Returning Unrepentant

When someone attempts to come back into your life, after years of disrespect and dishonor, without any sense of remorse for what they have done, then there is no reason to expect their behavior or attitude to change merely because time has passed.

There is such a thing as the "sweet/mean" cycle, in which the bully will schmooze you with flattery when they want something out of you. As soon as they have sucked you into their scheme they will allow the old unrepentant attitude and disrespect to emerge once again.

It is important to remember that God commanded repentance ( a change of mind) toward the offense because it is the way we can know the bully was sorry for their crimes and will not repeat the same things again.

There is no reason to trust someone who has deeply offended when they act as though the offense never happened.

There are those who know they have acted badly toward you but think if enough time has passed you will begin to trust them again.

God tells us to remove ourselves from those who are not sorry they have offended and who do not show any movement toward changing how they view us or how they treat us.

Psalm 31:18

"Let the lying lips be mute,

Which speak arrogantly against the righteous

With pride and contempt."

Philippians 2:3

"Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself."

2 Timothy 3:5 "from such turn away", you can read the entire passage on your own, as you discover that light has no fellowship with darkness. When the darkness wants to remain dark without confession of offenses then there is nothing to do but remove ourselves.

Many the Lord teach us to love bullies from afar through prayer.

Original Tongues Purpose!

What was the original speaking in tongues?

The apostles spoke in their own language and the people heard in their own language.

Tongues were not each person speaking babble incoherent to themselves and others, they were a work of the Holy Spirit in times when the people hearing did not speak the same language as the people speaking.

God confused the languages at the Tower of Babble because they were disobediently remaining together to build a tower when God told them to disperse throughout the earth.

Tongues in the Bible were a reversal of what God did at the Tower, He caused the people to be able to understand one another at a time when they didn't speak the same language.

1 Corinthians 14:22 " 22 Tongues, then, are a sign, not for believers, but for unbelievers. Prophecy, however, is for believers, not for unbelievers."

The apostles were instructed by God to go into all the world and preach the gospel. The only way that could happen is if the apostles spoke in their own language and the Holy Spirit caused the hearers to hear in their own language.

Tongues were for the purpose of allowing the apostles to preach and for the unbelievers who did not know their language would be able to hear in their own language.

Not everyone will speak in tongues and it is not evidence of salvation. There are no verses that say the evidence of salvation is tongues.

God needs no evidence that we are born again, He knows who belongs to Him.

The evidence that helps believers identify one another of being born again is the fruit of the Spirit. What is the fruit of the Spirit?

Galatians 5:22-23

"22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law."

The fruit of the Spirit are the very character qualities of Christ Who lives in the born again believer.

Matthew 7:15-20

You Will Know Them by Their Fruits

15 “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. 16 You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? 17 Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Therefore by their fruits you will know them."

Those who do not display all those character qualities as a lifestyle are not born again.

When Christ changes us into a new creation our conscience becomes tender and sensitive to the promptings of the Holy Spirit. We are deeply agitated when we do not obey God, it leads us to confess to be cleansed, causing us to improve our hearts. With each new confession we make a Spiritual stride toward greater holiness.

1 John 1:9

"9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous, so that He will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness."

Those who do not confess their sin as it arises will not grow in holiness and if there is never confession it may be the evidence that there has never been a born-again experience.

Those who have no desire to discuss problems in relationships are not open to admitting or confessing their flaws to grow, they merely wish to appear right more than they love God and more than they love others.

Those who are born again are very sensitive to offending others, they hate it when they have hurt someone and quickly confess it to restore the relationship. We don't see much of this in these last days because of the 2 Timothy 3 mentality of total selfishness.

2 Timothy 3:1-5

Difficult Times Will Come

"3 But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. 2 For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, slanderers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, [a]haters of good, 4 treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5 holding to a form of [b]godliness although they have denied its power; avoid such people as these."

Proverbs 14:12

"There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death."

Proverbs 21:2

"Every way of a man is right in his own eyes, but the Lord weighs the heart."

Isaiah 5:21

"Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes, and shrewd in their own sight!"

Proverbs 12:15

"The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but a wise man listens to advice."

Often the rituals of speaking in tongues is a show rather than an authentic expression of the work of the Holy Spirit. We are living in times of deep pretense, in which many "Christians" care more about being seen as spiritual without substance and authenticity.

Many even go so far as to claim others have not been saved because they have not spoken in tongues. This is foolishness and rejects the Word of God.

1 Corinthians 12:1-13

Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit.

5 And there are varieties of ministries, and the same Lord.

6 There are varieties of effects, but the same God who works all things in all persons.

7 But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.

8 For to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, and to another the word of knowledge according to the same Spirit;

9 to another faith by the same Spirit, and to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit,

10 and to another the effecting of miracles, and to another prophecy, and to another the distinguishing of spirits, to other various kinds of tongues, and to another the interpretation of tongues.

11 But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually just as He wills.

12 For just as the body is one and yet has many parts, and all the parts of the body, though they are many, are one body, so also is Christ.

13 For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit."

When we judge our brothers and sisters expecting them to do the same things we do or act exactly the same way we do that is not sin, we are wrongly judging.

Everyone has gifts and everyone is led by the Holy Spirit according to God's purposes if they are seeking Him. There are those who are not displaying gifts either because they have not been born again or because they are lazy and ignoring God when He speaks to them.

1 Thessalonians 5:19

"19 Do not quench the Spirit,"

When we do not consult the Holy Spirit or obey Him when He speaks we will silence Him. God is a gentleman, He will never force Himself on anyone, He does however want us to ask Him for direction and wisdom, then He will give us what we ask generously.

James 1:5

"If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him."

A born-again believer has no excuse for not knowing something because we have the Holy Spirit living in us ready and willing to speak to us if we want Him to impart wisdom to us.

Hallelujah!!!

Remnants of the Rapture?

God Has the Power!

I hope that people will stop saying; "I believe in the power of prayer." This is so unbiblical. Only Christ in a believer has power.

Not all prayers are heard, those that are prayed to other gods or to one's own "power of the mind" have no power.

Prayer all by itself has no power, it is God Who has the power to answer and He will only answer if we are walking in His will.

The name it and claim it crowd who think their mere words can make things happen are dabbling in sorcery.

God does not answer all prayer, He only answers according to His own will and if the prayer is uttered in the name of His Son Jesus Christ.

John 15:7

"If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you."

Our prayers will only be answered if we are abiding in Christ, meaning we are seeking His will His way.

Matthew 6:6 "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 "But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you."

Romans 8:26

"Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words."

Ecclesiastes 5:2

"Do not be quick to speak, and do not be hasty in your heart to utter a word before God. After all, God is in heaven and you are on earth. So let your words be few."

The Change must be done by Christ

The best change of all is when someone repents, changes their mind about sin and desires for Christ to change them into a new creation.

A person can change the way they act on the outside to fit with their desired culture, but if Christ is not the one Who changed their heart then they will still end up in hell.

It is the heart God wants to change, not just the behavior. If the heart is right the behavior will change without effort. We merely do what we want to do, when the heart has been changed by Christ our way of thinking is completely opposite of what it was before Christ did that work in our hearts.

Ezekiel 11:19

"And I will give them one heart, and a new spirit I will put within them. I will remove the heart of stone from their flesh and give them a heart of flesh,"

2 Corinthians 5:17

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come."

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Shedding the Rebellion to become Born-Again

There is a counterfeit Christianity that is rampant now.

As God said, the last days would be as in the days of Noah, eight people were saved, that does not mean only 8 people will be saved but that the cultures as a whole will "do what is right in their own eyes" and no one will listen to the truth."

It's really not about the number of people but the overall mentality. It is nearly impossible to engage in rational reasonable conversation to share ideas with other Christians, most are not open to anything that differs from their desired beliefs based on tradition.

When "feelings" are the goal in everything, it is nearly impossible to bring the truth, since the truth often causes "bad feelings" in those who are being convicted by the truth.

Stubborn and rebellious people will see a conviction from the Holy Spirit due to a warning from believers, as rude. They will assign their perceived rudeness as coming from us not recognizing the power of the Holy Spirit in the born-again believer.

When this happens we should not take it personally or worry whether or not we did something wrong. In these last days of apostasy, we will find more people hostile toward the Bible and God's principles than are open to hearing from Him.

2 Timothy 4:2-4 "…2 Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and encourage with every form of patient instruction. 3 For the time will come when men will not tolerate sound doctrine, but with itching ears, they will gather around themselves teachers to suit their own desires. 4 So they will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.…"

We can count it all joy when we are speaking through the Holy Spirit no matter what the response. Our joy comes from knowing we did what God wanted us to do.

I pray that every lost soul within our sphere of influence is disquieted perhaps leading them to repentance and ultimately salvation through Jesus Christ.

Our goal is not to make anyone comfortable or happy, the goal is to help them see their need for salvation through repentance that they might become born-again and join us in heaven when the rapture occurs.

I call this love, it is not loving to comfort someone in their sin. Love is when we show someone God's way leading them to the Savior who saves to the uttermost.

Hebrews 7:24-26

"24 Jesus, on the other hand, because He continues forever, holds His priesthood permanently.

25 Therefore He is also able to save forever those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.

26 For it was fitting for us to have such a high priest, holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens;"

Little do the rebellious hearts realize we share the gospel and point out their need because God loves them and so do we. We want them to experience the same joy, peace, and a paradise eternity that we know we have coming.

May those who have not yet trusted in Christ allow their conviction of sin to lead them to Him.

1 John 1:9

"9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."

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Our Future is Out of This World – Dr. Ed Hindson