2 "1 My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you will not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate before the Father— Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. 2 He Himself is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.…"

After you have been changed by Christ, never allow anyone to tell you that you have lost your salvation. If anyone could lose their salvation by sinning, then it was not Christ who changed them. It is the Spirit of God who removed our sinful spirit but we remain trapped in this sinful body of flesh that we must battle.

 
Notice the body does not go to heaven with the believer when he dies. Nothing sinful can go to the Father in heaven, so the body remains while the changed Spirit of the believer goes straight to God.

 
2 Corinthians 5:8 "but we are of good courage and prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord."

Anyone who is depending on themselves to keep their salvation is not depending on Christ and does not believe He was the One Who changed them permanently by His Own hand.

 
Those who are depending on Christ have great joy except when they are sinning, then they grieve and have no rest until they confess it to be cleansed.

 
1 John 1:9
"9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous, so that He will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness."

Trust Christ alone always!!!!!

What God Hates

Symbols Lead to Actions

Symbols lead to attitudes and then actions. The man uncovered is a symbol of Christ, the woman covered is a symbol of the Church.

The man is to protect the wife as Christ protects the church! And the wife is to look to her husband as her protector. If there is no husband, then the covering for the woman demonstrates her protection under Christ.

Everyone is under Christ, married or unmarried. The head covering or no head covering in the case of the man, are just symbols.

This has nothing to do with modesty!!!
Modesty is another subject entirely, but these symbols have greater meaning than just covering hair.

For the Sake of the Angels

Legalism is obeying man's rules God never made, and obedience is following what God gave.

 
Even if our husband is gone, we are still under Christ, and the covering is not for our husband or about our husband; it is for the sake of the angels and because it is what God told the woman to do as a demonstration of a symbol of the Church.

 
The man uncovered is a symbol of Christ and His protection for His church. The woman covered is a symbol of the Church under the protection of Christ.

 
1 Corinthians 11:10" 10 For this reason, a woman ought to have a sign of authority on her head, because of the angels."

Just Knowing is not Obedience

A Picture and Symbol of Christ and His Church Demonstrated in the Covering for Woman and Uncovered for the Husband

Legalism is obeying man's rules God never made, and obedience is following what God gave.

Even if our husband is gone, we are still under Christ, and the covering is not for our husband or about our husband; it is for the sake of the angels and because it is what God told the woman to do as a demonstration of a symbol of the Church.

The man uncovered is a symbol of Christ and His protection for His church. The woman covered is a symbol of the Church under the protection of Christ.

1 Corinthians 11:10" 10 For this reason, a woman ought to have a sign of authority on her head, because of the angels."

Insults are nothing when they are not true, laugh at them!

LOL, I have been called "cracker", "the Gwendolator", and other insulting words over my 12+ years on Facebook, and it always makes me laugh. If there were no opposition and no insult, I wouldn't be able to hone my skills at being impervious to verbal abuse, if one could even call it abuse.

 
I can't explain it, but when this happens, I am amused and blessed that God doesn't take it seriously, and because He doesn't, I don't.

 
Never allow insults to "make your feelings cry"; they are delivered by those who have not learned how to disagree without being angry. To be fair, sometimes they are jokes delivered by people who actually care about me.

 
God says a prudent man ignores an insult. The more I trust in Christ, the less I feel anything negative about what anyone does to me. Praise God, He is still working on me.

We can wrap our Spiritual arms around those who challenge us!!!!!

 
Perhaps if we saw insults as amusement, we could avoid ungodly reactions.
Keep looking up and never take anything personally, there is no value or advantage in becoming irritated!!!!! Just Saying!!!!

Misunderstanding the Head Covering

There is a misunderstanding about the use of a head covering in the church.

 
There are two commands of God concerning the head covering. The first is that a woman be covered, and the second is that the man be uncovered.

Ask yourself a question: "Why does every gathering today still practice the men without the covering but not the covering for the women"?

Many women wore hats to church because it was the fashion of the time, but didn't know anything about a head covering as described in the Bible. They wore hats because they thought it was respectful, but didn't understand anything having to do with the covering because they were not reading their Bibles, and the preachers didn't speak of it in the gathering.

 
I asked my mother as a child why women in church wore a hat, and her response was, "An outfit without a hat is like cake without the frosting." In other words, the hat for her and many other women was fashion rather than obedience to God.
No man at that time in history would ever wear a hat in the church building, and to this day, it is frowned upon. If we ask a man today why they would take their hat off in the church building, you might hear something like this: "It is about respect for the building", since they see the building as "the house of God."

God no longer has a temple because believers are His temple; we are living epistles, there is no need for a special place to meet, and God does not dwell in the building; He lives in the hearts of every believer.

 
When feminism became popular in the 60's, the Catholic church decided that the head covering wasn't relevant anymore because they were going with the culture. Soon after that, the protestant churches followed.

 
There are those who are that the woman's head covering has to do with modesty, but it could not be farther from the truth.

 
The head covering is taught in the Bible, but it has nothing to do with modesty. The head covering for the woman and the lack of head covering for the man are to illustrate the relationship between Christ and His church. The man is the head of the family, as Christ is the head of the church, and the woman is representative of the church, and her covering is Christ.

It is a beautiful picture of the protection, love, and honor given to the wife by the husband.

 
And, the covering is used in the gathering of the saints, not every day out in public. Reading the context in the Bible, it becomes clearer. A woman wears the covering to obey God, not by any man's authority. God is the one Who gave the command to the woman; the command was not given to the man to manage the woman. The command for the man to be uncovered was given to him by God. Each spouse chooses to obey God.

 
I just recently read a post in which the woman told the story of a pastor who mocked her head covering. This pastor was in disobedience to God in several ways, by disrespecting the woman about her clothing and discouraging her from doing what God told her to do.

 
A pastor who would mock the covering is not only ignorant but also attempting to make his sister fall. Sadly, pastors who think they have authority over another believer are making themselves the mediator between God and the believer. Jesus Christ is the only mediator between God and each believer; no one has authority over the believer except the Holy Spirit.

Read carefully and prayerfully 1 Corinthians 11 for the instruction, and remember, some translations will use the phrase, "but we have no such custom," which is incorrect. The proper rendering is "we have no other custom." Some say the phrase should have been translated, "we have no such custom of being contentious about this matter."

 
1 Corinthians 11:3-5 "…3 But I want you to understand that the head of every man is Christ, and the head of the woman is man, and the head of Christ is God. 4 Every man who prays or prophesies with his head covered dishonors his head. 5 And every woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head, for it is just as if her head were shaved.…"

Ephesians 5:23-24
"For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, His body, of which He is the Savior. Now, as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything."

Experiencing the Holy Spirit

Sometimes I feel a sense of grief that so many Christians have no experience with depending on the Holy Spirit to guide them.. They rush to a friend, family member, or a person called a pastor, but never go to prayer to ask God the Holy Spirit to guide them.

 
I think it is possible that most people who seek others for advice go to those who will say what they want to hear.

 
John 16:13-14 "13 However, when the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all truth. For He will not speak on His own, but He will speak what He hears, and He will declare to you what is to come. 14He will glorify Me by taking from what is Mine and disclosing it to you."

People will trust their pastor because he has a degree from a college, but will not trust the Holy Spirit, who is God with all the perfect answers. They treat Him as though He is only a concept in their head instead of a real person.

 
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."

These instructions from the Word of God are not mere happy fantasy ideas like fairy stories; they are real instructions to seek the Holy Spirit.

 
It is no wonder "Christians" have viewed the Holy Spirit as a concept because of the fantasy of Santa Claus, Easter bunnies, and goblins, with which they were raised all their lives. Now teaching these imaginary inventions to their children, which causes one's brain to interpret all concepts as happy but not real.

 
Holidays have created a fantasy mentality based on desired pleasure, which causes people to view things in a particular vein. Making everything an illusion and acceptable because the entire culture is practicing these things. The idea of the Holy Spirit is just another fantasy to the culture.

 
As long as it makes the culture feel good, then it is viewed as truth even when it flies in the face of God's word, negating everything God teaches in His word.
When we wish to believe something, then it is in our heart to wish that it were true, a form of idolatry. All my life I heard Christians speaking about Santa, the Easter bunnies, the Halloween goblins and other such fantasy characters with great joy and pleasure, but never heard them speak of the Holy Spirit, not even once.
I grew up in a "Christian" household, celebrating all these holidays and never hearing the name of the Lord Jesus Christ or the words "Holy Spirit" from anyone in the household.

Mark 7:13 "13 Thus, you nullify the word of God by the tradition you have handed down. And you do so in many such matters.”

 
Colossians 2:8 "See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, which are based on human tradition and the spiritual forces of the world rather than on Christ."

When I have spoken the words "Jesus Christ" or "Holy Spirit" to believers, I have been met with blank stares and even embarrassment many times.

There has been a mentality of "pastor worship" in which those words were only acceptable from the pulpit by a degreed pastor, making this man on that podium the mediator between those in the pews and God.

 
How is this any different from the Catholic church, which teaches that the priest is the mediator between God and "lay people" in the pews?

Jesus Christ is the only mediator between every individual believer and God.
There are no hierarchy categories in God's church. Everyone is equal, the Holy Spirit speaks to each one who is indwelt with the Holy Spirit and every single believer edifies others in the Word. Yes, there are leaders, but they do not rule; they do not operate as an authority over the others. The Holy Spirit is the only Authority over each believer.

 
Any leader who attempts to control others and is not teachable himself is placing himself above the Holy Spirit.

 
Leaders lead by example and teaching; they have no Authority over others. We only follow their teaching when they obey God; we do not follow them when they do not obey God.

1 Timothy 4:1-3
"Now the Spirit expressly states that in later times some will abandon the faith to follow deceitful spirits and the teachings of demons, / influenced by the hypocrisy of liars, whose consciences are seared with a hot iron. / They will prohibit marriage and require abstinence from certain foods that God has created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth."

Each believer must evaluate what others say according to the Word of God, correct when there is error, and refuse to follow what does not match the Bible.

Lastly and most importantly, God gave each believer the Holy Spirit to be everything for them that they need: teaching, training in righteousness, direction for their life, and everything else. He is to be sought and obeyed.

 
Isaiah 29:13 "Therefore the Lord said: “These people draw near to Me with their mouths and honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me. Their worship of Me is but rules taught by men."

Let's not be those who treat the Holy Spirit as a concept to be ignored; rather, let us seek Him daily in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ to guide us and change us.
Note this: the Holy Spirit will always magnify Jesus Christ, never ourselves.

Misjudging Others

"If you do not like someone or something about someone, BE CAREFUL that you do not look at everything they do and say through the lenses of your dislike. You might end up misjudging them and, in so doing, condemn yourself." David Valderrama

And, never judge a person based on what others have told you that you did not see for yourself. Many people judge others based on their own prejudices rather than knowing what is really going on. 

What Smart People Do Differently

Protect Your Children From the Culture

Progression in Holiness Requires Spiritual and Emotional Boot Camp

There is no progression in holiness if we cannot be honest with ourselves about ourselves. Growth comes from searching our hearts, admitting our flaws with the desire to be changed by Christ.

 
Asking God to change us is key to a relationship with Christ.

Psalm 51:10 "10 Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me."

At the end of the day, we ought to be excited about what God showed us about ourselves, knowing that everything hard to look at about ourselves will produce better character if we obey what we learn.

 
Ezekiel 36:26 "I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will remove your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh."

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?…"

Those who dismiss and reject the training of their parents will not grow or change; they will cling wildly to what is familiar and comfortable to them. Human parents are not perfect, but they have something to offer. When children regularly obey parents out of obligation but not out of love, they will also practice a superficial relationship with Christ. They will dismiss what God says to be comfortable in the world while claiming they are obeying God. They live a life of partial obedience without concern about their own character damage from living a superficial life of disobedience.

 
Many people do this with the Bible; they change what God said to fit their culture, and they dismiss what they don't like by claiming God's commands do not matter in our day.

 
Revelation 3:19
"Those I love I rebuke and discipline. Therefore, be earnest and repent."

1 Corinthians 11:32 "But when we are judged by the Lord, we are being disciplined so that we will not be condemned with the world."

James 1:12 "Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love Him."

James 5:11 "See how blessed we consider those who have persevered. You have heard of Job’s perseverance and have seen the outcome from the Lord. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy."

Discipline is for our training; see it as a spiritual and emotional "boot camp" necessary for our strengthening.

Gossip is a Relationship Killer as Well as a Reputation Killer

Walk as Christ Walked In Truth and Love

Speaking kindly through all things is not only a strength but also a sign of wisdom. Acting rudely and shouting louder does not change the other person's view; it just makes us look foolish.

Proverbs 26:4-5 "4 Do not answer a fool according to his folly, or you yourself will be like him. 5 Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he become wise in his own eyes.…"

Sometimes the answer to a fool is silence, or removing ourselves!

There are those who think they can intimidate others into respecting them or bowing to them. This is not only foolish but also a sign of weakness; having to force others to agree with you is a clear indication of an infantile mentality. After all, what does a toddler do when they do not get their way? They demand, shout, and cry to get their way.

A wise person removes themselves from those who care little about truth but want to dominate others.

 
Matthew 7:6
"Do not give dogs what is holy; do not throw your pearls before swine. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and then turn and tear you to pieces."
Who are the dogs and the swine? They are those who love themselves more than they love truth. They have no love for God and want to ruin the walk of born again believers.

 
2 Timothy 2:23
"But reject foolish and ignorant speculation, for you know that it breeds quarreling."

Proverbs 29:9
"If a wise man goes to court with a fool, there will be raving and laughing with no resolution."

Proverbs 14:7
"Stay away from a foolish man; you will gain no knowledge from his speech."

Proverbs 23:9
"Do not speak to a fool, for he will despise the wisdom of your words."

Too often, people remain with fools because they are family or someone expects them to remain friends, but it is not wise and will destroy their walk with God.
To grow in holiness and protect our character, we must be companions of wise, loving, kind people. We encourage one another by our attitudes and actions to walk as Christ walked.

 
Proverbs 18:2
"A fool does not delight in understanding, but only in airing his opinions."

A fool will work to make you angry or fall in some way so they can feel better about themselves. They love to watch others fall so they can validate themselves.

 
Proverbs 13:19-21 "…19 Desire fulfilled is sweet to the soul, but turning from evil is detestable to fools. 20 He who walks with the wise will become wise, but the companion of fools will be destroyed. 21 Disaster pursues sinners, but prosperity is the reward of the righteous.…"

1 Corinthians 15:33
"Do not be deceived: “Bad company corrupts good character.”

Guard your heart by carefully evaluating the character of your close companions. Not that anyone is perfect, but that your friends encourage you in the Word of God and are deeply committed to loving you the way Christ loves us.

1 Thessalonians 5:11 "Therefore, encourage one another and build one another up, just as you also are doing."

Ephesians 4:29 "Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear."

Ephesians 4:1-32 "I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— one Lord, one faith, one baptism,"

I am weary of hearing "America is a Christian nation"!

I know I will get some criticism from believers when I say God is done with America. I ask everyone to stop thinking with their emotions and out of fear of losing their freedom, and begin to think Biblically. Stop believing what you wish to be true and admit what is true. We have become worse than Sodom and Gomorrah because not only are we wicked as a people, but we have spread that evil all over the world.

 
Sodom and Gomorrah were a few close towns involved in their wickedness; their impact on the world was nothing compared to the impact of the nation of America.
Pornography, a false gospel, prostitution, gambling, taverns, homosexuality, and entertainment that blasphemes God and mocks His principles. We have endorsed idolatry in every form and claim it is just innocent fun.

 
The entire world has been given these things at the hands of Americans. Our government, for the most part, is corrupt, our families are broken, and those who speak against divorce and remarriage are punished for telling the truth. There is much more to this than meets the eye, but this would be bad enough on its own.
Many believers have been demeaned and rejected for speaking against the violations of the Bible by the world, and sadly, by Christians. They are more angry at us for speaking the truth than they are at the mess the devil has made of this nation.

 
Notice Christians today have a ton to say about the sins they do not commit, but become angry when confronted with the sins they accept, even if they do not do those sins themselves, they defend others who do them.

 
Romans 1:31-32 "31 They are senseless, faithless, heartless, merciless. 32 Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things are worthy of death, they not only continue to do these things, but also approve of those who practice them."

In short, America approves of what God hates and worse lies against Him, saying He is not bothered by them.

 
America calls it love to remain silent when someone is ruining their own lives and the lives of others.

 
There are no advocates for those who wish to love and obey God. The support is for those who disobey and dishonor God and claim it is good.

 
We have all seen this in our daily lives in the past 50 years, but now it is all on steroids; it is now considered evil to speak against evil.

 
Here is a description of our nation today; It was not written to us but it was written for us.

 
Proverbs 1:29-31 "For they hated knowledge and chose not to fear the LORD. They accepted none of my counsel; they despised all my reproof. So they will eat the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own devices."

Psalm 50:16-22 "To the wicked, however, God says, “What right have you to recite My statutes and to bear My covenant on your lips? For you hate My instruction and cast My words behind you. When you see a thief, you befriend him, and throw in your lot with adulterers."

Adultery has two meanings: one to commit sin against a spouse with another person, the other to commit sin against God and call it good.

 
Galatians 5:19-21 "The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity, and debauchery; idolatry and sorcery; hatred, discord, jealousy, and rage; rivalries, divisions, factions, and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God."

Psalm 70:1-4 Prayer for Help against Persecutors.

For the music director. A Psalm of David; for a memorial.
70 God, hurry to save me;
Lord, hurry to help me!
2 May those who seek my life
Be put to shame and humiliated;
May those who delight in my harm
Be turned back and dishonored.
3 May those who say, “Aha, aha!” be turned back
Because of their shame.

4 May all who seek You rejoice and be glad in You;
And may those who love Your salvation say continually,
“May God be exalted!”

Psalm 71:4-6

"4 Save me, my God, from the hand of the wicked,
From the grasp of the wrongdoer and the ruthless,
5 For You are my hope; Lord God, You are my confidence from my youth. 6 I have leaned on You since my birth;
You are He who took me from my mother’s womb;
My praise is continually of You."

5 PROPHECIES OF DANIEL THAT ARE ABOUT TO BE FULFILLED

Every Sin Can Be Forgiven

Praying for the soul of the young man who harbored so much hatred in his heart to murder another man who had a family.

1 Corinthians 6:9-11 "9 Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals,

10 nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor those habitually drunk, nor verbal abusers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God.

Next verse is an important verse to ponder!!!!

"11 SUCH WERE SOME OF YOU; BUT YOU WERE WASHED, but YOU WERE SANCTIFIED, but YOU WERE JUSTIFIED in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God."

What this young man did was horrendous, but it does not disqualify him from repenting and becoming born again.

Matthew 12:31 “Therefore I say to you, every sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven people, but blasphemy against the Spirit shall not be forgiven."

What a victory over the devil if this young shooter became born again and met his victim one day in heaven?

Lead by the Holy Spirit Alone

It is important to remember that it is the Holy Spirit who has godly expectations of us. No one else should dictate or dominate another believer.

Family pressures, church pressures, or any pressures from any other organization should not deter us from our calling. No human being can know what God wants us to be doing.

 
The Bible and the Holy Spirit direct all our actions and attitudes; people do not. That is not to say that godly people have no input in our lives; they do, but only as they obey the scriptures in their counsel and lifestyle.

 
Others can edify us by the Word of God, but they do not make the decisions about our calling or the personal conclusions for our lives.

 
So often, family, friends, and church attendees judge things that are not sin as a form of control over us. They micro-manage perceptions about us to others with the intent of removing your support system.

 
In our culture, many, if not most, people are deeply controlled by others because the Holy Spirit is not their focus. When Christ is our focus, people cannot control us.

 
Make no mistake, everyone is controlled by something or someone, either by their culture or by the Holy Spirit. It is unsettling to unbelieving family and ritualistic churches when someone does not follow their pattern of life or their decrees.
Since most people need others to do the same thing they are doing, they tend to become upset, if only mildly irritated, when someone chooses to walk a different path from them.

 
Galatians 4:16-18 "…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. 18 Nevertheless, it is good to be zealous if it serves a noble purpose—at any time, and not only when I am with you.…"

I am convinced that this irritation occurs when someone leaves the cultural path. Those who are all doing the same things are not convinced in their own minds of their own choices. They must have followers to maintain their sense of control.

 
The word "culture" means to till the ground, or in the case of cultural expectations, it denotes tilling the mind to cause compliance with others. A sort of brainwashing in which those who are members of the culture fear not being accepted by others in that system, so they repeat the same mantras and habits while excluding anyone who does not comply with the group or the prominent leader.

These cultures are common and make lots of rules God never made. They are dedicated to their rules more than the Bible and judge others who think differently. And, worse, they are dedicated to the need to appear superior to others; love is absent in these cultural entities.

 
2 Corinthians 11:2-3
"I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy. For I promised you to one husband, to present you as a pure virgin to Christ. I am afraid, however, that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, your minds may be led astray from your simple and pure devotion to Christ."

May every believer understand what they are dealing with in these last days of apostasy, allowing the oppression of others toward us to roll off like water off a duck's back. When we know it isn't personal and that we did nothing to foster it, we can observe it without absorbing its poison.

 
Keep looking up, our Lord Jesus Christ is coming soon and we will be celebrating the Marriage Supper of the Lamb in all its glory!

Meditate on Christ First

1 Peter 5:7-9 "…7 Cast all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you. 8 Be sober-minded and alert. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. 9 Resist him, standing firm in your faith and in the knowledge that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kinds of suffering."

James 4:7 "Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you."

Ephesians 6:11-12 "Put on the full armor of God, so that you can make your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this world’s darkness, and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms."