Wednesday, August 28, 2013

It has been a long time coming in our society but our society is rapidly spirally toward disaster.

In the early 1980’s homosexuality was considered a mental disorder by the American Psychological Association aka APA, now we are here thirty years later.

You might be able to sell these younger people the idea that we have evolved, grown, even improved as a people but their hearts still know something is deeply wrong with the society they live in. Moreover, there is certainly no way you are going to fool us, who have lived a while and seen how life works, into believing Satan’s propaganda.

Evil flourishes because too few godly people resist.

Christian parents… they now want to tell you that you cannot train up your children in the way they should go.

http://www.wnd.com/2013/08/gay-lawmaker-to-christians-well-take-your-children/#AgUz36lbbUfkEIpd.01

Proverbs 22:6 KJV

Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.

Now what?

Spiritual/Political Disclaimer:

This blog will not be for the faint of heart or the easily offended. It will not be in any way politically correct. It will make every effort to share the truth in love, [Ephesians 4:11-16], to a decaying and dying society and church. I share what I share not to hurt, harm, or offend any person[s] or group; I do it because Christ’s Standard and Truth is not being represented by enough of His Followers and I do it out of love. I love enough to tell His Truth.

Ephesians 4:11-16 NKJV

¹¹And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, ¹²for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, ¹³till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; ¹⁴that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, ¹⁵but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ— ¹⁶from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.

Monday, August 19, 2013

Far too many Christians believe that you must sin to show you are in grace. Many believe that living a holy lifestyle is a self-righteous form of works. Neither is fully true.

Many of the CURRENT Spiritual Remnant of God realizes their hearts are dying from lack of obedience because their love and devotion is so deep ordinary Christianity will not do, only Christ-likeness will do. Therefore, they suffer inwardly to show they are not self-righteous, they struggle between man and God convinced to be as devoted as their heart feels would mean certain death – rejected by most people including family, friends, peers and even people they believed to be their own brethren.

1 Chronicles 22:13 (NKJV)

Then you will prosper, if you take care to fulfill the statutes and judgments with which the LORD charged Moses concerning Israel. Be strong and of good courage; do not fear nor be dismayed.

We today also "prosper" by following God’s principles and truths. Note prosper means much more than mere money and material possession.

Hebrew definition =

"Then shalt though prosper" [AV/KJV]

6743. צָלַח tsâlach, tsaw-lakh’; or

צָלֵחַ tsâlêach, tsaw-lay’-akh; a prim. root; to push forward, in various senses (lit. or fig., tran. or intr.):— break out, come (mightily), go over, be good, be meet, be profitable, (cause to, effect, make to, send) prosper (-ity, -ous, -ously).

Read your Bibles people, if you are going to prosper spiritually and have any significant spiritual impact, “significant” being key – quality over quantity, people over dollars, God’s Will over self-will, God’s Purpose over selfish ambition, God’s Glory over celebrity – you are going to have to be someone who is not afraid to go against the grain, to break the mold, to stand when everyone else runs or just blends into the crowd. Fear of rejection, fear of persecution, fear of ridicule, even simple fear of not fitting in keeps in the door Christians from becoming sold-out Christ-like Remnant people. I would say to all those individuals…

Nehemiah 4:14 (NKJV)

And I looked, and arose and said to the nobles, to the leaders, and to the rest of the people, “Do not be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, great and awesome, and fight for your brethren, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your houses.”

Why would I present this Scripture to all those individuals teetering on their spiritual fences? For one reason. God still fights for His people!

For the Current Spiritual Remnant of God their spiritual, mental, and emotional survival depend upon three factors – regeneration, sanctification, and purification. Their willingness to cooperate with these processes of grace via the Holy Spirit of God is their freewill choice but it is a choice that can greatly effect, and affect, their daily lives.

Sanctification – Purification – Regeneration

I am going to provide a very basic, baseline type of definition for each one. The layers of understanding on each of these aspects of spiritual change are multi-layered and can be very complicated to understand. They appear to be similar in meaning but theologically they are not; that said, most Christian confuse them often.

sanctification = a state of holiness bought through the Cross of Christ which manifest itself inwardly [spiritual realm] at the time of conversion and outwardly [lifestyle/physical realm] as we grow in closeness, obedience, and loyalty to Christ. It is always a work of the Holy Spirit of God through grace. [1 Corinthians 30-31, 2 Thessalonians 2:13-15, 1 Peter 1:1-2]

purification = has more to do with being ‘cleaned up’ so to speak after regeneration. A purging of the sin in our lives, the harmful aspect of our lives and/or nature, setting our lives right with God and people, the purging of self-will – all prompted from inward and sincere repentance [godly sorrow] – primarily and ideally from the inside out as Jesus ordered [Mark 7:14-23] through a ‘change of heart’ aka ‘repentance’.

regeneration = complete reformation of the spirit to an ideal state, being spiritual renewed and revived, restored to God’s original intent [spiritually], being born again, the sinful nature is made new and we become open to faith in God, our inward man is renovated/recreated by grace and faith becomes alive, new birth, Messianic restoration only available through Jesus [Titus 3:4-7] – via the presenting of the Word of Truth and the prompting of the Holy Spirit. This is a onetime event.

“When God desires to do “a new thing” (Isa. 43:19 NIV), He purposely seeks out a few righteous renegades who don’t have a problem breaking the mold! Mold-breakers are usually people who don’t care much about popularity or tradition.” – Beth Moore

Jesus was such a renegade and rebel of His time; He refused to bow to religious tradition – He redeemed mankind. Paul was a renegade; He refused to accept that He was less than the rest of the Apostles and Disciples – he wrote the majority of the New Testament and taught us what it means to live for Christ. We live in a time when widespread apostasy is found within the organizations that call themselves Christian; therefore, you too will have to decide either to be one of them or one of the spiritual renegades and spiritual rebels of your day – blend in and go along or truly make a spiritual difference somewhere to someone.

Spiritual/Political Disclaimer:

This blog will not be for the faint of heart or the easily offended. It will not be in any way politically correct. It will make every effort to share the truth in love, [Ephesians 4:11-16], to a decaying and dying society and church. I share what I share not to hurt, harm, or offend any person[s] or group; I do it because Christ’s Standard and Truth is not being represented by enough of His Followers and I do it out of love. I love enough to tell His Truth.

Ephesians 4:11-16 NKJV

¹¹And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, ¹²for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, ¹³till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; ¹⁴that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, ¹⁵but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ— ¹⁶from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.

Monday, August 12^th 2013

The third and final part of the “Three Faces” segment will be on empathy. As with the other two installments, in this piece we will explore both, the “blessing” side and the “curse” side of empathy.

To live with a heart of empathy and walk in spiritual empathy is to share in the compassion and deep rich feelings Christ had, and has, for people. It is essentially having a Christ-like heart.

Please note all underlings in definitions and Scripture provided.

Empathy = per Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary

the experiencing as one’s own of the feelings of another; also : the capacity for this

Empathy = per Merriam-Webster’s Medical Desk Dictionary

1 : the imaginative projection of a subjective state into an object so that the object appears to be infused with it

2 : the action of understanding, being aware of, being sensitive to, and vicariously experiencing the feelings, thoughts, and experience of another of either the past or present without having the feelings, thoughts, and experience fully communicated in an objectively explicit manner; also : the capacity for empathy

1 Peter 3:8 (NKJV)

Finally, all of you be of one mind, having compassion for one another; love as brothers, be tenderhearted, be courteous;

“compassion” in the Greek Language is defined as:

4835. συμπαθής sumpathēs, soom-path-ace´; from 4841; having a fellow-feeling (“sympathetic”), i.e. (by impl.) mutually commiserative:— having compassion one of another.

4841. συμπάσχω sumpaschō, soom-pas´-kho; from 4862 and 3958 (incl. its alt.); to experience pain jointly or of the same kind (spec. persecution; to “sympathize”):— suffer with.

Whether they are sitting across from a hurting soul, reading an email written by one, talking with one on the phone, listening to a testimony in church or at Bible study, even merely observing or learning about someone’s plight they do not even know via some mass media source – the Spiritual Remnant feels and understands in a way most people do not. The level of their feelings for people and situations is far beyond what an secular person would deem necessary or perhaps even ‘normal’ in their definition. This is because the unspiritual man cannot understand the spiritual man. The Remnant feels people’s pain. The Remnant inside the Remnant feels God’s pain for His people.

These feeling of empathy and compassion reside in the Remnant twenty-four-seven whether they like it or not. Now as the Remnant matures spiritually they become more adapt to handling these feeling without vexing the feelings thus restricting the work of God or over-indulging in the feelings thus rendering themselves useless to the one suffering. The balance of empathy and compassion comes with godly experience and godly wisdom. The secular view and psychological teaching of the need to be monotone with little or no feelings, empathy, passion, or compassion is not biblical and causes a strange form of suppression, which is choking the life and love out of society as a whole. The Remnant must always be on guard in their quest for balance to make sure they do not secularize the natural godly heart God has given them.

Note in Merriam-Webster’s definition #2 the last portion, “without having the feelings, thoughts, and experience fully communicated in an objectively explicit manner”. This is an extremely important aspect of empathy. One need not convince a Remnant of the validity of their feelings or even at times fully explain their feelings for the very real presence of godly empathy to arise within the CURRENT Spiritual Remnant of God. The Christ-like heart and compassion they feel is without effort and ever-present. This can led to the curse side of empathy.

The empathy and compassion the Spiritual Remnant feel can often drain them and leave them exhausted. The need to be consistent in a time of solitude with Jesus is crucial to their overall spiritual, mental, and emotional health, so that they do not become spiritually burnt-out. Yes, one can become spiritually burnt-out if they are serving too much and not taking care of their own spiritual health.

Why did I choose to include “compassion” when addressing the distinguishing mark of empathy found within the CURRENT Spiritual Remnant of God? I do so because in a godly aspect and form the two are not mutually exclusive but are instead two sides of the same coin.

Compassion = per Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary

sympathetic consciousness of others’ distress together with a desire to alleviate it

That driving desire to “alleviate” another person’s suffering is the compassion side of the empathy coin.

Here is an interesting side note. Unless brought forth the empathy and compassion that the CURRENT Spiritual Remnant carry within themselves can easily be overlooked. Why? The contrast between those traits and another often misunderstood quality. The spirit of God inside, the power of the Holy Spirit, and the Authority of the Truth spoken is what makes the called of God “appear” intimidating. It is not the person who is intimidating to people it is often the Truth inside the person, which is intimidating. Much to the Remnant’s chagrin, most people do not know how to discern the difference and interact with the Remnant appropriately. Without the ability to interact properly, individuals often cannot recognize the empathy and compassion the Spiritual Remnant carry inside their spirits.

Spiritual/Political Disclaimer:

This blog will not be for the faint of heart or the easily offended. It will not be in any way politically correct. It will make every effort to share the truth in love, [Ephesians 4:11-16], to a decaying and dying society and church. I share what I share not to hurt, harm, or offend any person[s] or group; I do it because Christ’s Standard and Truth is not being represented by enough of His Followers and I do it out of love. I love enough to tell His Truth.

Ephesians 4:11-16 NKJV

¹¹And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, ¹²for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, ¹³till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; ¹⁴that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, ¹⁵but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ— ¹⁶from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.

Sunday, August 11, 2013

Jesus truly is the ONLY WAY! 

This simple sermon makes that clear in the cuties way and within two minutes. 

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=116540411865816

Friday, August 09, 2013

In this piece, we will explore the “blessing side” and “curse side” of insight. This piece will in no way attempt to address all the various facets, gifts, and characteristics of “insight” but it will scratch the surface of several and follow up pieces will explore the topic more thoroughly.

I will start by being clear about the type of “insight” this piece will be exploring. When I reference insight in connection with the CURRENT Spiritual Remnant of God, I am writing about godly spiritual insight, which originates with Jesus and comes through the Holy Spirit of God. For me and for the purpose of my writings no other forms of insight are worthy of discussion. Therefore, you have now been made fully aware of the source and motivation behind the type of insight to which I will be referring. Should that appear closed-minded to you, I will just express to you a tagline an acquaintance uses, ‘Don’t be so opened minded your brains fall out.’

To varying degrees the CURRENT Spiritual Remnant of God share an “insight” that makes life, let’s say – less than pleasant. Depending on the Remnant’s spiritual gifts, passions, and life experiences their insight will have more or less depth but this insight exist in all. Remnants with certain spiritual gifts have enormous insight but that aspect is for another time. Insight nevertheless is always present and sadly often hidden by false humility or a poor understand of how to display godly humility.

What is insight?

Please take special note the underlined words in the following text.

Insight = per Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary

1 : the power or act of seeing into a situation : PENETRATION

2 : the act or result of apprehending the inner nature of things or of seeing intuitively

synonyms see DISCERNMENT

the ability to understand inner qualities or relationships — see WISDOM

By using the definition of insight from Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary, we can glean the following points.

† Insight is in itself a form of wisdom and in our context godly wisdom.

† The ability to understand the inner dynamics of a situation that one has little or no previous knowledge of is present for those individuals strongly gifted with some of the revelatory gifts, which accompany spiritual insight.

† There is an understanding or insight regarding everyday life concerning what should and should not be done. This insight comes from within and flows with great easy. This ‘knowing’ of what is best aka the Will of God comes to them with ease, with little thought or effort on their part, deriving from a very prayerful connection with Jesus.

† In conjunction with some revelatory gifts, they can see into and know aspects of a situation without being given information. The individual often speaks into people’s lives and situations without effort or sometimes even without knowledge that they have done so. Doing this without knowledge is especially common among those who are given to submitting every word they speak to the Authority of Christ.

Ps 49:3 AV / KJV

My mouth shall speak of wisdom; and the meditation of my heart shall be of understanding.

Pr 2:3-5 AV / KJV

³ Yea, if thou criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding; ⁴ If thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures; ⁵ Then shalt thou understand the fear of the LORD, and find the knowledge of God.

“of understanding” “understanding” in the Hebrew language =

8394. תָּבוּן tâbûwn, taw-boon’; and (fem.)

תְּבוּנָה t^ebûwnâh, teb-oo-naw’; or

תּוֹבֻנָה° tôwbûnâh, to-boo-naw’; from 995; intelligence; by impl. an argument; by extens. caprice:— discretion, reason, skilfulness, understanding, wisdom.

From these two verses in Psalms and Proverbs coupled with the Hebrew definition of what this “understanding” aka insight is, we can glean the following.

† God grants wisdom and knowledge to those who seek it with a right motive. Thus granted to a person, when they seek His godly wisdom and His godly knowledge for the purpose of advancing His causes in life – His Will not their will.

† There is a form of intelligence that cannot be taught in the classroom or from books and can only come from God and the life experiences through which He leads a person. I have heard it said that book learning was opposed to godly understand and godly spirituality. I do not agree. I believe they can co-exist as long as God is always given priority and His Truths always honored over earthly understanding. I have also heard it said that seminary or the study of psychology would destroy ones faith. I disagree here as well, though I do believe both will test ones faith, which may well be God’s plan. I also believe a proper understanding of psychology can be very useful, in that, when reconciled and connected to spiritual understanding combining the two can be extremely helpful. Secular psychology will allow no such combining to take place therefore; true Christian Mental Health professionals must go outside of, and stay outside of, the established secular mental health associations in order to maintain freedom in Christ.

† There is an insight, which produces a skillfulness that is beyond human understanding. We find this often exhibited in examples of, ‘With his/her abilities, training, and education he/she should have never been able to accomplish that.’

† Insight comes with a great deal of common sense aka reason.

† People with deep insight understand how to ‘connect the dots’, as I enjoy calling it, of both their lives, the lives of those around them, their community, and society as a whole. They see God at work in most happenings and can weave the events of their world together making godly connections between what is happening in the spiritual realm and the physical realm.

† The capricious attitude that comes with insight is a form of faith, in that the individual knows what to do, how to do it, and sees no need to delay especially when prompted by God to act.

1 Corinthians 2:12-16 AV / KJV

¹² Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God. ¹³ Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual. ¹⁴ But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. ¹⁵ But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man. ¹⁶ For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.

“judgeth” in the Greek Language =

350. ἀνακρίνω anakrinō, an-ak-ree´-no; from 303 and 2919; prop. to scrutinize, i.e. (by impl.) investigate, interrogate, determine:— ask, question, discern, examine, judge, search.

Philippians 1:9 AV / KJV

And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment

Philippians 1:9 NKJV

And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and all discernment,

“judgment” in the Greek Language =

144. αἴσθησις aisthēsis, ah´-ee-sthay-sis; from 143; perception, i.e. (fig.) discernment:— judgment.

143. αἰσθάνομαι aisthanŏmai, ahee-sthan´-om-ahee; of uncert. der.; to apprehend (prop. by the senses):— perceive.

“knowledge” in the Greek Language =

1922. ἐπίγνωσις ĕpignōsis, ep-ig´-no-sis; from 1921; recognition, i.e. (by impl.) full discernment, acknowledgement:— (ac-) knowledge (-ing, -ment).1921. ἐπιγινώσκω ĕpiginōskō, ep-ig-in-oce´-ko; from 1909 and 1097; to know upon some mark, i.e. recognize; by impl. to become fully acquainted with, to acknowledge:— (ac-, have, take) know (-ledge, well), perceive.

In addition to the aspects of insight we have previously covered, these verses from 1 Corinthians and Philippians along with the Greek definition attached to “judgment” and “knowledge” reveal to us a few additional points.

† Those individual with insight magnified by certain revelatory gifts can see very deeply into the hearts of people and have the God-given ability to determine any number of things about the person which is most likely not evident on the surface. The God-given ability to know the mind and heart of a person or a situation is a deeper level of spiritual discernment. This aspect of insight can be greatly affected by the Remnants spiritual growth and spiritual health.

† There are also those individual who seem to have greater understanding of the mind of Christ, meaning to know and understand the Will of Jesus.

† Love, true godly love for their brothers and sisters in Christ and the lost world, will drive these people to make the Truths and Will of God known with ever-greater knowledge and discernment.

per Smith’s Bible Dictionary

Mark 16:17. 2. Acts 2:1–13; 10:46; 19:6. 3. 1 Cor. 12, 14. III. The promise of a new power coming from the divine Spirit, giving not only comfort and insight into truth, but fresh powers of utterance of some kind, appears once and again in our Lord’s teaching. The disciples are to take no thought what they shall speak, for the spirit of their Father shall speak in them. Matt. 10:19–20; Mark 13:11.

Lastly, our insight gleaned from the Smith’s Bible Dictionary definition regarding spiritual insight.

† The Remnants functioning with insight empowered by the revelatory gifts know what to say, when to say it, and what needs to be emphasized within what is expressed.

† The Remnant’s insight always supports Truth – their insight must not contradict the Will of God as found in His Written Word, if it does, it is not godly insight.

Always keep in mind that Christ Jesus determines the gifts and level of insight He desires a Believer to function in. Furthermore, what He gives to each member of the CURRENT Spiritual Remnant of God is given to them according to His Will, for His Purpose, that HE MIGHT BE MAGNIFIED AND GLORIFIED! 1 Corinthians 12-14

Spiritual/Political Disclaimer:

This blog will not be for the faint of heart or the easily offended. It will not be in any way politically correct. It will make every effort to share the truth in love, [Ephesians 4:11-16], to a decaying and dying society and church. I share what I share not to hurt, harm, or offend any person[s] or group; I do it because Christ’s Standard and Truth is not being represented by enough of His Followers and I do it out of love. I love enough to tell His Truth.

Ephesians 4:11-16 NKJV

¹¹And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, ¹²for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, ¹³till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; ¹⁴that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, ¹⁵but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ— ¹⁶from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.

Friday, August 09, 2013

Christians better start speaking up.

We give up our "rights" for Christ we don’t give up our "right" to Christ and we don’t give up our "rights" to man.

“Trial Begins for Christians Arrested for Reading Bible Outside California DMV”

http://christiannews.net/2013/08/05/trial-begins-for-christians-arrested-for-reading-bible-outside-california-dmv/