I wonder if the rapture deniers of our day would have called Noah, Lot, Moses, Rahab and Joseph "escapists"?
Wednesday, June 18, 2025
The Fruit of God's Spirit Dominates those who are Born of Christ
Galatians 5:22-24 "…22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. Against such things, there is no law. 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires."
Why does God say there is no law needed when we have the fruit of the Spirit?
The reason is really quite simple: we do not have to try to be something that comes naturally to us. We have no need of a law that tells us to be loving because it is the very nature of who we are. Our first response without thinking will be according to the fruit of the Spirit of Christ, the same as the other fruit of God's Spirit.
It comes naturally to a person who is angry on the inside to snark and snort at others when they feel a sense of loss of control over others. The initial response to being told "no" or a "refusal to be manipulated" is to intimidate or frustrate the target.
As a born-again believer, our first response without thinking is to do what is kind while having self-control over our emotions when someone else has been rude. It is no longer our fleshly nature that dominates us!
Since born-again believers have no need to control others, they do not say and do things that will frustrate and anger others. They don't have a sense of needing to be superior, so they are unconcerned that someone doesn't agree with them.
1 Corinthians 13:4-7 "Let your gentleness be apparent to all. The Lord is near."Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no account of wrongs. Love takes no pleasure in evil, but rejoices in the truth."
Love dominates the heart of one who has been changed into a new creation by Christ. If we find we are having a weak moment and allow our flesh to take over we quickly feel bad and confess it to be cleansed.
Ephesians 4:2
"with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love,"
Colossians 3:12-13
"Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with hearts of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Bear with one another and forgive any complaint you may have against someone else. Forgive as the Lord forgave you."
The heart of the born-again believer is humble, desiring to be like Christ, not just say things that sound Christlike, but to be like Him in all our words and actions.
James 3:17
"But the wisdom from above is first of all pure, then peace-loving, gentle, accommodating, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial, and sincere."
2 Timothy 2:24-25
"And a servant of the Lord must not be quarrelsome, but must be kind to everyone, able to teach, and forbearing. He must gently reprove those who oppose him, in the hope that God may grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth."
Philippians 4:5
"Let your gentleness be apparent to all. The Lord is near."
Authentically born-again believers are the same to everyone; they do not treat one person with respect while treating another disrespectfully. Respect is a character quality permeating the soul for those who love Christ. As believers, we view all people as valued; we know what we were saved from, and everyone else needs saving, too.
We tell the truth that some people will not like, but we do it honestly and respectfully. In our hearts, no one is superior to anyone else because we know that "all have fallen short of the glory of God" and that no one deserves respect more than anyone else. In fact, no one deserves respect; we extend it because of Christ.
Everyone who is born of Christ has the fruit; those who walk according to it will rarely do unkind things to others because they hate being something God hates.
Why does God say there is no law needed when we have the fruit of the Spirit?
The reason is really quite simple: we do not have to try to be something that comes naturally to us. We have no need of a law that tells us to be loving because it is the very nature of who we are. Our first response without thinking will be according to the fruit of the Spirit of Christ, the same as the other fruit of God's Spirit.
It comes naturally to a person who is angry on the inside to snark and snort at others when they feel a sense of loss of control over others. The initial response to being told "no" or a "refusal to be manipulated" is to intimidate or frustrate the target.
As a born-again believer, our first response without thinking is to do what is kind while having self-control over our emotions when someone else has been rude. It is no longer our fleshly nature that dominates us!
Since born-again believers have no need to control others, they do not say and do things that will frustrate and anger others. They don't have a sense of needing to be superior, so they are unconcerned that someone doesn't agree with them.
1 Corinthians 13:4-7 "Let your gentleness be apparent to all. The Lord is near."Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no account of wrongs. Love takes no pleasure in evil, but rejoices in the truth."
Love dominates the heart of one who has been changed into a new creation by Christ. If we find we are having a weak moment and allow our flesh to take over we quickly feel bad and confess it to be cleansed.
Ephesians 4:2
"with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love,"
Colossians 3:12-13
"Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with hearts of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Bear with one another and forgive any complaint you may have against someone else. Forgive as the Lord forgave you."
The heart of the born-again believer is humble, desiring to be like Christ, not just say things that sound Christlike, but to be like Him in all our words and actions.
James 3:17
"But the wisdom from above is first of all pure, then peace-loving, gentle, accommodating, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial, and sincere."
2 Timothy 2:24-25
"And a servant of the Lord must not be quarrelsome, but must be kind to everyone, able to teach, and forbearing. He must gently reprove those who oppose him, in the hope that God may grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth."
Philippians 4:5
"Let your gentleness be apparent to all. The Lord is near."
Authentically born-again believers are the same to everyone; they do not treat one person with respect while treating another disrespectfully. Respect is a character quality permeating the soul for those who love Christ. As believers, we view all people as valued; we know what we were saved from, and everyone else needs saving, too.
We tell the truth that some people will not like, but we do it honestly and respectfully. In our hearts, no one is superior to anyone else because we know that "all have fallen short of the glory of God" and that no one deserves respect more than anyone else. In fact, no one deserves respect; we extend it because of Christ.
Everyone who is born of Christ has the fruit; those who walk according to it will rarely do unkind things to others because they hate being something God hates.
Tuesday, June 17, 2025
Praise God He Goes Through Everything with Us
May my brothers and sisters in the Lord Jesus Christ praise His name today for all that He did for us on that cross and what He does for us every day as we learn new lessons and become stronger because of them.
Hebrews 12:6-13
"6 For whom the Lord loves He disciplines,
And He punishes every son whom He accepts.”
7 It is for discipline that you endure; God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline?
8 But if you are without discipline, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate children and not sons.
9 Furthermore, we had earthly fathers to discipline us, and we respected them; shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits, and live?
10 For they disciplined us for a short time as seemed best to them, but He disciplines us for our good, so that we may share His holiness.
11 For the moment, all discipline seems not to be pleasant, but painful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterward it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness.
12 Therefore, strengthen the hands that are weak and the knees that are feeble,
13 and make straight paths for your feet, so that the limb which is impaired may not be dislocated, but rather be healed."
Discipline can be for wrong attitudes or sinful actions, but often when we are walking with the Lord, the discipline is not for punishment but for strengthening.
We cannot become strong if we never have to struggle with anything. I once heard a young mother explain to others that she did not always help her three-year-old daughter with things she struggles with because the struggling and trying, and persevering is what builds emotional and even physical muscle.
This is not cruel but loving to allow a child to fall off a bike and get up by themselves. I remember falling off my bike as a child, feeling so silly for it that I cried and laughed at the same time. No one picked me up because I was able to pick myself up.
It is loving and kind to say words like, "Are you alright, dear?" or "Do you need any help?" But to rush over and help up someone who is able to help themselves can hinder their growth and impede their strength.
Yesterday I fell in a parking lot. I am suffering from illness and am not always agile, so I tripped. My husband was with me and aghast that I might be hurt. A lovely lady came rushing over, asking to help when I felt ready to get up. My husband and the lady waited patiently until the shock of falling passed, and the tears flowed from fear, since the last thing I need is to have anything broken.
I cried out loud to God to keep me from having one more thing wrong with me, and graciously, He answered my prayer. I was scraped on one knee, but nothing else was seriously wrong with me.
I praised God for my loving husband and that kind lady who expressed concern and helped me up when I was over my shock. Falling off a bike when we are children is nothing compared to falling as a little old lady who is already having health issues.
Every day, I sense the loving kindness of my Savior helping me and guiding me through life, every lesson a blessing. It is more important to me to learn to trust in Christ through various trials and struggles than to live a struggle-free life that would teach me nothing spiritual.
Our Spiritual and emotional muscles must become stronger through difficulties, but they can only do that if we are trusting in Christ. They can only become strong when we can openly and honestly express them. I thank God for the pressure-releasing value of tears.
Even Christ wept over Jerusalem, realizing their rejection of salvation through Him. He wept before He went to the cross, knowing the agony that He was about to suffer for mankind.
Jesus Comforts Martha and Mary
…34“Where have you put him?” He asked. “Come and see, Lord,” they answered. 35 Jesus wept. 36 Then the Jews said, “See how He loved him!”
Jesus wept for others' trials as well as His own.
Hebrews 4:15 "For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who was tempted in every way that we are, yet was without sin."
I never see any passage in Scripture in which Christ chastised someone for weeping. He is not only a compassionate God but has experienced His own grief and tears.
My counsel to grieving or tormented souls is to cry out to God, literally allow your tears to flow; this is God's stress relief mechanism for our bodies. There is a sort of cleansing that occurs when we allow our bodies to do what they are designed to do.
May my brothers and sisters in Christ learn to lean on Christ through everything, knowing He has a purpose in it all for our own good.
Romans 8:28
"28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose."
Hallelujah!!!
Hebrews 12:6-13
"6 For whom the Lord loves He disciplines,
And He punishes every son whom He accepts.”
7 It is for discipline that you endure; God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline?
8 But if you are without discipline, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate children and not sons.
9 Furthermore, we had earthly fathers to discipline us, and we respected them; shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits, and live?
10 For they disciplined us for a short time as seemed best to them, but He disciplines us for our good, so that we may share His holiness.
11 For the moment, all discipline seems not to be pleasant, but painful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterward it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness.
12 Therefore, strengthen the hands that are weak and the knees that are feeble,
13 and make straight paths for your feet, so that the limb which is impaired may not be dislocated, but rather be healed."
Discipline can be for wrong attitudes or sinful actions, but often when we are walking with the Lord, the discipline is not for punishment but for strengthening.
We cannot become strong if we never have to struggle with anything. I once heard a young mother explain to others that she did not always help her three-year-old daughter with things she struggles with because the struggling and trying, and persevering is what builds emotional and even physical muscle.
This is not cruel but loving to allow a child to fall off a bike and get up by themselves. I remember falling off my bike as a child, feeling so silly for it that I cried and laughed at the same time. No one picked me up because I was able to pick myself up.
It is loving and kind to say words like, "Are you alright, dear?" or "Do you need any help?" But to rush over and help up someone who is able to help themselves can hinder their growth and impede their strength.
Yesterday I fell in a parking lot. I am suffering from illness and am not always agile, so I tripped. My husband was with me and aghast that I might be hurt. A lovely lady came rushing over, asking to help when I felt ready to get up. My husband and the lady waited patiently until the shock of falling passed, and the tears flowed from fear, since the last thing I need is to have anything broken.
I cried out loud to God to keep me from having one more thing wrong with me, and graciously, He answered my prayer. I was scraped on one knee, but nothing else was seriously wrong with me.
I praised God for my loving husband and that kind lady who expressed concern and helped me up when I was over my shock. Falling off a bike when we are children is nothing compared to falling as a little old lady who is already having health issues.
Every day, I sense the loving kindness of my Savior helping me and guiding me through life, every lesson a blessing. It is more important to me to learn to trust in Christ through various trials and struggles than to live a struggle-free life that would teach me nothing spiritual.
Our Spiritual and emotional muscles must become stronger through difficulties, but they can only do that if we are trusting in Christ. They can only become strong when we can openly and honestly express them. I thank God for the pressure-releasing value of tears.
Even Christ wept over Jerusalem, realizing their rejection of salvation through Him. He wept before He went to the cross, knowing the agony that He was about to suffer for mankind.
Jesus Comforts Martha and Mary
…34“Where have you put him?” He asked. “Come and see, Lord,” they answered. 35 Jesus wept. 36 Then the Jews said, “See how He loved him!”
Jesus wept for others' trials as well as His own.
Hebrews 4:15 "For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who was tempted in every way that we are, yet was without sin."
I never see any passage in Scripture in which Christ chastised someone for weeping. He is not only a compassionate God but has experienced His own grief and tears.
My counsel to grieving or tormented souls is to cry out to God, literally allow your tears to flow; this is God's stress relief mechanism for our bodies. There is a sort of cleansing that occurs when we allow our bodies to do what they are designed to do.
May my brothers and sisters in Christ learn to lean on Christ through everything, knowing He has a purpose in it all for our own good.
Romans 8:28
"28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose."
Hallelujah!!!
Monday, June 16, 2025
Agreeing to Disagree Makes no Sense to Me
Does anyone really know what "agree to disagree" means? If I disagree, it is not agreement.
When there is a disagreement between me and someone else, it is good to remain civil and respectful, but this does not mean I place the same value on their view as I do on my own.
The mentality of today is concerning; it assumes that all views are equal, valued, and carry the same weight of importance. In other words, nothing is right or wrong. If this were the case, then nothing would be of any value.
There are some things I might disagree with that are not important, such as the color to paint a room or which kind of tomato to buy. But there are many things that are vitally important, the principles of the Bible that God commanded are important.
When there is an important disagreement that dictates the way someone lives their lives, God was clear that people who disagree on these things cannot be good friends.
Having a discussion with someone who disagrees can be valuable in discovering the character of the person. Our beliefs drive our lifestyle. If there is a lifestyle that disobeys God regularly without remorse, this is someone we cannot keep company with, as we would with a close, trusted friend.
Those we trust and edify in our walk must be those who place high regard on the Word of God, not just something they say but something they live.
Do we say we trust in Christ and believe His Word, or do we live it?
When there is a disagreement between me and someone else, it is good to remain civil and respectful, but this does not mean I place the same value on their view as I do on my own.
The mentality of today is concerning; it assumes that all views are equal, valued, and carry the same weight of importance. In other words, nothing is right or wrong. If this were the case, then nothing would be of any value.
There are some things I might disagree with that are not important, such as the color to paint a room or which kind of tomato to buy. But there are many things that are vitally important, the principles of the Bible that God commanded are important.
When there is an important disagreement that dictates the way someone lives their lives, God was clear that people who disagree on these things cannot be good friends.
Having a discussion with someone who disagrees can be valuable in discovering the character of the person. Our beliefs drive our lifestyle. If there is a lifestyle that disobeys God regularly without remorse, this is someone we cannot keep company with, as we would with a close, trusted friend.
Those we trust and edify in our walk must be those who place high regard on the Word of God, not just something they say but something they live.
Do we say we trust in Christ and believe His Word, or do we live it?
Sunday, June 15, 2025
Religious People are not Godly People
A lot of people are "religious" but not born again.
Religious people are contradictory because they are "performing" rather than having been changed by Christ into a new creation.
"Religion" is about performance and very self-focused, earning their way to heaven, and proud of it. The religious have many rules they make up to fit what they wish to believe, negating much of the Bible in favor of their own system.
Born-again believers trust in Christ and are changed by Him, operating with His mindset as described in the Bible.
In my experience, religious people tend to be prideful and demanding of others. Christ shared truth by the Word, but He never forced or intimidated others into compliance, except in the Temple when the money changers were defiling His Father's house.
Notice in 2 Timothy 3 the people with these horrid character traits have a form of religion but deny Christ in their lifestyle while claiming they are "Christian."
2 Timothy 3:1-5
Difficult Times Will Come
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, 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."
And, what is God's direction to us when we encounter such people? The answer is for us to avoid them.
Matthew 23:27-28
"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men’s bones and every kind of impurity. / In the same way, on the outside you appear to be righteous, but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness."
Titus 1:16
"They profess to know God, but by their actions they deny Him. They are detestable, disobedient, and unfit for any good deed."
Matthew 7:15-20
"Beware of false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit."
1 Timothy 4:1-2
"Now the Spirit expressly states that in later times some will abandon the faith to follow deceitful spirits and the teachings of demons, influenced by the hypocrisy of liars, whose consciences are seared with a hot iron."
Ezekiel 33:31-32
"So My people come to you as usual, sit before you, and hear your words; but they do not put them into practice. Although they express love with their mouths, their hearts pursue dishonest gain. / Indeed, you are to them like a singer of love songs with a beautiful voice, who skillfully plays an instrument. They hear your words but do not put them into practice."
1 John 2:4
"If anyone says, “I know Him,” but does not keep His commandments, he is a liar, and the truth is not in him."
Romans 16:17-18
"Now I urge you, brothers, to watch out for those who create divisions and obstacles that are contrary to the teaching you have learned. Turn away from them. For such people are not serving our Lord Christ, but their own appetites. By smooth talk and flattery, they deceive the hearts of the naive."
It is not those who point out the disobedience to God's Word who are divisive; it is those who disobey the Word and fight against it when informed about their sin of rebellion.
Don't be one of these people: It is in Christ that we can be cleansed of human rituals and divisive attitudes that lead others away from God.
Matthew 15:7-9
"You hypocrites! Isaiah prophesied correctly about you: ‘These people honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me. They worship Me in vain; they teach as doctrine the precepts of men.’"
Religious people are contradictory because they are "performing" rather than having been changed by Christ into a new creation.
"Religion" is about performance and very self-focused, earning their way to heaven, and proud of it. The religious have many rules they make up to fit what they wish to believe, negating much of the Bible in favor of their own system.
Born-again believers trust in Christ and are changed by Him, operating with His mindset as described in the Bible.
In my experience, religious people tend to be prideful and demanding of others. Christ shared truth by the Word, but He never forced or intimidated others into compliance, except in the Temple when the money changers were defiling His Father's house.
Notice in 2 Timothy 3 the people with these horrid character traits have a form of religion but deny Christ in their lifestyle while claiming they are "Christian."
2 Timothy 3:1-5
Difficult Times Will Come
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, 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."
And, what is God's direction to us when we encounter such people? The answer is for us to avoid them.
Matthew 23:27-28
"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men’s bones and every kind of impurity. / In the same way, on the outside you appear to be righteous, but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness."
Titus 1:16
"They profess to know God, but by their actions they deny Him. They are detestable, disobedient, and unfit for any good deed."
Matthew 7:15-20
"Beware of false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit."
1 Timothy 4:1-2
"Now the Spirit expressly states that in later times some will abandon the faith to follow deceitful spirits and the teachings of demons, influenced by the hypocrisy of liars, whose consciences are seared with a hot iron."
Ezekiel 33:31-32
"So My people come to you as usual, sit before you, and hear your words; but they do not put them into practice. Although they express love with their mouths, their hearts pursue dishonest gain. / Indeed, you are to them like a singer of love songs with a beautiful voice, who skillfully plays an instrument. They hear your words but do not put them into practice."
1 John 2:4
"If anyone says, “I know Him,” but does not keep His commandments, he is a liar, and the truth is not in him."
Romans 16:17-18
"Now I urge you, brothers, to watch out for those who create divisions and obstacles that are contrary to the teaching you have learned. Turn away from them. For such people are not serving our Lord Christ, but their own appetites. By smooth talk and flattery, they deceive the hearts of the naive."
It is not those who point out the disobedience to God's Word who are divisive; it is those who disobey the Word and fight against it when informed about their sin of rebellion.
Don't be one of these people: It is in Christ that we can be cleansed of human rituals and divisive attitudes that lead others away from God.
Matthew 15:7-9
"You hypocrites! Isaiah prophesied correctly about you: ‘These people honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me. They worship Me in vain; they teach as doctrine the precepts of men.’"
Friday, June 13, 2025
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