Disrespect is Growing Exponentially!

In our day we are experiencing the disrespect of adult children and their spouses because they think they are superior to their parents allowing them the excuse them to emotionally and verbally abuse their parents, merely for thinking differently from them.

These arrogant and self-exalted adults withhold their children from the grandparents as well as teach the grandchildren to disrespect them through their own example. Those who are full of self-will and disregard for others become jealous if their children love anyone other than themselves. They have a strange idea that if their child loves someone else they cannot love the parents.

The Bible teaches that we can love everyone all at the same time. Those who think in selfish terms fear the loss of the love of their children because they do not possess love themselves.

Love toward everyone is the command of God in His Word. If we have love it will be a character matter that cannot be manipulated by those who do not love. If love is a part of our character we do not want to harm others even in the slightest way, we want all people we encounter to sense the love of Christ and we desire that everyone we meet hears the truth of Jesus Christ.

1 Corinthians 13:4-8

Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away.

"More is caught than taught." The generation that is trained to disrespect the elderly will themselves disrespect their elderly, it is what they will be familiar with all their lives. It makes no sense to think that grandchildren will show love and kindness to their own parents when they have been taught disrespect in general toward others they think do not measure up to themselves .

Isaiah 3:5

"5 The people will be oppressed, Every one by another and every one by his neighbor; The child will be insolent toward the elder, And the base toward the honorable."

When adult children train their own children to disrespect the grandparents they are making the way for their children to treat them the same way they were taught to treat their grandparents.

It isn't about teaching children to be respectful to one person over another. If a child has a disrespectful attitude no matter who they choose to disrespect, they will have a character of disrespect.

Those who have been trained to be loving and kind will do it all the time to everyone, no one will be treated disrespectfully because it is not in their character.

When a child is trained either by example or with words to be disrespectful or respectful they will do it because of their character as a whole is permeated with the traits they have been indoctrinated to follow. We train children to develop a character more by our own actions than by our words.

Sadly many of us in my generation attempted to teach our children good things but they chose to follow the culture rather than our teaching and example. Many married people who were not taught right from wrong and were influenced by their spouses.

Words have little value if they are not backed up by a lifestyle. A child who is told to be respectful but watches disrespect in their parents will do what the parent does and not what they say.

Matthew 23:2-4 "…2“ The scribes and Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. 3 So practice and observe everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach. 4 They tie up heavy, burdensome loads and lay them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them.…"

Matthew 23:5-6 "5 All their deeds are done for men to see. They broaden their phylacteries and lengthen their tassels. 6They love the places of honor at banquets, the chief seats in the synagogues,…"

When parents teach their children that appearances are far more important than substance they are training their children to devalue spiritual matters while holding close to their heart the things of this world.

Proverbs 3:3

"Let not mercy and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart:"

Sadly many "Christians" are training their children to devalue the things of the soul and spirit while elevating outer appearances to be loved by the world around them.

John 15:18-20

"18 the world hates you, understand that it hated Me first.

19 If you were of the world, it would love you as its own. Instead, the world hates you, because you are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world.

20 Remember the word that I spoke to you: ‘No servant is greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will persecute you as well; if they kept My word, they will keep yours as well."

1 John 2:15-16 " 15 Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh, the desires of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not from the Father but from the world."

Those who wish to teach the things of God will be despised by those who have a form of religion but deny Christ in their attitudes.

2 Timothy 3:5 " 5 having a form of godliness but denying its power. Turn away from such as these!" traitorous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God,"

Timothy 4:7

"But reject irreverent, silly myths. Instead, train yourself for godliness."

Romans 16:17,18

"Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offenses contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them"

We cannot completely get out of the world but we can avoid those who reject Christ and those who claim to be Christians but refuse to listen to the Word of God, making up their own rules and twisting Scripture to justify their disobedience and disrespect for the Word of God.

As we move closer to the rapture and the tribulation we will find it harder to have fellowship with authentic believers, most are pretenders and uninterested in deeply delving into the Word to discover God's truth.

2 Timothy 4:3

"3 For the time will come when they will not tolerate sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance with their own desires,"

Remember knowledge of this does not remove our joy and peace, that remains no matter what. However, we must refer back to God's promises to us to keep from being sucked into the foolishness these rebellious types bring. They want to derail our faith, joy and peace, do not let them.

Character Matters

We are weak in character if we need someone else's approval to do what is right in the sight of God.

Sealed by the Holy Spirit of God

2 Corinthians 5:17 tells us Christ changed us into a new creation, the old is gone and the new is here to stay!?

We cannot change ourselves into a new creation it was the work of God and nothing He does can be undone by us.

We are sealed permanently until He comes for us.

Ephesians 1:13-14

"13 In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of the promise,

14 who is a first installment of our inheritance, regarding the redemption of God’s possession, to the praise of His glory."

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. . ”

When Christ changes us He gets all the glory, we have nothing to do except to believe and trust in Him. He does all the rest from that point on, continually cleansing us until the end of our lives.

Ephesians 2:8-10 "…8 For it is by grace you have been saved through faith, and this not from yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9not by works, so that no one can boast. 10 For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance as our way of life.…"

We are being sanctified by Christ Who lives in us until He takes us home.

1 Thessalonians 5:23

"Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ."

Galatians 2:20

"I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me."

Philippians 1:6

"And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ."

What a blessing to know that God is not going to quit on us, He keeps working and growing us until He takes us home. We are not left orphans without help.

John 14:17-19 "…17 the Spirit of truth. The world cannot receive Him, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him. But you do know Him, for He abides with you and will be in you. 18 I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. 19 In a little while the world will see Me no more, but you will see Me. Because I live, you also will live."

Hallelujah!!!!!!

Increased Anger in these Last Days

Over the past few years, I have noticed an increase in anger in many people. The anger inside of them is revealed in many ways, one of which is jealousy toward those who have great joy and peace in their hearts.

The Holy Spirit makes unbelievers uncomfortable with joy and peace because they know they don't have it. Instead of asking why someone is so peaceful the wicked person attempts to ruin that peace and joy.

Jealousy is the emotion that hates someone else's joy and peace while doing whatever the jealous person thinks they can justify removing that joy and peace. They will even make up lies about the one they hate to remove that godly joy. They can't remove it but they can cause others to dislike the godly one, this gives the wicked one great joy.

Instead of engaging happily with someone who is sharing joy, the resentful one engages in demeaning or dismissive gestures in a refusal to endorse the happiness of the other. They may completely ignore the one who is happy or they may use grunting noises without other responses to show disapproval. The goal of such a jealous person is to diminish the one who is full of joy and happiness.

If you have ever been around these people you know what a challenge it is to visit with them. As some people have expressed, these people "suck all the joy out of the room" when they walk in. They have a chip on their shoulder but lack communication skills so they use covert means to ruin the happiness of others. They seem sad all the time, and their happiness is only based on how much attention they are getting from others.

I have met genuinely joyful and peaceful people who have all the fruit of the Spirit. When these people walk in a room it is as though gladness and gratefulness walks in with them. They bring out the best in

others. The opposite is true of narcissists they tend to bring out the worst in those around them and they like it that way.

This is why God told believers to "come out from among them"

(2 Corinthians 6:16-18 "…16What agreement can exist between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: “I will dwell with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be My people.” 17“Therefore come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you.” 18 And: “I will be a Father to you, and you will be My sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.”…)

and to "avoid such people."

(2 Timothy 3:5 "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.")

Lovely Spirit-filled people love comforting, helping, and encouraging those around them. They have all the fruit of the Spirit. Godly people do not care about controlling anything, they just want to love others the way Christ loves them.

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 narcissist has so much anger in their heart that they want everyone else to feel terrible like they do with them coming out on top as the controller of all things.

1 John 4:8

"Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love."

Godly people love God and love righteousness. Narcissists hate God and love evil.

Lovely Spirit-filled people NEVER treat anyone disrespectfully, they merely tell the truth of God and are accused of hatred for doing it. No matter how calm one's delivery is, if the narcissist doesn't like it they will claim things that are not true to justify their hatred for the one they despise.

Anger is not something that comes up when provoked, it is in the very heart and soul of the one given to anger. The anger is always just below the surface ready to emerge at the slightest perceived offense.

Those who do not become angry do not automatically rage, they ponder, they answer but they do not rage merely because of a disagreement.

If a born-again finds themselves having reacted badly they apologize because they hate hurting others. Narcissists love to harm others and claim it is their own fault.

1 Peter 2 is an excellent passage to read to understand God's way for the born-again believer.

16 Signs God Is Exposing a Narcissist in Your Life

Speak Truth and Leave the Results to God

When we have to figure out our own responses based on how others might react it will eventually cause doubt and confusion.

When we base our speech and actions on the Word of God we don't have to assess what others might think or how they will react. We have no reason to fear no matter what others say or do.

God's Word is true all of the time. We never have to guess what the right thing to do is because the Holy Spirit in us will speak as we read His Word.

If the answer we come up with is not supported in God's Word then we need to discard it and return once again to trusting Christ. Believe what He says in His Word and do it.

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.

Knowing this we can expect opposition often to the Word of God. Those in opposition will attack us as though it were just our opinion, they will be wrong, ignore them and keep telling the truth.

There are many myths and traditions of men in the organized church today, we must be vigilant in our study of the Bible so that we too are not deceived.

Most people in the churches don't want to know the truth because they are comfortable with the traditions. They really don't care very much about truth.

Mark 7:13

"13 thereby invalidating the word of God by your tradition which you have handed down; and you do many things such as that.”

Notice this phrase; "and you do many things such as that."

Peacemaker or Peacekeeper?

There is a difference between a peacemaker and a peacekeeper. A peacemaker follows God's Word in making peace His Way for a godly solution. The peacekeeper goes along to get along and there is no solution.

The peacemaker looks into God's Word and prays to discover God's solution the peacekeeper only cares about pleasing people so there is no discussion only compromise.

The peacemaker's solution is a permanent one because it is God's wary.

The peacekeeper sweeps everything under the rug so no one grows or changes. A sort of putting on blinders to keep from having to do the hard work of a resolution.

The peacemaker brings healing and turns from sin to be cleansed from it. The wounds are completely healed never to return.

The peacemaker heals wounds superficially and temporarily so that the problem returns over and over again.

The superficial modern idea of forgiveness is like this, expecting people to say they forgive but there has been no solution or healing, only words that fall to the ground while the "feelings" of an unresolved matter return over and over again.

When we look to feelings we will miss the true healing that brings forth the fruit of a changed life.

Pretending something does not make for good healing. It's sort of like placing a bandaid over a gaping wound while the blood continues to gush from the wound.

Problems are not fixed by pretending it's over through "saying" I forgive. Problems are resolved through confession of sin and forgiveness extended.

Our culture spends far too much time on giving credence to feelings than they do on reality. Pretending something is true only delays resolution and even exacerbates things when left to fester too long. The longer confession of sin is delayed the less the offended is able to ever trust the offender again. There is no solution or reconciliation until both sides of the coin, confession and forgiveness, are experienced.

Anyone who is offensive but doesn't think they did anything wrong, will not be sorry and will even defend their rude actions and without a doubt will repeat the same actions again.

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."

James 2:10

"For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it."

Those who say they forgive without the requirement of confession of sin are peacekeepers, they do not have to do the hard and embarrassing work of confronting others to solve something. They pretend they have forgiven through words but in their heart they really have not because the relationship has not been restored.

People say; "I have forgiven but I have not forgotten", because nothing was resolved. Relationships are not mended by saying something, they are mended by the hard work of confrontation and discussion. If someone refuses to discuss rationally and rages then the relationship remains broken and there is no authentic forgiveness occurring.

The world has been teaching false ideas for many generations now based on psychology, not the Bible.

Psychology gets observations right sometimes about the actions of people but often it does not have the Biblical solution that works.

We must know the Bible well to be able to discern truth from error.

2 Timothy 3:16-17

"All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work."