Character Matters

We are weak in character if we need someone else's approval to do what is right in the sight of God.

Sealed by the Holy Spirit of God

2 Corinthians 5:17 tells us Christ changed us into a new creation, the old is gone and the new is here to stay!?

We cannot change ourselves into a new creation it was the work of God and nothing He does can be undone by us.

We are sealed permanently until He comes for us.

Ephesians 1:13-14

"13 In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of the promise,

14 who is a first installment of our inheritance, regarding the redemption of God’s possession, to the praise of His glory."

2 Corinthians 5:17

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. . ”

When Christ changes us He gets all the glory, we have nothing to do except to believe and trust in Him. He does all the rest from that point on, continually cleansing us until the end of our lives.

Ephesians 2:8-10 "…8 For it is by grace you have been saved through faith, and this not from yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9not by works, so that no one can boast. 10 For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance as our way of life.…"

We are being sanctified by Christ Who lives in us until He takes us home.

1 Thessalonians 5:23

"Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ."

Galatians 2:20

"I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me."

Philippians 1:6

"And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ."

What a blessing to know that God is not going to quit on us, He keeps working and growing us until He takes us home. We are not left orphans without help.

John 14:17-19 "…17 the Spirit of truth. The world cannot receive Him, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him. But you do know Him, for He abides with you and will be in you. 18 I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. 19 In a little while the world will see Me no more, but you will see Me. Because I live, you also will live."

Hallelujah!!!!!!

Increased Anger in these Last Days

Over the past few years, I have noticed an increase in anger in many people. The anger inside of them is revealed in many ways, one of which is jealousy toward those who have great joy and peace in their hearts.

The Holy Spirit makes unbelievers uncomfortable with joy and peace because they know they don't have it. Instead of asking why someone is so peaceful the wicked person attempts to ruin that peace and joy.

Jealousy is the emotion that hates someone else's joy and peace while doing whatever the jealous person thinks they can justify removing that joy and peace. They will even make up lies about the one they hate to remove that godly joy. They can't remove it but they can cause others to dislike the godly one, this gives the wicked one great joy.

Instead of engaging happily with someone who is sharing joy, the resentful one engages in demeaning or dismissive gestures in a refusal to endorse the happiness of the other. They may completely ignore the one who is happy or they may use grunting noises without other responses to show disapproval. The goal of such a jealous person is to diminish the one who is full of joy and happiness.

If you have ever been around these people you know what a challenge it is to visit with them. As some people have expressed, these people "suck all the joy out of the room" when they walk in. They have a chip on their shoulder but lack communication skills so they use covert means to ruin the happiness of others. They seem sad all the time, and their happiness is only based on how much attention they are getting from others.

I have met genuinely joyful and peaceful people who have all the fruit of the Spirit. When these people walk in a room it is as though gladness and gratefulness walks in with them. They bring out the best in

others. The opposite is true of narcissists they tend to bring out the worst in those around them and they like it that way.

This is why God told believers to "come out from among them"

(2 Corinthians 6:16-18 "…16What agreement can exist between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: “I will dwell with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be My people.” 17“Therefore come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you.” 18 And: “I will be a Father to you, and you will be My sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.”…)

and to "avoid such people."

(2 Timothy 3:5 "3 But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. 2 For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, slanderers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, [a]haters of good, 4 treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5 holding to a form of [b]godliness although they have denied its power; avoid such people as these.")

Lovely Spirit-filled people love comforting, helping, and encouraging those around them. They have all the fruit of the Spirit. Godly people do not care about controlling anything, they just want to love others the way Christ loves them.

Galatians 5:22-23

"22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law."

The narcissist has so much anger in their heart that they want everyone else to feel terrible like they do with them coming out on top as the controller of all things.

1 John 4:8

"Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love."

Godly people love God and love righteousness. Narcissists hate God and love evil.

Lovely Spirit-filled people NEVER treat anyone disrespectfully, they merely tell the truth of God and are accused of hatred for doing it. No matter how calm one's delivery is, if the narcissist doesn't like it they will claim things that are not true to justify their hatred for the one they despise.

Anger is not something that comes up when provoked, it is in the very heart and soul of the one given to anger. The anger is always just below the surface ready to emerge at the slightest perceived offense.

Those who do not become angry do not automatically rage, they ponder, they answer but they do not rage merely because of a disagreement.

If a born-again finds themselves having reacted badly they apologize because they hate hurting others. Narcissists love to harm others and claim it is their own fault.

1 Peter 2 is an excellent passage to read to understand God's way for the born-again believer.

16 Signs God Is Exposing a Narcissist in Your Life

Speak Truth and Leave the Results to God

When we have to figure out our own responses based on how others might react it will eventually cause doubt and confusion.

When we base our speech and actions on the Word of God we don't have to assess what others might think or how they will react. We have no reason to fear no matter what others say or do.

God's Word is true all of the time. We never have to guess what the right thing to do is because the Holy Spirit in us will speak as we read His Word.

If the answer we come up with is not supported in God's Word then we need to discard it and return once again to trusting Christ. Believe what He says in His Word and do it.

2 Timothy 4:2-4

"…2 Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and encourage with every form of patient instruction. 3 For the time will come when men will not tolerate sound doctrine, but with itching ears, they will gather around themselves teachers to suit their own desires. 4 So they will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.

Knowing this we can expect opposition often to the Word of God. Those in opposition will attack us as though it were just our opinion, they will be wrong, ignore them and keep telling the truth.

There are many myths and traditions of men in the organized church today, we must be vigilant in our study of the Bible so that we too are not deceived.

Most people in the churches don't want to know the truth because they are comfortable with the traditions. They really don't care very much about truth.

Mark 7:13

"13 thereby invalidating the word of God by your tradition which you have handed down; and you do many things such as that.”

Notice this phrase; "and you do many things such as that."

Peacemaker or Peacekeeper?

There is a difference between a peacemaker and a peacekeeper. A peacemaker follows God's Word in making peace His Way for a godly solution. The peacekeeper goes along to get along and there is no solution.

The peacemaker looks into God's Word and prays to discover God's solution the peacekeeper only cares about pleasing people so there is no discussion only compromise.

The peacemaker's solution is a permanent one because it is God's wary.

The peacekeeper sweeps everything under the rug so no one grows or changes. A sort of putting on blinders to keep from having to do the hard work of a resolution.

The peacemaker brings healing and turns from sin to be cleansed from it. The wounds are completely healed never to return.

The peacemaker heals wounds superficially and temporarily so that the problem returns over and over again.

The superficial modern idea of forgiveness is like this, expecting people to say they forgive but there has been no solution or healing, only words that fall to the ground while the "feelings" of an unresolved matter return over and over again.

When we look to feelings we will miss the true healing that brings forth the fruit of a changed life.

Pretending something does not make for good healing. It's sort of like placing a bandaid over a gaping wound while the blood continues to gush from the wound.

Problems are not fixed by pretending it's over through "saying" I forgive. Problems are resolved through confession of sin and forgiveness extended.

Our culture spends far too much time on giving credence to feelings than they do on reality. Pretending something is true only delays resolution and even exacerbates things when left to fester too long. The longer confession of sin is delayed the less the offended is able to ever trust the offender again. There is no solution or reconciliation until both sides of the coin, confession and forgiveness, are experienced.

Anyone who is offensive but doesn't think they did anything wrong, will not be sorry and will even defend their rude actions and without a doubt will repeat the same actions again.

1 John 1:9 "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."

James 2:10

"For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it."

Those who say they forgive without the requirement of confession of sin are peacekeepers, they do not have to do the hard and embarrassing work of confronting others to solve something. They pretend they have forgiven through words but in their heart they really have not because the relationship has not been restored.

People say; "I have forgiven but I have not forgotten", because nothing was resolved. Relationships are not mended by saying something, they are mended by the hard work of confrontation and discussion. If someone refuses to discuss rationally and rages then the relationship remains broken and there is no authentic forgiveness occurring.

The world has been teaching false ideas for many generations now based on psychology, not the Bible.

Psychology gets observations right sometimes about the actions of people but often it does not have the Biblical solution that works.

We must know the Bible well to be able to discern truth from error.

2 Timothy 3:16-17

"All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work."

Politics, Healthy Food and Fun, I get so tired of Hearing about It!

If we spend most of our time researching and believing the ways of the world we will be in constant error. I do not speak of unbelievers here because they will not understand the ways of God. I focus on the wrongs in the church because we should know better. The unbelievers are focused on the world because they do not know better. Believers ought to be wholly focused on Christ.

1 Corinthians 2:13-15 "…13 And this is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom, but in words taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words. 14 The natural man does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God. For they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned. 15 The spiritual man judges all things, but he himself is not subject to anyone’s judgment."

Our world is so caught up in its own way of thinking based on human wisdom so much so that it cannot wrap its mind around spiritual matters given by God and this is in the Christian church.

The world is convinced that physical exercise is important, above almost anything else. It is believed that eating all the right food will keep them healthy while their bodies continue to deteriorate as regularly as anyone else's. Sometimes even damaging themselves with this exercise believing it will make them stronger and live longer.

Because of this worship of the body, that the world continually indoctrinates people to be focused on many are shortening their lives and damaging their organs. The world will be obsessive about the things God says are not important. They will lie and say these things are important, the opposite of what God says.

Satan has fooled Christians into believing things that will damage them instead of making them strong.

1 Timothy 4:8

"8 for bodily training is just slightly beneficial, but godliness is beneficial for all things since it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come."

Extreme workouts are normal and eating "healthy" is preached daily by nearly everyone. But what is almost never spoken of is the need to seek Christ and follow what He tells us. Spiritual food is far greater than physical food. Spiritual exercise is far greater than physical exercise.

Sadly the ways of the world are in the church. When I am speaking to those in the church in a setting where we are just visiting all I hear about, from the women, is how unhealthy our food is and the need to do whatever we can to make ourselves healthy by the food we eat. Almost all I hear from the men is how important it is to exercise to make themselves healthy.

In these conversations, I almost never hear about the things of God that foster holiness or fully trusting in Christ. What we speak about the most is what we think about the most and what we are devoted to.

Those who spend most of their time speaking about healthy food and physical exercise are not focused on Christ but rather on their own ability to make themselves healthy through their own practices. Trusting in Christ does not seem important to those who are worldly focused.

Just a thought, when is the last time you were in a group of Christians just visiting and they spoke about Jesus Christ or His principles for holy living, paying more attention to Spiritual matters not physical or political?

Proverbs 4:23

"23 Keep your heart with all diligence,

For out of it spring the issues of life."

We do and say that which is hidden in our hearts. We cannot do and say something that is different from within our hearts. We can lie but our body language and our actions will prove what is really in our hearts. We cannot hide very long before the real us emerges for all to see if they see with discerning Spiritual eyes.

Ephesians 4:23

"23 and that you are to be renewed in the spirit of your minds,"

When we walk with Christ He makes us renewed in our Spirit so that our words, attitudes and actions will match up with His and they will be consistently this way.

If we are thinking non-stop about Christ, praying without ceasing, and evaluating ourselves to make sure we are pleasing Christ we will not be continually speaking of politics, play, or food, we will be satisfied with God's provision while thanking Him for it.

I love my Christian friends but I confess sadness when rarely they speak the name of Jesus Christ while there is non-stop "health speak" pertaining to the body.

Philippians 4:8 "Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report, if there be any virtue and if there be any praise, think on these things."

1 Timothy 4:13

"Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation, to teaching."

Brothers and sisters who are walking with Christ love to speak about His principles, His promises, and Him, His character, everything is about Him.