Living By Faith

The Swastica Rises Again

No one except those who are in Ukraine can know what is going on over there. Recently my husband spoke to a man whose friend went over there to help the Ukrainian people. He left soon after arriving because everywhere he went he saw the Nazi Swastica worn by the Ukrainian soldiers. The man who saw this came back home because he refused to be a part of helping anitsemetic soldiers who identified with the occult of Hitlers army.

The media will not tell you that both parties in this war are evil. The civilians may not be the ones involved, but the soldiers and the government are not innocent on either side.

This is another warning to be careful to get on the side of either waring nations when we cannot know for sure what is going on other than the news propaganda.

God said that in the end times there would be “deception so great that even the ‘elect’ would be fooled. Matthew 24:24

I am convinced that part of this great deception is the media on both sides, liberal and conservative.

“Conservative” is not the same as “Christian.” Many conservatives are not born-again, they merely subscribe to a system that they feel make them feel safer.

We must not trust in the media no matter what they claim about themselves. Also, keep in mind that God said these end times events would be full of the mentality of 2 Timothy 3. This mentality is demonic and so prevalent that only a handful of people will not be sucked into it.

Born-again believers who are seeking the Lord for wisdom will not be sucked into it, they will be busy with the Lord’s work whatever He has given them to do. They will not be distracted by world events. However, they will be excited that they are the ones who have been assigned as witnesses of the last days' events, just as Lot and Noah were in their day.

We need not fret or worry about any of it. God promised He would take care of us. He will tell us what to do and when as we see these things play out.

We are watching the events leading up to the tribulation, we will be affected to some degree but we will not see the antichrist or the tribulation as described in Daniel 9 and Revelation 6-18.

When we have trusted in Christ we will watch these things play out without fear but with hope and excitement that God told us what would happen and we are watching how they will happen.

Many preachers 150 years ago believed God but did not know how it would manifest. Now we know because of technology and the last days' mentality of hate, controlled by the influence of the devil.

Matthew 13:16 “16 But blessed are your eyes, because they see; and your ears, because they hear. 17 For truly I say to you that many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.”

Instead of wringing our hands in disgust over world events, we can look at them with joy as we watch prophesy playing out just as God said it would.

We are watching things the prophets didn’t see, we are those last days' witnesses, what an exciting experience. One time many years ago I told someone how exciting is must have been to watch God part the sea for Moses and the Israelites. Or to walk out of Sodom as God destroyed it.

In our day we have seen just as exciting and even more than they saw.

We have no reason to fear or worry, God holds onto us as we embark on another day of prophecy being fulfilled as we watch.

We are going home soon, what an amazing blessing to see what the prophets of old never saw but desired to understand. Every day is a new chapter!

Hallelujah!!!!!! We can have nothing but hope as we watch the world stage.

Like

Comment

Share

In These Days of Apostasy

That's for sure!!! I have seen this a lot since I became born-again.

Matthew 23:15 "

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you travel around on sea and land to make one proselyte; and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves."

We have been courted to attend a church, only to become the pariah in it for asking that we follow the Bible in our thinking and in practice. These are even people who say they are "Bible-believing", they only say it, it was not proven by their practice.

The Two Must Match Pitch

Two sayings I have heard over the years that match with Biblical standards, "your actions speak so loud I can't hear a word you are saying" and "your actions speak louder than words."

Our actions prove what is in our heart! Words do not prove our heart, they are just words without meaning if the actions do not match pitch with the words.

James 1:19-25
"19 Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger;
20 for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.
21 Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.
22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.
23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror.
24 For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like.
25 But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing."

Our God, He Is Alive

Christ in us is the Authority Over Us!

1 John 2:27 "And as for you, the anointing which you received from Him remains in you, and you have no need for anyone to teach you; but as His anointing teaches you about all things, and is true and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you remain in Him."

This passage was given to ALL born-again believers.

Those who would lead you to believe you cannot know the truth of the Bible without a "pastor" or a mentor" are in violation of the scriptures.

However, God does use each of us to teach one another where we may lack knowledge or wisdom. We are to share what we know and be willing to be taught ourselves where we lack.

Colossians 3:15-17 "…15 Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, for to this you were called as members of one body. And be thankful. 16 Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. 17 And whatever you do, in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.…"

We help one another but no one is above another in the body of Christ. We are to heed the teaching of any teacher who stands in front of the gathering to teach, but we are also to test everything they say through the Word of God. If the person teaching is in error then the others are to judge and bring Scripture that proves their assertions.

Anyone who says you are not to speak in opposition to them as they speak is disobeying the Word of God.

Acts 17:11 "11Now the Bereans were more noble-minded than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if these teachings were true. "

1 Corinthians 14:30 " But if a revelation is made to another who is seated, then the first one is to keep silent."

Each man is to speak openly during the teaching, they add to the teaching or they correct the teaching. The teacher is not the authority over others. The teacher is to receive the input of the others that the Holy Spirit in each person has a voice.

The modern idea of a one-man paid pastor seen as the authority over others is not only not Biblical but it makes the men in the pews lazy to study the Bible on their own in their homes so they come to the gathering prepared to be led by the Holy Spirit.

Our modern Christian gatherings are so far from the first century model of the gathering that it hardly resembles what happened in those first house churches.

A reason so many Christians do not know their Bibles is that they have believed that only the one-man-paid pastor is the only one who can know because he was educated in seminaries. This is a false belief system coming out of Catholicism only tweaked a little to fit the Protestant model.

There is no hierarchy in the Christian gathering according to the Bible. There are respected teachers who are subject to all the born-again believers in the gathering.

God said this:

2 Timothy 2:24-25 "24 And a servant of the Lord must not be quarrelsome but must be kind to everyone, able to teach, and forbearing. 25 He must gently reprove those who oppose him, in the hope that God may grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth."

This has been translated to sound like the preacher should be good at preaching, but in fact, the real meaning according to the original language means "the teacher should be teachable himself."

Any leader who is preaching must be able to be corrected, if he is not, if he is arrogant and attempts to have power over others, he does not belong in a position of teaching.

Elders and their attitudes:

1 Thessalonians 2:7

"On the contrary, we were gentle among you, like a nursing mother caring for her children."

1 Timothy 3:2

"An overseer, then, must be above reproach, the husband of but one wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to be taught himself,"

1 Timothy 3:3

"not dependent on wine, not violent but gentle, peaceable, and free of the love of money."

Fruit of the Spirit is vital in the life of the born-again teacher.

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."

If an elder or teacher is given to rage, rudeness or superiority he must be rebuked, if he will not stop he must be removed of that position. God was not making suggestions in His commands of the qualifications of elders, these were commands and expected to be followed.

A challenge to all of us might be; how much of the Bible do we actually believe enough to follow? Praying for wisdom and truth in every single area of our Christian walk will bring about such eye-opening that cannot be shut again. Once we know the truth we will never go back to the beggarly things again.

Galatians 4:9 "But now that you know God, or rather are known by God, how is it that you are turning back to those weak and worthless principles? Do you wish to be enslaved by them all over again?"

It is one thing to know in our heads and quite another to actually follow what we say we know.

God will not Change a Stubborn Heart

God will not change the heart of a person who does not want to be changed, be sure you are praying in the Holy Spirit so as not to come against His perfect will.

We cannot change a person through our kindness, our sacrifice or our prayers. We obey God but we are not to attempt to manipulate someone into obedience to God.

We must tell the truth and walk in love but that is no guarantee they will trust in Christ. In fact, if we try to manipulate others with our live while remaining silent about their sin we have not obeyed God.

Proverbs 22:24 "24 Do not make friends with an angry man, and do not associate with a hot-tempered man, 25 or you may learn his ways and entangle yourself in a snare.…"

We see how the culture has been more influenced by the unbeliever than by the believers because the believers are remaining silent and are excessively tolerant of sin entitling those who are rebellious through their silence.

Being real friendly to an unbeliever while they say anything they please, while we nodd our heads in approval we are validating their sin through our silence.

Christ said we would be rejected by the world because we love Christ, this means that we are opening our mouths about sin and repentance and it makes rebellious people angry.

Matthew 7:13-15 "13 Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. 14 But small is the gate and narrow the way that leads to life, and only a few find it. 15 Beware of false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves.…"

Love is kind but it is not silent about sin. If we love others we warn them about their fate and give them the solutions to salvation which is a confession of their sin (repentance) and trusting in Christ. If they become angry then that is on them not us.