Know the God of the Word

One can read the Word, study and repeat what it says, without knowing one lick what it means.

When we pay more attention to the writings of others than depending on the Holy Spirit, then we placing our trust in people we can see, rather than Christ who is unseen.

John 4:24

""God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth."

Protect Your Marriage

Extended family members can be parasites who continually fight against your values, mocking what you believe and pressuring you to live like they do.

The weaker partner in a marriage often will follow those who pressure them to accept their ways, bringing frustration on the one who desires to obey God. You may be married to a believer like yourself, but if that believer is a baby in the Lord or weak when it comes to family, then it is best to spend little time with extended family, unless the extended family is strong in the Lord.

Those who are believers need to spend little time with extended family who are not born again, to avoid the constant pressure from ungodly attitudes and ways.

It is one thing to visit one on one, with an unsaved family member for the purpose of bringing them the gospel, it is quite another to make them close friends with whom you spend all the holidays, birthdays and picnics on a continual basis.

Extended family who feel they have an ally with the weaker spouse, continually working to undermine the relationship by flattering the baby believer while negating and ridiculing the stronger believer. This seriously weakens the marriage relationship and places pressure to bear on the one who is sold out to Christ.

2 Corinthians 6:17

"17 Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you."

1 Corinthians 15:33

"Do not be deceived: "Bad company corrupts good morals."

It is clear that the more time we spend with unbelievers the more likely we are to become weaker in the Lord.  Those who do not love the Lord, have the ability to undermine all that we desire, making us feeble minded. 

Vacillating in our determination to walk with Christ, often is our response to extended family who hate our God. We become worried more about offending the family member than what God thinks of our behavior.

Proverbs 29:25

"The fear of man brings a snare: but whoso places his trust in the LORD shall be safe."

Matthew 10:37-39

"37 He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. 38 And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. 39 He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it."

If we purpose to live for Christ, then extended family will shrink from us, if they do not, then it is probable that we are not living out our Christian life as boldly as we should. 

Luke 12:51-53

"51 Do you suppose that I came to give peace on earth? I tell you, not at all, but rather division. 52 For from now on five in one house will be divided: three against two, and two against three. 53 Father will be divided against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.”

Do we live to please men or do we live to please God?

If we want our marriages to be strong, make only Godly believers our best friends.

Where Is Our Fatih? In Our Own Efforts or in Christ?

Those who think one can lose their salvation are often also those who believe in divorce and remarriage.

When we operate as though we have to endure through our own strength to keep our salvation, then it would follow that we do not have faith to believe we can endure in a difficult situation, through the Holy Spirits help and direction, or that God makes us one in marriage.

Belief in the loss of ones' salvation and bailing out of marriage go hand in hand. Those who think you can lose your salvation do not believe Christ changed them, saved them and keeps them. Just as they do not believe Christ made two people one in marriage.

They think they are keeping their own salvation by their own efforts and they think they are making their own marriage by their own vows.

These same people do not believe that God made two people into one by His power outside the realm of human effort. They see everything from the perspective of human endeavor, rather than spiritual works of God.

Which men have made two people one in marriage or makes a believer into a new creation? Christ did that, man had no part in it.

Ephesians 2:10

"10 FOR WE ARE HIS WORKMANSHIP, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them."

Mark 1:8-10

"8 I indeed baptized you with water, but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.” 9 It came to pass in those days that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized by John in the Jordan. 10 And immediately, coming up from[a] the water, He saw the heavens parting and the Spirit descending upon Him like a dove."

It is interesting to me that many, if not most people who believe one can lose their salvation and endorse divorce and remarriage also love outer miracles that everyone can see. They do not walk by faith in marriage, in salvation or miracles.

2 Corinthians 5:1-5: Assurance of the Resurrection

"1 For we know that if our earthly house, this tent, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens."

2 For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed with our habitation which is from heaven,

3 if indeed, having been clothed, we shall not be found naked.

4 For we who are in this tent groan, being burdened, not because we want to be unclothed, but further clothed, that mortality may be swallowed up by life.

5 Now He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who also has GIVEN US THE SPIRIT AS A GUARANTEE.

6 So we are always confident, knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord. 7 For we walk by faith, not by sight. 8 We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord.

So, in summary, those who are not confident in the works of God are feverishly working to keep their own salvation, depending on human effort for their marriage and requiring miracles everyone can see to maintain their faith, which is really lack of faith.

I have faith that God made my husband and I into new creations when Christ answered our call of repentance to become born again.

I have faith that when we went before God to become married, He made us into one flesh, no outer signs of that union were necessary for me to know what God did.

I have faith that God is working even when I don't witness a miracle with my eyes. I know that God is working all the time on our behalf, whether I can see the results or not.

Romans 10:17

"So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God."

2 Corinthians 5:7

"7 For we walk by faith, not by sight."

Which one of these verses tell us to make sure we can see with our eyes to have faith?

Worldly Meditation or Godly Meditation

The word meditation means different things to the non-believing world than to the believer in Christ Jesus.

A facebook friend brought to my attention that some are saying that meditation is closing our minds to allow God to speak to us. That could not be farther from the truth.

God told us to "meditate on these things", meaning we are to think about them, ponder their meaning prayerfully, while seeking the Holy Spirit for understanding.

Worldly meditation is the opposite of Godly meditation. Worldly meditation is emptying of the mind and God's meditation is deeply thinking on His principles and meaning.

Philippians 4:8
"8 Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things."

1 Timothy 4:15
"Meditate upon these things; give thyself wholly to them; that thy profiting may appear to all."

"MEDITA'TION, n. L.meditatio. Close or continued thought; the turning or revolving of a subject in the mind; serious contemplation."

"Let the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer." Ps.19.
The King James Bible Page http://av1611.com/kjbp/kjv-dictionary/meditate.html
MEDITATE - Definition from the KJV Dictionary

Are You Going To Obey God

For those Christian parents who have been accused by their children of bad parenting, even though they provided all of their children's needs and did the best they thought they could, as they grew in wisdom, I offer this;

Also for the adult children who want to use their parents as an excuse for bitter attitudes and sinful behavior, I offer this;

One day when I was reflecting on my parenting skills or lack of them in raising our children, the Lord spoke loudly and clearly to me that I suffered from parental pride.

He told me that I was prideful because I thought that I could do an excellent job raising the children because of what I know. My focus was what I could do.

After that I prayed that the Lord would work in my children in spite of me.

The Lord once showed me that there is no perfect parent because we are all fallen human beings who need a Savior.

While we can take responsibility for our own wrong attitudes and actions at times, we cannot take responsibility for the choices our children make, those belong to them alone.

Any adult child that blames their parent for their own sins, is arrogant and self willed, because we know the they would not be the perfect parent any more than we can.

God the Father was a perfect God to Adam and Eve, who had no earthly parents, and look what they did.

They walked with God in the Garden every day, they began perfect and ended badly.

They had the perfect influence, God Himself, and still chose to sin.

Ultimately our choices to obey or disobey God are ours alone, they belong to no one else. Nothing anyone else does can make us sin.

We always have the option to turn to God for our instruction and lessons for the answers to all of the issues of life.

Every thing we need to know to obey God and keep from sin is in God's Word, no other book is needed.

And, the answers to all we need to know dwell in us in the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ who can teach us all things.

Next time your child accuses you of failing in your parenting, agree with them, and then ask them one question...."are you going to obey God now"?

Godly Unity Vs Man Made Unity

Godly unity is not a man made unity concocted to make everyone happy and avoiding arguments, but a Holy Spirit unity by seeking the Word of God for the truth.

God's unity comes by pouring over the Word for His answers to come to an agreement on what God is saying and what He means.

Philippians 2:2 "make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose."

1 Peter 3:8
"8 Finally, be ye all of one mind, having compassion one of another, love as brethren, be pitiful, be courteous:"

1 Corinthians 1:10 "10 Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment."

Romans 15:6 "6 That ye may with one mind and one mouth glorify God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ."
Romans 15:6 "6 That ye may with one mind and one mouth glorify God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ."

Pride and Arrogance Has No Place in the Believers Life

Often, especially on facebook we meet those who are comfortable with bullying because they can "hit and run" without any consequences.

Proverbs 14:7 "Go from the presence of a foolish man, when thou perceivest not in him the lips of knowledge."

Proverbs 22:24 "Make no friendship with an angry man; and with a furious man thou shalt not go:"

Titus 3:10 "A man that is an heretick after the first and second admonition reject;"

Often the rantings of a manipulator can deter others from the Word of God causing great distraction.

The devil sends argumentative people to frustrate those who are truly seeking.

When someone has an honest disagreement, for purposes of growing and blessing others, then that is welcomed. After all, isn't that what the Christian life is about, challenging oneWhen we perceive that someone is fighting to win an argument rather than honestly humble in discerning truth, then it is time to make our departure.
another to greater holiness and sharing truth with non-believers?

Proverbs 27:17
"17 Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend."

Romans 15:13
"13 Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost."

We are also challenged to desire humility. Pride has to go and one way that happens is to be shown we are wrong from time to time and being able to admit it. There cannot be arrogance when we know Who God is and what we are.

Job 10:9
"9 Remember, I pray, that You have made me like clay. And will You turn me into dust again?"

Isaiah 64:8 "But now, O LORD, thou art our father; we are the clay, and thou our potter; and we all are the work of thy hand."

We are nothing more than clay and God is our potter, we have nothing to offer, but Christ is everything. When we remember this, we have no reason to feel pride or generate arrogance.

Proverbs 8:13 "13 The fear of the Lord is to hate evil: pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the froward mouth, do I hate."

Proverbs 11:2 " When pride cometh, then cometh shame: but with the lowly is wisdom."

Proverbs 13:10 "Only by pride cometh contention: but with the well advised is wisdom."