Watch out for those who flatter and schmooze, they do not care about you, they only care that you like them.
"Positive People", those who only love to feel good and have happy times are useless to anyone. How can we address difficulties that are in need of real answers, answers from God that resolve problems? Without admitting to the problems, they cannot be solved.
Without confession there is no moving forward in growth. Happy Happy is not the goal of the believer, solutions that last an eternity are the goal of the believer because the believer has the real love that the world doesn't understand.
It is selfish to withhold correction that might help someone. The goal of this selfish person is to feel good for themselves. They care nothing about helping anyone else, only making others like them.
There is positive and negative in every thing from God that provides solutions. There is the truth about the sin, then there is the solution that God has provided.
Ephesians 4:28 "28 Anyone who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with their own hands, that they may have something to share with those in need. "
Galatians 6:2 "2 Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ."
We cannot carry another person's burden if we refuse to listen to that burden for the purpose of pray and Biblical answers.
Hebrews 6:10 "10 God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them."
James 1:17 "17 Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows."
When we love someone we tell the truth and give the Biblical answer to the situation.
John 15:12 "12 My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you."
How has God loved us?:
Hebrews 12:5-7 "…5 And you have forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons: “My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, or lose heart when He rebukes you. 6 For the Lord disciplines the one He loves, and He chastises everyone He receives as a son.” 7 Endure suffering as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father?…"
Proverbs 3:11-13 "…11 My son, do not reject the discipline of the LORD Or loathe His reproof, 12 For whom the LORD loves He reproves, Even as a father corrects the son in whom he delights. 13 How blessed is the man who finds wisdom And the man who gains understanding.…"
Romans 5:3-5 "…3 Not only that, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4 perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5 And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out His love into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, whom He has given us.…"
Flattery and praise is not very useful for those who are struggling with sin. Encouragement comes from showing one another truth and seeking Christ to live in that truth.
Psalm 12:2-3
They speak falsehood to one another; With flattering lips and with a double heart they speak. May the LORD cut off all flattering lips, The tongue that speaks great things;
Psalm 5:9
There is nothing reliable in what they say; Their inward part is destruction itself Their throat is an open grave; They flatter with their tongue.
Psalm 55:20-21
He has put forth his hands against those who were at peace with him; He has violated his covenant. His speech was smoother than butter, But his heart was war; His words were softer than oil, Yet they were drawn swords.
Psalm 62:4
They have counseled only to thrust him down from his high position; They delight in falsehood; They bless with their mouth, But inwardly they curse. Selah.
Sunday, January 1, 2017
The Best New Years Resolution Ever
Want to make the best New Years resolution ever?
Here it is, to resolve to seek Christ in all things this year and for the rest of our lives. When we fail we confess our failure and begin again to obey Christ.
I do not see how anyone can go wrong doing this, unless they are doing it as a form of ritual without a heart that desires more than anything to please God and be useful to Him.
Let us not seek ritual to feel more spiritual in this new year, elevating self for our satisfaction, let us seek Christ, Him alone, for His glory.
How do we do this? We learn His word through reading of it, ask the Holy Spirit to show us truth, even if our eyes have to be opened to things we believe that are wrong.
Are we willing to ask God to show us which is truth and which is not, that we might discard anything that is not pleasing to Him.
It sounds so simple, and yet for the prideful heart it is illusive and foreign. May all those who have lived in pride reject it, have a new desire being cleansed by God to walk in newness of life.
Romans 6:3-4 "…3 Or aren’t you aware that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? 4 We therefore were buried with Him through baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may walk in newness of life. "
Remember: It is not in our own strength and resolution that we accomplish this, it is through letting go of self effort and trusting Christ more fully! The resolution is not to do or be better, the resolution is to seek Christ for this.
Here it is, to resolve to seek Christ in all things this year and for the rest of our lives. When we fail we confess our failure and begin again to obey Christ.
I do not see how anyone can go wrong doing this, unless they are doing it as a form of ritual without a heart that desires more than anything to please God and be useful to Him.
Let us not seek ritual to feel more spiritual in this new year, elevating self for our satisfaction, let us seek Christ, Him alone, for His glory.
How do we do this? We learn His word through reading of it, ask the Holy Spirit to show us truth, even if our eyes have to be opened to things we believe that are wrong.
Are we willing to ask God to show us which is truth and which is not, that we might discard anything that is not pleasing to Him.
It sounds so simple, and yet for the prideful heart it is illusive and foreign. May all those who have lived in pride reject it, have a new desire being cleansed by God to walk in newness of life.
Romans 6:3-4 "…3 Or aren’t you aware that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? 4 We therefore were buried with Him through baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may walk in newness of life. "
Remember: It is not in our own strength and resolution that we accomplish this, it is through letting go of self effort and trusting Christ more fully! The resolution is not to do or be better, the resolution is to seek Christ for this.
It is Dangerous to Come Against God
To be against Israel is to touch the apple of God's eye.
Zechariah 2:8 " 8For thus says the LORD of hosts, "After glory He has sent me against the nations which plunder you, for he who touches you, touches the apple of His eye."
In modern terms, to go against Israel is to poke God in His eye!
Zechariah 2:8 " 8For thus says the LORD of hosts, "After glory He has sent me against the nations which plunder you, for he who touches you, touches the apple of His eye."
In modern terms, to go against Israel is to poke God in His eye!
Friday, December 30, 2016
Don't Blame the Delivery!
Exactly, it is not the delivery of the messenger, but it is the heart of the hearer.
Confess to Move Forward
Those who cannot admit their sin to be cleansed as God said in 1 John 1:9, cannot grow in holiness, nor can they move forward in improved behavior. They can give a good show for a time, but they cannot remain in the new state because it is superficial, outward and fragile. Only that which God changes in us through His response to our confession, can we progress Spiritually, anything else is regression.
1 John 1:9
"9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."
Pretending things are over, hoping to come back as though nothing happened, only better this time, does not grow the person who attempts this. Eventually the unchanged person on the inside will emerge and resume their old ways or they will regress never to be able to be different from the real self that hides inside.
Acts 7:51"51 You stiff-necked people with uncircumcised hearts and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit, just as your fathers did. "
Psalm 95:8-11
Do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah, As in the day of Massah in the wilderness, "When your fathers tested Me, They tried Me, though they had seen My work. "For forty years I loathed that generation, And said they are a people who err in their heart, And they do not know My ways. read more.
"Therefore I swore in My anger, Truly they shall not enter into My rest."
When pride cannot be overcome with confession, then we can expect regression in our walk with Christ as well as our actions and words. All human relationships deteriorate and dissolve until there is repentance, confession and a desire for Christ to make us what we should be.
No one can enter God's rest while in a state of rebellion and pride.
How do we begin again with God or begin for the first time, it's simple, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, then ask Him to change us into a new creation.
If we are already born again and are resistant to His promptings, then the Holy Spirit will stop speaking to us and He will begin removing blessings, even wisdom if we persist.
1 Thessalonians 5:19 "…18 Give thanks in every circumstance, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. 19 Do not extinguish the Spirit. 20 Do not treat prophecies with contempt,…
If the Holy Spirit has stopped speaking to you, if you sense a distance from the Lord, it is possible that there is sin in your life that you are refusing to confess.
1 John 1:9
"9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."
Pretending things are over, hoping to come back as though nothing happened, only better this time, does not grow the person who attempts this. Eventually the unchanged person on the inside will emerge and resume their old ways or they will regress never to be able to be different from the real self that hides inside.
Acts 7:51"51 You stiff-necked people with uncircumcised hearts and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit, just as your fathers did. "
Psalm 95:8-11
Do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah, As in the day of Massah in the wilderness, "When your fathers tested Me, They tried Me, though they had seen My work. "For forty years I loathed that generation, And said they are a people who err in their heart, And they do not know My ways. read more.
"Therefore I swore in My anger, Truly they shall not enter into My rest."
When pride cannot be overcome with confession, then we can expect regression in our walk with Christ as well as our actions and words. All human relationships deteriorate and dissolve until there is repentance, confession and a desire for Christ to make us what we should be.
No one can enter God's rest while in a state of rebellion and pride.
How do we begin again with God or begin for the first time, it's simple, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, then ask Him to change us into a new creation.
If we are already born again and are resistant to His promptings, then the Holy Spirit will stop speaking to us and He will begin removing blessings, even wisdom if we persist.
1 Thessalonians 5:19 "…18 Give thanks in every circumstance, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. 19 Do not extinguish the Spirit. 20 Do not treat prophecies with contempt,…
If the Holy Spirit has stopped speaking to you, if you sense a distance from the Lord, it is possible that there is sin in your life that you are refusing to confess.
Dismissing Someone Destroys Relationships
"When a person tells you that you hurt them, you don't get to decide that you didn't." -Louis C.K.
God is also Just!
God is also a just God. There could be no love without justice.
Psalm 7:11 "…10 My shield is with God, Who saves the upright in heart. 11 God is a righteous judge, And a God who has indignation every day. 12 If a man does not repent, He will sharpen His sword; He has bent His bow and made it ready.…"
Psalm 7:11 "…10 My shield is with God, Who saves the upright in heart. 11 God is a righteous judge, And a God who has indignation every day. 12 If a man does not repent, He will sharpen His sword; He has bent His bow and made it ready.…"
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