Pretending to be Superior is a Devilish Business

I am so thankful that God gives permission to remove people who hate God and us from our lives. And, to keep us from becoming like them. They will poke and poke repeatedly in an attempt to cause us to become angry. Then if we bite and become angry they accuse us of being the one who starts the fights.

Sadly, most of this was done by those who say they are Christians. They justify their anger by making up stories about us that are not true but they wish to believe about us.

The very people who have wrongly judged me are doing what they accuse me of doing.

Bullies love to attack those they are jealous of or who are kind and loving. They hate the happiness of others because they do not have joy in their hearts and live continually in a state of irritation over the smallest and insignificant things.

They tend to make an issue over things that need not be a problem because they are trying to find a place to put their hatred and it lands on anyone who has the fruit of the Spirit. Since they lack this fruit they hate to see it in anyone else. Does this sound like the mentality of the devil, he hates God, he hates God's people and he hates righteousness?

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 responses of the one who is controlled by the devil are many. Grunting noises to show disapproval, rolling of eyes, and using disparaging language to convey their contempt with the intent of making their target feel shame. Many of you could name some of these tactics that are common in all those who are controlled by the devil. Since he is in the minds of those who are his puppets they all do and say nearly exactly the same things to demean the ones they hate.

Romans 8:6

"For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace."

1 John 4:8

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

Romans 13:10

"Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law."

Colossians 3:14

"And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony."

If there is love and godly intent there is harmony. If there is continual competition, hatred and envy there is no peace and no harmony. We can all recognize the spirit of those who hate God and those who love Him. There is a world of difference between the actions and reaction of godly people and those who hate our God.

Pretenders are those who follow rules to be elevated as special. They attend churches every week for people to see their own goodness. They care little to nothing about what God thinks while they twist His Word to fit their own fleshly desires. Pretenders act fleshly while dedicated to their own god-like appearance, their mind is focused on themselves, not on God. Appearances are far more important to the pretender than character. As long as they can appear holy by following rules they are satisfied, there is no concern about becoming holy within their own soul.

Matthew 23:27-28

27 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness. 28 So you too, outwardly appear righteous to people, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness."

Godly people who walk in the Spirit do not harm others, they do not speak lies to elevate themselves and they love the ways of God. They have all the fruit of the Spirit within their hearts so that they only act out what God puts there.

Character matters to the born-again believer, character does not matter to the pretender only outer appearances.

Colossians 3:1-3 "3 Therefore, if you have been raised with Christ, keep seeking the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 [a]Set your minds on the things that are above, not on the things that are on earth. 3 For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory."

Colossians 3:12-16 "12 So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience;

13 bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so must you do also.

14 In addition to all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity.

15 Let the peace of Christ, to which you were indeed called in one body, rule in your hearts; and be thankful.

16 Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God.

17 Whatever you do in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father."

If we are in Christ walking with the Holy Spirit we will not be manipulated by the devil to become rude and mean to others. We will make our boundaries to please God and resist becoming friends with those who love their pretending and their sinful superiority.

Obey God not Man's Traditions

God never told us a particular day to meet with others or worship HIm. Ask the Lord what you must do and ignore all the pressure from the organized church that thinks you should do things their way.

Most churches now practice traditions of men more than obedience to the Word of God. It can be agonizing to be involved in a group that elevates their own traditions above God's Word. We are not required to obey them, we can obey God and live peacefully in that choice.

Romans 14:4-13 "4 Who are you to judge the servant of another? To his own master he stands or falls; and he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand.

5 One person values one day over another, another values every day the same. Each person must be fully convinced in his own mind.

6 The one who observes the day, observes it for the Lord, and the one who eats, does so with regard to the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and the one who does not eat, it is for the Lord that he does not eat, and he gives thanks to God.

7 For not one of us lives for himself, and not one dies for himself;

8 for if we live, we live for the Lord, or if we die, we die for the Lord; therefore whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s.

9 For to this end Christ died and lived again, that He might be Lord both of the dead and of the living.

10 But as for you, why do you judge your brother or sister? Or you as well, why do you regard your brother or sister with contempt? For we will all appear before the judgment seat of God.

11 For it is written:

“As I live, says the Lord, to Me every knee will bow,

And every tongue will [h]give praise to God.”

12 So then each one of us will give an account of himself to God.

13 Therefore let’s not judge one another anymore, but rather determine this: not to put an obstacle or a stumbling block in a brother’s or sister’s way. "

Adrian Rogers: End Times Prophecy - Are we close to the second coming of...

Disrespect is Growing Exponentially!

In our day we are experiencing the disrespect of adult children and their spouses because they think they are superior to their parents allowing them the excuse them to emotionally and verbally abuse their parents, merely for thinking differently from them.

These arrogant and self-exalted adults withhold their children from the grandparents as well as teach the grandchildren to disrespect them through their own example. Those who are full of self-will and disregard for others become jealous if their children love anyone other than themselves. They have a strange idea that if their child loves someone else they cannot love the parents.

The Bible teaches that we can love everyone all at the same time. Those who think in selfish terms fear the loss of the love of their children because they do not possess love themselves.

Love toward everyone is the command of God in His Word. If we have love it will be a character matter that cannot be manipulated by those who do not love. If love is a part of our character we do not want to harm others even in the slightest way, we want all people we encounter to sense the love of Christ and we desire that everyone we meet hears the truth of Jesus Christ.

1 Corinthians 13:4-8

Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away.

"More is caught than taught." The generation that is trained to disrespect the elderly will themselves disrespect their elderly, it is what they will be familiar with all their lives. It makes no sense to think that grandchildren will show love and kindness to their own parents when they have been taught disrespect in general toward others they think do not measure up to themselves .

Isaiah 3:5

"5 The people will be oppressed, Every one by another and every one by his neighbor; The child will be insolent toward the elder, And the base toward the honorable."

When adult children train their own children to disrespect the grandparents they are making the way for their children to treat them the same way they were taught to treat their grandparents.

It isn't about teaching children to be respectful to one person over another. If a child has a disrespectful attitude no matter who they choose to disrespect, they will have a character of disrespect.

Those who have been trained to be loving and kind will do it all the time to everyone, no one will be treated disrespectfully because it is not in their character.

When a child is trained either by example or with words to be disrespectful or respectful they will do it because of their character as a whole is permeated with the traits they have been indoctrinated to follow. We train children to develop a character more by our own actions than by our words.

Sadly many of us in my generation attempted to teach our children good things but they chose to follow the culture rather than our teaching and example. Many married people who were not taught right from wrong and were influenced by their spouses.

Words have little value if they are not backed up by a lifestyle. A child who is told to be respectful but watches disrespect in their parents will do what the parent does and not what they say.

Matthew 23:2-4 "…2“ The scribes and Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. 3 So practice and observe everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach. 4 They tie up heavy, burdensome loads and lay them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them.…"

Matthew 23:5-6 "5 All their deeds are done for men to see. They broaden their phylacteries and lengthen their tassels. 6They love the places of honor at banquets, the chief seats in the synagogues,…"

When parents teach their children that appearances are far more important than substance they are training their children to devalue spiritual matters while holding close to their heart the things of this world.

Proverbs 3:3

"Let not mercy and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart:"

Sadly many "Christians" are training their children to devalue the things of the soul and spirit while elevating outer appearances to be loved by the world around them.

John 15:18-20

"18 the world hates you, understand that it hated Me first.

19 If you were of the world, it would love you as its own. Instead, the world hates you, because you are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world.

20 Remember the word that I spoke to you: ‘No servant is greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will persecute you as well; if they kept My word, they will keep yours as well."

1 John 2:15-16 " 15 Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh, the desires of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not from the Father but from the world."

Those who wish to teach the things of God will be despised by those who have a form of religion but deny Christ in their attitudes.

2 Timothy 3:5 " 5 having a form of godliness but denying its power. Turn away from such as these!" traitorous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God,"

Timothy 4:7

"But reject irreverent, silly myths. Instead, train yourself for godliness."

Romans 16:17,18

"Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offenses contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them"

We cannot completely get out of the world but we can avoid those who reject Christ and those who claim to be Christians but refuse to listen to the Word of God, making up their own rules and twisting Scripture to justify their disobedience and disrespect for the Word of God.

As we move closer to the rapture and the tribulation we will find it harder to have fellowship with authentic believers, most are pretenders and uninterested in deeply delving into the Word to discover God's truth.

2 Timothy 4:3

"3 For the time will come when they will not tolerate sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance with their own desires,"

Remember knowledge of this does not remove our joy and peace, that remains no matter what. However, we must refer back to God's promises to us to keep from being sucked into the foolishness these rebellious types bring. They want to derail our faith, joy and peace, do not let them.

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.