The Triune God
There are those who are claiming that they are believers but deny the three persons of God. In the Word of God it is clear that the One true God, is three persons in one in these scriptures.
Genesis 1:26
"Then God said, "Let.... US.... make man in... OUR... image, according to... OUR....likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth."God the Father calls God the Son, God!!!
He is not speaking to Himself, but to His son, Here is what He says to Him.
Hebrews 1:8-12 "But to the Son [He says]: "Your throne, O God, [is] forever and ever; A scepter of righteousness [is] the scepter of Your kingdom. You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness;"
"Therefore God, Your God, has anointed You With the oil of gladness more than Your companions." And: "You, LORD, in the beginning laid the foundation of the earth, And the heavens are the work of Your hands."
"They will perish, but You remain; And they will all grow old like a garment; Like a cloak You will fold them up, And they will be changed. But You are the same, And Your years will not fail."
Friday, August 16, 2013
Monday, August 12, 2013
It Won't Be Long Now!
God says that Israel will return to Him one day and before that happens, Israel will once again be declared a nation and it would happen in one day. This happened on May 14, 1948, the gavel came down by the hand of Ben Gurion to declare that Israel was a nation.
Jeremiah chapter 3 tells us that God considers Israel His wife, who is still in adultery, but will return to Him.
During the tribulation all of Israel will find Christ, but only after 2/3 of her is destroyed by her enemies. She will be the one to take the gospel to the world before the great day of wrath, giving those in the tribulation one more chance to trust Christ and become born again.
We may think the tribulation is only about God's wrath, but it is more than that, it is God's declaration of Who He is and a last opportunity for those on the earth to turn to Him.
God orchestrated the return of the nation of Israel on May 14, 1948. Ben Gurion brought down the gavel to declare her a nation as God said would happen.
Isaiah 66:7-8 ""Before she was in labor, she gave birth; Before her pain came, She delivered a male child. Who has heard such a thing? Who has seen such things? Shall the earth be made to give birth in one day? [Or] shall a nation be born at once? For as soon as Zion was in labor, She gave birth to her children."
One more piece of prophesy happened on that day and each day we see more pieces of the puzzle being added to fulfill what God said would take place.
Things are moving very quickly now, the one world government is forming as the United States moves further and further away from it's roots in an independent nation, fitting in with world domination through the dissolving of the constitution and the diminishing power of each sovereign state.
I will be surprised if we have another election in our country, I think that we have a "dictator" mentality dominating Washington.
Many people are asleep, busying themselves with the trivial cares of this life, not noticing that we are being systematically and methodically overtaken by sin and government.
As believers we should not fight this, it is God's judgment on us and the world, the time is short and we must be about our Father's business, giving the gospel and encouraging the saints in righteousness.
Hebrews 1:8-14 "But to the Son [He says]: "Your throne, O God, [is] forever and ever; A scepter of righteousness [is] the scepter of Your kingdom."
"You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness; Therefore God, Your God, has anointed You With the oil of gladness more than Your companions."
"And: "You, LORD, in the beginning laid the foundation of the earth, And the heavens are the work of Your hands."
"They will perish, but You remain; And they will all grow old like a garment;"
"Like a cloak You will fold them up, And they will be changed. But You are the same, And Your years will not fail."
"But to which of the angels has He ever said: "Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your enemies Your footstool"?
"Are they not all ministering spirits sent forth to minister for those who will inherit salvation?"
Jeremiah chapter 3 tells us that God considers Israel His wife, who is still in adultery, but will return to Him.
During the tribulation all of Israel will find Christ, but only after 2/3 of her is destroyed by her enemies. She will be the one to take the gospel to the world before the great day of wrath, giving those in the tribulation one more chance to trust Christ and become born again.
We may think the tribulation is only about God's wrath, but it is more than that, it is God's declaration of Who He is and a last opportunity for those on the earth to turn to Him.
God orchestrated the return of the nation of Israel on May 14, 1948. Ben Gurion brought down the gavel to declare her a nation as God said would happen.
Isaiah 66:7-8 ""Before she was in labor, she gave birth; Before her pain came, She delivered a male child. Who has heard such a thing? Who has seen such things? Shall the earth be made to give birth in one day? [Or] shall a nation be born at once? For as soon as Zion was in labor, She gave birth to her children."
One more piece of prophesy happened on that day and each day we see more pieces of the puzzle being added to fulfill what God said would take place.
Things are moving very quickly now, the one world government is forming as the United States moves further and further away from it's roots in an independent nation, fitting in with world domination through the dissolving of the constitution and the diminishing power of each sovereign state.
I will be surprised if we have another election in our country, I think that we have a "dictator" mentality dominating Washington.
Many people are asleep, busying themselves with the trivial cares of this life, not noticing that we are being systematically and methodically overtaken by sin and government.
As believers we should not fight this, it is God's judgment on us and the world, the time is short and we must be about our Father's business, giving the gospel and encouraging the saints in righteousness.
Hebrews 1:8-14 "But to the Son [He says]: "Your throne, O God, [is] forever and ever; A scepter of righteousness [is] the scepter of Your kingdom."
"You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness; Therefore God, Your God, has anointed You With the oil of gladness more than Your companions."
"And: "You, LORD, in the beginning laid the foundation of the earth, And the heavens are the work of Your hands."
"They will perish, but You remain; And they will all grow old like a garment;"
"Like a cloak You will fold them up, And they will be changed. But You are the same, And Your years will not fail."
"But to which of the angels has He ever said: "Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your enemies Your footstool"?
"Are they not all ministering spirits sent forth to minister for those who will inherit salvation?"
Thursday, July 18, 2013
Believers Are Not Sinless
The question is not whether a believer can lose something he did not earn and had to be given by God through faith, the question is was a person who has no conscience over sin and uses grace as an excuse to sin, has ever been born again.
God never commanded us to ask forgiveness for sin after we were saved, however He did tell us to confess our sin. We cannot grow in grace if we will not confess that we are a sinner, and we cannot grow away from any particular sin unless we can openly confess we have a problem.
David asked the Lord to forgive him for unknown sin. We cannot be sinless in our bodies. Christ is our righteousness, not us or our good deeds. For the believer with unconfessed sin, he will lose fellowship and rewards in heaven, even suffer consequences in this life, but he does not lose his salvation, or the Holy Spirit.
If someone could lose their salvation over sin then no one would be saved. We all sin, if only in attitude or hidden sins of the heart. Unless anyone can tell me the size of sin, or the number of sins or the duration of sin for which God would remove His Holy Spirit, I stand on the Word that we cannot lose it.
I see no indication in the New Testament that described the leaving of the Holy Spirit from someone who was born again.
I must admonish anyone who thinks they never sin, even the tiniest of sins cannot be in the presence of our Lord, which is why He has imputed our sins to Christ.
How can a mere man, whom God says is desperately wicked do anything that would please God. We cannot, only Christ in us is righteous.
Romans 3:10 "As it is written: "There is none righteous, no, not one;"
2 Peter 1:1 "Simon Peter, a bondservant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who have obtained like precious faith with us by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ:"
It has always been God's righteousness that saved a people from themselves. Nothing they could do in obedience means anything if apart from Christ.
Daniel 9:16 ""O Lord, according to all Your righteousness, I pray, let Your anger and Your fury be turned away from Your city Jerusalem, Your holy mountain; because for our sins, and for the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and Your people [are] a reproach to all [those] around us."
When we realize that all our striving to be good is disgusting to God and it is only a faithful servant who can say "it is all you Lord", who will move forward in cleansing.
God will not cleanse the heart of a person who refuses to admit the need for cleansing and from someone who refuses to confess it.
God never commanded us to ask forgiveness for sin after we were saved, however He did tell us to confess our sin. We cannot grow in grace if we will not confess that we are a sinner, and we cannot grow away from any particular sin unless we can openly confess we have a problem.
David asked the Lord to forgive him for unknown sin. We cannot be sinless in our bodies. Christ is our righteousness, not us or our good deeds. For the believer with unconfessed sin, he will lose fellowship and rewards in heaven, even suffer consequences in this life, but he does not lose his salvation, or the Holy Spirit.
If someone could lose their salvation over sin then no one would be saved. We all sin, if only in attitude or hidden sins of the heart. Unless anyone can tell me the size of sin, or the number of sins or the duration of sin for which God would remove His Holy Spirit, I stand on the Word that we cannot lose it.
I see no indication in the New Testament that described the leaving of the Holy Spirit from someone who was born again.
I must admonish anyone who thinks they never sin, even the tiniest of sins cannot be in the presence of our Lord, which is why He has imputed our sins to Christ.
How can a mere man, whom God says is desperately wicked do anything that would please God. We cannot, only Christ in us is righteous.
Romans 3:10 "As it is written: "There is none righteous, no, not one;"
2 Peter 1:1 "Simon Peter, a bondservant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who have obtained like precious faith with us by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ:"
It has always been God's righteousness that saved a people from themselves. Nothing they could do in obedience means anything if apart from Christ.
Daniel 9:16 ""O Lord, according to all Your righteousness, I pray, let Your anger and Your fury be turned away from Your city Jerusalem, Your holy mountain; because for our sins, and for the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and Your people [are] a reproach to all [those] around us."
When we realize that all our striving to be good is disgusting to God and it is only a faithful servant who can say "it is all you Lord", who will move forward in cleansing.
God will not cleanse the heart of a person who refuses to admit the need for cleansing and from someone who refuses to confess it.
Wednesday, June 26, 2013
Heart Morality or Hidden Immorality
Today the Lord, once again, has reminded me about the days in which we live. I grieve at the state of the church as a whole. Many believers think they are doing well in their lives because they are against homosexuality and abortion, but are completely accepting of many things that dishonor God on a regular basis.
Ready for the firestorm that is coming after writing this piece... here goes. Because the arrogance of the young people who refuse instruction and even mock the wisdom of the older folks, "heart" immorality is wide spread.
I was in a discussion recently about the undergarments of the teenagers today. Those who like to be in step with the modern culture think that wearing under garments that were only worn by prostitutes a mere 40 years ago, is acceptable because they are unseen.
The question arises, "Why would a young girl care about the style of her under garments if they are unseen?"
God is always looking at the heart, if we want to feel sexy under our cloths it is a heart condition. Why would we want to "feel sexy" as an unmarried person, except that our heart desires things we should not have?
The heart desiring to indulge in promiscuity without actually dong it, is prevalent. God looks at the heart more than the actions. Our hearts are only revealed though actions, but the heart condition is there before the action.
There was a time in our history when women wore long clothing to cover up, even corsets were considered immoral for the believer because the purpose was to show off a figure in public.
Then as the society became a little more bold the dress hems were raised to above the ground to show the ankles. Only those women who were wild and immoral would wear them in the beginning, most of society frowned on them. As the culture began to see more and more of these skirts above the ground exposing the ankle, the older folks became used to the look, rather than evaluating the consequences of this rebellion, they accepted it in the younger generation.
The skirt hems became shorter and shorter over the years until we have what we have now. Any long skirts we find, often have slits all the way up the back or the side exposing far too much.
However, this discussion is not really about the length of a skirt hem, but rather about a heart attitude of rebellion in sexuality.
The sixties and the seventies opened a Pandora's box of immorality that began a firestorm of sexual promiscuity that has infiltrated the church.
Today the modern teen is wearing cloths on the outside and underneath that only prostitutes wore not that long ago. This clothing is fostering rebellion and promiscuity in the heart, even if unseen on the outside.
So often parents, even home school parents are shocked when their daughters get to a certain age, they begin to indulge in bad friends and immoral clothing, even marrying unbelievers in disobedience to the Word, because the parents believed they were teaching all the right things, even holding "family altars." The problem is that the standard of dress has been low in comparison to God's standard, even under the street cloths. And, what is underneath fostered a promiscuous heart.
The seventies was a time when the "hippies" were "telling it all." In an effort to be open and honest the counter-culture of the hippies fostered rebellion against cultural norms disguising it as "openness", when in fact it was merely an in your face declaration to be different for difference sake. Most of what the hippie generation taught was not better, however it was damaging.
Let's take a look at what we have now that is a product of all this focus on fashion and amoral thinking.
We have half if not more of the people in the church divorcing and remarrying and those who have not done it are defending those who do.
We have half the babies born, are out of wedlock immorality. Many people are not bothering with marriage. Because of this children do not have a stable family life, break-ups are common among their parents and those in their sphere of influence are accepting and even helping in the dissolution of relationships and families.
We have 55 million murders in the form of abortion.
We have illegal drugs being sold at our elementary and high schools.
We have teachers who are immoral with their students in public schools.
When we teach our children that what they do on the outside is more important than what they do in secret, we are not addressing the most important issue of all, and that is the condition of the heart.
Parents need to take a strong stand very early with their children as to their clothing, on the outside, and to foster modesty even in the hidden things.
Romans 2:29 "but [he is] a Jew who [is one] inwardly; and circumcision [is that] of the heart, in the Spirit, not in the letter; whose praise [is] not from men but from God."
1 Corinthians 10:31 "Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God."
Luke 6:45 ""A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks."
Ready for the firestorm that is coming after writing this piece... here goes. Because the arrogance of the young people who refuse instruction and even mock the wisdom of the older folks, "heart" immorality is wide spread.
I was in a discussion recently about the undergarments of the teenagers today. Those who like to be in step with the modern culture think that wearing under garments that were only worn by prostitutes a mere 40 years ago, is acceptable because they are unseen.
The question arises, "Why would a young girl care about the style of her under garments if they are unseen?"
God is always looking at the heart, if we want to feel sexy under our cloths it is a heart condition. Why would we want to "feel sexy" as an unmarried person, except that our heart desires things we should not have?
The heart desiring to indulge in promiscuity without actually dong it, is prevalent. God looks at the heart more than the actions. Our hearts are only revealed though actions, but the heart condition is there before the action.
There was a time in our history when women wore long clothing to cover up, even corsets were considered immoral for the believer because the purpose was to show off a figure in public.
Then as the society became a little more bold the dress hems were raised to above the ground to show the ankles. Only those women who were wild and immoral would wear them in the beginning, most of society frowned on them. As the culture began to see more and more of these skirts above the ground exposing the ankle, the older folks became used to the look, rather than evaluating the consequences of this rebellion, they accepted it in the younger generation.
The skirt hems became shorter and shorter over the years until we have what we have now. Any long skirts we find, often have slits all the way up the back or the side exposing far too much.
However, this discussion is not really about the length of a skirt hem, but rather about a heart attitude of rebellion in sexuality.
The sixties and the seventies opened a Pandora's box of immorality that began a firestorm of sexual promiscuity that has infiltrated the church.
Today the modern teen is wearing cloths on the outside and underneath that only prostitutes wore not that long ago. This clothing is fostering rebellion and promiscuity in the heart, even if unseen on the outside.
So often parents, even home school parents are shocked when their daughters get to a certain age, they begin to indulge in bad friends and immoral clothing, even marrying unbelievers in disobedience to the Word, because the parents believed they were teaching all the right things, even holding "family altars." The problem is that the standard of dress has been low in comparison to God's standard, even under the street cloths. And, what is underneath fostered a promiscuous heart.
The seventies was a time when the "hippies" were "telling it all." In an effort to be open and honest the counter-culture of the hippies fostered rebellion against cultural norms disguising it as "openness", when in fact it was merely an in your face declaration to be different for difference sake. Most of what the hippie generation taught was not better, however it was damaging.
Let's take a look at what we have now that is a product of all this focus on fashion and amoral thinking.
We have half if not more of the people in the church divorcing and remarrying and those who have not done it are defending those who do.
We have half the babies born, are out of wedlock immorality. Many people are not bothering with marriage. Because of this children do not have a stable family life, break-ups are common among their parents and those in their sphere of influence are accepting and even helping in the dissolution of relationships and families.
We have 55 million murders in the form of abortion.
We have illegal drugs being sold at our elementary and high schools.
We have teachers who are immoral with their students in public schools.
When we teach our children that what they do on the outside is more important than what they do in secret, we are not addressing the most important issue of all, and that is the condition of the heart.
Parents need to take a strong stand very early with their children as to their clothing, on the outside, and to foster modesty even in the hidden things.
Romans 2:29 "but [he is] a Jew who [is one] inwardly; and circumcision [is that] of the heart, in the Spirit, not in the letter; whose praise [is] not from men but from God."
1 Corinthians 10:31 "Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God."
Luke 6:45 ""A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks."
Sunday, June 23, 2013
Exposing the Health and Wealth Lies
I don't know
about any of you but I become weary at the health wealth and prosperity gospel
that some are spreading. There is no
scriptural basis for it. Many have
become discouraged thinking they have done something wrong because they don't
live in wealth, they are sick often and all their relatives hate them.
There are
those who say they don't believe the false gospel of prosperity, but live as
though they must prove God is blessing them through feverish efforts to acquire
wealth. They even deny their illnesses
to pretend they are healthy when they need a doctor.
Next time
someone attempts to convince you that God does not want you to be poor, sick,
or persecuted, repeat these words to them.
Hebrews 11:35
"Women received their dead raised to life again. Others were tortured, not
accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection.
Hbr 11:36
Still others had trial of mockings and scourgings, yes, and of chains and
imprisonment.
Hbr 11:37
They were stoned, they were sawn in two, were tempted, [fn] were slain with the
sword. They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute,
afflicted, tormented--
Hbr 11:38 of
whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and mountains, [in]
dens and caves of the earth.
Hbr 11:39 And
all these, having obtained a good testimony through faith, did not receive the
promise,
Hbr 11:40 God
having provided something better for us, that they should not be made perfect
apart from "
Many people
are being persecuted, beheaded and hung on crosses today in Egypt
Matthew 6:19
""Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and
rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal;"
Mat 6:20 "but lay up for yourselves treasures
in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break
in and steal."
Mat 6:21 "For where your treasure is, there
your heart will be also."
2 Corinthians
11:23 "Are they ministers of Christ?--I speak as a fool--I [am] more: in
labors more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequently, in
deaths often.
2Cr 11:24
From the Jews five times I received forty [stripes] minus one.
2Cr 11:25 Three
times I was beaten with rods; once I was stoned; three times I was shipwrecked;
a night and a day I have been in the deep;
2Cr 11:26
[in] journeys often, [in] perils of waters, [in] perils of robbers, [in] perils
of [my own] countrymen, [in] perils of the Gentiles, [in] perils in the city,
[in] perils in the wilderness, [in] perils in the sea, [in] perils among false
brethren;
2Cr 11:27 in
weariness and toil, in sleeplessness often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings
often, in cold and nakedness--
2Cr 11:28
besides the other things, what comes upon me daily: my deep concern for all the
churches.
2Cr 11:29 Who
is weak, and I am not weak? Who is made to stumble, and I do not burn [with
indignation]?
2Cr 11:30 If
I must boast, I will boast in the things which concern my infirmity.
2Cr 11:31 The
God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who is blessed forever, knows that I
am not lying.
2Cr 11:32 In Damascus
2Cr 11:33 but
I was let down in a basket through a window in the wall, and escaped from his
hands"
about a
minute ago • Like
Luke 21:14
""Therefore settle [it] in your hearts not to meditate beforehand on
what you will answer;
Luk 21:15
"for I will give you a mouth and wisdom which all your adversaries will
not be able to contradict or resist.
Luk 21:16
"You will be betrayed even by parents and brothers, relatives and friends;
and they will put [some] of you to death.
Luk 21:17
"And you will be hated by all for My name's sake"
Hmmm!!! Christ was our example and He did not escape
poverty and persecution, what would make us think we would. Joel Osteen spits in the face of God when he
writes a book entitled, "Your Best Life Now." This may be the best life now for those who
are refusing Christ and ultimately will end up in a firey hell. But for the believer, nothing on this earth
should take us captive, not wealth, not health nor the love of all the people
that surround us. Our best life is to
come when we go before the Savior and hear His Words, "Well done good and
faithful servant."
We as
believers yearn for our heavenly home and our husband that dwells in us now and
will one day take us home.
Thursday, May 2, 2013
Marriage is Work
In two weeks my husband and I have been married 42 years. We were engaged for 2 years before we married. I was sixteen and he was 20 when we met and within two months of meeting we became engaged.
Rodger wanted to finish college in obedience to his father, who wanted him to have a marketable skill before he married, Rodger honored that and we married two years later, he was 22 and I was 18.
God said that marriage was for life, we know that already, but sometimes we allow our emotions to misguide us into saving ourselves from hurt, blinding our eyes to the bigger picture.
Along the way we have experienced good times and hard times. I thank the Lord for all of it because even the hard times taught us many lessons that could not have been learned any other way.
They have not been easy years, but they have been blessed. That sounds strange to say "not easy" and "blessed" in the same sentence.
Often we forget the primary mission in our work of marriage. That mission is to uphold God's standard no matter how difficult it may be.
There is lots of forgiveness and brokenness that has to happen to cement the glue that ties us. The harder things get, the more resolve we should have to battle through the arrows of the devil.
God said HE would never leave us nor forsake us, we need to have that same resolve with our life partner.
You might wonder why I am camping more on the hard times as lessons than on the good times, that is because its easy to brag about the good times, those will keep us together, the challenge is to see the hard times as valuable growth spurts. Anyone can name all the good things, but we need to face the hard things since we have a divorce rate of 60% among evangelical Christians today... we need to see the marriages that will admit everything to help those who think if we are struggling with something then we should give up and find a marriage that will give us happy things to talk about.
Aren't you glad a soldier in battle doesn't think like most people do about marriage these days, they would never save anyone's life they would run at the sight of an enemy gun and go get themselves in a safe place.
We have been hurt, and yes, we have hurt others too. Are our hurts more important than the hurts of our spouse? NO! IF we see ourselves as God sees us, we will not be so quick to think we are the innocent party in anything.
We do many things that harm our spouse, out of lack of faith in Christ. My husband and I have lived together a long time, long enough to realize how insignificant our hurts are in comparison to how much we have hurt God.
Christ died for us while we were yet sinners, could we not do the same for our spouses. There were hard years, we were both selfish but looking back, I see the growth and today I can say with certainty that our love has grown for each other through it all, things are better than ever.
When we learn not to expect our spouse to think as we do, allowing them to have their personalities, their thoughts and convictions, then we can be more tolerant in the things that irritate us and even laugh about them.
If we had bailed out when things got hard we would have missed all the wonderful lessons, we would have missed being able to be forgiven and how to forgive.
Marriage is not stars in our eyes and fun all the time, it is work and worth the dedication it takes to reach the "golden years."
Those who cannot admit they needed change, will never see the growth that should happen in marriage. Those who think they are above others, will never progress past infancy in their walk, if they have a walk with Christ.
Again, let us remember that Christ loved us so much that He died for us while we were still in our sin, could we not do as much for our spouse, die daily to self, that our spouse might see Christ in us?
Which would I prefer....to get to the end of my life knowing I fought the good fight, obeying Christ, repenting when it was needed and forgiving when it was needed.
One side point that is crucial to a growing marriage, all those family members who think they know our marriages, need to remember that they do not know a person unless they live with them, they have no business judging another persons marriage based on a few tidbits of information they have heard. In short, if you do not live with a person, make no judgments about the marriage, just keep your nose out of it.
Just a word of caution.
More trouble has been caused in marriages by extended family busy bodies who think they know what is going on and they really don't. Bad unbiblical advice has been given when the facts are misconstrued, or misunderstood, causing many marriage break ups.
Another way that damages marriages is when extended family favors one person over the other in a marriage, get those people out of your life, they are hell bent on harming the marriage through covert unkindnesses to the unfavored one.
Very often the favored party does not see what is going on because they are flattered by the attention. My advice to those who live within marriage is to surround yourself with people who love both husband and wife in the marriage, or at least treat both with equal love and attention.
Seek God in all matters within marriage, if your spouse will not then do it by yourself and leave your spouse to the Lord. God will honor the marriages of those who remain in their marriages for the rest of their lives.
Rodger wanted to finish college in obedience to his father, who wanted him to have a marketable skill before he married, Rodger honored that and we married two years later, he was 22 and I was 18.
God said that marriage was for life, we know that already, but sometimes we allow our emotions to misguide us into saving ourselves from hurt, blinding our eyes to the bigger picture.
Along the way we have experienced good times and hard times. I thank the Lord for all of it because even the hard times taught us many lessons that could not have been learned any other way.
They have not been easy years, but they have been blessed. That sounds strange to say "not easy" and "blessed" in the same sentence.
Often we forget the primary mission in our work of marriage. That mission is to uphold God's standard no matter how difficult it may be.
There is lots of forgiveness and brokenness that has to happen to cement the glue that ties us. The harder things get, the more resolve we should have to battle through the arrows of the devil.
God said HE would never leave us nor forsake us, we need to have that same resolve with our life partner.
You might wonder why I am camping more on the hard times as lessons than on the good times, that is because its easy to brag about the good times, those will keep us together, the challenge is to see the hard times as valuable growth spurts. Anyone can name all the good things, but we need to face the hard things since we have a divorce rate of 60% among evangelical Christians today... we need to see the marriages that will admit everything to help those who think if we are struggling with something then we should give up and find a marriage that will give us happy things to talk about.
Aren't you glad a soldier in battle doesn't think like most people do about marriage these days, they would never save anyone's life they would run at the sight of an enemy gun and go get themselves in a safe place.
We have been hurt, and yes, we have hurt others too. Are our hurts more important than the hurts of our spouse? NO! IF we see ourselves as God sees us, we will not be so quick to think we are the innocent party in anything.
We do many things that harm our spouse, out of lack of faith in Christ. My husband and I have lived together a long time, long enough to realize how insignificant our hurts are in comparison to how much we have hurt God.
Christ died for us while we were yet sinners, could we not do the same for our spouses. There were hard years, we were both selfish but looking back, I see the growth and today I can say with certainty that our love has grown for each other through it all, things are better than ever.
When we learn not to expect our spouse to think as we do, allowing them to have their personalities, their thoughts and convictions, then we can be more tolerant in the things that irritate us and even laugh about them.
If we had bailed out when things got hard we would have missed all the wonderful lessons, we would have missed being able to be forgiven and how to forgive.
Marriage is not stars in our eyes and fun all the time, it is work and worth the dedication it takes to reach the "golden years."
Those who cannot admit they needed change, will never see the growth that should happen in marriage. Those who think they are above others, will never progress past infancy in their walk, if they have a walk with Christ.
Again, let us remember that Christ loved us so much that He died for us while we were still in our sin, could we not do as much for our spouse, die daily to self, that our spouse might see Christ in us?
Which would I prefer....to get to the end of my life knowing I fought the good fight, obeying Christ, repenting when it was needed and forgiving when it was needed.
One side point that is crucial to a growing marriage, all those family members who think they know our marriages, need to remember that they do not know a person unless they live with them, they have no business judging another persons marriage based on a few tidbits of information they have heard. In short, if you do not live with a person, make no judgments about the marriage, just keep your nose out of it.
Just a word of caution.
More trouble has been caused in marriages by extended family busy bodies who think they know what is going on and they really don't. Bad unbiblical advice has been given when the facts are misconstrued, or misunderstood, causing many marriage break ups.
Another way that damages marriages is when extended family favors one person over the other in a marriage, get those people out of your life, they are hell bent on harming the marriage through covert unkindnesses to the unfavored one.
Very often the favored party does not see what is going on because they are flattered by the attention. My advice to those who live within marriage is to surround yourself with people who love both husband and wife in the marriage, or at least treat both with equal love and attention.
Seek God in all matters within marriage, if your spouse will not then do it by yourself and leave your spouse to the Lord. God will honor the marriages of those who remain in their marriages for the rest of their lives.
Tuesday, April 30, 2013
The Modern Christian Cult
In the past as a young believer, I thought that a cult was a group of people who negated the deity of Christ, as their main doctrine. It was only as I began to read and study the Bible in my late 20's that I realized that a group of people don't have to deny Christ as God, to be a cult, they simply deny Him by their disobedience against His Word. We have modern "Christian" cults today who would strongly proclaim the deity of Christ, but violate much of God's Word.
Let me qualify that we are to submit to the governing bodies of a gathering, when they obey Christ, when they do not, then we do not have an obligation to obey them. If we find ourselves at logger heads with authority too often, then we should leave, they will not listen and they will not change, it is better to leave them alone and move on.
What would one of these cults look like?
1. Cults add to the Word of God with extra rules that were not written in the cannon of Scripture.
2. Cults have a leader or group of leaders that will not allow discussion on important doctrinal matters by their "underlings." They require complete allegiance to their doctrines without challenge. They monitor very closely the activities of those in their charge and will not allow discussion to clarify matters, they are always right, will not admit their own fallibility.
3. They camp heavily on the woman as one who should not speak of doctrine or spiritual matters to anyone, they are to be mindless and voiceless as they accept all that is fed to them by their superiors. They ignore the women as though they were unimportant and use intimidation to force submission even when their concern is valid. Of course there are cults too, that have women leaders in opposition to the Scriptures, some modern Christian cults have over reacted to the feminist movement by adding rules and twisting Scripture to keep from the pitfalls of our culture.
When we read the Word and pray for leading from the Holy Spirit, we do not have to overreact, we can simply obey God and leave all the results to Him. Christ never "controlled" anyone, He simply stated his truth and allowed others to make the decision. God does tell leaders to put out of the body a sinning brother, however, that has to do with blatant sin and disobedience against the Word. All matters must be diligently researched in the Word to make sure that the action taken is Biblical.
4. Often these cults place such authority over the women and children that they are not allowed to question anything, there is complete obedience to the men required, and even above God.
Acts 5:29 "But Peter and the [other] apostles answered and said: "We ought to obey God rather than men."
5. One of the ear marks of a cult is that they demand complete submission to the governing body to such a degree that those who question them are disciplined through shunning and even putting out, if they do not obey all the rules of their organization.
6. Force, in one form or another, is a common tactic for the cult leaders. Force can range from intimidation by sordid looks to burning at the stake during the inquisition.
Jeremiah 1:8 "Do not be afraid of their faces, For I [am] with you to deliver you," says the LORD."
7. Cults often have clothing mandates for their people, that are not described in Scripture. I was once told by a group we were with that the ladies wore sleeves to their elbow, but above that was immoral, no pants at all for the women and the length of the skirt was to the ankles. When I asked for Scripture on this matter of clothing, they had only one to give that spoke of modesty, even though that scripture had no description of what that modesty looked like.
In this same group as mentioned in point #7, I was told that it was sin if one wore jewelry of any kind and watches were given for marriages instead of rings, presumably because watches were useful and rings were jewelry. Although some of the watches were beautiful. None of these rules were mentioned in Scripture. I brought up Ezekiel 16 to clarify that God blessed His people with jewelry and cosmetics, but the people misused these things. God does not bless with evil things, and the people misusing them does not make the things evil, only the hearts of the people were evil, not the things.
I was once told that the designation in the original language for woman's was "long and flowing", at closer inspection, that would have been the same designation for men, since all men wore tunics and robes same as the women. It became evident to me that if pants should be forbidden, on moral grounds for women, then the men should also never wear pants, but return to robes and tunics. I would not advocate pants for women, I tend to be more comfortable most of the time in dresses and skirts, however, I cannot judge another woman for her clothing unless it was blatantly immoral, most of us know what that looks like and respect for the brothers and sisters in Christ would drive us to be careful not to make a brother or sister fall by our actions.
The following passage pertains to food but the principle for all things still remains.
1 Corinthians 10:23-26
"All things are lawful for me, [fn] but not all things are helpful; all things are lawful for me, [fn] but not all things edify. Let no one seek his own, but each one the other's [well-being]. Eat whatever is sold in the meat market, asking no questions for conscience' sake; for "the earth [is] the LORD's, and all its fullness."
Cults enjoy very stringent rules, the same attitude of the Pharisees that required obedience to man rather than God. The people in these groups like rules because they can check their brains at the door and never have to make a decision about their own walk. Like little children, they do not read their Bibles, pray about matters or seek the Lord, they don't have to, they can just ask their elder and do whatever he says.
I am not against leadership, it is mentioned much in Scripture, I am against the abuse of power that uses meanness and self righteousness to control the people.
Leadership is not "control", it is serving by example, preaching and teaching, not forcing as the Catholic church, Calvin and others have done to force outward obedience rather than fostering inward transformation in Christ.
Obey the leaders when you can, but if they do not obey the Word, then confront them with their sin and if they will not listen, get out as fast as you can.
Let me qualify that we are to submit to the governing bodies of a gathering, when they obey Christ, when they do not, then we do not have an obligation to obey them. If we find ourselves at logger heads with authority too often, then we should leave, they will not listen and they will not change, it is better to leave them alone and move on.
What would one of these cults look like?
1. Cults add to the Word of God with extra rules that were not written in the cannon of Scripture.
2. Cults have a leader or group of leaders that will not allow discussion on important doctrinal matters by their "underlings." They require complete allegiance to their doctrines without challenge. They monitor very closely the activities of those in their charge and will not allow discussion to clarify matters, they are always right, will not admit their own fallibility.
3. They camp heavily on the woman as one who should not speak of doctrine or spiritual matters to anyone, they are to be mindless and voiceless as they accept all that is fed to them by their superiors. They ignore the women as though they were unimportant and use intimidation to force submission even when their concern is valid. Of course there are cults too, that have women leaders in opposition to the Scriptures, some modern Christian cults have over reacted to the feminist movement by adding rules and twisting Scripture to keep from the pitfalls of our culture.
When we read the Word and pray for leading from the Holy Spirit, we do not have to overreact, we can simply obey God and leave all the results to Him. Christ never "controlled" anyone, He simply stated his truth and allowed others to make the decision. God does tell leaders to put out of the body a sinning brother, however, that has to do with blatant sin and disobedience against the Word. All matters must be diligently researched in the Word to make sure that the action taken is Biblical.
4. Often these cults place such authority over the women and children that they are not allowed to question anything, there is complete obedience to the men required, and even above God.
Acts 5:29 "But Peter and the [other] apostles answered and said: "We ought to obey God rather than men."
5. One of the ear marks of a cult is that they demand complete submission to the governing body to such a degree that those who question them are disciplined through shunning and even putting out, if they do not obey all the rules of their organization.
6. Force, in one form or another, is a common tactic for the cult leaders. Force can range from intimidation by sordid looks to burning at the stake during the inquisition.
Jeremiah 1:8 "Do not be afraid of their faces, For I [am] with you to deliver you," says the LORD."
7. Cults often have clothing mandates for their people, that are not described in Scripture. I was once told by a group we were with that the ladies wore sleeves to their elbow, but above that was immoral, no pants at all for the women and the length of the skirt was to the ankles. When I asked for Scripture on this matter of clothing, they had only one to give that spoke of modesty, even though that scripture had no description of what that modesty looked like.
In this same group as mentioned in point #7, I was told that it was sin if one wore jewelry of any kind and watches were given for marriages instead of rings, presumably because watches were useful and rings were jewelry. Although some of the watches were beautiful. None of these rules were mentioned in Scripture. I brought up Ezekiel 16 to clarify that God blessed His people with jewelry and cosmetics, but the people misused these things. God does not bless with evil things, and the people misusing them does not make the things evil, only the hearts of the people were evil, not the things.
I was once told that the designation in the original language for woman's was "long and flowing", at closer inspection, that would have been the same designation for men, since all men wore tunics and robes same as the women. It became evident to me that if pants should be forbidden, on moral grounds for women, then the men should also never wear pants, but return to robes and tunics. I would not advocate pants for women, I tend to be more comfortable most of the time in dresses and skirts, however, I cannot judge another woman for her clothing unless it was blatantly immoral, most of us know what that looks like and respect for the brothers and sisters in Christ would drive us to be careful not to make a brother or sister fall by our actions.
The following passage pertains to food but the principle for all things still remains.
1 Corinthians 10:23-26
"All things are lawful for me, [fn] but not all things are helpful; all things are lawful for me, [fn] but not all things edify. Let no one seek his own, but each one the other's [well-being]. Eat whatever is sold in the meat market, asking no questions for conscience' sake; for "the earth [is] the LORD's, and all its fullness."
Cults enjoy very stringent rules, the same attitude of the Pharisees that required obedience to man rather than God. The people in these groups like rules because they can check their brains at the door and never have to make a decision about their own walk. Like little children, they do not read their Bibles, pray about matters or seek the Lord, they don't have to, they can just ask their elder and do whatever he says.
I am not against leadership, it is mentioned much in Scripture, I am against the abuse of power that uses meanness and self righteousness to control the people.
Leadership is not "control", it is serving by example, preaching and teaching, not forcing as the Catholic church, Calvin and others have done to force outward obedience rather than fostering inward transformation in Christ.
Obey the leaders when you can, but if they do not obey the Word, then confront them with their sin and if they will not listen, get out as fast as you can.
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