Our DNA Does Not Have to Define Us

Our DNA or our family environment does not determine our character or our course in life. Our choices are what determine our lives.

 
We can choose to follow the culture we were raised in, or we can turn to Christ so that He can do in us what He wants to do, and that is to change us into a new creation.

 
Romans 8:28 "And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose".

 
There are those who think their life would be too restrictive if they submitted to Christ in humility. They are dead wrong, trusting in Christ frees us from pride and foolishness that destroys character.

 
Those of us who have experienced the life-changing transformation by the hand of God because we know we are destitute of any good know very well the burden that was lifted when Christ came to live in us.

 
Romans 8:1-3 "1Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. 2For in Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set you free from the law of sin and death. 3For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful man, as an offering for sin. He thus condemned sin in the flesh,…"

I see so many people in the church struggling to appear good in their own strength to impress those around them who lack the joy of the Lord, as well as all the other fruit of the Spirit of Christ.

 
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."

When a born-again believer experiences the indwelling of the Holy Spirit and the fruit of the Spirit, the joy is greater than we can express.

The Way We Think Determines Our Attitudes and Actions

The way we think and what we think determines our attitudes and actions toward others.

When someone dislikes another person, they will interpret everything that person does as inferior, second-class, or unacceptable in some way.

To come to conclusions about a person who is disliked, one must make judgments without all the information. Often, these judgements are based on snippets of information and gossip without regard to facts and authenticity. They will assume the person is bad because they dislike them.

The same is true for someone who is loved and elevated above others. Those who love the elevated person will interpret everything that person does as always good without regard to the nuances surrounding their life. They will assume the person is good because they like them.

In both instances of favoritism or disfavor, the one who evaluates another based on their personal bias will not see things in truth but rather what they wish to believe about the person who is their target, either the favored one or the disfavored one.
When we love others, we do not base our relationship on whether or not we dislike them. We treat all people with respect, always operating from discernment to be able to see things in truth. Some people we will avoid because they are evil, and others we will embrace because they walk with Christ.

Our close friends will be those who think in the same way we do, for the most part. Those who cannot be our close friends are those who think entirely differently from us on important Spiritual matters.

Those who are destructive to us and others cannot be considered friends; they may be acquaintances we keep at arm's length, but not friends we can trust.

Romans 16:17
"17 Now I urge you, brothers and sisters, keep your eye on those who cause dissensions and hindrances contrary to the teaching which you learned, and turn away from them."

We must not act as the rebellious man does, that is, treat others disrespectfully, but we can ignore those who cause trouble, keep personal confidences to ourselves, and only trusted friends who have been proven to be godly and respectful of our privacy will be in our inner circle. Most of all, those who are respectful of our faith and our walk with Christ must be our close friends.

Those who do not walk with Christ as a lifestyle will influence us to walk in the manner they walk. The pressure to be like them is enormous, even if subtle.

Proverbs 13:14
"14 The teaching of the wise is a fountain of life,
To turn aside from the snares of death."

Those who love ritualistic religion more than Christ will pressure us to follow their ways over the ways of Christ. They will judge things about us and things we do that are not accurate because they think with the mind of someone who evaluates all things based on their feelings and false teachings, not on the Word of God.

Galatians 6:12
"12 All who want to make a good showing in the flesh try to compel you to be circumcised, simply so that they will not be persecuted for the cross of Christ."

Proverbs 16:17
"17 The highway of the upright is to turn away from evil;
One who watches his way protects his life."

1 Peter 4:10–11
"10 As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace: 11 whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen."

Only friends who are walking with Christ will serve to the glory of God; those who are not born again serve their own glory.

Our friends must be those who love Christ as much as we do, walk in humility, and encourage and endorse what God loves.

1 Corinthians 13:4-7 "4 Love is patient, love is kind, it is not jealous; love does not brag, it is not arrogant. 5 It does not act disgracefully, it does not seek its own benefit; it is not provoked, does not keep an account of a wrong suffered, 6 it does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; 7 it keeps every confidence, it believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things."

Pray for discernment to be able to walk with Christ without the hindrance of evil companions who will attempt to drag you away from God's Word through manipulation, even the manipulation of twisted Scripture to make their argument sound good.

The devil's favorite tactic is to cause believers to feel ashamed of doing what is right. He will even use scripture out of context and add what is not in context to bring about doubt, humiliation, and embarrassment for obeying God.

1 John 4:1
"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."

Romans 12:2
"Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God."

May each one reading this pray for discernment and the strength to walk away from those who keep them debased and devalued, discouraging righteousness while promoting willfulness.

Generational Curses are a Myth Based on Paganism

There is no such thing as "generational curses" described in the Bible. There are only the influences of families, with those in the family choosing to follow what they were taught or choosing not to follow what was taught.

 
Ezekiel 18:20 "The person who sins will die. A son will not suffer the punishment for the father’s guilt, nor will a father suffer the punishment for the son’s guilt; the righteousness of the righteous will be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked will be upon himself."

Humans are not animals who follow their instincts, nor are they dominated and controlled by curses placed upon them by outside forces.

 
No one will be punished for the sins of their ancestors. Just as in racial disputes, there ought not to be reparations against the ancestors of those who did not commit the crimes.

 
Never apologize for the sins of others simply because you were related to those who chose to sin. Feuds are of this nonsense, families against families, when it was the grandfathers or great-grandfathers who did the evil against one another.

 
I have always believed that a feud cannot continue with only one party acting with evil intent. Just as a couple in marriage cannot fight if only one person is fighting.

 
Matthew 5:43-45 …43 You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor’ and ‘Hate your enemy.’ 44 But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous."

Romans 12:14
"Bless those who persecute you. Bless and do not curse."

Romans 12:20-21
"On the contrary, “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him a drink. For in so doing, you will heap burning coals on his head.” / Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good."

1 Peter 3:9
"Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing."

Those who are entitled, expecting to be compensated for what someone else's father did to their father, are acting foolishly without regard for individual accountability.

 
Here is God's instruction to those who are born again:

1 Thessalonians 5:15
"Make sure that no one repays evil for evil. Always pursue what is good for one another and for all people."

 
The only ones who must be accountable for their sin and carry out restitution are those who committed the crime themselves.

 
This principle is not rocket science; it is easy to understand, unless those who want to gain something for themselves that they did not earn wish to rob others, pretending they have a reason.

 
By the way, if everyone were to hold everyone else accountable for the sins of ancestors, then every single person alive on earth today would owe someone something, since we have all sinned against someone else at one time or another. Do you hold yourself accountable for your own sins, or do you blame others for your sins?

 
When we get to heaven, God will not ask us about what others did to us; He will ask only what we did to others that dishonored God. We will not be allowed to blame anyone else for our own behavior, just as no one else will get the credit for our good behavior but us.

 
No woman will be able to use the excuse, "my husband wanted me to do it", nor will a woman be able to take the credit for what her husband did. And, so with the husband, he will not be allowed to blame the wife or take her credit.

 
We will stand alone before Christ!!!!!

THE BEATITUDES: Jesus’ Words That Will Leave You SPEECHLESS

An important thing to remember in this video about Christ and the Sermon on the Mount is that He is addressing believers. This message is not for unbelievers, but for believers who are growing in righteousness.

 
It is also for each one to evaluate themselves and seek Christ about themselves. This is not a video to evaluate others. When we focus on being what God wants, we will be growing. We cannot make anyone else grow and especially anyone who does not want to become like Christ. Each one must desire to grow in holiness and become more useful for God's Kingdom.

Church Is Not For Worship?

The Marriage Covenant is a Picture of Christ and His Church

Marriage is a Covenant likened to the relationship between Christ and the church.

A couple must believe the same things and agree on politics and faith to remain together without division. This means seeking Christ through His Word and prayer for His truth.

Amos 3:3
"3 Can two walk together, except they be agreed?"

The answer is "no," two people cannot be as close as a marriage should be if they do not agree on the big issues. There still will not be perfect agreement on the small things, which will help in spiritual and emotional growth as the two walk together in solidarity.

This takes each party in the marriage listening to learn, not listening to respond or win. Each spouse must be seeking truth, not superiority over the other.

This takes deep concern for the other's walk with Christ more than personal pleasure.

What we have in our day is marriage based on personal pleasure, fun, and happiness, the very reason more than half the marriages in America end up in divorce courts.

When things become difficult instead of having a lengthy conversation to resolve things, the couple refuses to listen to each other and keeps on doing what is ruining the marriage, seeking self while angered at the other for not agreeing with them.

If both spouses are seeking Christ, they will listen and pray more than they talk, and they will talk about everything when the time is right.

1 Corinthians 13:4-7 "love as patient, kind, and selfless, stating that it does not envy, boast, act rudely, or seek its own way. It's not easily angered, keeps no record of wrongs, and rejoices in truth, not evil. Love always protects, trusts, hopes, and perseveres through all things."

Ephesians 5:25 "husbands to love their wives with a sacrificial and selfless love, mirroring how Christ loved the church and gave himself for it."

Ephesians 5:22-33
Marriage is like Christ and the Church
"22 Wives, subject yourselves to your own husbands, as to the Lord. 23 For the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ also is the head of the church, He Himself being the Savior of the body. 24 But as the church is subject to Christ, so also the wives ought to be to their husbands in everything."

If each spouse loves one another the way Christ loved the church, there will be no sense of individualism, there will be a oneness of Spirit and a desire to please one another for the good of the family.

Both spouses must model the command in Scripture according to 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 to love one another, putting the spouse above themselves. Neither one is placing the other above Christ.

Christ always comes first, then the spouse, in response to God's mandate to love and serve one another.

If everyone would love the way Christ loved, there would be no arguments in anger; there would only be meaningful loving discussions to determine God's Will.

Stop Ignoring Parts of God's Word!

Our society likes to leave out key and crucial passages of the Bible to fit their culture based on Darwinistic psychology.

A person is not bitter or mean when they obey God in forgiving when someone is repentant, or withholding forgiveness from someone who doesn't even care if they have it.

 
We are not bitter or angry because we say no to someone who is demanding something from us unreasonably. Assigning ill-will to those who rationally and reasonably assert their option to do things God's way, just because the culture doesn't understand it, is manipulation to shame those who hold people accountable for their actions and remove them from their lives because they are destructive to ourselves and others.

 
We have moved into the mentality as a culture that coddles the perpetrator while pressuring and judging the one who follows God's directions for our conduct.
Luke 17:3-4 "…3 Watch yourselves. If your brother sins, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him. 4 Even if he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times returns to say, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive him.”

 
Notice, "if they come and say I repent", then forgive him. And, "if your brother sins, rebuke him", why do so many people ignore these words right in the text?
First rebuke your brother, he repents, and then we forgive. This is the proper order. There is a purpose in this, and it is to keep people accountable and give them incentives to change their behavior.

 
Because the culture has left out the step that requires someone to be sorry and confess what they did, the culture has become callous toward the victim, claiming they are the mean ones when they don't want to have anything to do with those who harm others and refuse to be sorry or stop their evil behavior.

 
This mentality of perp coddling has permeated our culture to such a degree that it is rampantly common without rational thinking. Satan loves this; the culture beats up on the innocent victim while pampering the wicked one who does the evil deed.
I can't think of anything more insidious and demonic than this, turning upside down and opposite the principles of God to indulge the arrogance of the one who causes trouble and creates mayhem.

 
May born-again believers stop listening to those who are steeped in cultural thinking and begin reading every word in the Scriptures within their context. And, deliberately reject any thinking that does not match God's Word.