Saturday, November 15, 2025
Adding or Taking Away are Both Sins Against God
Adding to Scripture or taking away from Scripture to make it say what we like is the same as denying Christ, He is the Word!!!!
Ignore a Fool, Show them the kindness They Never Gave Us
Narcissists do rude things because they want you to tell others about it, so they can deny it and make us look like those with a problem.
I cannot count the number of times I have seen this happen. The best thing to do is avoid them, ignore their noise, and remain focused on Christ.
Proverbs 29:9-10 "9 If a wise man goes to court with a fool, there will be raving and laughing with no resolution. 10 Men of bloodshed hate a blameless man, but the upright care for his life."
The important thing in dealing with this modern rude culture is to not become like what we see from day to day. If we return insult for insult, we have become just like those who love the drama and pain they bring others.
Proverbs 26:4-5 "4 Do not answer a fool according to his folly, or you yourself will be like him. 5 Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he become wise in his own eyes."
Fools will play many tricks of manipulation to goad their target into ungodly responses; do not comply or be controlled by their nonsense.
Remember, you cannot teach a fool anything, so answering them only makes us look just as foolish as they are.
The devil loves to make Christians fall into the trap of the need to be heard. We do not need to be heard and we do not need to explain ourselves. Silence is often the best answer.
2 Timothy 2:23 "But reject foolish and ignorant speculation, for you know that it breeds quarreling."
Matthew 15:14 "Disregard them! They are blind guides. If a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into a pit.”
Our walk will be blameless and peaceful if we obey God in not answering foolish and contentious people.
I cannot count the number of times I have seen this happen. The best thing to do is avoid them, ignore their noise, and remain focused on Christ.
Proverbs 29:9-10 "9 If a wise man goes to court with a fool, there will be raving and laughing with no resolution. 10 Men of bloodshed hate a blameless man, but the upright care for his life."
The important thing in dealing with this modern rude culture is to not become like what we see from day to day. If we return insult for insult, we have become just like those who love the drama and pain they bring others.
Proverbs 26:4-5 "4 Do not answer a fool according to his folly, or you yourself will be like him. 5 Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he become wise in his own eyes."
Fools will play many tricks of manipulation to goad their target into ungodly responses; do not comply or be controlled by their nonsense.
Remember, you cannot teach a fool anything, so answering them only makes us look just as foolish as they are.
The devil loves to make Christians fall into the trap of the need to be heard. We do not need to be heard and we do not need to explain ourselves. Silence is often the best answer.
2 Timothy 2:23 "But reject foolish and ignorant speculation, for you know that it breeds quarreling."
Matthew 15:14 "Disregard them! They are blind guides. If a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into a pit.”
Our walk will be blameless and peaceful if we obey God in not answering foolish and contentious people.
God's System is Different From Mans
The whole church system has been broken for hundreds of years, when the Catholic church instituted a hierarchy system God never intended. When the Catholic leaders, Luther and Calvin, left the church, they brought their hierarchy with them, beginning the "paid-pastor" system as though the pastor was the mediator between God and the parishioners. This was not God's system but man's.
God never intended leaders in the church to have authority over the gathering of believers. He designed that leaders would guide the proceedings but all would participate in sharing. No formal program was instituted and all was done to edify the people to grow and become sharers of the word when they left the gathering. Every person was to participate.
1 Corinthians 14:26 "What is the outcome then, brothers and sisters? When you assemble, each one has a psalm, has a teaching, has a revelation, has a tongue, has an interpretation. All things are to be done for edification."
Edifying one another is the goal to build up Spiritual strength. We worship as led by the Holy Spirit; our edification is our worship and observance of the Lord's supper. We are to do the Lord's supper whenever we meet.
Romans 14:4-6 "…4 Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To his own master he stands or falls. And he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand. 5 One person regards a certain day above the others, while someone else considers every day alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. 6 He who observes a special day does so to the Lord; he who eats does so to the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who abstains does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God."
There are no rules about when to meet or the order of special ritual, each one shares as led by the Holy Spirit. I have seen this done, and it is a beautiful thing; the Leader is the Holy Spirit. The leaders appointed by God are me,n and they do not have authority over the people; they are guides. The Holy Spirit is the leader with Authority.
May each believer prayerfully seek Christ to understand these principles as given by God in His Word.
God never intended leaders in the church to have authority over the gathering of believers. He designed that leaders would guide the proceedings but all would participate in sharing. No formal program was instituted and all was done to edify the people to grow and become sharers of the word when they left the gathering. Every person was to participate.
1 Corinthians 14:26 "What is the outcome then, brothers and sisters? When you assemble, each one has a psalm, has a teaching, has a revelation, has a tongue, has an interpretation. All things are to be done for edification."
Edifying one another is the goal to build up Spiritual strength. We worship as led by the Holy Spirit; our edification is our worship and observance of the Lord's supper. We are to do the Lord's supper whenever we meet.
Romans 14:4-6 "…4 Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To his own master he stands or falls. And he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand. 5 One person regards a certain day above the others, while someone else considers every day alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. 6 He who observes a special day does so to the Lord; he who eats does so to the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who abstains does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God."
There are no rules about when to meet or the order of special ritual, each one shares as led by the Holy Spirit. I have seen this done, and it is a beautiful thing; the Leader is the Holy Spirit. The leaders appointed by God are me,n and they do not have authority over the people; they are guides. The Holy Spirit is the leader with Authority.
May each believer prayerfully seek Christ to understand these principles as given by God in His Word.
Friday, November 14, 2025
Women in the Church Gathering
The head covering for women believers was instituted by God to demonstrate the relationship between Christ and His Church. God commanded men to be uncovered as a symbol of Christ and the woman to be covered as a symbol of the church. It had to do with Christ protecting the church, and the church submits to Him.
Christ commanded men to submit to their wives as they protect them, the men are servants, and the wives were to submit to their husbands as they submit to the Lord as a helpmate.
Husbands are to lead as led by the Holy Spirit and women are to follow as led by the Holy Spirit. Everything as done unto the Lord.
Ephesians 5:21-6:4 "21 and subject yourselves to one another in the fear of Christ. 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.
Christ commanded men to submit to their wives as they protect them, the men are servants, and the wives were to submit to their husbands as they submit to the Lord as a helpmate.
Ephesians 5:21-6:4 "21 and subject yourselves to one another in the fear of Christ. 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.
Ephesians 5:25-30 "25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her, 26 so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, 27 that He might present to Himself the church [c]in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless. 28 So husbands also ought to love their own wives as their own bodies. He who loves his own wife loves himself; 29 for no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ also does the church, 30 because we are parts of His body."
There are two commands in this passage in 1 Corinthians: the woman was to be covered when she prayed and prophesied in the gathering of believers, and the men were to be uncovered. This is about both submitting to Christ.
This was not about which culture you live in, it is entirely applicable to any culture that obeys Christ.
1 Corinthians 11:3-5 "…3 But I want you to understand that the head of every man is Christ, and the head of the woman is man, and the head of Christ is God. 4 Every man who prays or prophesies with his head covered dishonors his head. 5 And every woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head, for it is just as if her head were shaved."
The command for the woman was to be covered when she prays and prophesies in the gathering of believers; in other words, she is participating in speech but not as the leader.
If the woman were to be completely silent, as other verses might suggest, then this passage about the woman praying and prophesying in the gathering would be a contradiction.
1 Corinthians 14:34-35 "Women should remain silent in the churches. For they are not allowed to speak, but must be in submission, as the law says. If they want to inquire about something, they should ask their own husbands at home; for it is disgraceful for a woman to speak in the church."
In this passage, the women were disruptive and asked questions because they were new believers and did not yet know anything. This was not a command never to speak, but to never speak in a disruptive way, usurping authority, arguing with those who were speaking.
Notice the women were learning here; they had no knowledge of the Bible and were not yet led by the Holy Spirit.
1 Timothy 2:11 "A woman must learn in quietness and full submissiveness. 12I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; she is to remain quiet."
We know this was not a command to never speak because of 1 Corinthians 14, in which God tells a woman to be covered when she prays and prophesies. Many churches have taken this speaking to one extreme or another, either to never speak at all, or allowing a woman to speak in authority over men.
The truth is that neither is correct. Women are not allowed to disrupt and argue because they need to learn at home first before they have anything to share in the gathering. The men are to lead, and according to 1 Corinthians 14, the women share in praying and prophesying as led by the Holy Spirit not as leaders but as participants.
The example of Priscilla and Aquilla shows us that women participate in teaching as a couple.
Acts 18:24-26 "24 Now a Jew named Apollos, an Alexandrian by birth, an eloquent man, came to Ephesus; and he was proficient in the Scriptures. 25 This man had been instructed in the way of the Lord, and being fervent in spirit, he was accurately speaking and teaching things about Jesus, being acquainted only with the baptism of John; 26 and he began speaking boldly in the synagogue. But when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside and explained the way of God more accurately to him."
This couple were friends of Paul and were very active in presenting the gospel and teaching new believers.
Let's be clear that women were not to lead, but they were active in sharing through prayer and prophesying as long as they were covered. Let's also remember that the prophesying was not fortelling the future, but forthtelling the Word of God, and all was led by the Holy Spirit.
Pheobe was a deacon active in the church. She was entrusted to carry a letter for Paul a long, dangerous distance.
Romans 16:1-2 "Greetings and Love Expressed
16 I recommend to you our sister Phoebe, who is a servant of the church which is at Cenchrea, 2 that you receive her in the Lord in a manner worthy of the saints, and that you help her in whatever matter she may have need of you; for she herself has also been a helper of many, and of myself as well."
The only job of the church women were not given was that of a leader over men; they were instrumental in every other calling, even teaching one-on-one those who were new believers. They prayed and prophesied within the gathering as led by the Holy Spirit. And, were messengers and helpers to others in ministry.
May we examine all of our modern cultural teachings according to the Bible and within context. When context is ignored to create teachings that are not biblical, many believers are harmed and discouraged from doing what God has called them to do. Let us rightly divide the word in all matters.
There are two commands in this passage in 1 Corinthians: the woman was to be covered when she prayed and prophesied in the gathering of believers, and the men were to be uncovered. This is about both submitting to Christ.
This was not about which culture you live in, it is entirely applicable to any culture that obeys Christ.
1 Corinthians 11:3-5 "…3 But I want you to understand that the head of every man is Christ, and the head of the woman is man, and the head of Christ is God. 4 Every man who prays or prophesies with his head covered dishonors his head. 5 And every woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head, for it is just as if her head were shaved."
The command for the woman was to be covered when she prays and prophesies in the gathering of believers; in other words, she is participating in speech but not as the leader.
If the woman were to be completely silent, as other verses might suggest, then this passage about the woman praying and prophesying in the gathering would be a contradiction.
1 Corinthians 14:34-35 "Women should remain silent in the churches. For they are not allowed to speak, but must be in submission, as the law says. If they want to inquire about something, they should ask their own husbands at home; for it is disgraceful for a woman to speak in the church."
In this passage, the women were disruptive and asked questions because they were new believers and did not yet know anything. This was not a command never to speak, but to never speak in a disruptive way, usurping authority, arguing with those who were speaking.
Notice the women were learning here; they had no knowledge of the Bible and were not yet led by the Holy Spirit.
1 Timothy 2:11 "A woman must learn in quietness and full submissiveness. 12I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; she is to remain quiet."
We know this was not a command to never speak because of 1 Corinthians 14, in which God tells a woman to be covered when she prays and prophesies. Many churches have taken this speaking to one extreme or another, either to never speak at all, or allowing a woman to speak in authority over men.
The truth is that neither is correct. Women are not allowed to disrupt and argue because they need to learn at home first before they have anything to share in the gathering. The men are to lead, and according to 1 Corinthians 14, the women share in praying and prophesying as led by the Holy Spirit not as leaders but as participants.
The example of Priscilla and Aquilla shows us that women participate in teaching as a couple.
Acts 18:24-26 "24 Now a Jew named Apollos, an Alexandrian by birth, an eloquent man, came to Ephesus; and he was proficient in the Scriptures. 25 This man had been instructed in the way of the Lord, and being fervent in spirit, he was accurately speaking and teaching things about Jesus, being acquainted only with the baptism of John; 26 and he began speaking boldly in the synagogue. But when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside and explained the way of God more accurately to him."
This couple were friends of Paul and were very active in presenting the gospel and teaching new believers.
Let's be clear that women were not to lead, but they were active in sharing through prayer and prophesying as long as they were covered. Let's also remember that the prophesying was not fortelling the future, but forthtelling the Word of God, and all was led by the Holy Spirit.
Pheobe was a deacon active in the church. She was entrusted to carry a letter for Paul a long, dangerous distance.
Romans 16:1-2 "Greetings and Love Expressed
16 I recommend to you our sister Phoebe, who is a servant of the church which is at Cenchrea, 2 that you receive her in the Lord in a manner worthy of the saints, and that you help her in whatever matter she may have need of you; for she herself has also been a helper of many, and of myself as well."
The only job of the church women were not given was that of a leader over men; they were instrumental in every other calling, even teaching one-on-one those who were new believers. They prayed and prophesied within the gathering as led by the Holy Spirit. And, were messengers and helpers to others in ministry.
May we examine all of our modern cultural teachings according to the Bible and within context. When context is ignored to create teachings that are not biblical, many believers are harmed and discouraged from doing what God has called them to do. Let us rightly divide the word in all matters.
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