There is lots of gossip going on among family members these days. Satan convinced Eve in the garden that God had lied to her to keep her from becoming like Him.
One of the devil's favorite tactics is to lie against your dedication to truth, even demean your good deeds to make you appear stupid for doing them. Just ignore him, he is less than nothing! Those who listen to the devil will be dealt with one day, that's God's business.
If the devil can turn family against godly members, he can manage to cause us to give up speaking truth.
Don't let him do it, don't be intimidated by the mocking, intimidation and silent treatment. Just keep on telling the truth and be content to be alone with God if that's what it takes.
If our friends must be far away, that's alright, we will be seeing them at the marriage supper of the Lamb. Right now we fight the battle in prayer as we continue to grow in holiness.
Hallelujah!!!!
Someone who defends their sin is someone who remains blind.
A sheep is authentically meek, but bold. A goat is a pretender, playing a roll, while intensely arrogant. There is no authenticity about the goat only an appearance of such. Give it time, a little challenge will be all it takes for the real goat to emerge.
We have all met these people. Some have Bible knowledge but lack kindness, empathy and understanding. They depend on their knowledge of the Bible to gain an appearance of wisdom, but lacking it.
Proverbs 18:2-3 "2 A fool does not delight in understanding, but only in airing his opinions. 3 With a wicked man comes contempt as well, and shame is accompanied by disgrace.…"
Does anyone believe our country has not gone mad?
Pushing the homosexual agenda and promoting the 10,000 person naked bike ride through the streets of the city, while at the same time railing on Christians for having a prayer vigil around a flag pole, makes no sense at all.
Bratty self absorbed people demand the right to practice their immorality while refusing to allow others to speak truth that promotes safety, kindness and love.
I don't know about you but I am looking forward to getting out of this irrational mess!!!!
It is becoming harder to express our Christianity as more people become hostile at the suggestion that righteousness is a good thing.
Proverbs 14:8-9 "…8 The wisdom of the prudent is to discern his way, but the folly of fools deceives them. 9 Fools mock the making of amends, but goodwill is found among the upright."
I have experienced it many times in my life, the hatred emanating from those who hate the joy of the righteous. They do everything in their power to undermine and destroy the principles of those who love God.
If these God hating individuals cannot destroy us they will seek to turn others against us, through lies and gossip. And, the saddest thing of all is that many of these destroyers are Christians within our own groups.
May the Lord bless with courage and joy all those who are experiencing the attacks of the evil one, that is Satan.
When we know our only job is to obey and that Christ is the One Who brings the increase, then we can lay down our expectations about results.
Did you know that sending children to "time out" is child abuse? Yep, that's what I said!
When we isolate another human being as unworthy to be with us we are telling them that we do not want them around us. They do not measure up to our expectations so they must be excluded.
It is also laziness, if is easier to put them in a room and walk away than it is to carry out the hard work of spanking and training.
One of the cruelest actions toward another human being is to "delete" them rather than working with them to correct the problem.
Proverbs 13:24 "24 He who spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him disciplines him diligently."
Isolation and exclusion is for those who are adults who are sinning and refusing to repent. This form of punishment is not for children who need the presence of family continually.
God said we are to spank the children who disobey, then they may resume with the family immediately after the correction.
Children know the difference between a spanking to correct behavior and isolation to reject. Rejection is not the aim of the Lord Jesus Christ in the discipline of children. Correction and redirection is the aim.
Those who use the silent treatment to intimidate others into submission are using their power to deliberately manipulate those they wish to control. There is no love in this form of penalty that is rejection for the young child.
The practice of cliques within the church system works the same way as time out for a young child. Rejection is for the purpose of demeaning, showing the isolated person they are not loved, wanted or worthy of attention.
God told us to go to the one who has offended us to seek sorrow over the offense. Once the offender has confessed and feels remorse, then the offended forgives and the relationship becomes even stronger as the two people involved are reconciled.
When an offense is ignored, hoping it will just go away so everyone can feel better, nothing is resolved, there is always a little screen of doubt between us and the one who didn't seem to care that they were offensive.
Politeness just to get things over with without a sense of resolution leaves the relationship barely superficial, lacking in depth and commitment. This relationship cannot survive anything new that may come up, because the past looms large over the present until it is resolved.
When the sewer overflows in the house during a flood the mounds of human waste can be removed but until the walls are replaced the stink remains.
Child rearing is for the purpose of training and teaching the principles of God to the child, through example as well as words. The example, the actions, of good communication far out way anything commanded toward the child.
When we send a message that "we want you to come to the party so you can see us ignoring you", we have communicated a contempt for the child.
Yes, I said it and believe it, isolation is cruel and much less productive in training a child than spanking. God told us how to handle disobedience of young children, any other way is disobedience toward God and allegiance toward secular psychology.
Hebrews 12:11
"For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it."
Proverbs 23:13-15
"Do not withhold discipline from a child; if you strike him with a rod, he will not die. If you strike him with the rod, you will save his soul from Sheol. My son, if your heart is wise, my heart too will be glad."
Ephesians 6:4
"Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord."
There are many very angry undisciplined children who just want parents who will be parents. They want protectors and guides to bring them safety through continual proper interaction.
Sadly there are those who try to use the Biblical discipline but are thwarted at every turn by extended family and even spouses. When this occurs, the children will follow the disobedient parent rather than the godly one.
Proverbs 29:15
"The rod and reproof give wisdom, but a child left to himself brings shame to his mother."
Get that? "a child left to himself brings shame to his mother." That's interesting isn't it! It is the mother who suffers the most when the rebellious children learn to disrespect her authority.
Perhaps you might have some reason why this might be so?
The closer I get to the Lord the more ugly this world becomes. I am at a loss to understand why some Christians don't seem to notice.
Perhaps the superficial believers are so enveloped in their fun filled life of pleasure that they ignore what should be obvious.
I guess when people don't want to see something they close their spiritual eyes to remain willfully ignorant.
Sadly though, willful ignorance does not absolve mankind of their negligence to call truth what it is, it merely makes them think so.
Job 21:14
"They say to God, 'Depart from us! We do not even desire the knowledge of Your ways."
Matthew 13:15
"FOR THE HEART OF THIS PEOPLE HAS BECOME DULL, WITH THEIR EARS THEY SCARCELY HEAR, AND THEY HAVE CLOSED THEIR EYES, OTHERWISE THEY WOULD SEE WITH THEIR EYES, HEAR WITH THEIR EARS, AND UNDERSTAND WITH THEIR HEART AND RETURN, AND I WOULD HEAL THEM.'"
We are there folks, right in the middle of the mess, thankfully the Lord is coming soon!!!!!
