Seek the Peace of God!

A bully is a person who starts fights without cause, teasing, shoving, raising voices when there is no other reason except to elevate themselves, and then becomes angry when the person they torment fights back and wins.

This is a tactic of the devil to pick at a believer until they lose their control, then point the finger as though the victim were the whole problem.

I know about this because I spent the first 18 years of my life under this sort of tyranny. What is a person to do when they encounter this?

As an adult it is best not to engage in the foolishness through conversation, but to just walk away. Sometimes the fool will continue to follow you, keep walking as far from him/her as you can.

Usually an adult bully will give up if they do not get satisfaction in upsetting you.

Proverbs 26:4 "Do not answer a fool according to his folly, Or you will also be like him."

Proverbs 22:24 "Do not associate with a man given to anger; Or go with a hot-tempered man,"

Bullies are people who are angry on the inside, they must continually demean others to keep their high opinion of themselves. God tells us to avoid these people, that they may not bring strife into our lives.

Proverbs 16:28 "A dishonest man spreads strife, and a whisperer separates close friends."

Proverbs 29:22 "A man of wrath stirs up strife, and one given to anger causes much transgression."

The bully will talk about people behind their backs if they feel they cannot control them through manipulation, they will try to control them through gossip, speaking ill of their victim to elevate self though turning others against their target.

It is best to avoid all those people who align themselves with the bully. The Lord wants us to walk in peace, there can be no peace when a bully and his friends are present.

When we choose our friends wisely we will be able to grow in grace, enjoy loving friendships and godly conversation without drama or hate.

May those who have trusted Christ learn that they can walk away and avoid those who cause trouble, it is alright to remove them from our lives, even if this includes family members.

People are the Criminals, Objects are Not!

Sorry to be on a roll today, concerning this matter of guns. Too many have acted as though the gun was the criminal and not the person who used it. I am flabbergasted at the foolishness and even childishness of this thinking.


A weapon is a weapon, whether it is a knife from the kitchen, a rock from the road or a branch from a tree. We don't outlaw the object, we outlaw the act and punish the killer.

There are those who think we should outlaw guns because silly and evil people use them to harm others, to them I have this to say!

Guns are a tool, like any other tool. They are standard equipment for living in the Pacific Northwest. We hunt with them, we protect ourselves and our livestock against vicious or bothersome animals.

If we ever had to use them for people to protect someone, then that is alright too. We cannot live without guns where we are, or our children could be taken by a cougar, the sheep are attacked by coyotes and the bears kill livestock. We have people who lose chickens to the coyotes and cougars at times here. We also use them to get meat for our table.

Guns are necessary tools for life. To take them away from us is to leave us vulnerable not only to evil people but to predatory animals.

Would we get rid of all our kitchen knives because someone killed a person with one? Would we outlaw the tools of our household, perhaps a lawnmower because someone deliberately ran over another person with it? Would you outlaw cars because drunks drive them and kill others?

The problem is not the kitchen knives, the lawn mowers, the car or the guns. The problem is criminals who use them to harm others, they need to be handled not outlaw our tools.

If we locked up abusers of guns and executed those who murder, then we would have far less crime. Too many murderers and child molesters are walking our streets who should have been executed for their crimes.

Because we are not focused on justice, but are fearful of taking a life, we allow wicked and devilish people to take priority over the life of the victims, not only those who have already been victimized but future victims.

Instead of caudling the abuser, we need to be comforting the victim and punishing severely, the perp.

Housing hardened criminals in jail for many many years while the victim's tax dollars are paying for the sustenance of the criminal for the rest of his life, makes no sense at all and perverts justice.

The preaching of the gospel should be in every jail, that those who are about to be executed have a chance to repent before they go to meet their Maker.

Just some thought of good old fashioned sense!

When justice leaves a nation then comes chaos and anarchy, sadly this is the state we are in right now. Good sense is gone, wickedness reigns and because of this we have leaders who completely ignore our laws to further their perverted agendas.

Isaiah 30:18 "Therefore the LORD longs to be gracious to you, And therefore He waits on high to have compassion on you. For the LORD is a God of justice; How blessed are all those who long for Him."

1 John 3:4
"4 Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; jsin is lawlessness."

Micah 2:1
Woe to the Oppressors
2 lWoe to those who devise wickedness and work evil mon their beds!
When the morning dawns, they perform it, because it is in the power of their hand."

Thankfully, one day there will be perfect justice!

Revelation 11:16–18
16 And the twenty-four elders who sit on their thrones before God fell on their faces and worshiped God, 17 saying, “We give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty, who is and who was, for you have taken your great power and begun to reign. 18 The nations raged,
but your wrath came, and the time for the dead to be judged, and for rewarding your servants,3 the prophets and saints, and those who fear your name, both small and great,
and for destroying the destroyers of the earth.”

Marriage Can Be Equated to Salvation

Perhaps if we could equate the marriage with our salvation we would see that marriage is the beginning of a growth process for all those who become one flesh. When we become born again our salvation is secure, but it is the beginning of our cleansing and growth.

Know this, that we will be challenged and disciplined as we do this growing.

James 1:1-5
King James Version (KJV)
"1 James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad, greeting.

2 My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations;

3 Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.

4 But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.

5 If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him."

Growing Begins at the Moment of our Salvation

Growing Begins at the Moment of our Salvation

When we become born again our salvation is secure, but it is the beginning of our cleansing and growth.

Know this, that we will be challenged and disciplined as we do this growing.

James 1:1-5
King James Version (KJV)
"1 James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad, greeting.

2 My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations;

3 Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.

4 But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.

5 If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him."

Weapons are not the Problem, the Heart Is

Weapons are not the Problem, the Heart Is

I get so disgusted when I hear that guns are the problem. I have never killed anyone and I have guns. 

The guns are not the problem, it is the attitude of the people who are shooting others that is the problem. 

Place a gun in the hands of a believer and they will not kill anyone. Place a kitchen knife in the hands of a wicked and angry person and they may stab someone with it. 

I think that we should be busy evaluating all the media that are egging on the attitudes of rebellion, hate and violence, not the guns. Remove the media that turns the young people's minds into mush and you will have far fewer killings.

The implements with which people kill are not the problem, it is the evil heart of the killer that is the problem.

When God removes the evil heart of a man, that man will not murder. 

When God cleanses the heart of an thief, that man will no longer steal.

When God cleanses the heart of an adulterer, that man will no longer commit adultery.

When God cleanses the heart of a liar, that man will no longer tell lies.

When God cleanses the heart of a rebellious man, he will no longer dishonor his father and mother.

See how it works?  Remove the evil heart and the new cleansed man will not commit the sins that plague our culture.

The god of Calvin is not God of the Bible

Calvinism at it's very core is devilish! When we choose Christ He merely gives us what we desire and that is to be changed into a new creation by Him. We know we don't have the ability to be what we should be, so He comes to live in us and begin the process of cleansing throughout our lives until He takes us home. WE WANT THIS! It was our choice to trust in Him through faith, and that remains our choice as He keeps us. The god of the Calvinists is not the God of the Bible.

Real Love!

Many people these days will mouth the words "love ya", but have no real evidence that would hold up in a court of law.  Everyday attitudes and actions or lack of action prove they are replacing the act and attitude with the words. They think if they say these two words "love ya", they don't have to be or do anything else. That could not be farther from the truth.  

God wants us to put attitudes and feet to our love. When we pretend to love through obligation, for others to see, that is not love at all. 

Our love should extend through attitudes, doing our deeds when no one can see what we are doing.

If we pray for empathy and God's kind of love, then we will have all the genuine elemenst of love that pleases God.

I used to tell my children, "don't say 'love ya', show me by your honor and obedience."  God is the same way, He desires our love, not a phony show of superficial sacrifices.