Notice the first thing the devil did was to make Eve question what God said. Doubting God is the biggest ploy of the devil.
Genesis 3:1-3 "3 Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, “Indeed, has God said, ‘You shall not eat from [x]any tree of the garden’?”
2 The woman said to the serpent, “From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat;
3 but from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat from it or touch it, or you will die.’” 4 The serpent said to the woman, “You surely will not die!"
Recently I was struck with the deception that is being propagated among the prosperity preachers. They claim that one lacks faith if they are sick or living in financial difficulties.
Ponder for a moment the fact that the prosperity preachers live lavish and opulent lifestyles that were afforded them by those to which they preach these lies about prosperity.
Notice too that they call God a liar by claiming that we should never be in poverty or illness? The very things God said were an integral part of the believers life.
Matthew 10:22
"22 And you will be hated by all for My name’s sake. But he who endures to the end will be saved."
Luke 12:52-53 "…52 From now on, five in one household will be divided, three against two and two against three. 53 They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.”
Prosperity preachers undermine the faith of people by promising wealth and health, when that is not the reality of life. Causing good people to think they are doing something wrong because they don't have these things.
These false teachers desire for the masses to place their trust in them rather than Christ. They do this by claiming untrue thing, getting the people to look to them instead of seeking Christ, while accepting the condition that Christ ordained for them.
Those who look to wealth and health have an attitude of demanding from God that which He may not be willing to give them. Wealth corrupts a person's faith far more than poverty does.
All we have to do in this country is look at what has happened to our culture because we live in wealth. Most people in this country have placed their trust in their wealth, becoming haughty, self righteous and demanding because they think they are special because of their prosperity.
Matthew 19:24 "…23 Then Jesus said to His disciples, “Truly I tell you, it is difficult for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.
24 Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”
25 When the disciples heard this they were greatly astonished and asked, “Who then can be saved?"
We should not be treating people with contempt because they lack material wealth, nor should we be treating anyone with great honor because they are wealthy. Both the wealthy and the poor should be treated the same all the time.
James 2:1-7 "2 My brethren, do not hold your faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ with an attitude of personal favoritism.
2 For if a man comes into your assembly with a gold ring and dressed in fine clothes, and there also comes in a poor man in dirty clothes,
3 and you pay special attention to the one who is wearing the fine clothes, and say, “You sit here in a good place,” and you say to the poor man, “You stand over there, or sit down by my footstool,” 4 have you not made distinctions among yourselves, and become judges with evil motives?
5 Listen, my beloved brethren: did not God choose the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him?
6 But you have dishonored the poor man. Is it not the rich who oppress you and personally drag you into court?
7 Do they not blaspheme the fair name by which you have been called?"
Narcissists will have a tendency to cozy up to both the wealthy and the poor, but their reasons are evil. They cozy up to the wealthy to be elevated in their own eyes, feeling special by association. These people cozy up to the poor to feel superior to them, desiring to control them.
I love God's wisdom, He clearly hates favoritism on any level. All men are equal with God, all have sinned needing a Savior and no one is special. Those who have trusted Christ are not special, it is Christ in them that is Superior to all!
Sadly, many people in this culture elevate those with degrees as though they have a special "in" with God more than anyone else. Each believer has the Holy Spirit and each believer is given a gift and job to do, no gift is better than another, just different. AND, each gift was given to the believer, it is not theirs to claim, as though they are special.
Christ alone is special, He has a purpose in all that we experience and His gifts belong to Him, imparted to us as He sees the need.
Bottom line is this; no one is special, no one is greater than another and only Christ in us is Superior.
Side note: Watch the prosperity preachers a couple of times and it is clear to the discerning eye, that they are full of themselves, deeply invested in wealth and popularity for themselves. These people are narcissists working hard to convince people to send them money. They are scammers and deceivers looking to live lavishly and opulently from the backs of ignorant simple minded people.
Friday, July 28, 2017
Thursday, July 27, 2017
God's Principles or Man's Rules?
If one believes they can lose their salvation, perhaps they never became born again in the first place.
The belief in loss of salvation is the same belief system of every pagan religion. Cults believe that when they come before God their good works are weighed on a scale against their bad works and if the scale tips in the direction of the good works they get to go into heaven. If it tips the other way then they go to hell.
There is no difference between someone who thinks they can lose salvation and those who think their good works get them into heaven.
Those who believe their good works play a part in their salvation, are counting on their good works to get them into heaven, but they never know if they have enough good works.
Islam, JW, Mormon, Buddhism, Hinduism and every other cult depend on their good works but never know if they will make it. This is the same mentality of the "lose your salvation based on your works" crowd.
God says all our good works are as filthy rags, how could they ever play a role in our salvation? Nonsense.
Legalists often are those who think they have to work to keep a salvation they didn't earn. Sadly they are so deeply invested in appearances that they tend to be harsh and inaccurate in their judgments of those who do not adhere to their particular version of the rules.
When God tells us to be modest in our clothing, the legalist comes along and adds extra words to the Bible such as, no heels, perms, hair color, makeup or nail polish for women. God never said any such thing. These are not things God addressed.
Each person must seek Christ in the things dealing with clothing. Yes, there are clothes that are clearly wicked and immodest, everyone knows what that looks like, but other than immodesty, the displaying of the body, God never mentioned make-up, heels, nail polish, hair color or perms.
Ezekiel 16 shows us that God blessed His people with jewelry and other body enhancements. The problem was not the use of these things, it was the misuse of them.
Often legalists walk in fear, they are afraid if they allow someone the freedom to choose for themselves they will not choose wisely, therefore they have to make extra rules to keep people in line. The wrong thinking is that they need to keep people in line, these people lack faith that God can speak to each one. Yes, we need to correct one another from time to time, but we must be sure that we are using the Word and not human wisdom.
There is only one mediator between God and man and that is Christ, not another human being.
I knew of a church that made rules about make-up and Jewelry, often judging people who use these things as unsaved. But the same group of people had fancy shoes, purses and beautiful dresses. I didn't see a difference between the things that were judged as wrong and the things they allowed themselves to use.
This same church gathering had a 15 foot Christmas tree in their lobby at Christmas time. The tree of pagan worship was allowed but the enhancements in clothing and complexion was disallowed. Those who wore the forbidden things were kept at an arms length, while the ones who followed the human rules and loved the Christmas tree were accepted. It was a silly sight to be sure.
Often mankind's version of righteousness is silly, it elevates the unimportant while diminishing the important. There was very little if any mention of the Holy Spirit in the guidance of individuals while the rules were very important.
When legalists make unBiblical rules they have a tendency toward injustice in their assessment of another person's spirituality. They isolate very good people who love the Lord simply because they use an item that violate the human rule.
The Pharisees made many rules that were disgusting to God, place great burdens on the people that God never intended.
Matthew 23:4 " 4 They tie up heavy, burdensome loads and lay them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them. 5 All their deeds are done for men to see. They broaden their phylacteries and lengthen their tassels.…'
It is important that if we confront someone about their sin, it is supported by God in the Word. NO extra interpretation or human thinking should be in our Biblical assessment. Then, it is also important to pray before taking a brother or sister to task over things God may not care anything about.
I would have rebuked the gathering with the Christmas tree about that, but wouldn't care anything about their choice not to wear jewelry or make-up. If someone doesn't want to use these things, that's their business, between them and God. The problems arise when we make rules on others based on our own decisions for God that are not mandated in Scripture.
The belief in loss of salvation is the same belief system of every pagan religion. Cults believe that when they come before God their good works are weighed on a scale against their bad works and if the scale tips in the direction of the good works they get to go into heaven. If it tips the other way then they go to hell.
There is no difference between someone who thinks they can lose salvation and those who think their good works get them into heaven.
Those who believe their good works play a part in their salvation, are counting on their good works to get them into heaven, but they never know if they have enough good works.
Islam, JW, Mormon, Buddhism, Hinduism and every other cult depend on their good works but never know if they will make it. This is the same mentality of the "lose your salvation based on your works" crowd.
God says all our good works are as filthy rags, how could they ever play a role in our salvation? Nonsense.
Legalists often are those who think they have to work to keep a salvation they didn't earn. Sadly they are so deeply invested in appearances that they tend to be harsh and inaccurate in their judgments of those who do not adhere to their particular version of the rules.
When God tells us to be modest in our clothing, the legalist comes along and adds extra words to the Bible such as, no heels, perms, hair color, makeup or nail polish for women. God never said any such thing. These are not things God addressed.
Each person must seek Christ in the things dealing with clothing. Yes, there are clothes that are clearly wicked and immodest, everyone knows what that looks like, but other than immodesty, the displaying of the body, God never mentioned make-up, heels, nail polish, hair color or perms.
Ezekiel 16 shows us that God blessed His people with jewelry and other body enhancements. The problem was not the use of these things, it was the misuse of them.
Often legalists walk in fear, they are afraid if they allow someone the freedom to choose for themselves they will not choose wisely, therefore they have to make extra rules to keep people in line. The wrong thinking is that they need to keep people in line, these people lack faith that God can speak to each one. Yes, we need to correct one another from time to time, but we must be sure that we are using the Word and not human wisdom.
There is only one mediator between God and man and that is Christ, not another human being.
I knew of a church that made rules about make-up and Jewelry, often judging people who use these things as unsaved. But the same group of people had fancy shoes, purses and beautiful dresses. I didn't see a difference between the things that were judged as wrong and the things they allowed themselves to use.
This same church gathering had a 15 foot Christmas tree in their lobby at Christmas time. The tree of pagan worship was allowed but the enhancements in clothing and complexion was disallowed. Those who wore the forbidden things were kept at an arms length, while the ones who followed the human rules and loved the Christmas tree were accepted. It was a silly sight to be sure.
Often mankind's version of righteousness is silly, it elevates the unimportant while diminishing the important. There was very little if any mention of the Holy Spirit in the guidance of individuals while the rules were very important.
When legalists make unBiblical rules they have a tendency toward injustice in their assessment of another person's spirituality. They isolate very good people who love the Lord simply because they use an item that violate the human rule.
The Pharisees made many rules that were disgusting to God, place great burdens on the people that God never intended.
Matthew 23:4 " 4 They tie up heavy, burdensome loads and lay them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them. 5 All their deeds are done for men to see. They broaden their phylacteries and lengthen their tassels.…'
It is important that if we confront someone about their sin, it is supported by God in the Word. NO extra interpretation or human thinking should be in our Biblical assessment. Then, it is also important to pray before taking a brother or sister to task over things God may not care anything about.
I would have rebuked the gathering with the Christmas tree about that, but wouldn't care anything about their choice not to wear jewelry or make-up. If someone doesn't want to use these things, that's their business, between them and God. The problems arise when we make rules on others based on our own decisions for God that are not mandated in Scripture.
Crankiness is a Clue
We can "say" anything, it is our actions and attitudes that prove our heart.
Our heart cannot be different from our actions, if we do something mean, then there is something in our heart that needs to be dealt with, it is not just a "bad hair" day making us cranky.
Crankiness is evidence that God still has more work to do in us.
Ephesians 2:10
"10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them."
Our heart cannot be different from our actions, if we do something mean, then there is something in our heart that needs to be dealt with, it is not just a "bad hair" day making us cranky.
Crankiness is evidence that God still has more work to do in us.
Ephesians 2:10
"10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them."
Our New Creation, The Spirit of Christ
Our spirit is replaced with the Holy Spirit of God when we become born again. I believe this because God tells us that we become a "new creation", not our bodies yet, but our Spirit is not the same spirit we had that we were born with, it's a new Spirit, that of Christ.
When we get our new Spirit, we are so deeply changed everyone should notice. When we experience someone who "became a Christian", but they seem to retain the same old attitudes and actions, one has to wonder if they ever became a new creation through Christ.
Many who say they are Christians even deny the altered state in others who have been changed by Christ. There is a spiritual jealousy, that someone would be completely different from who they were before.
It has been my experience that the people that were my friends before I was saved, liked me better then than they did the new me. AND, some of those who disliked me more after I was born again, were the believers that saw me as their personal project before I was saved. Usually busy judging me and placing extraneous rules that God never commanded. I also have to wonder about the Christians who are not excited when we become changed, perhaps they never became changed and it is a conviction to them.
God will have to sort out all this, but I know in my life, as I grew in the Lord, became on fire and addressed everything with the Word of God, the "Christians" were irritated and even got worse in their attitude toward me. Perhaps those who like me better as a non-believer were never born again themselves.
The deception of pretenders is very good often. They can say the right words, but they are cliquey, self righteous and demanding that we obey their version of rules, often unconcerned about the Bible they violate constantly.
We are not born again by following rules, nor do we keep our salvation through good works. However, when we are changed into a new creation, we are so dramatically changed that others notice it, even becoming irritated about the change.
Praise the Lord that we no longer have to walk according to the principle of man, we can obey the principles of God without guilt and even with great joy, even if no one goes with us.
God says that Jesus Christ is the WORD!
Psalm 119:105 "105 Your Word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path."
John 1:1 "1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning."
We follow Christ the Word, not man who loves to make up things to satisfy their own pride.
When we get our new Spirit, we are so deeply changed everyone should notice. When we experience someone who "became a Christian", but they seem to retain the same old attitudes and actions, one has to wonder if they ever became a new creation through Christ.
Many who say they are Christians even deny the altered state in others who have been changed by Christ. There is a spiritual jealousy, that someone would be completely different from who they were before.
It has been my experience that the people that were my friends before I was saved, liked me better then than they did the new me. AND, some of those who disliked me more after I was born again, were the believers that saw me as their personal project before I was saved. Usually busy judging me and placing extraneous rules that God never commanded. I also have to wonder about the Christians who are not excited when we become changed, perhaps they never became changed and it is a conviction to them.
God will have to sort out all this, but I know in my life, as I grew in the Lord, became on fire and addressed everything with the Word of God, the "Christians" were irritated and even got worse in their attitude toward me. Perhaps those who like me better as a non-believer were never born again themselves.
The deception of pretenders is very good often. They can say the right words, but they are cliquey, self righteous and demanding that we obey their version of rules, often unconcerned about the Bible they violate constantly.
We are not born again by following rules, nor do we keep our salvation through good works. However, when we are changed into a new creation, we are so dramatically changed that others notice it, even becoming irritated about the change.
Praise the Lord that we no longer have to walk according to the principle of man, we can obey the principles of God without guilt and even with great joy, even if no one goes with us.
God says that Jesus Christ is the WORD!
Psalm 119:105 "105 Your Word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path."
John 1:1 "1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning."
We follow Christ the Word, not man who loves to make up things to satisfy their own pride.
Wednesday, July 26, 2017
Difficulties Reveal the Real Us
Difficulties and challenges do not make us what we are, it reveals what is inside. Our flesh can only hide and pretend so long, then eventually the first good bit of stress will bring out the real us!
James 1:2-4
"2 Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. 4 And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
Those who are stubborn will not grow, their only result in trials is to become even more staunch in their rebellion, resulting deeper lack of kindness and empathy. Their heart becomes harder as apposed to the heart of a repentant person who becomes softer and more loving.
James 1:12 "12 Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him."
Resistance to correction only brings hardness and lack of understanding.
Compliance to Christ in trials brings kindness, empathy and devotion to Him and others.
James 1:2-4
"2 Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. 4 And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
Those who are stubborn will not grow, their only result in trials is to become even more staunch in their rebellion, resulting deeper lack of kindness and empathy. Their heart becomes harder as apposed to the heart of a repentant person who becomes softer and more loving.
James 1:12 "12 Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him."
Resistance to correction only brings hardness and lack of understanding.
Compliance to Christ in trials brings kindness, empathy and devotion to Him and others.
Monday, July 24, 2017
He Prays For Us
Jesus Christ in us prays on our behalf!
Romans 8:26-27 "26 In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know how we ought to pray, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groans too deep for words. 27 And He who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.…"
Romans 8:26-27 "26 In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know how we ought to pray, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groans too deep for words. 27 And He who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.…"
We Can Understand Revelation
The book of Revelation is NOT hard to understand, it is only hard to believe.
Only through the Holy Spirit will we be able to understand it. The signs are everywhere now as we are living out the very end of the end.
Hallelujah, those of us who know the Lord know what is happening and where we are going when it is all over.
Only through the Holy Spirit will we be able to understand it. The signs are everywhere now as we are living out the very end of the end.
Hallelujah, those of us who know the Lord know what is happening and where we are going when it is all over.
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