If I had a bucket list visiting these wonderful creatures would be on that list.
Thursday, June 16, 2022
Communication is the Key to Spiritual and Emotional Growth
It is interesting, according to some scientists, that only 3% of communication is words, and the rest of the 97% of communication is non-verbal.
I am also convinced that there is a certain amount of telepathy involved without us realizing it, as well as unrealized discernment.
My husband and I read one another's minds all the time. We will be just sitting somewhere and one of us will suggest we do something after the other had already thought of it without any conversation occurring. This could also be the depth of the oneness of spirit God made us when we married, but I am convinced there is also a human ability to sense things from others that are not spoken.
After all, radio waves go through the air why not brain waves too from one mind to another, sort of electrical impulses. This is why dogs sometimes do not like someone or like someone before the people even do or say anything, there is a sense of the spirit of the person.
John the Baptist in the womb of his mother lept with joy at the presence of Jesus Christ Who was in the womb of His mother Mary. John the Baptist was a baby in the womb of his mother Elizabeth, he couldn't even speak or see Jesus Christ in His Mary's womb and yet he sensed strongly Who He was, that is Christ His Savior.
When we have a sense about someone that is uncomfortable it is good to test the spirit before jumping into a relationship.
I am sure many of you have experienced as I have, a deep and spiritual connection to someone before finding out they were also born again.
1 John 4:1-6
"1 Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world.
2 By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God,
3 and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already.
4 Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.
5 They are from the world; therefore they speak from the world, and the world listens to them.
6 We are from God. Whoever knows God listens to us; whoever is not from God does not listen to us. By this, we know the Spirit of truth and the spirit of error."
God gave us discernment for a reason, to avoid the pitfalls of false believers, pretenders in the church as well as those who are believers walking in error.
1 John 4:6
"We are from God; he who knows God listens to us; he who is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error."
2 Peter 3:17
"You, therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, be on your guard so that you are not carried away by the error of unprincipled men and fall from your own steadfastness,"
Never make a mistake in thinking that it is kindness to allow error and deception to grow in the church.
We must love God so much more than people that preserving the feelings of sinful people who love their error is considered an abomination.
Luke 14:26 “If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his own father, mother, wife, children, brothers, sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple."
If we are to love God so much that we are willing to set aside family to obey Christ how much more must we set aside rebellious people in the church to preserve the integrity of the body of Christ.
Those who refuse to obey the Word of God to hang onto their human traditions will undermine the faith of the body, weakening spiritual growth.
As pretenders increase so does the faith diminish among those who are weak.
Faith is undermined when the Bible is ignored and man-made ideas are taught.
Many ideas of man that negate the word of God are being taught in the churches causing apostasy.
Coddling weak believers in their error does not help them grow stronger. Encouragement is when we teach the truth, and correct the error with a deep concern about the well-being of the weaker Christian.
I have seen many people listen to the error of a new believer and say nothing so as not to offend them. Here is what I say about that, if a new believer is offended by correction to help them more fully obey Christ, then they are not serious about following Him and they might not even be saved.
Born again believers, especially newbies should be anxious to hear the truth, to pray and to seek the Holy Spirit for direction and counsel.
Matthew 6:33
"33 But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be provided to you."
Making decisions according to the principles of Christ will bring wonderful strength and personal growth, far more important than any of our own desires.
When we love Christ above all other things and people we will desire His will over our desires. His will become our desires. We ought to be asking Christ to show us His will rather than asking Him to fulfill our own will.
Daniel 2:21-23 "…21 He changes the times and seasons; He removes kings and establishes them. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning.
22 He reveals the deep and hidden things; He knows what lies in darkness, and light dwells with Him.
23 To You, O God of my fathers, I give thanks and praise, because You have given me wisdom and power."
Seek Christ first in all things and self-indulgence will disappear.
Monday, June 13, 2022
Last Days and Judging
We are living in the last days filled with ragingly insane people influenced by demonic forces to say and do everything against God.
When we experience someone who mocks us as we resolve to obey Christ, we can count it all joy that we are not of the world.
John 17:14-16
14 I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. 15 I am not asking You to take them out of the world, but to keep them away from the evil one. 16 They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.
John 15:19
"If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you."
1 John 2:15
"Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.:"
James 1:2-18
Testing of Your Faith
"2 Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds,
3 for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.
4 And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.
6 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind.
7 For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord;
8 he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways."
Romans 5:3-5 "…3 Not only that, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4 perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5 And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out His love into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, whom He has given us.…"
Those who glory in how good they think they are, need salvation. No one who is born again considers themselves any better than anyone else. They know that God changed them, they are no longer the same person they used to be and can never return to the old person again. Born again believers want the unsaved to find Christ and be changed too.
Luke 7:47-48 "47 Therefore I tell you, because her many sins have been forgiven, she has loved much. But he who has been forgiven little loves little.” 48 Then Jesus said to her, “Your sins are forgiven."
Those who believe they have never done something evil enough to be condemned do not understand salvation.
Even the slightest bad attitude is worthy of hell fire. God said that it is our nature that is wicked through and through and only being changed by Christ will remove this evil nature. God is looking at the heart more than actions. The actions prove what was in the heart before the actions took place.
We cannot be good enough to change ourselves, it is only Christ's goodness given to us by Him that can count us as worthy in the eyes of the Father.
I am always disturbed when someone says: "That was a nice lady", whom they have only met one time, simply because she was friendly to them. I don't say things like that anymore, I say things more like; "that was fun she was friendly to me." Everyone has a life we do not see, they could be an ax murderer in private. It is not a good idea to judge someone's character based on little evidence. We ought not to judge a person as bad for one thing, and we ought not to judge someone as good because of one encounter. We can know someone's character by the fruit or lack of it, but one nice act does not make a good person.
We do not declare anything about people we meet that we really don't know personally. We can be respectful, friendly, kind, and helpful, but we cannot know a person by one happy encounter.
When we become born again Christ changes us and comes to live in us. We continue to battle the flesh but the Spirit is now His, the very reason we battle the flesh. Before we were born again we did not battle the flesh, we enjoyed it and justified it. After we are born again when we give into the flesh we have a sense of shame that comes from the Holy Spirit to help us confess to be cleansed and move on to become more obedient.
We grow in holiness in direct proportions to how often we confess and become cleansed. Those who remain stubborn and will not confess are either not born again or are children of God who will suffer His discipline to bring them to obedience. The consequences of sin help us learn to obey.
Hebrews 12:5-7 "…5 And you have forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons: “My son, do not take lightly the discipline of the Lord, and do not lose heart when He rebukes you. 6 For the Lord disciplines the one He loves, and He chastises every son He receives.” 7 Endure suffering as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father?…"
Those who do not belong to God will experience the consequences of life without God's help through discipline. And, they often blame others or pretend it wasn't so bad, something they could fix on their own.
Hebrews 12:7-8 "…7 Endure suffering as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father? 8 If you do not experience discipline like everyone else, then you are illegitimate children and not true sons. "
You shall know them by their fruit, they are character qualities of Christ that permeate one's life.
Matthew 7:16-20 "16 You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes, nor figs from thistles, are they? 17 So every good tree bears good fruit, but the 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 So then, you will know them by their fruits."
Sunday, June 12, 2022
Saturday, June 11, 2022
Friday, June 10, 2022
Focus on Christ and not this World
"They seem to believe that if they say or pretend that something is true, then that somehow makes it irrefutable. Instead, they are masters of public posturing and little more. Facts are less important to them than self-promotion. " Dr. Les Carter
We live in a day when self-promotion and fantasy thinking take priority over truth, rational evaluation, and facts.
We were told this would happen in God's Word describing the end times before the rapture of the church.
Luke 16:15
"And he said to them, “You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is exalted among men is an abomination in the sight of God."
Proverbs 30:12
"There are those who are clean in their own eyes but are not washed of their filth."
Proverbs 26:12
"Do you see a man who is wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him."
Proverbs 14:12
"There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death."
Why is it important, you might ask, to always be warning people about the growing apostasy?
God told us to warn people, when we warn someone and they show interest in believing God we can save them from the fires of hell, or we can encourage a baby believer who is not sure about what is happening.
When we are unsure about why things are happening in the world we often give up and give in to the ways of the culture. However, when we know the devil is behind it all and that we do not have to suck it into our souls and become cowardly we can face it, speak boldly the truth and ignore the insults of those who do not know Christ.
There are those who think it is a good thing to fight everything evil that is going on in the world while they neglect the gospel and encouragement of believers to keep their eyes on Jesus Christ.
Christ commanded us that "when we see these things happening, look up." This was a command to keep our eyes on Christ, the gospel and our home going. We are never told to look all around, share the evil information with others and become sad and angry all the time. When we focus on the world and our loss of control over it we will become angry, causing us to act and speak in ungodly ways that deter people from seeking Christ.
Matthew 6:23-25 "…23 But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness! 24 No one can serve two masters: Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money. 25 Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?"
When we are fixated on politics continually, becoming angry, resentful, and mischievous in our actions we will turn people away from the gospel. Those who are enamored with politics are witnessing to unbelievers that they do not have anything better than the unbeliever. When we are calm and unworried about everything around us, eyes fixed on Christ and full of joy and hope, that is what the unbeliever will see as different from themselves.
May believer keep their focus on Christ in these uncertain and wicked times, then we will have a real witness that Christ is all we need.
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