When we elevate people as though they are gods, we are reflecting an attitude of wanting to be elevated ourselves.
When we know we are not special, only Christ is, then we are free to love others even with what we might think are flaws and warts.
Love is not deserved, God died for us while we were yet sinners. He loved us when we were unlovable, should we not love others this way!
This does not mean that we allow everyone into our lives no matter how wicked they are, it simply means that we choose to love God's way, which may mean discipline or removing ourselves from someone so that God can do His work without our interference.
So often we think we need to help God, but those we want to reach will not hear us, but perhaps they will hear God, because He knows exactly what they need. We can only guess as to need, but God will do the perfect things and only He knows when the person is unreachable.
So, the moral of the story is this, love God's way, stay or leave based on what the Holy Spirit is telling us. Never do anything in the flesh based on emotion and we will be able to walk in peace and joy knowing God is going to do what is right.
Friday, August 19, 2016
God Is Showing Us
God said that no man has an excuse. When God said; "a fool says there is no God", the true rendering of that verse is "a fool says no to God."
Atheists know there is a God, they are deliberately denying Him out of rebellion.
When you sense the rejection of your extended family and your children, you are experiencing what God must feel like when the culture as a whole has rejected Him.
Let's turn our life experiences into lessons, everything that has been done to us, our culture as a whole, and we, have done to God.
Rather than agonizing continually as we do, it is good to put things back into perspective to regain our peace and joy through prayer and study of God's Word. When we experience the trials and rejection of life, we know that God is allowing us new insight into the culture and ourselves, while showing us His heart!
Atheists know there is a God, they are deliberately denying Him out of rebellion.
When you sense the rejection of your extended family and your children, you are experiencing what God must feel like when the culture as a whole has rejected Him.
Let's turn our life experiences into lessons, everything that has been done to us, our culture as a whole, and we, have done to God.
Rather than agonizing continually as we do, it is good to put things back into perspective to regain our peace and joy through prayer and study of God's Word. When we experience the trials and rejection of life, we know that God is allowing us new insight into the culture and ourselves, while showing us His heart!
Thursday, August 18, 2016
To Abide in Christ!
"Abiding in Christ" means to stay close to Him, it does not have to do with salvation.
Our position in Christ is secure when we trust Him and become born again. But "abiding" is dependent on our relationship based on our desire to seek Him and obey what He tells us.
We do not return to what we were before He changed us into the new creation, however we can silence the Holy Spirit by our resistance to His voice.
1 Thessalonians 5:19 "…18 Give thanks in every circumstance, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. 19 Do not extinguish the Spirit. 20 Do not treat prophecies with contempt,…"
There are many believers today who only seek God for their own will. They believe in Him and are born again, but are not willing to be trained by Him.
James 4:2-3 "…2 You crave what you do not have. You kill and covet, but are unable to obtain it. You quarrel and fight. You do not have, because you do not ask. 3 And when you do ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may squander it on your pleasures. "
God is speaking to His children when He gave us the instruction in these passages.
We have children, they will always be our children, but our relationships with them is dependent on their desire to engage with us. Those who show little or no interest in their parents will probably not have a close relationship and even be estranged from them.
God says that He will not hear us if we regard sin in our hearts. We are not going to hear from God if we will not listen to Him. We listen to Him through His Word and promptings from the Holy Spirit.
If we desire and expect to have an abiding relationship with Christ we must seek Him and obey what He tells us.
Revelation 2:3-5 "…3 Without growing weary, you have persevered and endured many things for the sake of My name. 4But I have this against you: You have abandoned your first love. 5 Therefore, keep in mind how far you have fallen. Repent and perform the deeds you did at first. But if you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place.…"
Again, God is speaking to believers in Christ who are born again and whose salvation is secure.
Our position in Christ is secure when we trust Him and become born again. But "abiding" is dependent on our relationship based on our desire to seek Him and obey what He tells us.
We do not return to what we were before He changed us into the new creation, however we can silence the Holy Spirit by our resistance to His voice.
1 Thessalonians 5:19 "…18 Give thanks in every circumstance, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. 19 Do not extinguish the Spirit. 20 Do not treat prophecies with contempt,…"
There are many believers today who only seek God for their own will. They believe in Him and are born again, but are not willing to be trained by Him.
James 4:2-3 "…2 You crave what you do not have. You kill and covet, but are unable to obtain it. You quarrel and fight. You do not have, because you do not ask. 3 And when you do ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may squander it on your pleasures. "
God is speaking to His children when He gave us the instruction in these passages.
We have children, they will always be our children, but our relationships with them is dependent on their desire to engage with us. Those who show little or no interest in their parents will probably not have a close relationship and even be estranged from them.
God says that He will not hear us if we regard sin in our hearts. We are not going to hear from God if we will not listen to Him. We listen to Him through His Word and promptings from the Holy Spirit.
If we desire and expect to have an abiding relationship with Christ we must seek Him and obey what He tells us.
Revelation 2:3-5 "…3 Without growing weary, you have persevered and endured many things for the sake of My name. 4But I have this against you: You have abandoned your first love. 5 Therefore, keep in mind how far you have fallen. Repent and perform the deeds you did at first. But if you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place.…"
Again, God is speaking to believers in Christ who are born again and whose salvation is secure.
Living in Idiocratic Times!
A new term came to mind the other day when I was sitting quietly!
The new word is "idiocrity." We are living in idiotic times, times of complete irrational thinking and actions.
The new companion word is "Idiocratic" times.
The root word is "idiocy."
The human definition of "idiot" is this: "a foolish and stupid person."
We can conclude that since we are living in "idiocratic" times leads me to believe that many if not most people are idiotic in their words, actions and attitudes. Yes there are some who love the Lord Jesus Christ and do not live in the realm of foolishness, however so many have bought into ridiculously unBiblical practices and thinking that it is some times overwhelming.
Luke 21:28 "28 When these things begin to happen, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”
The new word is "idiocrity." We are living in idiotic times, times of complete irrational thinking and actions.
The new companion word is "Idiocratic" times.
The root word is "idiocy."
The human definition of "idiot" is this: "a foolish and stupid person."
We can conclude that since we are living in "idiocratic" times leads me to believe that many if not most people are idiotic in their words, actions and attitudes. Yes there are some who love the Lord Jesus Christ and do not live in the realm of foolishness, however so many have bought into ridiculously unBiblical practices and thinking that it is some times overwhelming.
Luke 21:28 "28 When these things begin to happen, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”
Tuesday, August 16, 2016
Following Men or Following Christ?
"Religious people" follow men!
"Born Again Believers" follow Christ!
"Born Again Believers" follow Christ!
The Drunken Sailor
When we lean into our emotions, thinking with feelings rather than rational thought, we are acting a little like a drunken sailor.
Someone who is drunk knows right from wrong, but ignores it to enjoy their momentary feelings. They may even see a pink elephant in the room where there are no animals.
The drunk choses not to see the sin involved or the consequences of their actions, because their discernment has been quenched while all inhibition to do evil is removed temporarily.
Those who say emotion is good, do not understand that emotions are "stimuli" rather than substance. They come and go most often without thought, while being amazingly inaccurate in terms of truth. Sometimes they are brought on by an imaginary thought life to keep the feelings current.
We know this is true because of our reactions to situations that aren't even real. In watching a movie last night, having seen it before in past years, called "Fiddler on the Roof", I was reminded of all the emotion that was generated by the events in the movie.
WAIT....but the movie was not real, it wasn't even based on the lives of real people, and yet I cried during some of the sensitive scenes.
Why did I cry even at a fictional account? I cried because my mind cannot tell the difference between fiction and reality when it comes to emotions. Emotions are fleshly and often not based on true or accurate information, they are based on stimulation.
Sometimes we cry when someone else is crying even if we don't know what they are crying about. Our empathy for the pain of others is based on how we see them responding rather than on the information we know about situations.
Anyone can work themselves into emotion by sitting in a chair and thinking thoughts that make them cry. Sometimes we are hurt by the comments of others because we have incorrectly interpreted their meaning, that's why we must assess things rather than roll with emotions.
I wonder how many relationships were destroyed because of inaccurate assessment of events based on emotions that ruled the day rather than rationale!
Christ never endorsed or commanded us to enjoy "feelings", just the opposite. That is not to say that if we cry something is wrong, crying can be a wonderful stress reliever for difficult times. However we cannot trust the emotions that cause the tears, we must evaluate them based on truth.
Romans 12:2
"Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect."
Isaiah 26:3
"You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you (God)."
2 Corinthians 10:3-6
"For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ, being ready to punish every disobedience, when your obedience is complete."
Someone who is drunk knows right from wrong, but ignores it to enjoy their momentary feelings. They may even see a pink elephant in the room where there are no animals.
The drunk choses not to see the sin involved or the consequences of their actions, because their discernment has been quenched while all inhibition to do evil is removed temporarily.
Those who say emotion is good, do not understand that emotions are "stimuli" rather than substance. They come and go most often without thought, while being amazingly inaccurate in terms of truth. Sometimes they are brought on by an imaginary thought life to keep the feelings current.
We know this is true because of our reactions to situations that aren't even real. In watching a movie last night, having seen it before in past years, called "Fiddler on the Roof", I was reminded of all the emotion that was generated by the events in the movie.
WAIT....but the movie was not real, it wasn't even based on the lives of real people, and yet I cried during some of the sensitive scenes.
Why did I cry even at a fictional account? I cried because my mind cannot tell the difference between fiction and reality when it comes to emotions. Emotions are fleshly and often not based on true or accurate information, they are based on stimulation.
Sometimes we cry when someone else is crying even if we don't know what they are crying about. Our empathy for the pain of others is based on how we see them responding rather than on the information we know about situations.
Anyone can work themselves into emotion by sitting in a chair and thinking thoughts that make them cry. Sometimes we are hurt by the comments of others because we have incorrectly interpreted their meaning, that's why we must assess things rather than roll with emotions.
I wonder how many relationships were destroyed because of inaccurate assessment of events based on emotions that ruled the day rather than rationale!
Christ never endorsed or commanded us to enjoy "feelings", just the opposite. That is not to say that if we cry something is wrong, crying can be a wonderful stress reliever for difficult times. However we cannot trust the emotions that cause the tears, we must evaluate them based on truth.
Romans 12:2
"Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect."
Isaiah 26:3
"You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you (God)."
2 Corinthians 10:3-6
"For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ, being ready to punish every disobedience, when your obedience is complete."
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