There is Safety in Discernment

Something I have noticed over the years with dogs. When they need to go out during the day to do their business, they are noisy in letting us know, but during the night, if they must go out, they are very quiet as if they know there is danger in the darkness outside and they must remain unseen.

Where we live, we have coyotes come through, thankfully not as much as we used to, but they are still a threat to cats and small dogs.

 
We have had about 7 cats taken, but the one we have now is very smart, able to hide effectively from the coyotes. He comes in at night but is in and out frequently, day and night. One of our neighbors' small dogs was dragged off by a coyote.

We have had dogs most of our married life, and they are adept at discerning the character of people they have never known before. Most people they like, but on rare occasions, there is someone they do not like; they show this by their lack of ability to calm down in the presence of someone. It is clear they do not like that person and will not allow them to come close.

 
Sometimes people have this sixth sense too; they can sense something is off in someone, but they have been trained by their culture never to judge, so they ignore warning signs, even signs that come from the prompting of the Holy Spirit.

Often, people trust their culture instead of the Holy Spirit because of the lack of faith that the Holy Spirit from Christ actually exists, even if they would say they do. They have mixed their religion with pagan fantasy and believe in the Holy Spirit in words, just as they believe in Santa in words, but have no real trust in Him.

 
Our "cult...ure" places more importance on words and feelings than it does on wisdom from above. Many rules and unbiblical thinking take priority over what the Bible says, which is the very Word of Christ.

 
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."

Hebrews 5:14 "But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil."

Philippians 1:9-10 "And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ,"

Hebrews 4:12 "For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart."

Romans 12:2 "Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect."

The sixth sense of animals to discern danger is an instinct God placed in them to keep them safe. In human beings, we have also been given a sense of danger that the culture has trained out of us through human rules and trust in one's own self instead of in God.

 
James 1:5 "If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him."

1 Corinthians 2:14 "The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned."

The person who does not trust in Christ will lack this vital and life-saving discernment, but the one born of Christ will have it, and it will save them from many trials.

Real Love Does No Harm

Remembering back in the day when we loved our family, our love was unconditional, even through their flaws and missteps; we grieved about those steps because we loved them. We were angry at times, but never stopped loving them.

The love was not based on how well they did in life or whether or not they measured up to our idea of perfect.

Somehow, I knew no one was perfect and accepted that everyone had flaws, even admitting my own at times. But it was unthinkable to me to do things to make others feel unloved.

Sadly, we have moved into a generation that thinks it has no flaws and all their sins and mistakes are counted as alright because of the emotion associated with them, as though if we were driven by our emotions, our attitudes and actions must be valid.

I am noticing little, if any, spiritual and emotional growth in most people because there is a lack of confession to cleanse the souls.

It is common now for family members to be rude and unkind because of the gossip and judgment over things they know nothing about. They seem to enjoy making others feel "less-than", perhaps it makes them feel "more-than."

God made it clear that when there is no confession of sinful attitudes, there is no growth. The longer someone justifies rude misbehavior, the deeper they sink into bitterness and the inability to repent. God calls it a hardened heart.

Most relationships in our day are based on manipulation and intimidation to control others' reactions toward those who thrive only on personal accolades and praise.

1 John 1:9 "9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous, so that He will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness."

James 5:16 "16 Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working."

Most people live in fear of being rejected because deep inside their souls, they know their own sin and must work continually to hide so that no one discovers the real them.

A person who has been cleansed by Christ from their sinful nature and who keeps close accounts, meaning as soon as they realize they have sinned, they confess it to God and to those they have offended. These people never have to be confronted about their sin because the Holy Spirit tells them quickly when they have done something unkind, and they swiftly confess it.

Those who will not admit and never confess sink deeper into hiding and excusing themselves to the point where they no longer have the ability to recognize right from wrong.

James 5:15-16 "…15 And the prayer offered in faith will restore the one who is sick. The Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. 16 Therefore, confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man has great power to prevail."

Notice in this verse that the "sickness" is describing sin. The entire two verses are speaking about healing believers from their sin. This does not have to do with physical healing, although it could be included.

Sin creates a deadened spirit unable to cleanse itself. Only confession to God and those we have harmed will heal the sickness of sin within our soul.

In our day, it is rare for family to evaluate themselves and confess their sinful attitudes and actions. Too many people are working so hard to appear superior to others; they fail miserably in self-reflection and confession of sin. The fear of appearing "less-than" to others prevents them from having the strength to admit, confess, and become stronger through cleansing.

There is a strength of character required to admit and confess sin. Most people hope that no one will notice their flaws or that they will defend their sins, so they never have to do the hard work of character building from resolving their own messes.

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."

1 Peter 3:12 "For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and His ears are inclined to their prayer. But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”

What the weak man who hides their sin accomplishes is to silence God and ruin human relationships. There is no growth, no progression in maturity, and more broken relationships in their lives than they can count.

Psalm 66:18 "18 If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me:"

The Holy Spirit will go silent when there is no confession. This is the reason so many "Christians" do not understand those who hear from the Holy Spirit, they do not hear from Him because they will not confess to be cleansed.

1 Peter 3:7-8 " 7 Husbands, in the same way, treat your wives with consideration as a delicate vessel, and with honor as fellow heirs of the gracious gift of life, so that your prayers will not be hindered. 8 Finally, all of you, be like-minded and sympathetic, love as brothers, be tenderhearted and humble."

Acts 16:5-7 "5 So the churches were strengthened in the faith and grew daily in numbers. 6 After the Holy Spirit had prevented them from speaking the word in the province of Asia, they traveled through the region of Phrygia and Galatia. 7 And when they came to the border of Mysia, they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not permit them."

The People God Commands You NOT to Help (Biblical Truth)

Friends with God or with Satan

When someone wants to be your friend but they negate, through their actions and disrespect, everything you say and do, they do not want you for a friend; they want access to you so they can continue the disrespect.

 
Narcissists hate our love, our kindness, our joy and peace. They cannot stand that we have what they lack. Satan is like this and is the father of the narcissist. He manipulates them to believe we are causing trouble when they are the ones who do it.

 
The devil is the accuser of the brethren; he leads unsaved people to believe things about believers that are not true and then entices the unbeliever to be his own accuser through those accusations.

 
Guilt and misery are in the heart of narcissists; they have no peace or joy but pretend they do through subtle manipulation and self-exalting words.
The devil is attacking believers every day, hoping they will give up on God or become like their accusers.

 
God said this about that: James 4:6-8 "6 But He gives us more grace. This is why it says: “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” 7 Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded."

The devil comes to us through those who have rejected Christ to torment believers. Because we have Christ, these minions cannot affect our walk with God unless we make them more important than Christ.

John the Baptist was Beheaded because He Chastised Herod for being in adultery for marrying his brothers divorced wife!

Excerpt from Larry Jones Book Let My People Go

God is not Going to Bless America

How dare anyone utter these words with the hypocrisy they reveal; "God bless America." America is the leader of the world in everything that is wicked. Even our "Christian religion" has been perverted with pagan and humanistic thinking while claiming the Bible is the reason.

America is Leader in political corruption while appearing good.
America is Leader in false gospel
America is leader in the Rejection of Christ’s Principles
America is a leader in love of wealth
America is leader in continual deception on the internet
America is leader in divorce and remarriage
America is leader in abortion
America is leader in injustice in every form
America is Leader in “feelings” oriented thinking
America is Leader in fantasy thinking
America is Leader in the love of money over good principles
America is Leader in arrogance, demanding that God give us more when we misused what He did give us.
America is Leader in every kind of pleasure that dishonors God and promotes man as the god of his own life.

When people think they are honoring God by demanding Him to bless this nation, we are presuming we deserve blessing; this is arrogance in its highest form.

Those who demand more blessings from God when they misused the blessing He already gave are dilusional and self-willed.

A culture that thinks blessing means material wealth and safety will not be one that would accept discipline from God. They are a people who would whine and complain when they don't get what they want and punish anyone who says they don't deserve it, in fact, they deserve punishment for their rebellion.

Sometimes I wonder if these "Christians" would be able to honor and worship God if all their possessions and pleasures were taken away. I don't think they would remain faithful to God because they are not faithful to Him right now, despite all He has given them.

I am not proud of America as a nation; I am ashamed because of the false gospel that lives here, the anger in the people when they are confronted with their sin, and the prosperity that has led to entitlement and arrogance. This is not a grateful nation; it is an indulgent and angry nation, everyone worshiping their freedom and their rights, without concern for anyone but themselves.

And worst of all, they tack the name of Christ onto whatever they are doing that dishonors Him and are proud of themselves for doing so.

I no longer pray for America; I pray for individuals to find Christ, but I will not ask God to bless a wicked nation.