Anyone who is using the excuse for their sin that God doesn't care about it anymore because they are under the blood is a liar, twisting God's Word to justify their sin or the sin of someone they love.
Those who do not hate their sin are lying when they say they are a Christian. When Christ transforms us into a new creation, we hate sin we would never boast about it. We would be ashamed and confess it to be cleansed but we would never fight to defend it.
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."
And, 1 John 3:9 "No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God's seed abides in him; and he cannot keep on sinning, because he has been born of God."
Thursday, July 9, 2026
Living Out Our Callings With Confidence and Joy
Nearly every grandparent loves their grandchildren and great-grandchildren, or at least the idea of having them. We cannot place them above Christ.
I do not remember one instance in the Bible where God tells the prophets or the apostles to make sure and spend lots of time with grandchildren.
In fact, God tells us that when we are busy with God's work, most family members will not come alongside, and they are often hostile toward us for our fanaticism.
Our devotion to Christ gets in the way of the family goal of fun and worldly pursuits.
Those who love Christ have a hard time with superficial chatter, usually filled with boasting and flattery to make everyone smile and laugh.
When we bring up anything important according to the Bible we are like a wet blanket over a hot fire; those who feel this become angry and even fearful of us. We tend to ruin everyone's fun.
Most family structures, even Christians, do not mention the name of Christ outside the church building, and even then, they let the preacher do it for them.
When we are with those who believe as we do and enjoy discussions about God, our joy is full; they are our dear friends whom we love and miss when we cannot be with them.
John 15:13 "Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends."
Family does not lay down its life for the members; they use them, have expectations of them but do not come alongside to be supportive of their relatives who are serving Christ.
1 Corinthians 13: 4-7 "4 Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant 5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; 6 it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. 7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things."
Families tend to be group thinkers, they do not want anyone in their circle who does not believe what they believe and desire the world as they desire it.
If someone comes to their clique and does not think their way, that person will be disregarded, ignored and even treated with covert contempt to show them they do not measure up to the rest of the group.
All the prophets and apostles were treated with contempt and as outsiders for not fitting into the culture. We know this because they were all martyred except for John. No family members stood by them in their trials and hardships. No family came to their aid or protected them in some way.
Matthew 10:22 "22 and you will be hated by all for my name's sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved."
Matthew 10:35-37 "…35 For I have come to turn ‘a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. 36 A man’s enemies will be the members of his own household.’ 37 Anyone who loves his father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me;"
Luke 12:51-53
Do you think that I have come to bring peace to the earth? No, I tell you, but division. / From now on, five in one household will be divided, three against two and two against three. / They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.”
Mark 13:12 "Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child. Children will rise against their parents and have them put to death."
Matthew 24:10 "At that time many will fall away and will betray and hate one another,"
There are those reading this who might think; "what a negative outlook", I would say to them, it is better to face the truth with joy so as not to be deterred from our calling by hurt feelings.
God told us it would be this way, we should expect it and put all our efforts into serving Christ instead of chasing impossible family relationships.
Mark 6:4 "Then Jesus said to them, “Only in his hometown, among his relatives, and in his own household is a prophet without honor.”
John 7:5 "For even His own brothers did not believe in Him."
John 1:11 "He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him."
When you see this happening, you can know that you are on the right path, not sucked up in the family pressure and drama to be just like them. It is a great joy to follow Christ without the coercion and strain of living up to someone else's standard that is against God's standard.
My advice to all my friends is to become comfortable with being misunderstood, disliked, and even mocked; it happened to the followers of Christ and to Christ Himself. We are in a good place full of expectations of living out our callings.
I do not remember one instance in the Bible where God tells the prophets or the apostles to make sure and spend lots of time with grandchildren.
In fact, God tells us that when we are busy with God's work, most family members will not come alongside, and they are often hostile toward us for our fanaticism.
Our devotion to Christ gets in the way of the family goal of fun and worldly pursuits.
Those who love Christ have a hard time with superficial chatter, usually filled with boasting and flattery to make everyone smile and laugh.
When we bring up anything important according to the Bible we are like a wet blanket over a hot fire; those who feel this become angry and even fearful of us. We tend to ruin everyone's fun.
Most family structures, even Christians, do not mention the name of Christ outside the church building, and even then, they let the preacher do it for them.
When we are with those who believe as we do and enjoy discussions about God, our joy is full; they are our dear friends whom we love and miss when we cannot be with them.
John 15:13 "Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends."
Family does not lay down its life for the members; they use them, have expectations of them but do not come alongside to be supportive of their relatives who are serving Christ.
1 Corinthians 13: 4-7 "4 Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant 5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; 6 it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. 7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things."
Families tend to be group thinkers, they do not want anyone in their circle who does not believe what they believe and desire the world as they desire it.
If someone comes to their clique and does not think their way, that person will be disregarded, ignored and even treated with covert contempt to show them they do not measure up to the rest of the group.
All the prophets and apostles were treated with contempt and as outsiders for not fitting into the culture. We know this because they were all martyred except for John. No family members stood by them in their trials and hardships. No family came to their aid or protected them in some way.
Matthew 10:22 "22 and you will be hated by all for my name's sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved."
Matthew 10:35-37 "…35 For I have come to turn ‘a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. 36 A man’s enemies will be the members of his own household.’ 37 Anyone who loves his father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me;"
Luke 12:51-53
Do you think that I have come to bring peace to the earth? No, I tell you, but division. / From now on, five in one household will be divided, three against two and two against three. / They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.”
Mark 13:12 "Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child. Children will rise against their parents and have them put to death."
Matthew 24:10 "At that time many will fall away and will betray and hate one another,"
There are those reading this who might think; "what a negative outlook", I would say to them, it is better to face the truth with joy so as not to be deterred from our calling by hurt feelings.
God told us it would be this way, we should expect it and put all our efforts into serving Christ instead of chasing impossible family relationships.
Mark 6:4 "Then Jesus said to them, “Only in his hometown, among his relatives, and in his own household is a prophet without honor.”
John 7:5 "For even His own brothers did not believe in Him."
John 1:11 "He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him."
When you see this happening, you can know that you are on the right path, not sucked up in the family pressure and drama to be just like them. It is a great joy to follow Christ without the coercion and strain of living up to someone else's standard that is against God's standard.
My advice to all my friends is to become comfortable with being misunderstood, disliked, and even mocked; it happened to the followers of Christ and to Christ Himself. We are in a good place full of expectations of living out our callings.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)