God is Clear About the Nature of Love

1 John 3:14-15
"We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love his brother abides in death"

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

Ephesians 4:2
with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love,

Colossians 3:12-14
Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with hearts of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. / Bear with one another and forgive any complaint you may have against someone else. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. / And over all these virtues put on love, which is the bond of perfect unity.

1 Peter 4:8
Above all, love one another deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.

Romans 12:9-10
Love must be sincere. Detest what is evil; cling to what is good. / Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Outdo yourselves in honoring one another.

1 John 4:7-8
Beloved, let us love one another, because love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. / Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.

1 John 3:16-18
By this we know what love is: Jesus laid down His life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. / If anyone with earthly possessions sees his brother in need, but withholds his compassion from him, how can the love of God abide in him? / Little children, let us love not in word and speech, but in action and truth.

Philippians 2:3-4
Do nothing out of selfish ambition or empty pride, but in humility consider others more important than yourselves. / Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.

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

2 Timothy 2:24
And a servant of the Lord must not be quarrelsome, but must be kind to everyone, able to teach, and forbearing.

James 1:19-20
My beloved brothers, understand this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to anger, / for man’s anger does not bring about the righteousness that God desires.

Proverbs 10:12
Hatred stirs up dissension, but love covers all transgressions.

1 Corinthians 13:4-8a "4 Love is patient, love is kind, it is not jealous; love does not brag, it is not arrogant.
5 It does not act disgracefully, it does not seek its own benefit; it is not provoked, does not keep an account of a wrong suffered,
6 it does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; 7 it keeps every confidence, it believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things." 8 Love never fails; "

Wow, I guess God is pretty clear about the nature of love!

The Biblical description of what we call a narcissist

2 Timothy 3:1-5 

"Difficult Times Will Come

3 But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come.

2 For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, slanderers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy,
3 unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, 4 treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5 holding to a form of godliness although they have denied its power; avoid such people as these."

These people pretend godliness but only adhere to some of the Bible while ignoring the other passages. They even become angry when correct with scripture. Worse yet they punish anyone who will hold them accountable for their sinful attitudes because they have a very high opinion of themselves. they are absent of humility all the while believing they have all the fruit of the Spirit they lack.

 
2 Timothy 4:3
"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,"

1 Timothy 4:1-2
"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."

2 Peter 2:1-3
"Now there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them—bringing swift destruction on themselves. / Many will follow in their depravity, and because of them the way of truth will be defamed. / In their greed, these false teachers will exploit you with deceptive words. The longstanding verdict against them remains in force, and their destruction does not sleep."

Acts 20:29-30
I know that after my departure, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock. / Even from your own number, men will rise up and distort the truth to draw away disciples after them.

Romans 16:17-18
Now I urge you, brothers, to watch out for those who create divisions and obstacles that are contrary to the teaching you have learned. Turn away from them. / For such people are not serving our Lord Christ, but their own appetites. By smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naive.

1 John 4:1
Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God. For many false prophets have gone out into the world.

Jude 1:17-19
But you, beloved, remember what was foretold by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ / when they said to you, “In the last times there will be scoffers who will follow after their own ungodly desires.” / These are the ones who cause divisions, who are worldly and devoid of the Spirit.

There are many warnings in the Bible about these false teachers, pretenders who bring in chaos and divide people. They attempt to divide families from one another, friends from one another and discredit everyone who will not adhere to their false doctrines.

 
Do not despair, just remove yourselves from them and stay focused on Christ. If we have to be alone count it a joy for the lack of foolish drama that these pretenders bring.

Do not Feed the Beast

Arguing is candy to the narcissist, they love to cause chaos and hurt feelings, it feeds them. Do not engage with them.

Do Not Add to the Bible

The King James Bible added an unbiblical phrase to the pages titling the book as the "Revelation of St. John."

The very first phrase in Revelation verse 1 is "The Revelation of Jesus Christ", John was only the recipient of the words of Christ and wrote them down, they were not his revelation but Christ's.

 
The reason we see the words; "St. John" is because the Catholic church declared him a saint. Any time you see the words "St" in front of a person's name it is Catholic.
We do not use our status as saints as a title. We do often use the phrase "brother or sister" because we are all siblings. Other than this we do not title ourselves because we are all equal and all children of God.

Revelation 1:1-2 "1 The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John:

2 Who bare record of the word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all things that he saw."

God's Wonderful Purposes

Remember what Joseph said to his brothers? "You meant it for evil but God meant it for good." What a blessing to know this!

When Christ Changes Someone They Are Changed Forever

When Christ changes believers into a new creation they are changed forever.

If they sin He deals with them as sons and does not cast them away. However if they were born again they do not want to sin, they hate sin and want to be cleansed when it emerges from their 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?…"

When we became born again we were sealed with the Holy Spirit of Promise. When Christ changed us into a new creation He did that and we cannot change back to what we were.

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."

2 Corinthians 5:17

"17 Therefore if anyone is in Christ, this person is a new [a]creation; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come."

Satan knows that when people feel comfortable and safe they are less likely to see their need for Christ. Even when believers feel comfortable and safe they drop their guard against the wiles of the devil and become more like unbelievers in their walk, having little or no testimony for Christ. They even buy into all the false ideas that psychology brings, again that make them feel comfortable and proud of themselves.

The church is full of real wheat (those who belong to God) and tares, those who are of the devil, pretenders who are not saved.

Matthew 13:24-30 "24 Another parable He put forth to them, saying: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field; 25 but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way. 26 But when the grain had sprouted and produced a crop, then the tares also appeared. 27 So the servants of the owner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?’ 28 He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ The servants said to him, ‘Do you want us then to go and gather them up?’ 29 But he said, ‘No, lest while you gather up the tares you also uproot the wheat with them. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn.”

Many people will think they were saved but they never trusted in Christ, they trusted in their own ability to be good enough and added Christ on the end of their efforts.

Matthew 7:21-23

21 “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 in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ 23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’"

God never said they were once saved and lost, He said He "NEVER" KNEW THEM.

Those who have trusted Christ and believed in Him will never lose their salvation. However they will be disciplined by God to bring them back to obedience. The Holy Spirit in every believer never jumps in and out of them, He is place there to teach, train and expunge sin as it raises its head. We battle the flesh, the Spirit in us wars against our flesh.

Galatians 5:17-25

"17 For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law."

Before we were born again we had no defenses against sin and enjoyed it. After we were born again we hate sin and fight against it through prayer and obedience as Christ in us disciplines and repairs what is wrong.

Proverbs 3:11-12

"My son, do not reject the discipline of the LORD, and do not loathe His rebuke; / for the LORD disciplines the one He loves, as does a father the son in whom he delights."

Revelation 3:19

"Those I love I rebuke and discipline. Therefore be earnest and repent."

Do not despair when you have been changed by Christ. The sin we hate and are ashamed of is evidence that we belong to Christ because the unsaved are not ashamed and will even defend their sin.

Those who are born again have an advocate the unsaved do not.l

1 John 2:1 "My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous;"

God gives us a way of cleansing from the sin we hate, that is this:

1 John 1:9 "1 John 1:9

"9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."

What Emerges is the Real Us

When we have difficulties we have no control over, what emerges from us is the real us, either to respond with grace or react in anger.

God allows the trials to show us the residue of sin that still remains and must be cleansed from us. When we see the lack of faith that remains when trials come we can develop a greater faith as we choose to trust in Christ more deeply.

James 1:2-8 "2 Consider it all joy, my brothers and sisters when you encounter various trials,

3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance.

4 And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing."

"5 But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him.

6 But he must ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind.

7 For that person ought not to expect that he will receive anything from the Lord,

8 being a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways."

God always goes through with us, we know it because He said this:

Hebrews 13:5-6

"5 Make sure that your character is free from the love of money, being content with what you have; for He Himself has said, “I will never desert you, nor will I ever abandon you,” 6 so that we confidently say,

“The Lord is my helper, I will not be afraid.

What will man do to me?”