Anyone who thinks they never sin after salvation must worship themselves. Just blocked another "sinless perfection" advocate, who actually had the gall to tell me he never sins. My answer: He sins by believing he never sins.
1 John 1:9-10…9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say we have not sinned, we make Him out to be a liar, and His word is not in us.
It must be awful being married to someone who believes they never sin, there must never be any apologies or confessions and that means no cleansing. Oops!
If we never sinned after salvation then there would be no need for Christ's blood to pay for or cover our sins.
Tuesday, May 29, 2018
Go Into the Closet
I became ravenous soon after I became born again. Sad though, as I grew in the Lord, all those other Christians that I elevated seemed superficial, they were no help at all and even became jealous at my new life.
The closer I became to the Lord over the years the fewer believers I had for friends. I though this; "now that I am born again I will be close to the Christian family members", just the opposite happened.
Those that saw my new fanaticism to actually obey the Scriptures were irritated, even jealous when I would correct their wrong thinking with Scripture.
There was a lady that wanted to impress me. She had gone to a "prayer seminar" on how to pray. This lady told me she wanted to be a better prayer, or "prayer warrior", as she put it.
I looked at the notebook from her seminar with exhaustion, it was many pages on how to pray. Included in it was the "prayer walk", praying over the bridges as one walked around town. Then it taught how to walk the neighborhood and pray for the people. There was no need to actually speak to the neighbors unless the Lord led, just walk through and pray.
I was so overwhelmed with this ritual that I finally said, "if I thought praying was that hard I would just give up." I had read the prayer the Lord gave us, the principles in it in a short paragraph, that's all I needed.
I saw no scriptural basis for the "prayer walk", just the same kind of ritual that I came out of when I left the Catholic church.
Of course I was treated as though I were just ignorant about prayer, after all, I wasn't as spiritual as the other family members so they paid me no mind.
There were many instances like this in which the superficial and ritualistic protestant church goers were practicing that I could not enjoy or join with them. It wasn't very long before I found myself being avoided, ignored and even mocked at times for not fawning all over their rituals and superiority.
I was relieved as I grew in the Lord that living the Christ like walk was very simple, the prayer was heart felt and in my own words according to the model Christ gave us. I don't walk bridges, but I do pray for the neighborhood. I don't light candles or use mantras, I just speak my thoughts to God all the time throughout the day. As He speaks to me I rejoice that He actually spoke to ME, little ole nothing me, that's just how much He loves me.
He is not looking for fancy ways to pray or mantras, He is looking for a heart that wants to communicate with Him.
Giving human formulas does not help people, it just overwhelms those who just want to love their Lord.
My advice is just to get rid of all the human formulas, the fancy seminars to fit in, just read the word, talk to God and love His fellowship.
Matthew 6:6-8 "…6 But when you pray, go into your inner room, shut your door, and pray to your Father, who is unseen. And your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. 7 And when you pray, do not babble on like pagans, for they think that by their many words they will be heard. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.…"
Did we get this? God never said to go over the bridges and neighborhoods to pray, He said to go into your room alone where no one can see you. Hmmm!!!!! That ought to tell us something about the neighborhood prayer ritual.
Matthew 6:9-13
9 “Pray, then, in this way:
‘Our Father who is in heaven,
Hallowed be Your name.
10 ‘Your kingdom come.
Your will be done,
On earth as it is in heaven.
11 ‘Give us this day our daily bread.
12 ‘And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13 ‘And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.’]"
There it is, God's direction in our prayers!!!! Nothing more than this is needed.
The closer I became to the Lord over the years the fewer believers I had for friends. I though this; "now that I am born again I will be close to the Christian family members", just the opposite happened.
Those that saw my new fanaticism to actually obey the Scriptures were irritated, even jealous when I would correct their wrong thinking with Scripture.
There was a lady that wanted to impress me. She had gone to a "prayer seminar" on how to pray. This lady told me she wanted to be a better prayer, or "prayer warrior", as she put it.
I looked at the notebook from her seminar with exhaustion, it was many pages on how to pray. Included in it was the "prayer walk", praying over the bridges as one walked around town. Then it taught how to walk the neighborhood and pray for the people. There was no need to actually speak to the neighbors unless the Lord led, just walk through and pray.
I was so overwhelmed with this ritual that I finally said, "if I thought praying was that hard I would just give up." I had read the prayer the Lord gave us, the principles in it in a short paragraph, that's all I needed.
I saw no scriptural basis for the "prayer walk", just the same kind of ritual that I came out of when I left the Catholic church.
Of course I was treated as though I were just ignorant about prayer, after all, I wasn't as spiritual as the other family members so they paid me no mind.
There were many instances like this in which the superficial and ritualistic protestant church goers were practicing that I could not enjoy or join with them. It wasn't very long before I found myself being avoided, ignored and even mocked at times for not fawning all over their rituals and superiority.
I was relieved as I grew in the Lord that living the Christ like walk was very simple, the prayer was heart felt and in my own words according to the model Christ gave us. I don't walk bridges, but I do pray for the neighborhood. I don't light candles or use mantras, I just speak my thoughts to God all the time throughout the day. As He speaks to me I rejoice that He actually spoke to ME, little ole nothing me, that's just how much He loves me.
He is not looking for fancy ways to pray or mantras, He is looking for a heart that wants to communicate with Him.
Giving human formulas does not help people, it just overwhelms those who just want to love their Lord.
My advice is just to get rid of all the human formulas, the fancy seminars to fit in, just read the word, talk to God and love His fellowship.
Matthew 6:6-8 "…6 But when you pray, go into your inner room, shut your door, and pray to your Father, who is unseen. And your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. 7 And when you pray, do not babble on like pagans, for they think that by their many words they will be heard. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.…"
Did we get this? God never said to go over the bridges and neighborhoods to pray, He said to go into your room alone where no one can see you. Hmmm!!!!! That ought to tell us something about the neighborhood prayer ritual.
Matthew 6:9-13
9 “Pray, then, in this way:
‘Our Father who is in heaven,
Hallowed be Your name.
10 ‘Your kingdom come.
Your will be done,
On earth as it is in heaven.
11 ‘Give us this day our daily bread.
12 ‘And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13 ‘And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.’]"
There it is, God's direction in our prayers!!!! Nothing more than this is needed.
Only Christ is Good
Those who love Christ also love doing what is right. If someone still struggles with doing right they might not be born again. When we fail God we hate it and want to confess, start again and do better.
Those who find it impossible to admit their flaws, who hide to protect their false persona, are living fleshly.
It should come easy for the born again believer to tell the truth about themselves, good, bad and ugly.
2 Timothy 4:1-22
"I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry. ..."
1 John 1:9
"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."
Those who find it impossible to admit their flaws, who hide to protect their false persona, are living fleshly.
It should come easy for the born again believer to tell the truth about themselves, good, bad and ugly.
2 Timothy 4:1-22
"I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry. ..."
1 John 1:9
"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."
Monday, May 28, 2018
Stubbornness Impedes Growth
Trials do not make the man, they reveal the man! God wants us to learn what is really inside to confess and be cleansed. Without confession there is no cleansing or growing. Many people remain spiritual infants because they are too stubborn to learn.
What Comes Out is the Real Us!
Trials don't make the man, they reveal what is already inside. No one makes someone rage they choose that reaction when they are controlled by their emotion.
Those who are calm and joyful on the inside never feel a need to rage, they know God is in control.
When a person's initial reaction is to rage at a challenge, we know there is anger that dwells in the heart all the time.
No man of God keeps anger festering continually ready to emerge at the slightest provocation. Those who lose control easily, often accuse others of causing them to do it. Or lie and say the others are the one's who are angry. A strange phenomena but I have seen this for myself.
The truth is, nothing ruffles the godly man, they see a purpose in everything, even a challenge can do them good. When we are challenged we can rethink our belief or we can further solidify it by revisiting our reasons for it.
Proverbs 22:24 "24 Do not associate with a man given to anger; Or go with a hot-tempered man, 25 Or you will learn his ways And find a snare for yourself."
Those who are calm and joyful on the inside never feel a need to rage, they know God is in control.
When a person's initial reaction is to rage at a challenge, we know there is anger that dwells in the heart all the time.
No man of God keeps anger festering continually ready to emerge at the slightest provocation. Those who lose control easily, often accuse others of causing them to do it. Or lie and say the others are the one's who are angry. A strange phenomena but I have seen this for myself.
The truth is, nothing ruffles the godly man, they see a purpose in everything, even a challenge can do them good. When we are challenged we can rethink our belief or we can further solidify it by revisiting our reasons for it.
Proverbs 22:24 "24 Do not associate with a man given to anger; Or go with a hot-tempered man, 25 Or you will learn his ways And find a snare for yourself."
"Trials Don't Make a Man, They Reveal Him"
Luke 8:24-25
They came to Jesus and woke Him up, saying, "Master, Master, we are perishing!" And He got up and rebuked the wind and the surging waves, and they stopped, and it became calm. And He said to them, "Where is your faith?" They were fearful and amazed, saying to one another, "Who then is this, that He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey Him?"
In the case of Job, God allowed the devil to harm him, the devil could not do it without God's permission. When the devil does harm to it, then God has allowed it for our training and sometimes discipline.
Next time we are tempted to blame the devil for our trials, its sort of like saying God had no control over it.
James 1:2-8
Profiting from Trials
"2 My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces [a]patience. 4 But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be [b]perfect and complete, lacking nothing. 5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. 6 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. 7 For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; 8 he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways."
As someone once said, I don't remember who; "trials don't make a man, they reveal him."
They came to Jesus and woke Him up, saying, "Master, Master, we are perishing!" And He got up and rebuked the wind and the surging waves, and they stopped, and it became calm. And He said to them, "Where is your faith?" They were fearful and amazed, saying to one another, "Who then is this, that He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey Him?"
In the case of Job, God allowed the devil to harm him, the devil could not do it without God's permission. When the devil does harm to it, then God has allowed it for our training and sometimes discipline.
Next time we are tempted to blame the devil for our trials, its sort of like saying God had no control over it.
James 1:2-8
Profiting from Trials
"2 My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces [a]patience. 4 But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be [b]perfect and complete, lacking nothing. 5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. 6 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. 7 For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; 8 he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways."
As someone once said, I don't remember who; "trials don't make a man, they reveal him."
Sunday, May 27, 2018
Consider it all Joy!
The most godly people I have met have been those who had lifelong illnesses. God uses illness to make us stronger, those who are never ill or never have problems may be illegitimate children.
Hebrews 12:8
"If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons."
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."
Hebrews 12:8
"If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons."
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."
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