Flattery Diminishes Discernment

Proverbs 26:24-28 "Whoever hates disguises himself with his lips and harbors deceit in his heart; when he speaks graciously, believe him not, for there are seven abominations in his heart; though his hatred be covered with deception, his wickedness will be exposed in the assembly. Whoever digs a pit will fall into it, and a stone will come back on him who starts it rolling. A lying tongue hates its victims, and a flattering mouth works ruin."

When we focus on the "feelings" we have because someone praised us or elevates us, it disarms our senses to be unable to see things objectively.

We have a tendency to see only the good about someone who uses flattery to control us. The favored person in a relationship will not be able to see the plight of others who are demeaning and mocking others, because he is so full of the praise that was served him, he refuses to see how the manipulator is treating others.

The praised one will interpret anything he sees the manipulator doing as justification in some way for their contemptuous responses. He/she will believe that the unkind act of the narcissist must have somehow been misunderstood or provoked by the targeted scapegoat.

We need to look at everything in truth, ignoring our feelings, good or bad to be able to think clearly, objectively and concisely.

We must never allow ourselves to be the "golden" favored one or we should never allow ourselves to be the disfavored scapegoat. Either condition is a mess waiting to happen in our relationships.

Prosperity preachers and motivational speakers have the ability to manipulate very effectively, crowds that love to "feel good", can be made to do almost anything the speaker wants. They know that almost anyone can be manipulated into almost anything when they have been disarmed by flattery or positive stimuli.

Animals are like this too! Even though we are suppose to be above animals, often we can be induced to do what others want because they give us something we like, that is praise, adulation and encouragement to do what will make us wealthy, healthy or special in some way.

All we have to do to train an animal is praise them constantly and give them the treat they like. All it takes is consistent praise and reward for the animal to love to follow our commands.

God tells us to "think with the mind of Christ", when we allow others to manipulate our minds, we are no longer thinking with His mind, in fact we are not even thinking with our own minds, but rather we are being controlled by the minds of others. These "other minds" have ulterior motives, that is to gain something from us. They can get us to give more money to their organization or give them the worship they desire.

Beware of those who flatter and beware of those who manipulate to make us feel "less than." Both conditions will ruin our walk with Christ while empowering those who control through manipulation.

When we are secure in Christ, we can make our choices based on good information form seasoned believers, the Bible and the promptings of the Holy Spirit.


Hallelujah we are free as born again believers, free from all those who do not have our best interest in their hearts.

Religious Fervor or Christ Fervor?

Religious fervor is not Christ fervor!

Religion leads to pride and unbiblical rules and commands that Christ never gave.

Faithfulness to Christ leads to obedience, not from obligation but from the insatiable desire to love Him, His way!!!!

Matthew 22:36-38 "…36 “Teacher, which commandment is the greatest in the Law?” 37 Jesus declared, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment.…"

And yes......"Evangelicalism" as a religion in which the Bible is largely ignored while man's rules reign supreme.

One can be evangelical according to the Bible and still not be entrenched in "Evangelicalism."

I was once asked if a Catholic can be saved, I answered with a question; "Can a Protestant be saved?"

In short, there are just as many unBiblical beliefs and rituals in the Protestant church as in the Catholic church, they are just a different set of unBiblical mandates.

The freest day of my life was the day I realized I don't have to obey what others think or join any particular system, but rather I was free in Christ to seek Him and obey Him, without all the prejudices and human traditions that keep so many people in bondage.

Hallelujah I am free indeed, to follow Christ!

Freedom In Christ

Religious fervor is not Christ fervor!

Religion leads to pride and unbiblical rules and commands that Christ never gave.

Faithfulness to Christ leads to obedience, not from obligation but from the insatiable desire to love Him, His way!!!!

Matthew 22:36-38 "…36 “Teacher, which commandment is the greatest in the Law?” 37 Jesus declared, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment.…"

And yes......"Evangelicalism" as a religion in which the Bible is largely ignored while man's rules reign supreme.

One can be evangelical according to the Bible and still not be entrenched in "Evangelicalism."

I was once asked if a Catholic can be saved, I answered with a question; "Can a Protestant be saved?"

In short, there are just as many unBiblical beliefs and rituals in the Protestant church as in the Catholic church, they are just a different set of unBiblical mandates.

The freest day of my life was the day I realized I don't have to obey what others think or join any particular system, but rather I was free in Christ to seek Him and obey Him, without all the prejudices and human traditions that keep so many people in bondage.

Hallelujah I am free indeed, to follow Christ!

Let the Holy Spirit Prompt

HE (Christ Jesus) is the head of the body the church!

Give, give generously and often, but never give because someone else, a man or woman, tells you when, how much or which cause.

The One we should be seeking for our giving is Christ Jesus our Lord. When He compels us to give, then He will tell us to whom and how much.

Never allow others to make you feel guilty about your decision for giving. How much, when or what, is not the business of any other person except our spouse.

Also, might I add this; Never say "amen" when commanded to by a speaker. Many years ago I felt uncomfortable every time a preacher prompted the "audience" to say anything.

Then one day the Lord asked me in a still small prompting in my thoughts, "did I tell you to say that?" That is when I realized that human manipulation of any kind is fleshly and must be resisted. I got so that I would refuse to obey the man in favor of waiting on the Holy Spirit when ever I was commanded to do or say something by a human being.

We love to please our husbands, We serve at their pleasure, but they do not "command", manipulate or intimidate, they "guide and ask", this makes for a pleasant and respectful relationship. Leadership in the gathering of believers should be the same way, guiding lovingly and requesting are the tools that everyone should use in personal relationships.

If I "give a gift" or say an "amen", it is because I am deeply moved and the Holy Spirit compelled me to do so.

What a relief it was to be free from the wiles of controlling human beings who felt power in getting mindless drones to make them feel superior and preeminent.

Christ is the only One who is powerful and preeminent, let Him be the One to guide our words and actions.

Colossians 1:17-19 "…17 He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. 18 And He is the head of the body, the church; He is the beginning and firstborn from among the dead, so that in all things He may have preeminence. 19 For God was pleased to have all His fullness dwell in Him,…"

We Cannot Produce Our Own Fruit

Please look at segment #7 of the link below to learn an important truth.

We cannot "produce fruit", we only bear fruit. Christ is the one Who produces fruit in us, we do not produce fruit in ourselves.
Those that try to produce fruit in themselves are working in the flesh and in disobedience.

http://larryjones.ca/john15/section3/audio/audio.html

They Wanted A Human Ruler

Israel wanted a king like all the other nations, instead of God as their ruler. The problems that came from that were devastating, when God gave them what they wanted.

Christians want a "Pastor", a human leader instead of Christ. We have been misled to believe that "Pastor" capitalized, is the leader instead of Christ. "pastor" is a calling not a political or paid position. The problems that have arisen from this choice to follow men has caused the widespread apostasy that we see in the church today.

When I was in the Catholic church we were told that the priest should tell us what to believe, that we should not read the Bible, that we could not understand it.

When I became born again and left that system, I moved into another system "evangelicalism" that said nearly the same thing, that the seminary grads or "ordained Pastors" were the ones we should follow. The systems were slightly different with the same basic mentality, "read your Bibles but let the "educated ones" tell you what it all means. There was acknowledgment of the Holy Spirit but never taught as THE One to Whom we should go for all matters.

I was actually told once that I couldn't know the truth about a particular matter because I had not gone to seminary. My response was a cynical question, "oh, you mean the Holy Spirit only goes to seminary?" The person with whom I was speaking became silent. Notice that, "silent", since she had no answer for me, knowing that I had stumped her, chose not to respond rather than to admit perhaps her beliefs were unBiblical. I get this all the time, when someone does not have an answer, often they are too prideful to admit they don't know or were wrong in their thinking. This is a very big clue as to the resistance to truth and rebellion against Christ.

Christ should be the One ruling in every born again believer. If man is ruling us, then we are in rebellion and disobedience against God. We cannot have two rulers in our lives!

Those who look to their pastor first and refuse to evaluate him and his messages, in terms of the Bible, have an idol.

Those who look to Christ first and refuse to be manipulated and intimidated by human leaders, are in obedience to Christ.

Acts 5:28-30 "…28 “We gave you strict orders not to teach in this name,” he said. “Yet you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and are determined to make us responsible for this man’s blood.” 29 But Peter and the other apostles replied, “We must obey God rather than men. 30 The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom you had killed by hanging Him on a tree.…"

Every born again believer should be sharing the gospel, mentoring others and seeking the Holy Spirit for all of it, all the time. It is fine and good to get the input of other strong believers, but never good to make them an idol with the mentality that they are our source of wisdom. It is the Holy Spirit Who is our source!

Love Christ First

The more fully Christ rules your life the more fully you will love the brethren.

1 John 3:13-15 "…13 So do not be surprised, brothers, if the world hates you. 14 We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love our brothers. The one who does not love remains in death. 15 Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that eternal life does not reside in a murderer.…"

When we place men above Christ, honoring them more than we honor Christ we have an idol and cannot grow in holiness.