Dr. Les Carter thoughts paraphrased:
Critical people enjoy being insulting!
Critical people will judge us as the problem.
Critical people don't want our input.
Critical people do not have an understanding spirit and their words are empty. A critic sees no need for understanding anyone else.
We are not required to play along with the critics insults or to engage with them at all when they are insulting.
Do not react to anything, do everything with reasoning and understanding.
My thoughts on this were:
When we pay little to no attention to our emotions and reason things out we most often will not react but will respond Biblically.
When we know the enemy, are deeply rooted in the Word of God and looking to Christ instead of to self we will not be very concerned about how we are treated, but more about how we are demonstrating the principles of God in our responses or lack of responses.
God has given us some very specific ways to respond to injustice all we have to do is read His Word and pray that the Holy Spirit give us the understanding.
James 1:5 "But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him."
Tuesday, June 18, 2019
Hearing God's Voice
In recalling our visit to Israel a few years ago I am reminded of the encounter we had with a flock of sheep and goats. The animals were behind a large pen. As I walked up to the animals I could not resist petting them. They were walking away from me as I was calling out to them in English.
The shepherd who was standing near the pen, a very young man very middle eastern looking was watching me. I called to the sheep a few times but they ignored me. Then suddenly the shepherd called out to them in Hebrew and the sheep came running back to where we were.
The sheep knew his voice and came without hesitation. Later as the shepherd took them from the pen and walked them down the long path they were jumping all around him, bleating and running to keep up with him. You see, those sheep and goats knew their shepherd and loved to be with him.
It occurred to me then that God allowed me to see what it looked like to be a child of God, able to know the voice of the Great Shepherd when others in the sound of His voice do not hear or understand Him.
As I watched how excited the sheep and goats were to be with their shepherd when he called and ran after him when he walked away, I was struck with how our walk with Christ should be. We ought to be anxious and ready to search for Him, His heart, His will in the pages of His Book the Bible as well as in prayer to hear from Him.
We would never be confused about anything if we are patiently waiting for His answers. When we don't understand we know He has a purpose and eventually will reveal to us all that we need to know.
John 10:27-28
27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:
28 And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.
The shepherd who was standing near the pen, a very young man very middle eastern looking was watching me. I called to the sheep a few times but they ignored me. Then suddenly the shepherd called out to them in Hebrew and the sheep came running back to where we were.
The sheep knew his voice and came without hesitation. Later as the shepherd took them from the pen and walked them down the long path they were jumping all around him, bleating and running to keep up with him. You see, those sheep and goats knew their shepherd and loved to be with him.
It occurred to me then that God allowed me to see what it looked like to be a child of God, able to know the voice of the Great Shepherd when others in the sound of His voice do not hear or understand Him.
As I watched how excited the sheep and goats were to be with their shepherd when he called and ran after him when he walked away, I was struck with how our walk with Christ should be. We ought to be anxious and ready to search for Him, His heart, His will in the pages of His Book the Bible as well as in prayer to hear from Him.
We would never be confused about anything if we are patiently waiting for His answers. When we don't understand we know He has a purpose and eventually will reveal to us all that we need to know.
John 10:27-28
27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:
28 And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.
Romans 2
The Impartiality of God
"2 Therefore you have no excuse, everyone of you who passes judgment, for in that which you judge another, you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things.
2 And we know that the judgment of God rightly falls upon those who practice such things.
3 But do you suppose this, O man, when you pass judgment on those who practice such things and do the same yourself, that you will escape the judgment of God?
4 Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and tolerance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance?
5 But because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath for yourself in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God,
6 who will render to each person according to his deeds:
7 to those who by perseverance in doing good seek for glory and honor and immortality, eternal life;
8 but to those who are selfishly ambitious and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, wrath and indignation.
9 There will be tribulation and distress for every soul of man who does evil, of the Jew first and also of the Greek, 10 but glory and honor and peace to everyone who does good, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.
11 For there is no partiality with God."
"12 For all who have sinned without the Law will also perish without the Law, and all who have sinned under the Law will be judged by the Law;
13 for it is not the hearers of the Law who are just before God, but the doers of the Law will be justified.
14 For when Gentiles who do not have the Law do instinctively the things of the Law, these, not having [o]the Law, are a law to themselves,
15 in that they show the work of the Law written in their hearts, their conscience bearing witness and their thoughts alternately accusing or else defending them,
16 on the day when, according to my gospel, God will judge the secrets of men through Christ Jesus."
The Jew Is Condemned by the Law
"17 But if you bear the name “Jew” and rely upon the Law and boast in God,
18 and know His will and approve the things that are essential, being instructed out of the Law,
19 and are confident that you yourself are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness,
20 a corrector of the foolish, a teacher of the immature, having in the Law the embodiment of knowledge and of the truth,
21 you, therefore, who teach another, do you not teach yourself? You who preach that one shall not steal, do you steal?
22 You who say that one should not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples?
23 You who boast in the Law, through your breaking the Law, do you dishonor God?
24 For “the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you,” just as it is written."
"25 For indeed circumcision is of value if you practice the Law; but if you are a transgressor of the Law, your circumcision has become uncircumcision.
26 So if the uncircumcised man keeps the requirements of the Law, will not his uncircumcision be regarded as circumcision?
27 And he who is physically uncircumcised, if he keeps the Law, will he not judge you who though having the letter of the Law and circumcision are a transgressor of the Law?
28 For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh.
29 But he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that which is of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter; and his praise is not from men, but from God."
"2 Therefore you have no excuse, everyone of you who passes judgment, for in that which you judge another, you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things.
2 And we know that the judgment of God rightly falls upon those who practice such things.
3 But do you suppose this, O man, when you pass judgment on those who practice such things and do the same yourself, that you will escape the judgment of God?
4 Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and tolerance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance?
5 But because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath for yourself in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God,
6 who will render to each person according to his deeds:
7 to those who by perseverance in doing good seek for glory and honor and immortality, eternal life;
8 but to those who are selfishly ambitious and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, wrath and indignation.
9 There will be tribulation and distress for every soul of man who does evil, of the Jew first and also of the Greek, 10 but glory and honor and peace to everyone who does good, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.
11 For there is no partiality with God."
"12 For all who have sinned without the Law will also perish without the Law, and all who have sinned under the Law will be judged by the Law;
13 for it is not the hearers of the Law who are just before God, but the doers of the Law will be justified.
14 For when Gentiles who do not have the Law do instinctively the things of the Law, these, not having [o]the Law, are a law to themselves,
15 in that they show the work of the Law written in their hearts, their conscience bearing witness and their thoughts alternately accusing or else defending them,
16 on the day when, according to my gospel, God will judge the secrets of men through Christ Jesus."
The Jew Is Condemned by the Law
"17 But if you bear the name “Jew” and rely upon the Law and boast in God,
18 and know His will and approve the things that are essential, being instructed out of the Law,
19 and are confident that you yourself are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness,
20 a corrector of the foolish, a teacher of the immature, having in the Law the embodiment of knowledge and of the truth,
21 you, therefore, who teach another, do you not teach yourself? You who preach that one shall not steal, do you steal?
22 You who say that one should not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples?
23 You who boast in the Law, through your breaking the Law, do you dishonor God?
24 For “the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you,” just as it is written."
"25 For indeed circumcision is of value if you practice the Law; but if you are a transgressor of the Law, your circumcision has become uncircumcision.
26 So if the uncircumcised man keeps the requirements of the Law, will not his uncircumcision be regarded as circumcision?
27 And he who is physically uncircumcised, if he keeps the Law, will he not judge you who though having the letter of the Law and circumcision are a transgressor of the Law?
28 For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh.
29 But he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that which is of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter; and his praise is not from men, but from God."
Monday, June 17, 2019
The Man at the Fair
A story about an encounter with a man at a fair we were working when we had an ice cream business.
Here goes:
The man would come by our booth and brag about all his ugly conquests, filthy habits and drunkenness. One day my husband asked him if he knew where he was going when he died. The man answered flippantly that he didn't care he had friends in both heaven and hell. Then the man asked my husband, "where do you think I am going?" My husband answered by saying "well, hell of course", the man became so angry he ran off before my husband could tell him more.
Here's the thing, why was he angry, he told my husband he didn't care because he had friends in both places. My educated guess is that he lied when he said he didn't care. He didn't want to go to hell and probably even thought he was going to heaven because he was a friendly guy.
So often when people respond flippantly about hell it has more to do with what they want to believe than what they really believe. They want to believe all the fun wild people are going to hell where there will be constant drinking and immorality.
When they are faced with the truth they get afraid like an angry dog and attack rather than facing the horrors they know in their heart are true.
Romans 1:19-21 "…19 For what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. 20 For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood from His workmanship, so that men are without excuse. 21 For although they knew God, they neither glorified Him as God nor gave thanks to Him, but they became futile in their thinking and darkened in their foolish hearts."
We don't know what happened to the man after that, we do know that God will use it and that perhaps someone else will come along in that man's life and water him a little more.
The man at the fair didn't want to believe he was bad enough to go to hell, but in his heart of hearts he knew it.
1 Corinthians 3:6-9
"6 I planted, Apollos watered, but God was causing the growth.
7 So then neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but God who causes the growth.
8 Now he who plants and he who waters are one; but each will receive his own reward according to his own labor.
9 For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, God’s building."
Don't fear that you were not able to tell the whole gospel to someone. Our job is to do what the Holy Spirit tells us and He will send the next person to finish the job.
Here goes:
The man would come by our booth and brag about all his ugly conquests, filthy habits and drunkenness. One day my husband asked him if he knew where he was going when he died. The man answered flippantly that he didn't care he had friends in both heaven and hell. Then the man asked my husband, "where do you think I am going?" My husband answered by saying "well, hell of course", the man became so angry he ran off before my husband could tell him more.
Here's the thing, why was he angry, he told my husband he didn't care because he had friends in both places. My educated guess is that he lied when he said he didn't care. He didn't want to go to hell and probably even thought he was going to heaven because he was a friendly guy.
So often when people respond flippantly about hell it has more to do with what they want to believe than what they really believe. They want to believe all the fun wild people are going to hell where there will be constant drinking and immorality.
When they are faced with the truth they get afraid like an angry dog and attack rather than facing the horrors they know in their heart are true.
Romans 1:19-21 "…19 For what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. 20 For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood from His workmanship, so that men are without excuse. 21 For although they knew God, they neither glorified Him as God nor gave thanks to Him, but they became futile in their thinking and darkened in their foolish hearts."
We don't know what happened to the man after that, we do know that God will use it and that perhaps someone else will come along in that man's life and water him a little more.
The man at the fair didn't want to believe he was bad enough to go to hell, but in his heart of hearts he knew it.
1 Corinthians 3:6-9
"6 I planted, Apollos watered, but God was causing the growth.
7 So then neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but God who causes the growth.
8 Now he who plants and he who waters are one; but each will receive his own reward according to his own labor.
9 For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, God’s building."
Don't fear that you were not able to tell the whole gospel to someone. Our job is to do what the Holy Spirit tells us and He will send the next person to finish the job.
We Cannot Dissolve the Glue of God
Christ was speaking to the Jewish custom of divorcing for unfaithfulness during the betrothal (engagement) here in the Matthew 5 passage. None of the other gospels speaks to this because they were written to Gentiles who had no such custom of divorcing from engagement. Christ did not address divorce and remarriage as an option for married couples.
In the Jewish culture the engagement was nearly as binding as the marriage except in unfaithfulness. The couple had not lived together nor had they had relations with one another. They were called "husband and wife" during the betrothal period even though they had never lived together as man and wife. There was required a certificate of divorce from an engagement for those who were Jewish.
Matthew 5:31-32
"31 “It was said, ‘Whoever sends his wife away, let him give her a certificate of divorce’; 32 but I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except for the reason of unchastity (fornication before marriage in the engagement period), makes her commit adultery; and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery."
There is a provision in American law that allows for permanent separation in which a couple can apply for this so that there is allowance for financial responsibility but no liability in cases of taxes or debt.
There are very difficult situations in cases of abuse or danger from a spouse that allows for separation but never remarriage.
In the law to allow for a legal permanent separation the couple is still considered married but are not responsible to one another in anything else. There would be no allowance under this law for remarriage. This is much more in line with the Biblical mandate that one is not to remarry if there is a divorce, except there is no divorce here, only permanent separation.
Luke 16:18
“Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery; and whoever marries her who is divorced from her husband commits adultery.”
God is very clear in the gospels that He does not allow for divorce and remarriage. The only exception we find does not pertain to marriage but the betrothal period as it was practiced by the Jewish law for unfaithfulness during the engagement.
For many years all Christians agreed that divorce and remarriage was not permitted by God. This is the reason the old law was on the books about legal separation.
So what changed? It was simple, the culture changed as the church began to attempt to fit with the culture rather than the Bible. Now we have angry "Christians" who refuse to accept that divorce and remarriage is not condoned or endorsed by God. They managed to snatch out of the context of the Bible a short verse that was misunderstood and assign it endorsement and acceptance of something that God said He hates.
Malachi 2:16
16 For I hate divorce,” says the Lord, the God of Israel, “and him who covers his garment with wrong,” says the Lord of hosts. “So take heed to your spirit, that you do not deal treacherously.”
It is an act of hopelessness and hatred that will endorse divorce and remarriage. It is not possible to throw away someone we love simply because they do not act perfectly. To do this is to believe we have no sin of our own that our spouse must endure.
Let's set aside all the extreme arguments of abuse and focus on those divorce situations that are the most common. Most of the people I know who have been divorced and remarried were not dealing with extreme abuse. These people were just adult human beings who refused to make the other spouse more important than themselves.
Instead of praying, fasting and enduring until the Lord worked on the marriage, the people involved bailed out to save their own skin with little regard to the impact on the children involved and the church as a whole. Yes I really said that.......everything we do impacts the family, the churches, the schools and every other human institution around us.
One of the reasons we have "fads" is because one person decides to make a show of something they like to do and another person is influenced and follows. Before we know it the entire community is endorsing the act even if not all are doing it.
We see this all the time, the media promotes things and it grows like wildfire, before we realize what has happened everyone around us is indulging in that practice, clothing or hairstyle.
Divorce and remarriage grew because many coming out of seminaries in recent years were taught wrong things about what God said. To make things worse those trained in seminaries were encouraged to focus on marketing techniques instead of truth. It makes a whole lot of sense that one would ignore or endorse the practice of divorce and remarriage when half the people attending the gathering were in this condition.
After all, its not profitable for a preacher to preach the truth when his salary would be threatened by fewer bodies in the pews. The seminaries for the most part now are ignoring scripture all together or twisting it to make is say something more palatable to the attendees, bringing the numbers up to fill the pews.
Now the culture has been so intensely indoctrinated to accept divorce and remarriage that those who know the truth are treated with contempt and minimized for their decision to follow Christ rather than false preachers.
Even if someone believes that divorce is allowed for special circumstances why would they want to allow for something they know God hates.
Instead of seeking prayer, fasting and Bible for truth to be able to get through rough situations the masses are rejecting the hard things that are the real fixes in favor of the easy way. But sadly the easy way of divorce does not show the love of Christ but rather destroys the institution of marriage created by God.
If God were a god who believed bailing out of trouble were the way of happiness He never would have gone to the cross to pay for the sins of others.
Next time anyone uses that silly phrase, "God wouldn't want me to go through that", just remind them what Christ went through for them. God the Father send His only Son to go through terrible things for others, perhaps we can learn from this!!!!
James 1:2-8
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.
5 But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him.
6 But he must ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind. 7 For that man ought not to expect that he will receive anything from the Lord,
8 being a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways."
When a couple attempts to bail out of marriage, even though they are not able to undo the bond, they are saying they do not care what God thinks or who they ruin by their selfishness.
No man can undo the bond of "Oneness" God created in the two people in marriage. It was a spiritual bond created by God and no man can undo it.
When Christ makes us into a new creation we cannot undo that, its sealed permanently. The marriage bond is a picture of the bond we have with Christ when we become born again.
Ephesians 2:10
"10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them."
Anything God does in us cannot be undone by us. Hallelujah!!!!
In the Jewish culture the engagement was nearly as binding as the marriage except in unfaithfulness. The couple had not lived together nor had they had relations with one another. They were called "husband and wife" during the betrothal period even though they had never lived together as man and wife. There was required a certificate of divorce from an engagement for those who were Jewish.
Matthew 5:31-32
"31 “It was said, ‘Whoever sends his wife away, let him give her a certificate of divorce’; 32 but I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except for the reason of unchastity (fornication before marriage in the engagement period), makes her commit adultery; and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery."
There is a provision in American law that allows for permanent separation in which a couple can apply for this so that there is allowance for financial responsibility but no liability in cases of taxes or debt.
There are very difficult situations in cases of abuse or danger from a spouse that allows for separation but never remarriage.
In the law to allow for a legal permanent separation the couple is still considered married but are not responsible to one another in anything else. There would be no allowance under this law for remarriage. This is much more in line with the Biblical mandate that one is not to remarry if there is a divorce, except there is no divorce here, only permanent separation.
Luke 16:18
“Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery; and whoever marries her who is divorced from her husband commits adultery.”
God is very clear in the gospels that He does not allow for divorce and remarriage. The only exception we find does not pertain to marriage but the betrothal period as it was practiced by the Jewish law for unfaithfulness during the engagement.
For many years all Christians agreed that divorce and remarriage was not permitted by God. This is the reason the old law was on the books about legal separation.
So what changed? It was simple, the culture changed as the church began to attempt to fit with the culture rather than the Bible. Now we have angry "Christians" who refuse to accept that divorce and remarriage is not condoned or endorsed by God. They managed to snatch out of the context of the Bible a short verse that was misunderstood and assign it endorsement and acceptance of something that God said He hates.
Malachi 2:16
16 For I hate divorce,” says the Lord, the God of Israel, “and him who covers his garment with wrong,” says the Lord of hosts. “So take heed to your spirit, that you do not deal treacherously.”
It is an act of hopelessness and hatred that will endorse divorce and remarriage. It is not possible to throw away someone we love simply because they do not act perfectly. To do this is to believe we have no sin of our own that our spouse must endure.
Let's set aside all the extreme arguments of abuse and focus on those divorce situations that are the most common. Most of the people I know who have been divorced and remarried were not dealing with extreme abuse. These people were just adult human beings who refused to make the other spouse more important than themselves.
Instead of praying, fasting and enduring until the Lord worked on the marriage, the people involved bailed out to save their own skin with little regard to the impact on the children involved and the church as a whole. Yes I really said that.......everything we do impacts the family, the churches, the schools and every other human institution around us.
One of the reasons we have "fads" is because one person decides to make a show of something they like to do and another person is influenced and follows. Before we know it the entire community is endorsing the act even if not all are doing it.
We see this all the time, the media promotes things and it grows like wildfire, before we realize what has happened everyone around us is indulging in that practice, clothing or hairstyle.
Divorce and remarriage grew because many coming out of seminaries in recent years were taught wrong things about what God said. To make things worse those trained in seminaries were encouraged to focus on marketing techniques instead of truth. It makes a whole lot of sense that one would ignore or endorse the practice of divorce and remarriage when half the people attending the gathering were in this condition.
After all, its not profitable for a preacher to preach the truth when his salary would be threatened by fewer bodies in the pews. The seminaries for the most part now are ignoring scripture all together or twisting it to make is say something more palatable to the attendees, bringing the numbers up to fill the pews.
Now the culture has been so intensely indoctrinated to accept divorce and remarriage that those who know the truth are treated with contempt and minimized for their decision to follow Christ rather than false preachers.
Even if someone believes that divorce is allowed for special circumstances why would they want to allow for something they know God hates.
Instead of seeking prayer, fasting and Bible for truth to be able to get through rough situations the masses are rejecting the hard things that are the real fixes in favor of the easy way. But sadly the easy way of divorce does not show the love of Christ but rather destroys the institution of marriage created by God.
If God were a god who believed bailing out of trouble were the way of happiness He never would have gone to the cross to pay for the sins of others.
Next time anyone uses that silly phrase, "God wouldn't want me to go through that", just remind them what Christ went through for them. God the Father send His only Son to go through terrible things for others, perhaps we can learn from this!!!!
James 1:2-8
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.
5 But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him.
6 But he must ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind. 7 For that man ought not to expect that he will receive anything from the Lord,
8 being a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways."
When a couple attempts to bail out of marriage, even though they are not able to undo the bond, they are saying they do not care what God thinks or who they ruin by their selfishness.
No man can undo the bond of "Oneness" God created in the two people in marriage. It was a spiritual bond created by God and no man can undo it.
When Christ makes us into a new creation we cannot undo that, its sealed permanently. The marriage bond is a picture of the bond we have with Christ when we become born again.
Ephesians 2:10
"10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them."
Anything God does in us cannot be undone by us. Hallelujah!!!!
The Helper to Every Believer is the Holy Spirit
John 14:14-16
14 If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it.
15 “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.
Role of the Spirit
16 I will ask the Father, and He will give you another [a]Helper, that He may be with you forever;
14 If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it.
15 “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.
Role of the Spirit
16 I will ask the Father, and He will give you another [a]Helper, that He may be with you forever;
The Dilemma in the Modern Christianity
Yes and in my case "Christian" extended family are irritated at Biblical truth. I was once told by a family member that "we should not tell others they are wrong" But interestingly, the person who was telling me I was wrong believed it was wrong for me to tell someone they were wrong. How does that work anyway? She was not wrong to tell me I was wrong, but I was wrong to tell someone else they were wrong. Sort of a double standard right? ROFL
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