Loving Christ is to Love His Commands

God said: Luke 16:18 "Everyone who divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery, and whoever marries one who is divorced from her husband commits adultery".

 
1 Corinthians 7:11 "
(but if she does leave, she must remain unmarried, or else be reconciled to her husband), and that the husband is not to divorce his wife."

Most people who call themselves Christians in our day have completely accepted divorce and remarriage, even though God hates divorce and commands all divorced people to remain single or to reconcile.

 
The state of adultery does not go away because of a piece of paper by the law of the land claiming to dissolve the marriage to allow for marrying someone else. Either we believe God or we do not!

The state does not marry people; God does when they proclaim their vows. He makes them into one spirit until the death of one of them.

 
Those who want to pretend they love God but then endorse what He hates are lying. Those who love God want to obey Him, they repent, they turn from their sinful ways, and they never lie against God to protect sin in order to be accepted by the culture.

 
This leaves us with the sense that very few people who are in the church gatherings have never been born again. They do not love God; their words do not match their lives, and they love the idea of Him as protection rather than a God of righteousness.

 
I have only heard twice in my life a couple who decided to live separately because they were a remarried couple. They were rejected by family as though they did something wrong by separating, but the family had nothing to say when they were divorcing their first covenant spouse.

 
Satan has blinded the eyes of so many people who love to play church in a social way but have no love for Christ. They have not been changed into a new creation by Christ; they want all the perks they think He has to offer them, but they do not want Him.

Matthew 7:20-23 "Therefore by their fruit you will know them. Not everyone who says to Me, Lord, ' Lord', shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father in heaven. …22 Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ 23 Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you workers of lawlessness!’"

I would not say that every divorced and remarried person is unsaved, but that if they are at some point, they will be convicted by the Holy Spirit and repent.
There are those who will eventually repent because the burden of the conviction of the Holy Spirit will press upon them until they begin to obey God.

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?…"

1 John 3:5-7 "…5 But you know that Christ appeared to take away sins, and in Him there is no sin. 6 No one who remains in Him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has seen Him or known Him. 7 Little children, let no one deceive you: The one who practices righteousness is righteous, just as Christ is righteous.…"

Those who defend their sin, punish those who say it is sin and refuse to repent could not possibly be born again. When Christ saves someone He comes to live in them. His Holy Spirit will not allow anyone who belongs to Him to remain comfortable in their sin. Those who are not convicted of their sin and even defend it could not possibly have the Holy Spirit living in them.

 
John 15:4-5 "Remain in Me, and I will remain in you. Just as no branch can bear fruit by itself unless it remains in the vine, neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in Me. I am the vine and you are the branches. The one who remains in Me, and I in him, will bear much fruit. For apart from Me you can do nothing."

Romans 6:1-2 "What then shall we say? Shall we continue in sin so that grace may increase? Certainly not! How can we who died to sin live in it any longer?"

1 John 2:4 "If anyone says, 'I know Him,' but does not keep His commandments, he is a liar, and the truth is not in him."

1 John 1:6 "If we say we have fellowship with Him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth."

Matthew 7:16-18 "…16 By their fruit you will recognize them. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? 17 Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit.…"

I don't know how God could have made it clearer!!!!

The Need to Idealize a Human Being is a Weakness in Character

There is a clue when we question someone's preferred idol, whether in the form of a statue or a live person they elevate above others, and they become angry as though their heart worships it or them.

 
I have no sense of anger when someone criticizes someone I like or something they do. My love for that person is not based on thinking of them as perfect.

 
I am capable and comfortable with loving imperfect people because I am imperfect. I would hate it if someone idolized me because it would mean the pressure of having to live up to something impossible for me.

 
1 John 4:18 "There is no fear in love, but perfect love drives out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love."

There is fear, anxiety, and insecurity in the heart of someone who cannot love anyone they think is imperfect. And, think of this, if they can only love perfect people, then perhaps they think they are perfect and worthy of worship themselves.

To idolize people is to place our trust in our perceived notion of them. As soon as the mask slips and the person who is idolized reveals their real self, all the love and idolization turn to hate. In other words, there is no real love involved in idolization of human beings; there is irrational expectation and self-involvement that requires others to measure up to our idea of perfection.

 
Psalm 20:7 "Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God."

Psalm 37:3-5 "Trust in the Lord, and do good; dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness. Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart."

Psalm 9:10 "And those who know your name put their trust in you, for you, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek you."

Psalm 28:7 "The Lord is my strength and my shield; in him my heart trusts, and I am helped; my heart exults, and with my song, I give thanks to him."

1 Peter 1:3-4 "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By His great mercy, He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, reserved in heaven for you."

No human being can come close to measuring up to Christ our Lord. We are to love them the way He loved us, in spite of our flaws and defects. And, we all have them!!!!!

Before the Throne of God Above (feat. Kristyn Getty) - Official Lyric Video

Those Most Arrogant are Most Immature

The Lies Fly and the Relationships are Destroyed

In political circles, the community, and even in churches, both sides, conservative as well as liberal, are telling lies continuously. Everyone feels justified in lying if they think they have a good cause.

 
Even those who don't out and out lie think that as long as some of what they say is true, then a little lie added in is acceptable; we call it embellishment, but it is really lying.

 
Many are interpreting things the way they wish to believe, another justification for passing on a lie. It's complicated, but not hard to discern if we have wisdom from God's Word.

 
Many will believe gossip when they hear from a third party, but have never seen the deeds or words for themselves. They justify listening to and passing on what they heard if one small part seems plausible.

 
We are living in the end times of great deception and countless good-sounding lies.

 
John 8:44
"44 You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he tells a lie, he speaks from his own nature, because he is a liar and the father of lies."

My challenge to believers is to resist repeating something you never heard and never saw for yourself. Refuse to listen to accounts of others who interpreted what they thought they saw without knowing all the details. This includes news articles and videos that cannot be proven or vetted.

 
Telling the truth we saw to a person who has a need to know is far different from passing on a guess about something we have little knowledge of and is none of our business.

 
If you have ever been the target of such gossip, you know how painful it is to watch friends and family members making false judgments about you based on what the gossipers are saying and not anything they saw for themselves.

Proverbs 20:18 "19 He who reveals secrets is a constant gossip; avoid the one who babbles with his lips."

Proverbs 11:13 "A gossip reveals a secret, but a trustworthy person keeps a confidence."

Ephesians 4:29 "Let no unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building up the one in need and bringing grace to those who listen."
Proverbs 16:28 "A perverse man spreads dissension, and a gossip divides close friends."

I notice that gossipers rarely want to hear from God's word but will jump at the chance to hear the latest negative word about someone who is the object of their jealousy.

 
The internet would practically go dark if all the lies and gossip were removed. Just saying!!!

Stop Worrying and Begin Trusting Christ

Stop worrying about those who have no interest in you or the God you love; let them be and get on with your life with those who do love God and you.

So interesting how human nature is to lament the people we've lost and forget all the people we have in our court.

We cannot change the hearts of those who hate us, but we can encourage and share in the love of those who love God.

 
Please don't waste any more time thinking about loss that we cannot get back!!! Spend your energies and mind on what God has given you and our future with Him!!!!

Proverbs 3:5-6 "Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. God's name is trustworthy."

Keep looking up our redemption draws near!!!!

Christ Gets All the Glory

The crazy thing is if we had to be saved through the blood of Jesus Christ, why would anyone think they could keep that salvation in their own efforts? Christ paid the price for sin, transforms us when we trust in Him, and He keeps us saved, then He gets all the glory and we get none.

 
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."

Romans 8:16
"The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children."

John 14:17
"the Spirit of truth. The world cannot receive Him, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him. But you do know Him, for He abides with you and will be in you."

When Christ transforms us we understand Him and desire to be continually cleansed by Him.

 
1 John 2:20 "You, however, have an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you know the truth."

Romans 10:17 "Consequently, faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ."

Managing Relationships to Please Christ

Is it possible that those heavily invested in politics are using it as a distraction to make themselves feel superior when there is much arrogance and pride in their hearts? Just asking!

I am now convinced that many people who attend institutional church gatherings are satisfied with thinking they are better than others, rather than self-reflecting to discern whether or not they are walking as circumspectly as they wish to believe about themselves.

 
If a person can point to others as worse than themselves, they can remain oblivious to their own flaws that offend God. If they can focus on "making the country great again," they can blame others instead of looking into their own heart of rebellion.
Yes, it is rebellion against God to accept divorce and remarriage as normal and acceptable within the Christian community.

It is rebellion to place unbiblical rules and standards on others that God never made, merely to make oneself seem superior.

 
It is rebellion to refuse to look into the Scriptures to discover what God wants for us. The more a person ignores some scriptures and uses others out of context to justify their sin, the more they harden their own hearts.

Even worse, those who live in rebellion punish those who call out the sin of rebellion. Isolating them, gossiping against them, withholding love from them, and more as they seek to ruin relationships with those who know their sin and refuse to accept it as normal.

 
We cannot change anyone's heart; we can only make the truth known and walk away, leaving the results to God. Continuing to remain friends with those who hate Christ and hate us makes no sense; it merely keeps the drama going without results. Human results based on manipulation are useless; it is God's results when He works that matter.

To remain friends with those who despise us is pride; that if perhaps I will just hang around and be friendly, they will like me and like what I say, is nothing more than subtle manipulation.

 
Luke 17:3 "Watch yourselves. If your brother sins, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him."

Leviticus 19:17 "You must not harbor hatred against your brother in your heart. Directly rebuke your neighbor, so that you will not incur guilt on account of him."

God considers it hatred toward our brother when we refuse to tell them the truth. Love of self is what motivates us to remain silent when we should speak. The Holy Spirit can help us with this, He will give us the words to say when He wants us to say them. And, He will help us walk away when no one is listening.

 
It is rebuke, correction, and admonition that restore a relationship on God's terms. To ignore the sin is to be indifferent to the soul of another person. Love corrects for restoration. When someone refuses to discuss rationally and reasonably a matter, then we have no choice but to give up and give it to God.

 
It is not good for our souls or walk with Christ, nor is it good for the one who will not listen, to remain in companionship with those who refuse to admit their sin.
Proverbs 27:5-6 Better an open rebuke than love that is concealed. The wounds of a friend are faithful, but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful."

May we become so strong that we no longer consider what someone thinks of us, but become wildly in love with Jesus Christ that He is the only one who matters.

To the Christian who doesn't fit in... (here's 3 truths)

Dr. Hawkins reveals 7 Common Traits of Narcissistic People

1. Always have to be right
2. Think they are superior to others
3. Hate to be challenged
4. Think they have a right to be hurtful
5. Don't care what you have to say
6. Won't listen to anything they don't want to hear
7. Believe they are special

Spiritual Growth Depends on Confession of Sin

There is only Spiritual growth in a person if they confess their sin of pride or rudeness to be cleansed of it. Too many people think that because they are born again, they never again have to admit sin or they are free to ignore it and continue in it.

 
We only grow when we confess sinful attitudes and actions to be cleansed of them. Relationships are only mended when there is sorrow over sin and expression of that sorrow.

 
Christ did not save us so we can overlook sin and remain in it, He saved us to be cleansed from it. If we refuse to confess sins we quench the Holy Spirit and He will go silent until we admit the sin and desire to be changed from those habits of sin.

 
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?"

1 John 1:9 "…8 If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say we have not sinned, we make Him out to be a liar, and His word is not in us."

It is unlikely that those who lack the fruit of the Spirit were never born again. If they do not have the first fruits of Love, enough to be sorry for harming someone, then perhaps they are not saved. One cannot have any of the other fruits if they lack the first one, which is love.

 
Broken relationships because of unconfessed arrogance and disrespectful attitudes are an indicator of a broken relationship with God, or worse, never having been born again.

 
Psalm 32:5 "Then I acknowledged my sin to You and did not hide my iniquity. I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the LORD,” and You forgave the guilt of my sin. "

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

There can be no joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control if there isn't first LOVE!

Love is the first and greatest fruit that is present in all the other fruits.
IF LOVE IS ABSENT, THEN ALL THE OTHER FRUIT WILL BE ABSENT TOO. Someone without any of the fruit is someone who is not saved.

Those Who Hate to be Proven Wrong Rather than Desiring to Learn the Truth

Recently, I have been confronted with people who seem to dislike hyperbole, as though it is wrong to use an extreme example to illustrate a point.

Some examples of hyperbole in the bible are as follows.

 
Luke 6:41 "Why do you see the speck that is in your brother 's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?"

Mark 10:25 "It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God."

Matthew 5:29 "If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell."

Matthew 6:3 "3 But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing,"

Judges 20:16 "16 Among all these were 700 chosen men who were left-handed; every one could sling a stone at a hair and not miss."

John 21:25 "25 Now there are also many other things that Jesus did. Were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written."

Psalm 18:29: "By my God I can leap over a wall."

Amos 2:9: "The Amorites' height is compared to cedars"

Matthew 23:23 "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, but have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness. You ought to have done these, without neglecting the others"

Luke 14:26 reads, "If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple"

God used Simile in many cases, one such case is:

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."

Were the Pharisees actually blind? NO, Were they sepulchers of stone in a cemetery? No. God was using a simile to describe the deadness of their hearts of stone. He compared the appearance of righteousness as opposed to the actual heart of stone that people did not see when encountering them.

 
Luke 11:44 "Woe to you! For you are like unmarked graves, which men walk over without even noticing.”

God used examples of simile and hyperbole often in His Word. Telling a story to demonstrate a point more fully can bring proud people to the end of themselves to repent of wrong thinking or they can become irritated and angry, claiming we did something wrong by presenting a hypothetical situation that clarifies the truth.

It is interesting to me that as soon as a stubborn person realizes they have been proven wrong, they will ignore the message entirely and complain about the way the truth was presented. This allows them to place the blame on us for "making trouble" by questioning them or presenting the truth that proves them wrong.

 
When someone has a stubborn heart and a prideful spirit, they will avoid answering directly, either through silence or by attacking us personally as though we did something wrong in the delivery. These people are intimidated when confronted with the truth. The blame game is their go-to tactic rather than pondering what was said and desiring to know the truth. Preservation of their elevated image is first and foremost in the hearts of those who do not care about the truth; they care only about winning and appearing superior.

 
My response when I find out someone is unwilling to have an honest discussion and look at all sides of the scriptures to find truth is when I am finished with them. There is no spiritual growth in dishonest conversation based on personal preservation more than the truth of the Bible.

 
We must keep speaking truth as led by the Holy Spirit, and learn to walk away from those who don't want the truth.

 
1 Timothy 6:4-5 "He is conceited and understands nothing. Instead, he has an unhealthy interest in controversies and disputes about words, out of which come envy, strife, abusive talk, evil suspicions, and constant friction between men of depraved mind who are devoid of the truth. These men regard godliness as a means of gain."

Where Do You Go to Church is the Popular Modern Day Question

I hear all the time, "Where do you go to church?" Or, "I am going to church" when someone is describing what they do according to their religion.

What I rarely hear is "I am the church, gathering with others who are the church."
I hear, "What church do you attend?", but never hear "who do you gather with to edify one another?"

God commanded us to gather together, wherever we choose, to edify one another in the Lord. No fansy building, no pulpit just people who love Jesus Christ all interacting together, each one led by the Holy Spirit without a progam or script.
Edifying one another means building up one another in the faith, so that we grow and become more effective as ambassadors of Christ in the world.

 
Sometimes they say, "What does your church believe?" rather than "What does Jesus Christ teach?"

All of this verbiage that demands that a born-again believer go to a place called church has led people to believe they must attend a building led by an authorized preacher educated by men in a place called a seminary. None of this is mandated in God's Word. It has destroyed edification because the focus is not on Christ but who is in control and the ritual of the gathering focused on one man and now "worship leaders" who have taken the place of the Holy Spirit in leading the gathering.

 
Most of these gathering places led by a hireling, educated by men, disobey more of the scripture than they obey, violating God's principles while upholding cultural concepts mixed with some scripture out of context to justify the violations.

 
And, worse yet, the program-oriented places forbid anyone from the pews from participating.

 
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."

This passage was written to ALL believers, not a special class educated by special schools that God never commanded.

 
John 16:12-14 "…12 I still have much to tell you, but you cannot yet bear to hear it. 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.…"

In these days of apostasy, the paid man who is educated in man's schools is revered over and above the Holy Spirit. People will talk all day long about their favorite "pastor" and never mention the name of Jesus Christ or the Holy Spirit.

 
Those who attend these ritualistic gatherings led by men often speak of the activities or the music they enjoy, but never utter from their mouths what the Holy Spirit taught 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."

When the Holy Spirit is in fullness within a believer, they will be growing and learning to teach others.

 
When the Holy Spirit is the teacher and leader within the church gathering, Christ is magnified. When there is a man chosen by men to teach as long as he is educated by man's system, then the man is magnified.

 
1 Corinthians 3:1-2
"Brothers, I could not address you as spiritual, but as worldly—as infants in Christ. I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for solid food. In fact, you are still not ready."

Those who depend on men as their teachers are always learning man's ways but not necessarily God's.

2 Timothy 3:7 "who are always learning but never able to come to a knowledge of the truth."

When we are growing in wisdom according to the Holy Spirit, then God is glorified. Those who gain knowledge without the guidance of the Holy Spirit will be puffed up, arrogant, and impossible to be taught.

 
We are living in the end times when there is more wrong in the churches with their buildings than there is right. They have become lumps in the pews listening with ears that are dedicated to hearing what they want, not what is true. They have little ability to question what is being said from that pulpit because they are not engaged at home with their Bibles or the fellowship of those who do obey the Bible.

 
Prayers are only uttered by most when there is a disaster from which they need to be rescued. The prayers from the pulpits are offered by the designated "Pastor", while the people in the pews remain silent. In other words, these designated men do their praying for them, tell them what songs to sing, and demand money at the end of the gathering to fund the activities of the church.

 
Those in the pews do not interact with the others in the pews during the week. They don't even know the lives of those who attend because the gatherings are too large and the people tend to hide in their section of the pew so as not to be bothered.

 
Many years ago, I was visiting a woman at her home. When I began to speak about the Bible and Jesus Chris, she told me "religion is a private thing, that we shouldn't push it onto others." This woman attended a protestant church for over 50 years, and yet she wanted to remain secretive and separate from others in the church. She knew very little of the Bible, only her favorite comforting verses that she clung to for a sense of safety.

 
This same woman told me she heard it was right to worship angels. Just the opposite of what God teaches in His Word. When I corrected her with Scripture, she went silent and showed no interest.

 
Is it any wonder I am convinced we are in the end times, in which most people want to make up their own religion of their choosing and call it Christian?

Repent and Do the First Works

Correction the New Hate Speech

In our culture, it is considered a personal attack to correct or rebuke someone who is sinning or off base in their theology.

 
It is not an attack to correct someone in error.

Proverbs 27:5 "Better is open rebuke than hidden love."

1 Timothy 5:20 "As for those who persist in sin, rebuke them in the presence of all, so that the rest may stand in fear."

Titus 2:15 "Declare these things; exhort and rebuke with all authority. Let no one disregard you."

2 Timothy 4:2 "Preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching."

The irony of those who feel attacked is that they correct others all the time, playing the hypocrite to allow themselves the right to correct, but not allow others to correct them if the correction is toward them. They will correct us for correcting, irrational at best.

Luke 17:3-4 "Pay attention to yourselves! If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him, and if he sins against you seven times in the day, and turns to you seven times, saying, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive him.”

Notice the criteria for extending forgiveness is repentance. Relationships cannot be mended without the offending party caring enough to be sorry about their offense to confess it.

1 John 1:8-10 "8 If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say we have not sinned, we make Him out to be a liar, and His word is not in us."

Railing on People Is Based in Pride

Railing on people after one rebuke is trusting in oneself to batter hard enough to change another person. We are not responsible for changing anyone; we are only responsible for giving them the information that allows them to make their own choice.

 
The problem with this is that we are not called to change a person's heart, only to speak the truth in love and leave their decision to God.

 
Sure, someone could treat another person disrespectfully enough that a weak person would give in and change their behavior around their persecutor, but it would only change behavior, not the heart, and only around that one person.
Someone who is in sin will not listen better because we bludgeon them with disrespect. Speaking the truth in loving warning and leaving them to decide is God's manner of rebuke.

 
Many instructions in God's Word guide how we do things with others.
One principle is that we speak the truth in love, meaning we approach someone because we love them, not just to make them do what we think is right. Our concern is about their walk with God or lack of it.

 
Another principle is that when we have warned in love, and the person will not listen, we are to walk away and remain absent from their lives until they make the right choice.

God also tells us to be discerning in our friendships that we make no friendship with a rebellious and angry person.

 
Ephesians 4:15
"15 but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, that is, Christ,"

Most people focus on the word love as though it means to be very careful not to offend, but it really means we approach them with the heart that wants to help them avoid disaster. We ought rather to focus on both the love and compassion for the person's heart, to help, not to act superior to them.

 
2 Corinthians 2:4-6 "…4 For through many tears I wrote you out of great distress and anguish of heart, not to grieve you but to let you know how much I love you. 5 Now if anyone has caused grief, he has not grieved me but all of you— to some degree, not to overstate it. 6 The punishment imposed on him by the majority is sufficient for him.…"

Feelings are not relevant; snatching them from disaster is the goal.

 
Galatians 6:1
"Brothers, if someone is caught in a trespass, you who are spiritual should restore him with a spirit of gentleness. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted."

Ezekiel 3:18-19
"18 When I say to the wicked, ‘You will certainly die,’ and you do not warn him or speak out to warn the wicked from his wicked way so that he may live, that wicked person shall die for wrongdoing, but his blood I will require from your hand.
19 However if you have warned the wicked and he does not turn from his wickedness or from his wicked way, he shall die for wrongdoing, but you have saved yourself."

2 Corinthians 2:6-8
"The punishment imposed on him by the majority is sufficient for him. So instead, you ought to forgive and comfort him, so that he will not be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. Therefore I urge you to reaffirm your love for him."

There are those we must avoid because they have no interest in resolving the trouble they caused.

 
Proverbs 22:24-25 " 24 Do not make friends with an angry man, and do not associate with a hot-tempered man, 25 or you may learn his ways and entangle yourself in a snare.…"

If someone repents, we are to forgive and treat them as though the offense never happened. If there is no repentance, then the relationship remains broken until confession is made and they are forgiven.

 
Luke 17:3-4
"Watch yourselves. If your brother sins, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him. Even if he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times returns to say, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive him.”

Very few relationships today are reconciled because people are more comfortable not bothering to admit their flaws or offenses. They would rather it just go away on its own or pretend it never happened. This never makes for a quality and loving relationship.

 
When we love someone, we want to make sure things are right between us because they are more important than the pride that prevents someone from confessing their bad attitude or behavior.

 
It takes humility and strength of character to confess a flaw; those who are prideful and weak cannot do it.

 
1 Thessalonians 5:14
"And we urge you, brothers, to admonish the unruly, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, and be patient with everyone."

Edifying One Another

I wrote this as a comment on another thread today because I believe there are many believers who need to hear it.

 
In the beginning, I deleted my Facebook four times.

 
Then one day, I asked the Lord why I continued to be drawn back to it. The answer from the Lord came back clearly, "use it for Me."

 
I have been on it now for many years because I have felt led to speak about Christ to the unsaved and to encourage believers to edify anyone who needs it.

 
If the only thing we do is speak of Christ, His principles and His heart, we have done what He wanted; the results are not our business. However, there are results, even if only to encourage other believers to keep going.

Each of us has something to offer because we have the Holy Spirit in us, and He drives us to be deeply connected to one another, we are family, the family of Christ, siblings in the Lord.

 
Ephesians 2:20-22
"20 having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the cornerstone,
21 in whom the whole building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord,
22 in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit."

Hallelujah

Gossips Divide Friends

When we meet someone who is so guarded they only tell you things that they think will impress you we can be sure they are hiding something.

 
Perhaps they gossip among themselves and are fearful that if they tell someone anything, the hearer will gossip about them.

 
There is a difference in telling someone something that happened to you personally and your reaction to it, and what you heard from someone else that you did not see for yourself.

 
We often share things that happen to us with our close and trusted friends. However, it is not wise to share details with those who have a tendency to make judgments and repeat their judgments to others about things when all they have is guesses about what might be the case.

 
I once heard someone tell me they were irritated by the way a father was talking to his daughter. The daughter and father were yards away from the hearer, who didn't know exactly what the father was saying or the life of the daughter on every other day of the week when the observer was never around. Presuming to know what might have been said and the sad face of the daughter, the story was relayed as the father doing something unkind without cause.

 
Personally, it would never occur to me to make a judgment about a conversation between a father and his daughter from yards away, much less repeat to anyone what "might" be happening.

 
Gossip is always relayed to others, liberally sprinkled with the prejudices of the gossiper about the one they whisper about.

 
Gossip is not hard to discern; it is always guesses about what the gossiper thinks might be happening and always tainted in a negative light to demean the person who is being gossiped about.

 
In another case, someone judged a woman as unsubmissive to her husband because she and her husband discussed things together rather than the husband making all the decisions. The gossiper judged things that were none of their business and then passed on their assessment about what they thought was happening, without knowing the dynamics of the relationship, even worse, making up their own details they believed were happening.

 
Perhaps it is best to keep our noses out of the lives of others unless the others bring us in as a friend and confidant. And, if someone does include us as a confidant, then we are to keep the confidences shared with us if we love that person.

 
Gossip is not love; it is an attempt to gain allies against a person who is disliked, and worse, there is jealousy against. Relaying personal matters about others when the others have no need to know is clearly an attempt to turn people against the one who is despised.

I use the word despised because the result of gossip is to harm someone, and it is only hatred that motivates those who do it.

 
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."

Proverbs 16:28 "A dishonest man spreads strife, and a whisperer separates close friends."

Be the friend you want others to be to you, love them enough to keep silent with those who have no need to know the muck and struggles of others. And, sometimes even relaying good things will empower the gossip who will twist what they are jealous of.

What Was Church REALY Like In The First Century?

Judge Ourselves First and Then Judge Others Righteously

Some people are living good, law-abiding lives, proud of themselves, but doing it to appear superior without trusting in Christ; these are those who are not saved.

These kind of people judge others over matters that do not offend God but do affend them. They love to elevate themselves while neglecting to judge themselves.

 
1 Corinthians 11:30-32 "…30 That is why many among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep. 31 Now if we judged ourselves properly, we would not come under judgment. 32 But when we are judged by the Lord, we are being disciplined so that we will not be condemned with the world."

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.’"

Matthew 7:1-5
“Do not judge, or you will be judged. / For with the same judgment you pronounce, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. / Why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye but fail to notice the beam in your own eye?"

We are commanded to judge righteously, first ourselves and then those we love so as to be helpful to them when they stray from the truth.

James 1:23-25 "For anyone who hears the word but does not carry it out is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror, and after observing himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But the one who looks intently into the perfect law of freedom, and continues to do so—not being a forgetful hearer, but an effective doer—he will be blessed in what he does."

The Law Giver is Jesus Christ

When we are born again, the Law Giver lives in us and we become a conviction to those who are not saved, not because we follow the Law, but because the Law changed us into an entirely new creation.

Jesus Christ is the very essence of His Law, the embodiment of all that is righteous. He is the judge and we are His messengers if we are born again!

2 Timothy 4
Preach the Word
"4 I solemnly exhort you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom:
2 preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; correct, rebuke, and exhort, with great patience and instruction.
3 For the time will come when they will not tolerate sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance with their own desires,
4 and they will turn their ears away from the truth and will turn aside to myths.
5 But as for you, use self-restraint in all things, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry."

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!!!!!