Jesus Christ did not remain in the lives of those who didn't love Him and neither should we remain with those who don't love us.
Tuesday, May 7, 2024
The Real Symbolism of the Head Covering
The head covering on the woman is an expression of the woman symbolically as the church and the lack of covering on the man is symbolic of Christ.
The covering and the non-covering in the gender roles are pictures of Christ and His church. It has nothing to do with the submission wife to the husband. The wife walks along with her husband as her leader but she is not under him, she is under Christ.
No one should ever take the place of Christ in the believer's life, whether it be man or woman. The man leads by example and teaching not as an authority over.
To be the authority over someone else the man would be taking the place of the Holy Spirit.
A woman is the helpmate to her husband. Her job is to encourage him to keep going when He obeys Christ and to redirect him when he falters from the calling. She is his helper in all Spiritual matters.
Women are to submit to their husbands as we all are to submit to others in general, but only if those we submit to are obeying Christ. We are never required to submit to anyone who is telling us to disobey Christ.
A woman will stand before God one day alone. She will never be able to say "but Lord, my husband told me to sin." She will be accountable for her own sin and her own choices, obeying God or disobeying God.
As believers, we ought to be honoring and deferring to one another. We must evaluate what God is calling us to do and submit to others as God leads. And, at times we might have to resist submitting when God is not calling us to do what others are asking.
Acts 5:29
"But Peter and the apostles answered and said, We must obey God rather than men."
1 John 5:3 - "For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome."
The covering and the non-covering in the gender roles are pictures of Christ and His church. It has nothing to do with the submission wife to the husband. The wife walks along with her husband as her leader but she is not under him, she is under Christ.
No one should ever take the place of Christ in the believer's life, whether it be man or woman. The man leads by example and teaching not as an authority over.
To be the authority over someone else the man would be taking the place of the Holy Spirit.
A woman is the helpmate to her husband. Her job is to encourage him to keep going when He obeys Christ and to redirect him when he falters from the calling. She is his helper in all Spiritual matters.
Women are to submit to their husbands as we all are to submit to others in general, but only if those we submit to are obeying Christ. We are never required to submit to anyone who is telling us to disobey Christ.
A woman will stand before God one day alone. She will never be able to say "but Lord, my husband told me to sin." She will be accountable for her own sin and her own choices, obeying God or disobeying God.
As believers, we ought to be honoring and deferring to one another. We must evaluate what God is calling us to do and submit to others as God leads. And, at times we might have to resist submitting when God is not calling us to do what others are asking.
Acts 5:29
"But Peter and the apostles answered and said, We must obey God rather than men."
1 John 5:3 - "For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome."
The First Fruit is Essential to all the other Fruit of the Spirit of Christ
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."
Notice the first fruit in that list of fruit of the Spirit is love. Without love none of the other fruit can exist.
To repeat: None of the other fruit of the Spirit of Christ can exist without that very first one!
My Facebook Friends Whom I Have Never Seen Face to Face
Some people say Facebook friends are not real friends because we have never met them or seen them with our eyes or had coffee with them in person. They are describing our relationships with Jesus Christ.
Paul the apostle wrote letters to people he had never met, inspired letter that live to this day and are written for us whom he has never met.
All my born-again brothers and sisters whom I have not seen will be with me at the marriage supper of the Lamb, we will celebrate our marriage with Christ together. We will be together for eternity.
The greatest joy we have ever known with our brothers and sisters is coming, we look forward to that time when we will never again be separated.
We are one in Spirit with all our brothers and sisters! I yearn for the fellowship that is coming with my family in Christ.
Revelation 22:4-6
4 they will see His face, and His name will be on their foreheads.
5 And there will no longer be any night; and they will not have need of the light of a lamp nor the light of the sun, because the Lord God will illuminate them; and they will reign forever and ever.
6 And he said to me, “These words are faithful and true”; and the Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, sent His angel to show His bond-servants the things which must soon take place."
We can't see Jesus Christ with our physical eyes but we know Him and He lives in us.
Hallelujah!
Monday, May 6, 2024
Validation from God is all We Need
Often people will not make sense while intimidating us to be silent because they don't like the message.
I once corrected a man who was being rude constantly, to appear superior to others. I told him he was rude and that as a Christian he shouldn't act like that.
He told another woman what I had said to him and she came to me and told me I should not tell people they are wrong while she was telling me I was wrong for telling someone else they were wrong.
As born-again believers, we ought to be able to see the truth about someone or about something someone does regardless of the relationship status. Corrections should make relationships closer and deeper if both parties are humble and honest with one another.
Proverbs 27:5-7
…5 Better an open rebuke than love that is concealed. 6 The wounds of a friend are faithful, but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful. 7 The soul that is full loathes honey, but to a hungry soul, any bitter thing is sweet."
Many people in these days of hyper-sensitivity to correction see correction as a personal attack instead of love that hopes to cause a change in behavior which deepens realtionships and is better for everyone.
It takes humility and maturity to be able to receive a correction without feeling anger. If someone corrects us and they are right we ought to be grateful for the love they showed us. Unless of course they are angry people who just want to intimidate us in a power struggle. In the Holy Spirit, we will discern which is which.
However, if someone corrects us and are wrong or in a power struggle, then we have no need to be angry because we know it isn't true. It doesn't matter what they think it only matters what is true. God sees it all, that's all we need to remain calm.
It is human nature to want people to think well of us, this is what causes the rage that emerges from those who are insecure allowing their feelings to rule the day. People who are self-absorbed are immature, they don't have adult maturity to be able to handle disagreement. They interpret interactions either good or bad based on how they feel, not based on the information discussed.
Immature people will see disapproval as an attack and acceptance as worship. There is no rationality to their response because it is according to "feelings" and not facts and they love to be worshiped and validated by others.
As born-again believers, we should become so strong in the Lord that we do not need validation from others to do what is right. When we need to be validated by others it will cause hurt and anger when we don't get what we want from them.
Proverbs 29:25-26 "25The fear of man is a snare, but whoever trusts in the LORD is set securely on high. 26 Many seek the ruler’s favor, but a man receives justice from the LORD."
We Don't Spank Adults Who Act Like Bratty Children, We Avoid Them
I know lots of narcissists who act phony all the time, they are all in the family system I grew up in it, as though they were trained to be like this by example.
Everyone deals with trials differently. Some choose to be mean out of anger toward others, a sort of blaming others for their pain. While other people resolve not to be like those who hurt them and want to act kindly the way they wish they had been treated.
It's all a choice, we are all hurt at one time or another, the narcissist chooses to be mean and vengeful, yes it is a choice. Those who are kind and loving choose to defy the way they were raised, this makes the narcissists in the family resent them and in their anger, they gossip lies to make the decent person look like they were the bad ones.
Narcissists are not people who think for themselves. They model the actions of others to be accepted by them. the one who wants to be different is targeted so that perhaps with enough rudeness leveled against them they too will react the same way, allowing the narcissist to feel justified in their own ill-mannered insolent mentality.
If the narcissist can polk at their target long enough to cause them to blow up in anger they feel they have proved that the target is as bad as they are, vindicating themselves of their own disagreeable nasty character. Just like the devil in the garden with Eve, his desire was to make God reject her the way He rejected the devil.
The victory comes when the born-again Christian realizes what the devil is doing through the narcissist and feels at ease not responding to the attacks. Christ is our advocate we do not need for the narcissist to validate us, in fact I would worry if the narcissist did validate us that would mean that I am just like them.
When we know the truth about the worldly narcissist we can remain silent and avoid them so that they can have no effect on our character.
1 Corinthians 15:33
"33 Do not be misled: “Bad company corrupts good character.”
2 Timothy 3:1-5
Difficult Times Will Come
3 But realize this, that in the last days difficult (ragingly insane) 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, haters of good,
4 treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God,
5 holding to a form of godliness although they have denied its power; avoid such people as these."
We have to be at the point at which we don't care what others think of us as long as we are approved by Christ. We may even see the humor in the foolishness of the antics of those who are controlled by the devil. It is so utterly ridiculous it is not worthy of self defense.
2 Timothy 4:3
"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."
Are we offended when a small child is angry at us? NO, we see that the child is acting out but it is not personal, it is manipulative, we may even laugh at how silly it is right before we spank them for it.
We don't spank adults who act like bratty six-year olds we leave their discipline to God but we do avoid them. 2 Timothy 3:5
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