I copied and pasted this comment from another thread to help us keep perspective on the direction of this country as well as the cleverness of the devil's ploys. It is easy to see how the anti-christ will fool those who are wanting "good things" in their life, even more than they want God.
I have lived in this country all my life and have watched Trump's life over the years. He was chosen by God but that does not mean he is godly or a Christian.
I voted for him because he was not Hillary, but have no expectations that he will lead this country into repentance or morality.
I notice that he is surrounded by Pentecostals who buy into the "Health, Wealth and Prosperity" doctrine. They believe Trump got in because they spoke it into being.
Trump said his favorite preacher was Norman Vincent Peale, clearly a "power of the mind" preacher. Peale was an heretic whose writings have deeply influenced the Pentecostals. The Pentecostals of this country often focus on material things rather than spiritual matters. They believe making things happen by the power of their mind amounts to spirituality.
I don't hate Trump but I am a realist, in that I compare him to the godly leaders of the Bible and see how off base he is in many things.
I am glad God is using him to denounce abortion and to protect Israel but everything else he is doing does nothing to promote godliness or repentance.
I also notice that his involvement with Israel has more to do with peace than with their right to the land. I am convinced Trump will end up promoting a giveaway of the land to accomplish this peace. He often speaks out of both sides of his mouth. One moment declaring something and later when people have forgotten what he said he will say the opposite.
Also, I have known many pro-life people who were not Christians. There was a group many years ago when we were involved in the pro-life movement, called, "Homosexuals Against Abortion." These people were vile God haters who hated abortion. Their stand against abortion had nothing to do with righteousness, they just didn't like killing babies. I hate killing babies too, but God also hates the practice of homosexuality. These people needed to confess their sin and repent to be born again, I prayed that for them.
Being for or against particular causes is not the measure of a spiritual man or even a good man.
1 Corinthians 15:58 "58 Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain."
The work of the Lord is the gospel and all His other commands in the Bible. We can be led by Christ at any given time simply by confessing our need for His help.
James 1:4-6 "…4 Allow perseverance to finish its work, so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. 5 If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. 6 But he must ask in faith, without doubting, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.…"
God can use anyone to accomplish His will but that does not mean those who are sinful who are used will be accepted by God. It does not mean that we should endorse the activities of those who hate God just because God is using them in spite of themselves.
It is always dangerous to align ourselves with wicked unsaved people to accomplish God's will. We have to work in this world and its good that we have a witness, but to join up with wicked men to accomplish a cause is not wise.
Many years ago we were in politics, it was a time that God sent and a miracle that my husband won. We had contact with believers and non-believers alike that was good. God used it in many ways in our lives, there comes a time when God tells us to work among them and other times He says no.
Thank the Lord we have the Holy Spirit to tell us "what and when."
Proverbs 3:5-6 "5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; 6 in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight."
Monday, June 17, 2019
Our Helper is the Holy Spirit!
John 14:14-16
14 If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it.
15 “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.
Role of the Spirit
"16 I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever;"
Notice that God said here that the Holy Spirit will "be with you FOREVER." God never takes back His promise to keep us until He comes for us.
Romans 8:14-15
"14 For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. 15 For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, “Abba! Father!”
When we have been sealed with the Holy Spirit at salvation we are sealed FOREVER.
Ephesians 1:12-14 "…12 in order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, would be for the praise of His glory. 13 And in Him, having heard and believed the word of truth— the gospel of your salvation— you were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is the pledge of our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession, to the praise of His glory.…"
An important picture of this is the oneness that is given to us in marriage. That oneness is not of us but a work of God. He changes us from two people into one person. Each one in this marriage of two into one we have specific roles and responsibilities. The husband is to lead and the woman is to help. She is to help in all manners of his life, supporting him in his business as well as providing counsel when he is not able to see something that we can see.
As wives our best friend is God and our second best friend is our husband. We wish the best for our husbands, the reason we seek Christ continually for His guidance to our husbands. A wife who loves her husband will pray for him as well as counsel him when the Holy Spirit gives her insight about a matter.
The greatest hope and desire we can have for our husband is that he will seek the Lord for all matters of life. The Holy Spirit works in both husband and wife in this matter of marriage. To negate half of the union as unable to help with truth is to negate the roles of each in the marriage.
Men are to lead their wives, when the husband is having difficulty seeing something that is clear to the wife then the wife must speak truth to her husband. In a godly marriage both are praying, both are seeking the Holy Spirit and both are relying on the Holy Spirit together.
One half of the person in the oneness is not ignored only to have orders barked at them. Both are seeking Christ together while the wife seeks to help the husband become successful in his walk and mission with Christ.
1 Peter 5:3
"Not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock."
1 Corinthians 11:1
"Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ."
We are to follow our husbands as they follow Christ.
Titus 1:7
"For an overseer, as God's steward, must be above reproach. He must not be arrogant or quick-tempered or a drunkard or violent or greedy for gain,"
14 If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it.
15 “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.
Role of the Spirit
"16 I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever;"
Notice that God said here that the Holy Spirit will "be with you FOREVER." God never takes back His promise to keep us until He comes for us.
Romans 8:14-15
"14 For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. 15 For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, “Abba! Father!”
When we have been sealed with the Holy Spirit at salvation we are sealed FOREVER.
Ephesians 1:12-14 "…12 in order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, would be for the praise of His glory. 13 And in Him, having heard and believed the word of truth— the gospel of your salvation— you were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is the pledge of our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession, to the praise of His glory.…"
An important picture of this is the oneness that is given to us in marriage. That oneness is not of us but a work of God. He changes us from two people into one person. Each one in this marriage of two into one we have specific roles and responsibilities. The husband is to lead and the woman is to help. She is to help in all manners of his life, supporting him in his business as well as providing counsel when he is not able to see something that we can see.
As wives our best friend is God and our second best friend is our husband. We wish the best for our husbands, the reason we seek Christ continually for His guidance to our husbands. A wife who loves her husband will pray for him as well as counsel him when the Holy Spirit gives her insight about a matter.
The greatest hope and desire we can have for our husband is that he will seek the Lord for all matters of life. The Holy Spirit works in both husband and wife in this matter of marriage. To negate half of the union as unable to help with truth is to negate the roles of each in the marriage.
Men are to lead their wives, when the husband is having difficulty seeing something that is clear to the wife then the wife must speak truth to her husband. In a godly marriage both are praying, both are seeking the Holy Spirit and both are relying on the Holy Spirit together.
One half of the person in the oneness is not ignored only to have orders barked at them. Both are seeking Christ together while the wife seeks to help the husband become successful in his walk and mission with Christ.
1 Peter 5:3
"Not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock."
1 Corinthians 11:1
"Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ."
We are to follow our husbands as they follow Christ.
Titus 1:7
"For an overseer, as God's steward, must be above reproach. He must not be arrogant or quick-tempered or a drunkard or violent or greedy for gain,"
Sunday, June 16, 2019
The Blessing of Friends
These last few months I have been encountering a challenge. Thinking that I am just growing older and aches and pains will come and go I didn't take seriously some pains until they became debilitating. Now I can hardly walk across a room without shortness of breath, exhaustion and feeling sick. So I have resolved not to do anything until my appointment on Wednesday for a heart check.
A battery of other tests were taken last week for which I have yet to learn their results. The test on Wednesday is a nuclear stress test, that should tell us more.
I am asking all my praying friends to ask the Lord for clear results as to the problem and if it be God's will, a solution. I know that all illness has a purpose if only to cause us to trust Christ more.
Today I am praising the Lord for the picnic at a brothers property where we enjoyed good fellowship. Its amazing how small problems seem when surrounded by loving kind and godly people. I cannot thank the Lord enough for this simple but lovely gathering of like minded believers.
John 15:13-15 "13 Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command. 15 I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you."
Acts 2:44-47 "44 All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45 They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. 46 Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, 47 praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved."
A battery of other tests were taken last week for which I have yet to learn their results. The test on Wednesday is a nuclear stress test, that should tell us more.
I am asking all my praying friends to ask the Lord for clear results as to the problem and if it be God's will, a solution. I know that all illness has a purpose if only to cause us to trust Christ more.
Today I am praising the Lord for the picnic at a brothers property where we enjoyed good fellowship. Its amazing how small problems seem when surrounded by loving kind and godly people. I cannot thank the Lord enough for this simple but lovely gathering of like minded believers.
John 15:13-15 "13 Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command. 15 I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you."
Acts 2:44-47 "44 All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45 They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. 46 Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, 47 praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved."
Few Will Follow Christ
It is interesting to me that so many people are johnny on the spot to judge someone as good simply because they are successful at something. I read an article about a man who is a pastor, he tripled the size of his church in 6 months by going door to door. Many people were excited about him as though the size of his church was evidence that God was blessing. It is also interesting how quickly people are to judge someone as good but very reluctant to judge anyone as evil.
Below is my response to the article praising this man for growing his church by going door to door.
"I do not judge this man as good or bad. He may be using marketing techniques. He may be so friendly that everyone likes him, in which case he may be watering down the gospel to a social gospel and Jesus loves every body. I worry about those who can bring in large crowds these days. I hope those he baptized are truly born again. Since I have not been there to see any of it I reserve judgement that it is good. How many people he can bring in is not a measure of the quality of his ministry."
Luke 6:25:26 "…25 Woe to you who are well fed now, for you will hunger. Woe to you who laugh now, for you will mourn and weep. 26 Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for their fathers treated the false prophets in the same way. "
In these last days of apostasy I am always worried when the focus of a ministry is numbers. We are living in the days of the remnants, those who are dedicated to Christ fully but they are few.
Matthew 7:14
"For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it."
Below is my response to the article praising this man for growing his church by going door to door.
"I do not judge this man as good or bad. He may be using marketing techniques. He may be so friendly that everyone likes him, in which case he may be watering down the gospel to a social gospel and Jesus loves every body. I worry about those who can bring in large crowds these days. I hope those he baptized are truly born again. Since I have not been there to see any of it I reserve judgement that it is good. How many people he can bring in is not a measure of the quality of his ministry."
Luke 6:25:26 "…25 Woe to you who are well fed now, for you will hunger. Woe to you who laugh now, for you will mourn and weep. 26 Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for their fathers treated the false prophets in the same way. "
In these last days of apostasy I am always worried when the focus of a ministry is numbers. We are living in the days of the remnants, those who are dedicated to Christ fully but they are few.
Matthew 7:14
"For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it."
Saturday, June 15, 2019
Christ Must Be More Important Than Our Own Desires
Isaiah 29:13
"Therefore the Lord said: "These people draw near to Me with their mouths and honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me. Their worship of Me is but rules taught by men."
Matthew 16:24
"Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me."
1 Corinthians 4:16
"I urge you, then, be imitators of me."
If we say we are "Christians" then our life ought to reflect a determined desire to seek the will of Christ. His precious word will be more important to us than anything and anyone else. There will be no twisting of scripture to fit the culture or our own desires, all we see in His word will be according to His truth.
We cannot love Christ and fear the disapproval of man. We cannot love Christ and attempt to preserve our life for our own pleasure.
John 12:26
"If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will my servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him."
John 14:15-16 "15 If you love Me, you will keep My commandments. 16 And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Advocate to be with you forever—…"
"Therefore the Lord said: "These people draw near to Me with their mouths and honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me. Their worship of Me is but rules taught by men."
Matthew 16:24
"Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me."
1 Corinthians 4:16
"I urge you, then, be imitators of me."
If we say we are "Christians" then our life ought to reflect a determined desire to seek the will of Christ. His precious word will be more important to us than anything and anyone else. There will be no twisting of scripture to fit the culture or our own desires, all we see in His word will be according to His truth.
We cannot love Christ and fear the disapproval of man. We cannot love Christ and attempt to preserve our life for our own pleasure.
John 12:26
"If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will my servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him."
John 14:15-16 "15 If you love Me, you will keep My commandments. 16 And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Advocate to be with you forever—…"
Perfect love casts out fear!
1 John 4:18
"18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love."
When we love Christ more than anyone or anything else we do not fear whatever comes at us from the world. We do not fear the loss of a relationship when we have spoken God's truth.
When our focus is Christ He is the One we wish to please. The opinions of others are considered only in light of the Word of God. No opinion is considered separately from the Word of God.
There will be many people who think very highly of themselves even becoming angry when we do not see things the way they see them. These people are focused on the culture not on Christ. Many of these people are looking to be treated as special and above others, the thought of being equal to or lower than others is monstrous to the narcissist.
When we love Christ we are comfortable in knowing that we are nothing compared to Him. We have no need to be special or above anyone else.
Philippians 2:2-4 "…2 then make my joy complete by being of one mind, having the same love, being united in spirit and purpose. 3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or empty pride, but in humility consider others more important than yourselves. 4 Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.…"
The narcissist will claim we do not get along with them. The truth is that they do not get along with us. They say and do anything they want expecting us to approve, but have no tolerance for our own choices for our own life.
It is impossible for the narcissist to be Biblical in their thinking when everything they do is based on appearances and self glory. The Bible is used merely as a means to feel superior rather than a document to discover God's heart and mind.
All of us must evaluate where our heart lies, a narcissist cannot evaluate self, it is too painful to admit their flaws. The righteous man evaluates their flaws to be able to be cleansed and grow in holiness, this is not anything the narcissist can do.
"18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love."
When we love Christ more than anyone or anything else we do not fear whatever comes at us from the world. We do not fear the loss of a relationship when we have spoken God's truth.
When our focus is Christ He is the One we wish to please. The opinions of others are considered only in light of the Word of God. No opinion is considered separately from the Word of God.
There will be many people who think very highly of themselves even becoming angry when we do not see things the way they see them. These people are focused on the culture not on Christ. Many of these people are looking to be treated as special and above others, the thought of being equal to or lower than others is monstrous to the narcissist.
When we love Christ we are comfortable in knowing that we are nothing compared to Him. We have no need to be special or above anyone else.
Philippians 2:2-4 "…2 then make my joy complete by being of one mind, having the same love, being united in spirit and purpose. 3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or empty pride, but in humility consider others more important than yourselves. 4 Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.…"
The narcissist will claim we do not get along with them. The truth is that they do not get along with us. They say and do anything they want expecting us to approve, but have no tolerance for our own choices for our own life.
It is impossible for the narcissist to be Biblical in their thinking when everything they do is based on appearances and self glory. The Bible is used merely as a means to feel superior rather than a document to discover God's heart and mind.
All of us must evaluate where our heart lies, a narcissist cannot evaluate self, it is too painful to admit their flaws. The righteous man evaluates their flaws to be able to be cleansed and grow in holiness, this is not anything the narcissist can do.
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