God's Truth In Love

Archive for the ‘Forgiveness’ Category


Forgiveness

In Forgiveness on May 19, 2019 at 8:30 am

God has led me to deviate from the regular postings on Proverbs and put forth these three posting to remain for two weeks, at which time we will return to our study of Proverbs.

Please feel free to contact regarding these posts, as the subject matters are very serious.

Forgiveness comes in stages

Forgiveness comes in stages. With the first stage being the choice to forgive, regardless of how we feel about the overall situation, the person, or what happened to us. The last stage would be complete reconciliation with the person we needed to forgive. Getting from stage one to the final stage can take years or perhaps only minutes.

Let me give you a three-point example – beginning, middle, and end.

Re: The man who molested me as a pre-teen and teen then kidnapped me in my mid teens.

Beginning stage – I chose to forgive him, to feel the pain of what he had done to me, to come to terms with the affects and having done that I chose with insight to forgive him.

Middle stage – I had forgiven him to such a degree that I had become concerned for his spiritual wellbeing and wrote him a letter, not writing about the past or what he had done, but sharing the love of Christ and urging him to seek Jesus for salvation and inner healing aka restoration.

Last stage – The forgiveness was so complete that I could go see him when God prompted me to do so and talk with him about our past and God. He had already come to Christ and been saved although I did not know that until I arrived at his home unannounced. He would pass away within a month or so. I also did not know that he would die. All I knew when I went to see him was I had to go see him and that it was God.

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.

, , , , , , , , , , ,

Why My Church is NOT Growing – Part 8 – Abuse and The Church (Physical Abuse)

In Abuse, Advice, Agape Love, Anger, Anxiety, Apostasy, Bible, Bible Study, Biblical Principles, Chrisitan Lifestyle, Christ, Christian, Christian Living, Christianity, Church Growth, Compassion, Confusion, Courage, Evil, Exhortation, Forgiveness, Grief, Hate, Hatred, Holy Spirit, Jesus, Masculinity, Mercy, Persecution, Renewal, Repentance, Suffering, Trust, Truth, Uncategorized on August 9, 2018 at 11:16 am

This blog will alternate with each post between two subjects. One week will address why churches are not growing, and the coming move of God. The alternate week the blog will continue with the in-depth study through the Book of Proverbs.

Physical abuse also takes place within the walls of our congregations. I have personally read outlines for physical disciple of wives. I have heard the stories of children being physically abused under the guidelines of church discipline. There is no place within the church for the physical abuse of another human being.

In an outline for how to discipline your wife, it was stated that if a woman would not submit to her husband then a certain amount of physical discipline could be used. You could inflict pain but where not to bring about too much bruising, no lacerations, and you were not to break bones. This physical abuse would be increased in nature until the woman “repented” and submitted regardless of how long it took or how many sessions of discipline were necessary to bring about the woman’s change of attitude. These sessions could not however result in broken bones or cuts on the woman’s body.

How horrid that a person would believe that they had the right to inflict physical pain on a woman until she agreed to agree with them! How could one possibly believe that this is real submission? Conformity maybe, submission no.

I once counseled a woman who would not enter a church building. When we started our relationship, she hated the church and all its members. When we were done she still had not entered a church building but was willing to give God another try and Christians a second glance.

Why did this woman have such a hard attitude? She had loved God very dearly and was an extremely dedicated church member, as was her husband who was an elder in their local church. Each Sunday they went to church, worshipped God, and serviced in their congregation. Each Sunday after church they went home where her husband proceeded to beat her. Like clockwork every Sunday after church he would beat her that way she would be healed up enough by the following Sunday to attend church and play the role of his faithful wife always at his side.

My heart broke when she told her story. It was obviously true and very difficult for her to disclose to me, yet, she found the courage to do so. As time went on this woman’s pain eased and her understanding that not all Christians were this way increased.

At a conference once, a woman was struggling with guilt. She felt inside herself that she had allowed her child to be abused but she was wrestling with the biblical principle that she was to submit to her spiritual leaders. In her church children were brought up to the front, next to the pulpit, and physically struck with a belt by the pastor for various infractions at both church and home. The number of licks they received from the belt depended on the degree of their offense. This woman was riddled with confusion and guilt, this was after all how their congregation handled discipline. Everyone else did it and everyone was afraid to question their Christian spiritual leader since this might be viewed as be rebellious or as a refusal to submit. The church and local congregations should play no role in the physical discipline of children.

It takes courage to speak up when we know physical abuse is going on in our congregations. It is easier to tell ourselves it is not our business. How can that be true however? Do we not carry a certain amount of Christian responsibility and accountability with our brothers and sisters? According to Scripture we do. We are required to hold each other accountable for our actions. There must have been someone at some point who suspected this woman was being abused or even knew firsthand she was being mistreated. Many people sat in the pews on those days when the children were humiliated and physically abused in the name of God and correction. There had to some of people who knew in their spirits that this behavior was wrong, yet, they remained silent. We cannot do such, we must speak up! We cannot allow leaders to go off the rails because we are concerned other Christians will think us out of line or rebellious. Our responsibility is to Truth and too upholding the principles of Scripture not to uphold man or man’s ideas.

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.

, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Why My Church is NOT Growing – Part 7 – Abuse and The Church (The Sex Angle)

In Abuse, Apostasy, Biblical Principles, Chrisitan Lifestyle, Christian Living, Christianity, Church Growth, Confusion, Courage, End Times, Evil, Forgiveness, Godliness, Godly Counsel, Persecution, Repentance, Sexual Abuse, Suffering, Trust, Uncategorized on July 18, 2018 at 9:14 am

This blog will alternate with each post between two subjects. One week will address why churches are not growing, and the coming move of God. The alternate week the blog will continue with the in-depth study through the Book of Proverbs.

When I departed from this topic to take a few weeks to discuss revival we were on Part 6, Repent of Silence, and just beginning to touch on the issue of abuse.

That posting addressed the abuse and mistreatment Jesus suffered because of what He was saying, teaching, and what living. Yet, today we are to present Jesus’ same Truths regardless of whether or not we face persecution or abuse for doing so, for to do any less would be to deny Christ in one form. There are so many people within the Church who are very religious but when faced with the Truths of God’s Word or confronted with the idea of something happening as the Bible indicates, they express every little actual practical hands-on faith, thus abuse often enters the picture. Yet, keep in mind this is only one reason abuse takes place within the Church.

Now to continue with the topic of abuse. In this piece we will address the issue of sexual sin.

Abuse comes for many different reasons in many different forms. One might expect abuse for the world, from a secular sinful society, however when abuse comes from within the Body of Christ people are often caught off guard and the wounds they suffer are so much more severe and long-lasting.

Throughout the course of human history, the church has been, sadly to say, filled with abuses of many forms. Not addressing this issue will not make it any less true, it will only serve to allow it to continue in darkness. Evil prospers in the darkness found in secrecy. Light, the Light, has a way of breaking the power of darkness. Therefore, let us bring it out into the light. The Church, the Body of Christ, its lay people, and leaders alike have abused people. They have physically, mentally, emotionally, sexually, and spiritually abused people. With this God is not pleased! It has harmed not only the victims it has harmed the entire Body of Christ.

The sexual abuses that have taken place within the Church are well known and have been well publicized. They are not however exclusive to any one particular denomination, nothing is found only in one denomination. Christian spiritual leaders having sexual relations with those entrusted to their care has been widespread and has gone on as long as there has been religion. The broken trust that is a result of sexual violation is very deep for the victim and very difficult to overcome. The power given to spiritual leaders, along with the admiration given them, is a hotbed for sexual sin.

Recently it was reported in the news that for years and years a Christian spiritual leader of a very common denomination had been secretly videotaping women changing their clothes in his office. These unsuspecting women would go into the Pastor’s office to change, for their baptism no less, and while there preparing for what should be one of the happiest days in a Believer’s life these women are violated without their knowledge.

A spiritual leader falling into sexual sin with members of their staff or congregation is not something new, but it is always shocking to learn that a man or woman of God you have admired is far from perfect. There are times when the sexual sin is a form of entrapment, brought on by the second party not the leader. We have also found prominent denominational leaders have fallen prey to sexual temptation and sin, even of a homosexual nature or involving child molestation. We simply cannot say we do not have a problem of sexual abuse within the church.

If you are or have been an individual who is being sexually violated or mistreated by a Christian spiritual leader, a lay leader or person in your church, or anyone for that matter find someone to talk to, someone to help you stop the situation. Please listen very carefully to these words as you read them, A CHRISTIAN SPIRITUAL LEADER’S AUTHORITY DOES NOT EXTEND TO ANYTHING SEXUAL OR TO ANY FORM OF ABUSE! Flee from the situation immediately and seek quality godly counsel for help and healing.

Throughout this study if you need the wisdom of God on a matter, and you wish to receive the counsel of another Believer in Christ, please use the “comments” link to send your question to me.

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.

, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

How Do We Make Godly Decisions? – Study of Proverbs 3:27-30 – What of Your Neighbor

In Advice, Agape Love, Anger, Bible, Bible Study, Biblical Principles, Chrisitan Lifestyle, Christian, Christian Living, Christianity, Compassion, Decision Making, Discretion, Encouragement, Exhortation, Forgiveness, Fruits of the Holy Spirit, Godly Counsel, Hatred, Learning, Marriage, Peace, Proverbs, Prudence, Truth, Uncategorized, Wisdom on July 11, 2018 at 12:05 pm

This blog will alternate with each post between two subjects. One week will address why churches are not growing, and the coming move of God. The alternate week the blog will continue with the in-depth study through the Book of Proverbs.

The Scripture passages are identified with bold upright font and the author’s notes are identified with italic regular font.

27 Withhold not good from them to whom it is due, when it is in the power of thine hand to do it. 28 Say not unto thy neighbour, Go, and come again, and to morrow I will give; when thou hast it by thee. 29 Devise not evil against thy neighbour, seeing he dwelleth securely by thee. 30 Strive not with a man without cause, if he have done thee no harm.

What of Your Neighbor

First, I pose the question, “Who is your neighbor?” It is not just the people who live next door to you, it is also those individuals with which you come into consistent contact on a reasonability normal basis. Your neighbor is not everyone in the world however. A neighbor must be a person within your community or sphere of life. The Hebrew language regarding the word “neighbour” as found in verse twenty-eight defines a neighbour as “an associate (more or less close):— brother, companion, fellow, friend, husband, neighbour.”[1] Therefore, once again, a neighbor is a person with which one has some connection either through relationship or a shared area of living, working, recreation, church, etc.

The ”good” represented in verse twenty-seven is good in a wide variety of application in the “widest sense.” However, this good is to be done to “whom it is due” and according to the definition in the Hebrew language that is inclusive of only a spouse or someone individual with whom you are obligated such as an employer or overseer of some sort that has personal authority over your life granted to them through relationship, such as the head of an organization you volunteer for, the head of a committee you sit on, the person[s] in authority over you at work, etc. Verse twenty-seven does not apply to everyone a person would consider a “neighbour” and that is important to remember. Any good it is within your power to do for your spouse or your employer should be done as God prompts and directs. Yes, I know how difficult the last statement I made is to carry out in practical life. Good cannot always be granted to those who have repeated abused the goodness offered to them. A person must pray and allow the Holy Spirit to guide their actions.

Separately verse twenty-eight deals with helping our neighbor in need. If we have what our neighbor needs, and they ask us for what they need, it is not right in God’s eyes to withhold what they need from them. If we can help our neighbor with a true need, a need that is rare and not reoccurring due to our neighbor’s personal mishandling, and we can give said help without neglecting our own household then godly wisdom dictates that we should be willing to give that help without delay.

You and your neighbors should be able to feel they can live in community together without harm being done to each other and without a desire to perpetrate evil upon each other. We should not want to hurt or do harm to anyone, most especially those within our closes associations. That includes taking their lunch or soda from the frig at work, liberating aka stealing office supplies, taking the neighbors newspaper, borrowing from your neighbor with no intent of returning or repaying what you borrowed, etc.

If people have done nothing to us, then we should not seek to be disagreeable with them. We should not seek to argue for argument sake. However, verse thirty clearly reads that we should not seek to strive with another person “without cause” implying that there are times when there is cause to disagree or strive with another person, especially if they are doing us harm or seek to do us harm. We defend ourselves if we are harmed but when we are not harmed we seek to live in peace.

Throughout this study if you need the wisdom of God on a matter, and you wish to receive the counsel of another Believer in Christ, please use the “comments” link to send your question to me.

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.

, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Church Shooting – Questions about Compassion and Evil

In Agape Love, Anger, Bible, Bible Study, Biblical Principles, Chrisitan Lifestyle, Christian, Christian Living, Christianity, Compassion, Confusion, Demon, Demon Possession, End Times, Evil, Exhortation, Fear, Forgiveness, God, God's Voice, Godliness, Godly Counsel, Grief, Hate, Hatred, Holy Spirit, Jesus, Loss, Mental Disorder, Mental Illness, Persecution, Suffering, Truth, Wicca, witchcraft on December 10, 2017 at 4:15 pm

Please feel free to send me any of your own thoughts or questions, locate and click the comment link below. I will continue to address them in follow up posts. This post and/or related posts will be the only post[s] I will be making available for the next few weeks, as I believe this topic needs to stay front and center for a season.

To address some additional thoughts and questions…

Compassion for Perpetrators

Yes, if we are unable to find compassion, which is an aspect of agape love, for those individuals who are so wounded or damaged that they wound and damage other people we are no different than the world. Scripture makes it clear that it is easy to love those who love us but not so easy to love those who mistreat us.

Luke 6:32–36 (NKJV) Jesus speaking

32 “But if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. 33 And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. 34 And if you lend to those from whom you hope to receive back, what credit is that to you? For even sinners lend to sinners to receive as much back. 35 But love your enemies, do good, and lend, hoping for nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High. For He is kind to the unthankful and evil. 36 Therefore be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful.

I was wounded just recently by someone I care a great for, wounded more than they most likely realize. However, I have chosen to trust God to deal with the matter and not retaliate. I realize that the individual can only treat me with the spiritual, mental, and emotional maturity they currently possess despite what my heart might desire.

Evil

Yes, evil does exist! It is a powerful spiritual force that can destroy individuals and lives. Evil is a byproduct of the fall of both Satan and the fall of mankind in the Garden of Eden. If we had to trace goodness back to one source that source would be God. Likewise, if we had to trace evil back to one source that source would be Satan. Evil and its father, Satan, are a very powerful force second only to God and not one to be taken lightly.

Please understand this point. Without God man is completely powerless over evil. Whether you are a child of God through the rebirth of your spirit or a child of God through creation who has yet to recognize God as their Father you would not be able resist evil without God’s help. Without God this entire world would be consumed with evil. The world is Satan’s playground, his domain in some manners and therefore we are not to be naïve when it comes to the evil that surrounds us in our society.

Ephesians 6:12 (NKJV)

12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.

The issue of labeling evil as demon possession, demonic influence, congenital evil, or consensual evil is in all honesty an extremely difficult thing to do. People like to place labels on things or actions but in order to truly label almost any action or behavior a person would require so much information that gathering said information would be almost impossible. This is why I find it difficult to respect people who place labels. Yes, we can offer insights and possible reasons for why someone will say or do something but to say, “we know” without doubt and place a label on that person is in my belief almost impossible – it also borders on condemning a person, the worse form of judging another person. Most people do not even talk to people enough to get a good understanding of what they think, believe, or to understand why they took certain actions much less gathering enough information to slap a label on them. Therefore, I would exhort you to be very careful before deciding what type of evil might be presence in a situation.

Evil is a topic that is challenging to undertake in such a forum as the sheer volume of what could be written on the topic is enormous. I will address just a few matters here but in no way, will I even scratch the surface of what should or could be written on the matter. I will confine myself to the previously mentions aspects of evil – demon possession, demonic influence, congenital evil, and consensual evil.

Demon possession did exist during biblical times, and does exist to date. Evil spirits aka demons where sent upon King Saul (1 Sam. 16:14). Both Jesus (Luke 7:21) and Paul (Acts 19:11, 12) acknowledged demons and demon possession casting demons out of those afflicted. There are situations where people are labeled as being mentally ill, which I believe without much doubt are cases of “demon possession” yes, demon possession. With that said, I also believe some people have been considered possessed by a demon when they were legitimately mentally ill. Overall, I believe there are a great deal of things labeled as mental illness or mental disorders that are in truth a form of evil influence or a result of sin.

People are prompted to do evil by the demonic influences around them or around someone who has access to their life, such as was the case with Ahab (1 Kin. 22:1–23). Demonic “influence” is possible for all people including Christians. For this reason it is extremely important that we examine our every thought, feeling, action, and prompting against the Truth found in God’s Word. Every thought must be taken captive, so we do not fall prey to the insidious influences that find their way into our own hearts (these influences enter people’s hearts through various means which I will not go into here, but it is not always the person’s own fault.)

2 Corinthians 10:3–6 (NKJV)

3 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. 4 For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, 5 casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, 6 and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled.

Matthew 15:19 (NKJV) Jesus Speaking

For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies.

Congenital evil has to do with those things we find that run in our families or as some would like to say, ‘are in our DNA.’ Evil can be passed on through families via the environmental influence that opens the spirit to such evil. There can also be evil in the heredity of a family, evil known as generational curses. However, through the power and blood of The Lord Jesus, The Christ, generational curses of all type can be broken whether physical curses, behavioral cures, or mental curses.

Exodus 34:6–7 (NKJV) – When Moses was being given the second set of Tablets in the Wilderness, after the Hebrew children of God had left Egypt.

6 And the Lord passed before him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth, 7 keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children’s children to the third and the fourth generation.”

Exodus 20:5 (NKJV) – In relation to and inclusive in the Ten Commandments.

5 you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me,

Restated in Deuteronomy 5:9 (NKJV)

9 you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me,

That leaves us the final form of evil we will address here, consensual evil. A person can become demon possessed through opening themselves up to evil in their actions. Through choices they have made to involve themselves in evil actions, in satanic activity, etc. Christian can open themselves up to evil influence in a greater degree by involving themselves in sinful behavior and even evil activities. There are those people who claim to be Christians yet partake in tarot cards, horoscopes, evil media, attempting to channel, consulting spiritualist or fortunetellers, etc. These are not actions God would have His people partaking in, He expects them to shun all evil and cling to goodness, godliness, and Truth. I exhort you not to think you can play or tamper with evil without getting burned – run from all forms of evil, run quickly and far!

Deuteronomy 18:10–12 (NKJV)

10 There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire, or one who practices witchcraft, or a soothsayer, or one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer, 11 or one who conjures spells, or a medium, or a spiritist, or one who calls up the dead. 12 For all who do these things are an abomination to the Lord, and because of these abominations the Lord your God drives them out from before you.

Romans 12:9 (NKJV)

Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good.

1 Thessalonians 5:22 (NKJV)

Abstain from every form of evil.

John 17:15 (NKJV) Jesus speaking

15 I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one.

Jesus’ prayer for his disciples is my prayer for each of you.

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.

, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Church Shooting

In Agape Love, Anger, Anxiety, Apostasy, Bible, Bible Study, Biblical Principles, Chrisitan Lifestyle, Christian, Christian Living, Christianity, Confusion, Courage, Encouragement, End Times, Evil, Exhortation, Forgiveness, God, God's Voice, Godliness, Godly Counsel, Grief, Hate, Hatred, Holy Spirit, Humanism, Jesus, Mental Disorder, Mental Illness, Peace, Persecution, Prayer, Prophecy, Psychiatric Drugs, Religious Freedom, Remnant, Renewal, Revival, Rhema Words, Spiritual Activism, Spiritual Activists, Spiritual Fruit, Spiritual Remnant, Suffering, Truth, Uncategorized, Wisdom on November 8, 2017 at 6:43 pm

This will be one of the longest pieces I have written for posting in a couple of years but if you will stick with it and read the whole thing you just may find it was well worth your time. Please feel free to send me any of your own thoughts or questions, locate and click on the comment link below. I will address them in follow up posts. This post and/or related posts will be the only post[s] I will be making available for the next few weeks, as I believe this topic needs to stay front and center for a season.

Since Sunday afternoon I have prayerfully contemplated how to address this matter, when to post this piece, and the content of this posting. Ignoring what happened in that congregation, to those members of the Body of Christ on Sunday morning during their time of worship was not an option but providing an answer to the “Why?” questions regarding why it happened was also not an option. Therefore, what to do, I asked God and myself. My answer, not to attempt to provide any answers or spiritual platitudes that hurt more than they help but instead to simple reflect on several insights provided throughout the week that should be reflected upon and considered in light of the tragic events of Sunday, November 5th, 2017 in Sutherland Springs, Texas at the First Baptist Church.

Compassion, a word, or a choice.

It is my desire through this posting to allow God to use me to express some thoughts for reflection that might actually help us, us being the Body of Christ, really help us in due course and overall instead of just soothing us and placating us. The safest and simplest way to approach this topic would be to demonize the man who killed all of these people and move on. However, to handle the situation with that type of approach would be very spiritually short sided for a godly Christian spiritual leader. As Christians we like to say that we have compassion but how many of God’s people can find compassion for this man, this gunman, that killed their brothers and sisters in Christ? Compassion for what he must have been going through to turn to such a horrible and evil act. We, the Body of Christ, should have compassion for both, the victims, and the perpetrator.

The persecution of the American Church, the Body of Christ in America.

For far too long the Body of Christ has buried their heads in the sand when it came to persecution in America. The persecution, again, in America, does take another form now, then it did during the early church’s history, and a different form than it does in other countries. In America Christians have become targets of lawsuits for living out their beliefs. They have become targets for those who wish to use the legal system to try and silence Christians from expressing their beliefs in a public forum. Christians have become people targeted by a psychologized society that believes psychology has all the answers and that there is no place for God in the equation, a society that refused to accept absolutes or the individual who has firm beliefs and refuses to back down or be quite about them. Christian who still believe that talking about Jesus in their everyday lives at work, in businesses, and other public forums is a normal way to function and their God given, as well as constitutional right, are considered extremist that people avoid. And in the most extreme form of persecution we find our dear brothers and sisters of First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs, Texas, who suffered a persecution unto death by someone who was so hurt, damaged, angry, and/or evil that he chose to express it through killing – just as nine of our brothers and sisters were persecuted, being killed by a gunman in June of 2015 in South Carolina at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church. The Body must face that they are being persecuted in various forms in America and band together to resist such persecution while at the same time showing compassion for the spiritual blindness that causes their persecutors to act as they do.

It was once said to me when I expressed concerns over the fact that a congregation only had one race and culture represented, ‘Don’t you think it is simply because we all tend to stick to our own?’ Well, for the record, no I do not think that is why you find congregations with only one race or culture represented. Yet, when persecution happens to the Church the barriers of race, culture, education, and economics are quickly dropped to band together for a greater cause, Us, The Body of Christ. I was in Charleston, South Carolina shortly after the killings that took place there and every race, class, education level, culture, and economic group of Christians were represented at that church in a powerful show of unity and spiritual support. In those tragic times we can find the time to leave our congregations and reach out to other congregations or members of The Body of Christ in general, however, this should be a regular practice at all times. There is no doubt that the Bible teaches us, and the history of the Christian Church teaches us, that God uses persecution to grow and/or change His Church and people.

The influence of evil.

I was interviewed a few years back for a book on a serial killer who had once tried to kill me along with about a dozen other people the early 1980’s. According to the author of the book I was the only person he could find to interview, most of the people were dead and a couple unlocatable. The interview was many hours long and during the course of this interview the author wanted to know how I could consistently express so much compassion for this serial killer knowing so much about his history and all the horrible things he had done, and how could I show no anger, bitterness, or resentment toward the man who had been the source of my physically body being damaged to the point that I still lived with the results causing difficulty and pain in daily life. These questions opened up the door to discuss the influence of evil. There was one profound thing that God over the years had helped me to understand, which helped me place the responsibility for evil acts where it lay – with Satan.

That truth was…

Evil causes psychological damage, and psychological damage opens the door to evil.

As long as the psychological community continues to disavow the spiritual side to mental and emotional problems we will continue to see people who never actually get better, change, or heal. As long as the Christian community continues to either, a) ignore the emotional and mental damage done through the wounding of people or b) allow themselves to become so psychologized they no longer make the spiritual connection to a wounded person’s emotional and mental problems, we will continue to see ourselves as a Body grow spiritually weaker and weaker as our biblical worldview becomes overshadowed or at least mixed with a secular worldview. We must find the balance that allows the Church and the mental health community to both realize that they have pieces of the puzzle that will help wounded people become whole again.

Church effectiveness and respect for Christianity within our society.

People do not respect the Christian community like they once did in America. This is our fault, the Body of Christ’s fault in general. There are so many reasons this has happened over the years there is no way to exhaustively address the reasons. However, just to address a few: 1 – We have become too much like the society in which we live. If you are no different than I am in your standards and practices why should I respect you. 2 – Our behavior whether it was intended to be or not “appeared” or “appears” hypocritical to people. We need more transparency that allows us to share our own struggles, yet still promote God’s Truths and His Standards for how we are to aspire to living our lives. 3 – The Body of Christ lacks backbone anymore. What might the zealous Peter and bold Paul say about the stands we take today for Truth or lack thereof, and the boldness we lack in expressing Truth as found in God’s Word.

We lack effectiveness in our society today as well. We lack effectiveness as Christians because we have either checked out of our society or we wish to avoid the ugly side of our society. We are barely able to allow ourselves the ability to remain in relationships long enough to allow ‘iron to sharpen iron’ much less invest ourselves relationally with those who might need our help. What happen to the need to show agape love for people, that love Jesus asked us to show, love that is displayed by our actions, our investment, and our involvement with people.

Proverbs 27:17 (NKJV)

As iron sharpens iron,

So a man sharpens the countenance (character) of his friend.

John 15:13 (NKJV) Jesus speaking

13 Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.

Luke 6:35 (NKJV) Jesus speaking

35 But love your enemies, do good, and lend, hoping for nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High. For He is kind to the unthankful and evil.

Matthew 5:44 (NKJV) Jesus speaking

44 But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you,

In the early 2000’s two young boys barely in their teens living in the Pensacola, Florida area are convicted of killing their father and burning their family home down. Allegedly a result of years abuse and the influence of a child predator who also lived in the area. On the road leading up to their home, which was located in the 1,100 block, there were eight churches before the 1300 block and 4 churches within the 1070-1200 block. All of those churches in that community but how many of those congregations were “in that community” with their time, actions, involvement, and love – especially if some people in that community were tough to love.

Now back to this shooting at the Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, Texas. The sheriff, Tackitt, in an interview stated that the pastor of this church, Frank Pomeroy, had stated in the past that he did not want the gunman, who had previously been involved in the congregation, in his church and asked the sheriff, “How do I run him away from my church?” – yet this was not the pastor present on the day when the gunman killed 26 of his congregation members (25 men, women, girls, boys, and 1 unborn child) and injured 20 more. The gunman’s mother and father-in-law were members of the church, also not present on the day of the shooting. Dare I pose the question, but I must, how might things have been different had that pastor reached out with love, invested his time, and attempted to help this damaged young man instead of searching for ways to ‘run him away from “his” church?’ Yes, pastors must protect the flock but protecting them does not have to involves ridding yourselves of all those you deem undesirable, it should instead involves helping those you see who are wounded or damaged by life.

Religion acceptable, true godliness is not – a hate breeder.

People are watching what the Christian Churches are doing to each other and to their own people. It is not just the churched that are affected when things are not handled in a godly manner, those looking from the outside or sidelines are also affected. Far too many godly people who love Jesus have left many church congregations and many have been incredibility wounded by their brush with religion. Religion seems to be very acceptable in most of today’s churches, but true godliness or aspirations to that end is not welcome. Sadly, in far too many congregation it is not acceptable to believe that God’s Truths are still a valid standard for living today. We live in an age where the loveless, the compromising, the corrupt, the dead, and the lukewarm churches (Rev. 2-3) reign and truly devout congregations aspiring to God’s Principles and acting with Jesus’ agape love are rare. Religion in every capacity has taken over and controls the leadership thus by extension the people. They do not hunger or thirst for Jesus and to grow in Christ, they do not long for revival to sweep across our land, they are just about the business of church. My biggest challenge and greatest heartache is dealing with the types of Christians, Spiritual Leaders, and churches found in Revelation 2 and 3- the loveless, the compromising, the corrupt, the dead, and the lukewarm.

These types of congregations and individuals have hurt so many people who truly love or loved God, desire or desired to be all God wanted them to be, and yearn or yearned to see the Body of Christ be all Jesus means for it to be. The religious people and congregations have caused wounds great enough that individuals have pulled back from the poison of religion without godly spirituality. Let us never forget that our LORD, our Saviour, Jesus, the Messiah, the Christ, was persecuted, maligned, and His crucifixion brought about through the Religious Leaders of His day! If devout people can be affected by a religious society this way, how much more would a wounded or damaged person be affected by this type of treatment from people who are supposed to be “the best people on earth” – Christians? I have heard it said that this man who was the gunman in this attack on this small church was an atheist, and very vocal about his atheistic views. Atheist do not go to church, seekers, the confused, the agnostic goes to church in search of something – if religion is all we have to offer them, then I fear their hate for us will grow.

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.

, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Evil Transforms (If We Let It) – Pt. 31 – Take Back What the Enemy Has Stolen

In Advice, Agape Love, Anger, Anxiety, Apostasy, Bible, Biblical Principles, Chrisitan Lifestyle, Christian, Christian Living, Christianity, Courage, Depression, Devotional, Encouragement, End Times, Evil, Exhortation, False Doctrine, False Gods, False Teaching, Fear, Forgiveness, Fruits of the Holy Spirit, God, God's Voice, Godliness, Godly Counsel, Grief, Hate, Hatred, Holy Spirit, Humanism, Idolatry, Jesus, Loss, Love, Marriage, Media, Mental Disorder, Mental Illness, Prophecy, Prophet, Prophetess, Religious Freedom, Remnant, Renewal, Revival, Rhema Words, Spiritual Activism, Spiritual Activists, Spiritual Fruit, Spiritual Remnant, Spirituality, Suffering, Truth, Uncategorized on June 14, 2017 at 4:45 pm

This piece, will be the last in our review of David Kupelian’s book, How Evil Works. Please find a link below where you can purchase the book from Amazon, should you desire to do so. This book and review of it has been such a blessing to my readers and myself, we are so grateful that God led David Kupelian to write the book.

To effectively combat an enemy, one must understand both their enemy and themselves. Seek to gain godly wisdom and understanding. Act and respond in accordance with that godly understanding and godly wisdom. How one responds to the evil and hated that is unleashed in our society and world is a key element in how well they are able to resist both and be a godly spiritual activist for Truth.

Control of oneself and one’s own actions is essential to being powerfully effective. As the author points out, ‘there is a world of difference between righteous indignation and seething hatred.’ As Christians, we want to possess righteous indignation but we do not want to enter into that realm with our Enemy, and enemies, who reside in seething hatred. The author also points out that righteous indignation is based on a strong sense of justice. However, seething hatred is always found to be self-destructive, out-of-control rage. We must rise above the temptation to hate those who hate us so we can embrace a truly righteous passion to right the wrongs we see strangling God from the consciousness of our country.

There is a universal human imperfection that we all suffer from. However, we cannot allow our own imperfects to render us mute when it comes to what God wants from us as a people. I have said more times than I can count, ‘Just because we do not live up to God’s Standard does not mean His Standard changes or that we have a right to try and pull God’s Standard down to our level so we can feel better about ourselves.’

There is a moral compass, the needle of which is our conscience, and every individual is born with one. We must employ methods to jump-start people’s conscience whenever possible. There was a saying that went around years ago within the Body of Christ, ‘Stop trying to be the Holy Spirit for people.’ This was a most destructive statement for the spiritual well-being of the Body of Christ. Why? Well my brothers and sisters the Book of Hebrews was written to address the issue of apostasy, and command Christians to cling close to Christ and God’s principles. Our part in seeing that takes place is exhorting one another toward living out God’s principles. You cannot very well do that if you see sin and never say anything about it to anyone, you never call sin sin and call for repentance from sin and a return to God. A novelist George Orwell has been often quoted as saying, “In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act.”

Hebrews 3:12-15

12 Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God; 13 but exhort one another daily, while it is called “Today,” lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. 14 For we have become partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end, 15 while it is said:

“Today, if you will hear His voice,

Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.”

We must be willing to act when necessary as well, not just talk. There are those individuals who are so disconnected from their conscience that Truth does not compel them to do the right things. That is when the application of proper pressure done in godly way becomes necessary. Even after that there will be some individuals who will still remained unmoved.

To quote the author, Kupelian, in the last sentence of this book, “Truth is enough – because when properly honed and targeted, it is more than sufficient to annihilate all of their grand seductions.”

When Jesus was answering Pilate, He stated the following.

John 18:37 (NKJV)

Pilate therefore said to Him, “Are You a king then?”

Jesus answered, “You say rightly that I am a king. For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.”

Are we supposed to do something different from what Jesus stated here He came to do, “bear witness to the truth” – yes or no? No, I do not believe so, nor does the author of this book. We are God’s people and as God’s people we should stand for Truth forever!

How Evil Works

http://www.amazon.com/How-Evil-Works-Understanding-Transforming/dp/1439168202/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1443464127&sr=8-1&keywords=How+evil+works

Evil can be understood and overcome before it transforms our country entirely. Evil can be understood and overcome before it transforms someone you know or even you. Knowledge is power and without it we will perish. We need to be extremely knowledgeable when it comes to evil.

Hosea 4:6 (NKJV)

My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.

Because you have rejected knowledge,

I also will reject you from being priest for Me;

Because you have forgotten the law of your God,

I also will forget your children.

The Marketing of Evil

https://www.amazon.com/Marketing-Evil-Pseudo-Experts-Corruption Disguised/dp/1942475217/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1483474172&sr=8-1&keywords=The+Marketing+of+Evil

Evil is sold in our society just as anything else might be sold, through marketing. Satan has marketed his product through those willing and those ignorant to his schemes. Through his craftiness he has turned the minds of even Believers to think that tolerance of his evil is some form of love. In so doing he has transformed to a large degree the once Devout Church and transformed our society to an enormous degree. He has not accomplished this without his workers however, the willing, the sold out for their own gain, and the ignorant masses following blindly behind the majority.

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.

, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Evil Transforms (If We Let It) – Pt. 27 – Happiness and Peace

In Agape Love, Bible, Biblical Principles, Chrisitan Lifestyle, Christian, Christian Living, Christianity, Courage, Depression, Devotional, Encouragement, Evil, Exhortation, False Doctrine, False Gods, False Teaching, Fear, Forgiveness, God, God's Voice, Godliness, Godly Counsel, Grief, Hate, Hatred, Holy Spirit, Humanism, Jesus, Loss, Love, Persecution, Prayer, Prophecy, Prophet, Prophetess, Remnant, Renewal, Revival, Rhema Words, Spirituality, Suffering, Truth, Uncategorized on May 15, 2017 at 12:11 pm

In this piece, we continue with our review of chapter ten of David Kupelian’s book, How Evil Works. Please find a link below where you can purchase the book from Amazon, should you desire to do so. This chapter requires many postings to review however there is so much to be gained from this chapter, and it is well worth the investment of time.

Where is happiness and true godly spirituality found? People “spend their entire lives coveting and acquiring the possessions and relationships we figure will make us happy,” the author writes. But does that make us happy? Do those things and relationships make us happy? In a sense as the author states, “to actually find true and lasting happiness, we must somehow forsake these very desires.” I would agree with that statement to some degree. Things and relationships do bring us a certain amount of happiness but they do not fully, and can never fully, satisfy us in a way that brings deep and lasting contentment. Often, people are very wrong about what they believe will bring them happiness, and especially what will bring them deep and lasting contentment.

St. John of the Cross, who authored the Christian Classic Dark Night of the Soul wrote, “If you purify your soul of attachment to and desire for things, you will understand them spiritually. If you deny your appetite for them, you will enjoy their truth, understanding what is certain in them.” What truly has value and what does not? What is the value in each thing, each activity, in our lives?

Jeanne Guyon wrote in A Guide to True Peace therein stating, “If the malignant enemy is not resisted in his first attack, he enters by gradual advances, and takes entire possession of the heart: and so long as opposition is deferred by habitual negligence, the power of opposing become every day less, and the strength of the adversary proportionally greater.” The Enemy (thief) will steal, kill, and destroy our peace and our joy (John 10:10). However, the truth be told he cannot do anything lasting to us until we open the door to him. Resist and he will flee (James 4:7). However, the first portion of that verse, James 4:7, is extremely important. “Submit yourselves to God.” We must submit to God first, in order to have the strength and grace to resist the devil.

The author talks about that internal tug of war going on in each of us. God making His presence known within our conscience and that malevolent intelligence within us that makes us ultimately rebel against our God-given conscience, against God Himself. Even though Christ might have us there is a battle for our daily life (our soul – our mind, will, and emotions) going on all the time. That battle is fuel by pride, pride in every form, the pride deep within each one of us – the sin nature. Pride is like a living being, and living beings can be either feed or starved. Paul said it best, “I die daily” (1 Corinthians 15:31). The author makes a wonderful statement, “As our pride (or “sin self”) diminishes and dies through our obedience to God, the direct result is that our “good side,” our true, God centered character and identity, enlarges.”

When we starve our pride, our dark side, the born-in-sin nature, we draw closer to God. When we pursue security, pleasure, comfort, the endless quest for new highs, the lust for power and prestige or when we escape into porn, drugs, entertainment, food, alcohol, shopping, whatever it might be, these things enlarge our pride. Enlarging our pride keeps us in conflict with our own conscience. Pride will also keep your eyes darkened to your own sin thus keeping your bound to your sin.

Living our way is a pursuit in pride though I doubt many people see it as the destructive pursuit and poison to life it actually is in truth. Pride, the pursuit of self, has a solution. Jesus gave us the answer very clearly. “He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.” John 12:25 (NKJV) When we live for Jesus, when we give up our own agenda, our pride, our pursuit, our ideas of what is best for us and we live Jesus’ Way life takes on a happiness, peace, and contentment that only Jesus can show us and be trusted to give us. No thing or person will be able to give us this degree of happiness and peace.

I will close by quoting the author who says it brilliantly, “I realize this is worlds apart not only from all that today’s pop psychology teaches, but also from much of what the modern church preaches. Be that as it may, it is the deep core of what the godly life once was understood to be in Christendom.”

“He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.” John 12:25 (NKJV) – Life Jesus’ Way, try it and open the door to…

We finish exploring chapter ten in the next posting. In the conclusion of this chapter review we consider the need to go within to walk in the Light of Christ.

 

How Evil Works

http://www.amazon.com/How-Evil-Works-Understanding-Transforming/dp/1439168202/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1443464127&sr=8-1&keywords=How+evil+works

Evil can be understood and overcome before it transforms our country entirely. Evil can be understood and overcome before it transforms someone you know or even you. Knowledge is power and without it we will perish. We need to be extremely knowledgeable when it comes to evil.

Hosea 4:6 (NKJV)

My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.

Because you have rejected knowledge,

I also will reject you from being priest for Me;

Because you have forgotten the law of your God,

I also will forget your children.

The Marketing of Evil

https://www.amazon.com/Marketing-Evil-Pseudo-Experts-Corruption Disguised/dp/1942475217/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1483474172&sr=8-1&keywords=The+Marketing+of+Evil

Evil is sold in our society just as anything else might be sold, through marketing. Satan has marketed his product through those willing and those ignorant to his schemes. Through his craftiness he has turned the minds of even Believers to think that tolerance of his evil is some form of love. In so doing he has transformed to a large degree the once Devout Church and transformed our society to an enormous degree. He has not accomplished this without his workers however, the willing, the sold out for their own gain, and the ignorant masses following blindly behind the majority.

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.

, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Evil Transforms (If We Let It) – Pt. 26 – Mass Exodus

In Bible, Biblical Principles, Chrisitan Lifestyle, Christian, Christian Living, Christianity, Courage, Encouragement, End Times, Evil, Exhortation, Forgiveness, God, God's Voice, Godliness, Godly Counsel, Hate, Hatred, Holy Spirit, Jesus, Persecution, Prophecy, Prophet, Prophetess, Religious Freedom, Remnant, Renewal, Revival, Rhema Words, Spiritual Activism, Spiritual Activists, Spiritual Remnant, Spirituality, Suffering, Truth, Uncategorized on April 28, 2017 at 5:29 pm

In this piece, we will continue to review chapter ten of David Kupelian’s book, How Evil Works, along with addressing the mass exodus from the established church by sincere Christians. Please find a link below where you can purchase the book from Amazon, should you desire to do so.

To pick up where we left off – the mass exodus from the established church by born-again, spirit-filled, Jesus loving Christians. I have written about this exodus, the cause and effect, a great deal in the past on this blog. If you go through the archives you will find various posting on the topic along with a series titled, The Spiritual Remnant. Please review those posting for greater understanding on my observations over the last twenty plus years.

The author notes that the home-church is becoming the preferred method of “church” for most of those Christians exiting denominationalized religion and institutional church. I agree it is becoming a preferred method for many reason. The author and I agree that relationship connection, accountability, and freedom from the unnecessary politics of the established church are the primary reason. Rev. Billy Graham in his last televised evangelistic program both acknowledged and encouraged this growing trend. People are returning to the blueprint Jesus laid out so many years ago when He and the apostles started out. I believe there is a prophetic reason for the fact that this is happening in history at this time but that is something I do not wish to go into at length at this time – perhaps, in another posting.

A survey was done by for an article in the Washing Post and Barna estimated that 20 million Americans or more have left the established church since 2000 and turned to alternative forms of worship, study, and receiving pastoring. These forms include home churches, online faith communities, and workplace ministries. Why is this happing? I will answer that question by asking another question.

Over 80 percent of Americans are Christians attending thousands of churches each week. They hear the music, listen to the sermons, do missions, pray, and have ceremonies yet America is, as the author states, “rapidly losing her very identity as a Christian nation.” So why is this true? The answer to that is why Devout Christians are leaving the established church in rapid numbers. The needed Truths are not being told or received in most established church congregations today.

Another question posed by the author is why so many “born-again Christians are getting divorced, taking antidepressants, hooked on online porn, or just plain confused, resentful, and dissatisfied with life?” Again, the answer is both simple and very complicated at the same time; the needed Truths are not being told or received in most established church congregations today.

I was part of the “seeker sensitive movement” in the 1990’s, and I along with many others I have known and served with have repented for allowing that movement to shift from what God was doing too far the other way; though I personally did fight against, warn, and resist that shift. Many of us have sought to find the balance God originally intended between established religion (religiosity) and sincere godly Christian spirituality. It has been difficult because people love to live in the extremes, and those two extremes, religiosity or grace-abuse, seem to be the primary camps of congregations littering the current church landscape in America.

Kupelian states, “too many of our churches have lost the essence of what it means to walk with God and have filled the vacuum with either excitement and entertainment or dry theology and ceremony.” Bingo! Religiosity. Christianity is mean to be a spiritual religion not a legalistic religion like Islam – performing rituals to please God or a god.

We will continue our exploration of the tenth chapter of this marvelous book in the next posting. Where happiness and peace are addressed.

 

 

How Evil Works

http://www.amazon.com/How-Evil-Works-Understanding-Transforming/dp/1439168202/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1443464127&sr=8-1&keywords=How+evil+works

Evil can be understood and overcome before it transforms our country entirely. Evil can be understood and overcome before it transforms someone you know or even you. Knowledge is power and without it we will perish. We need to be extremely knowledgeable when it comes to evil.

Hosea 4:6 (NKJV)

My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.

Because you have rejected knowledge,

I also will reject you from being priest for Me;

Because you have forgotten the law of your God,

I also will forget your children.

The Marketing of Evil

https://www.amazon.com/Marketing-Evil-Pseudo-Experts-Corruption Disguised/dp/1942475217/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1483474172&sr=8-1&keywords=The+Marketing+of+Evil

Evil is sold in our society just as anything else might be sold, through marketing. Satan has marketed his product through those willing and those ignorant to his schemes. Through his craftiness he has turned the minds of even Believers to think that tolerance of his evil is some form of love. In so doing he has transformed to a large degree the once Devout Church and transformed our society to an enormous degree. He has not accomplished this without his workers however, the willing, the sold out for their own gain, and the ignorant masses following blindly behind the majority.

 

 

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.

, , , , , , , , , , , ,

Evil Transforms (If We Let It) – Pt.25 – Does God Go Missing?

In Agape Love, Bible, Biblical Principles, Chrisitan Lifestyle, Christian, Christian Living, Christianity, Encouragement, Exhortation, Fear, Forgiveness, Godliness, Godly Counsel, Grief, Impatience, Jesus, Loss, Love, Persecution, Prayer, Spirituality, Suffering, Truth, Uncategorized on April 20, 2017 at 5:24 pm

In this piece, we will begin to explore chapter ten of David Kupelian’s book, How Evil Works. Please find a link below where you can purchase the book from Amazon, should you desire to do so.

The questions that have been heard through the cracked raw voices. The question in the eyes flooded with burning tears that roll down a red-blotched strained-to-breaking face. Where was God when X happened? Why didn’t He do anything? How could He let this happen? Why was God missing from my life when I needed Him the most? Does God go missing?

Does any minister or any individual have an adequate answer to such questions? I do not believe they do with the key point being, “an adequate answer” for the heartbreak some people face. Do we live in a fallen world racked with sin? Yes. Do we suffer at the hands of another person’s freewill? Yes. Is Satan alive and well and attempting to create as much evil and destruction as possible. Yes. However, even knowing all of that is not a sufficient answer for why The Sovereign God did not intervene in some manner – a question made all the more painful when an individual prayed fervently that God would act on their behalf.

Let us examine for a moment what “sovereignty” is and is not in relationship to God.

“Sovereignty of God” per Nelson’s new illustrated Bible dictionary. 1995 (R. F. Youngblood, F. F. Bruce, R. K. Harrison & Thomas Nelson Publishers, Ed.). Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, Inc.

“SOVEREIGNTY OF GOD — a theological term that refers to the unlimited power of God, who has sovereign control over the affairs of nature and history (Is. 45:9–19; Rom. 8:18–39). The Bible declares that God is working out His sovereign plan of redemption for the world and that the conclusion is certain. Immediately after the Fall He talked about the curse of human sin and specified the cure for it. To the serpent He said, “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel” (Gen. 3:15). The whole redemptive story of the Bible is the fulfillment of this prophecy by the sovereign God, as Paul clearly teaches in Romans 8–11.

The story of redemption from Genesis to Revelation is possible only because the sovereign God loves the created world and His creation, fallen though it is, and is able to do something about it. Without the sovereign love of the Father ministered to us through the Son and the Holy Spirit, there would be no real human freedom and no hope of everlasting life.”

Because God is sovereign over His plan of redemption for mankind does not mean He controls, plans, orchestrates, fates, or even desires every event in history, and in our lives, to take place. He most certainly does not in my theological view. The omnipotence (Jer. 32:17, 27) of God is without question but the fact that God can or could do anything does not mean He does or is going to orchestrate all events.

God is without a doubt (all-powerful) omnipotent. God is (ever-present) omnipresent, even before the creation of the world. Without question God is (all-knowing) omniscient. He certainly has all fore-knowledge, and is no doubt the wisest of the wise. Reference the following Scriptures: Ps. 139:7–12, 1 John 3:20, Acts 15:18, Is. 48:3, 5, Jerm. 32:17,27 and many others. God guides the individual who wishes to be guided by Him but that does not mean that no person or nothing can affect their life. Do not misunderstand me. Nothing happens to me that God does not “allow” but allowing something and causing it to happen are two very different things.

God may allow something to happen, and God may know it is going to happen but that does not mean that God wanted it to happen; yet, God is present, and God does have the wisdom to know what to do with the event after it has happened. However, if we are to benefit from that wisdom we must get past any anger or confusion we feel and seek His godly wisdom for how we are to respond to the event. What He desires to do through the event. What He wants us to learn from or get out of the event.

God is so far beyond even what He has revealed to us in His written Word that fully grasping Him while on earth will never be possible.

As the author pointed out in the beginning of this chapter, all we have is the Word to use to “explore the realities and realms far beyond words.” He also points out that “most of the religious or spiritual words “we have available to us today in our English language have been “sullied by overuse and misuse.” A fact that is very apparent if you being to dig into the words found within the Bible in their original Greek or Hebrew language for the depth of their meaning. We have a shallow understanding of what the words in That Amazing Book (The Bible) actual mean and entail.

When you seek God’s Will and not your own, then you purpose to live out that Will moment-by-moment day-after-day, you are walking with God. Of those who walk with God the author say, there is “an intimacy to their relationship with God, a moment-by-moment flow of understanding, guidance, and what the author describes as a “special energy called “grace.”” This type of relationship is available to anyone who desire to have it, yet, even some individuals who have accepted Christ’s free gift of salvation there are those who are not willing to take their relationship with Him to this level. However, for those who have drawn close to God in a relationship that can be defined as walking with God, the author reminds us that many people who have walked with God, good people, people God loves dearly, have gone through horrible persecution and difficulties in life, while they were passing on some “simple, life-giving truths, to the rest of us.” Many people are still being persecuted, hated, and maligned because of their walk with God. People hate them because it easier than facing the absence of God in their walk.

There are so many individuals within the church buildings every Sunday morning but it is only a few who truly find that walk, the walk on the narrow path. Kupelian, a journalist, notes that 4 out of 5 Americans call themselves Christians, yet, most “don’t seem to have a clue about what it means to “follow Christ.”” He goes on to state that 45% of those “teach their children there are no absolute values.” A very few find out what life, real life, is all about – that God Himself is our destiny. Walking with God is our purpose in life.

Matthew 7:13–14 (NKJV) Jesus speaking

13 “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. 14 Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.

Sadly, the established church is not helping to shepherd these individuals in a fruitful manner. As the author states, and I have seen myself, “committed, born-again Christians are exiting the established church in massive numbers.” This is both true and heartbreaking to me. I personally have been crying out to church leadership all of the US and beyond for over 20 years to recognize and change what was wrong within the established church to stop this mass exodus.

We will explore that mass exodus of born-again Christians from the established church, along with continuing to review chapter 10 in the next posting.

Please know your questions and comments are welcome anytime.

 

 

How Evil Works

http://www.amazon.com/How-Evil-Works-Understanding-Transforming/dp/1439168202/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1443464127&sr=8-1&keywords=How+evil+works

Evil can be understood and overcome before it transforms our country entirely. Evil can be understood and overcome before it transforms someone you know or even you. Knowledge is power and without it we will perish. We need to be extremely knowledgeable when it comes to evil.

Hosea 4:6 (NKJV)

My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.

Because you have rejected knowledge,

I also will reject you from being priest for Me;

Because you have forgotten the law of your God,

I also will forget your children.

The Marketing of Evil

https://www.amazon.com/Marketing-Evil-Pseudo-Experts-Corruption Disguised/dp/1942475217/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1483474172&sr=8-1&keywords=The+Marketing+of+Evil

Evil is sold in our society just as anything else might be sold, through marketing. Satan has marketed his product through those willing and those ignorant to his schemes. Through his craftiness he has turned the minds of even Believers to think that tolerance of his evil is some form of love. In so doing he has transformed to a large degree the once Devout Church and transformed our society to an enormous degree. He has not accomplished this without his workers however, the willing, the sold out for their own gain, and the ignorant masses following blindly behind the majority.

 

 

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.

, , , , , , , , , , ,

Why Easter?

In Agape Love, Bible, Biblical Principles, Chrisitan Lifestyle, Christian, Christian Living, Christianity, Easter, End Times, False Gods, Forgiveness, God, God's Voice, Godliness, Holy Spirit, Jesus, Love, Passover, Remnant, Renewal, Resurrection, Revival, Rhema Words, Truth, Uncategorized on April 14, 2017 at 3:38 pm

Mark 15:22–39 (NKJV)

22 And they brought Him to the place Golgotha, which is translated, Place of a Skull. 23 Then they gave Him wine mingled with myrrh to drink, but He did not take it.

Jesus is Crucified

Matt. 27:35–56; Luke 23:33–49; John 19:18, 23–30

24 And when they crucified Him, they divided His garments, casting lots for them to determine what every man should take.

25 Now it was the third hour, and they crucified Him. 26 And the inscription of His accusation was written above:

THE KING OF THE JEWS

27 With Him they also crucified two robbers, one on His right and the other on His left. 28 So the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “And He was numbered with the transgressors.”

29 And those who passed by blasphemed Him, wagging their heads and saying, “Aha! You who destroy the temple and build it in three days, 30 save Yourself, and come down from the cross!”

31 Likewise the chief priests also, mocking among themselves with the scribes, said, “He saved others; Himself He cannot save. 32 Let the Christ, the King of Israel, descend now from the cross, that we may see and believe.”

Even those who were crucified with Him reviled Him.

33 Now when the sixth hour had come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour. 34 And at the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?” which is translated, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”

35 Some of those who stood by, when they heard that, said, “Look, He is calling for Elijah!” 36 Then someone ran and filled a sponge full of sour wine, put it on a reed, and offered it to Him to drink, saying, “Let Him alone; let us see if Elijah will come to take Him down.”

37 And Jesus cried out with a loud voice, and breathed His last.

38 Then the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. 39 So when the centurion, who stood opposite Him, saw that He cried out like this and breathed His last, he said, “Truly this Man was the Son of God!”

Mark 16 (NKJV)

The Resurrection of Jesus

Matt. 28:1–8; Luke 24:1–9

16 Now when the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, that they might come and anoint Him. 2 Very early in the morning, on the first day of the week, they came to the tomb when the sun had risen. 3 And they said among themselves, “Who will roll away the stone from the door of the tomb for us?” 4 But when they looked up, they saw that the stone had been rolled away—for it was very large. 5 And entering the tomb, they saw a young man clothed in a long white robe sitting on the right side; and they were alarmed.

6 But he said to them, “Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He is risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid Him. 7 But go, tell His disciples—and Peter—that He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him, as He said to you.”

8 So they went out quickly and fled from the tomb, for they trembled and were amazed. And they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.

The Appearances of Jesus

Luke 24:13–48; John 20:1–10

9 Now when He rose early on the first day of the week, He appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom He had cast seven demons. 10 She went and told those who had been with Him, as they mourned and wept. 11 And when they heard that He was alive and had been seen by her, they did not believe.

12 After that, He appeared in another form to two of them as they walked and went into the country. 13 And they went and told it to the rest, but they did not believe them either.

14 Later He appeared to the eleven as they sat at the table; and He rebuked their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they did not believe those who had seen Him after He had risen. 15 And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. 16 He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. 17 And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; 18 they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”

The Ascension of Jesus

Luke 24:49–53; Acts 1:9

19 So then, after the Lord had spoken to them, He was received up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God. 20 And they went out and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word through the accompanying signs. Amen.

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.

, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Evil Transforms (If We Let It) – Pt. 24 Impatience, Anger, and Evil

In Agape Love, Anger, Anxiety, Bible, Biblical Principles, Chrisitan Lifestyle, Christian, Christian Living, Christianity, Courage, Depression, Encouragement, End Times, Evil, Exhortation, False Gods, Fear, Forgiveness, God, God's Voice, Godliness, Godly Counsel, Hate, Hatred, Humanism, Impatience, Jesus, Loss, Love, Persecution, Renewal, Revival, Rhema Words, Suffering, Truth, Uncategorized on April 7, 2017 at 9:09 am

In this posting we will finish reviewing chapter nine of David Kupelian’s book, How Evil Works. The latter part of this chapter connects impatience to anger and hate.

Kupelian explains that impatience is about “literally our making what we want (to go faster) more important than what is right (God’s commandment that we be patient with our neighbor’s shortcomings). In so doing we are making our will more important that God’s Will. We are playing God. We may try to justify being impatient but impatience is selfishness, immaturity, and a lack of love on display in our reactions to life. Anger also makes us feel strong because it feels like strength but it is not strength, it is actually a terrible weakness. Excessive impatience and anger show just how weak a person you truly are.

Anger is one of the greatest self-destructive emotions of all the human behaviors. Anger destroys social, business, and romantic relationships. No one should have to or should allow themselves to endure the abuse that comes from someone who cannot control their temper.

An important side note: There is a difference between displaying anger and being angry. There is a time to display anger. An impression of being really upset, even angry, might be called for in certain situations. However, being angry means you are out of control. Anger over true injustices within the world and society is not the type of anger we are dealing with here. Righteous indignation, like Jesus had in the temple courtyard (Matthew 21:12-17, Mark 11:15–17, Luke 19:45-46), does not harm or destroy it seeks to correct injustice and drive out sin through nondestructive means. True righteous indignation leads to a desire to change something not to resentment.

There is a time and there are people who are called to stand up against and courageously oppose evil oppressors. This is the mark of a true martyr. However, a true martyr does not kill for their cause. A true martyr does not kill people because they disagree with their religious beliefs. A true martyr does not kill people because they believe said people are less than human. A true martyr does not kill an abortion doctor because the doctor performs abortions. A true martyr would rather die for their cause and beliefs at the hands of another person rather than kill another human being. Courageously standing up against evil oppressors does not mean killing.

What causes anger? Impatience. What causes impatience? Arrogance. A person who cannot control their temper, who rains on those around him or her angry yells and insults is a very arrogant person. Anger is a clear sign of an inflated sense of self-importance. Someone who is truly humble is a person who is almost impossible to anger.

Real patience is agape love, real love. To release hostility can feel like a loss, like we are letting go of something that we need, that protect us, something important and necessary for our safety. This pride that has convinced us of such lies, and indulging in it, will only nourish everything that is wrong inside of us. That anger appears to our pride to be righteous when it almost never is, it might even seem noble in our minds. Anger problems in people are everywhere because “anger is the necessary food for pride, and pride is at the very core of most of our problems in this life.” May God grant us humble hearts and gave us the destruction of pride.

Proverbs 16:18 (NKJV)

Pride goes before destruction,

And a haughty spirit before a fall.

People are wronged. People are hurt. People are damaged by other people. The people who truly recover from traumas are those people who can find the path to forgiveness and forgive those who have hurt them. Psychology, religion, common sense, and experience agree that forgiveness is the way to find true healing. Those people who can forgive are able to move on with their life. Those individuals who cannot forgive stay bogged down in their mire of the trauma until they learn to let it go. Failure to forgive keeps the wound inside of us open and bleeding.

Resentment is our measuring stick to how patient, loving, and forgiving we are. Resentment is evidence of our failure to forgive, our failure to love, and our failure to be patient with the imperfections of other people. To forgive is to give up our resentment.

Un-forgiveness is a form of hate. Hate will eat us up inside. To justify our un-forgiveness or hate will not save us the ravishes of their sin. Hate is never okay.

In the next posting, we will begin to review chapter ten of David Kupelian’s book, How Evil Works. In chapter ten we will examine the difficult question that so many people ask. Where is God while evil is running ramped in the world?

How Evil Works

http://www.amazon.com/How-Evil-Works-Understanding-Transforming/dp/1439168202/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1443464127&sr=8-1&keywords=How+evil+works

Evil can be understood and overcome before it transforms our country entirely. Evil can be understood and overcome before it transforms someone you know or even you. Knowledge is power and without it we will perish. We need to be extremely knowledgeable when it comes to evil.

Hosea 4:6 (NKJV)

My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.

Because you have rejected knowledge,

I also will reject you from being priest for Me;

Because you have forgotten the law of your God,

I also will forget your children.

The Marketing of Evil

https://www.amazon.com/Marketing-Evil-Pseudo-Experts-Corruption Disguised/dp/1942475217/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1483474172&sr=8-1&keywords=The+Marketing+of+Evil

Evil is sold in our society just as anything else might be sold, through marketing. Satan has marketed his product through those willing and those ignorant to his schemes. Through his craftiness he has turned the minds of even Believers to think that tolerance of his evil is some form of love. In so doing he has transformed to a large degree the once Devout Church and transformed our society to an enormous degree. He has not accomplished this without his workers however, the willing, the sold out for their own gain, and the ignorant masses following blindly behind the majority.

 

 

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.

, , , , , , , , ,

My Apology

In Bible, Biblical Principles, Chrisitan Lifestyle, Christian, Christian Living, Christianity, Devotional, Evil, Forgiveness, God, God's Voice, Godliness, Godly Counsel, Holy Spirit, Jesus, Renewal, Uncategorized on March 17, 2017 at 12:31 pm

I want to offer my heartfelt apology to all my readers, those that both receive my blog entries via email by “following” the blog and those individuals who take the time to check the site regularly for updates. It has been a beyond acceptable time period since my last blog posting.

God has been doing many different things in life over the last six months, my head has been spinning at times, my heart soaring at other, and my hands full beyond my capacity to handle at times. For this reason, I have dropped the ball when it came to keeping up with the blog. However, all has now been resolved, put in order, and life is beginning to take the shape of normalcy once again.

Therefore, I am here to both beg your forgiveness, and make a fresh commitment to all my readers that apart from when I am out of town there will be a NEW weekly blog posting, every week, starting next week, March 20th – 25th 2017.

Additionally, we will be ending the series we have been doing on evil very soon. Therefore, please send me your thoughts for a series, ideas for areas of study to explore, questions that can be addressed, etc. for future blog postings. You may use the contact link provided on the blog, and remember you can submit your comments, questions, and ideas anonymously.

Again, I am sorry I have disappointed you.

 

 

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.

, , , , , , , , , ,

Evil Transforms (If We Let It) – Pt. 21 Hate

In Agape Love, Anger, Anxiety, Apostasy, Bible, Biblical Principles, Chrisitan Lifestyle, Christian, Christian Living, Christianity, Courage, Depression, Evil, Fear, Forgiveness, Godliness, Hate, Hatred, Religious Freedom, Remnant, Renewal, Revival, Uncategorized on January 3, 2017 at 3:20 pm

In this piece we will do a subject introduction before we begin to explore chapter nine of David Kupelian’s book, How Evil Works. Please find a link below where you can purchase the book from Amazon, should you desire to do so. Chapter nine deals with the evil power of hate therefore, we will first explore “hate” itself.

Let us begin by exploring hate from a biblical perspective. There is a need for a deep understanding of what hate actually is and is not. Dislike is not hate. Hate goes much deeper than simple dislike.

When Jesus spoke of hate, in regard to the world hating His disciples (John 15:19), the word that He used is the same word that was used to describe the hate that people had for Jesus Himself (John 15:25) when He walked the earth. It is also the same word that is used to describe the hate people who do evil have for the light of God’s Truth (John 3:20). That Greek word Reference “#3404 μισέω misĕō, mis-eh´-o; comes from the primary word μῖσος misŏs (hatred); meaning to detest (especially to persecute); by extension to love less: to be hateful, to hate” – note that to hate is to “love less” than we should love. Merriam-Webster defines the word “detest” as “1: to feel intense and often violent antipathy toward: LOATHE 2 obsolete: CURSE, DENOUNCE” – note the “often violent antipathy toward” aspect of the definition.

Briefly I will note some biblical causes of hate. Parental favoritism (Gen. 37:4, 5) can create hatred among siblings. Rape (2 Sam. 13:14, 15, 22) can cause a wound so deep it leads to hate. Failure to please (1 Kin. 22:8) someone in the manner they desire can lead to them unjustly hating you. God’s purpose (Ps. 105:25) at times can only be done through another person hating you – that is a tough one to get our heads and hearts around. Belonging to Christ (Matt. 24:9, 10) has always been and will always be a cause for hatred. The evil nature (John 3:20) of man causes hate to exist within people.

In the Bible we find the following as some objects of hate; God’s people (Gen. 26:27), God Himself (Ex. 20:5), Christ (John 15:25), light, meaning the light of Truth (John 3:20), evil men (Ps. 26:5), and wickedness (Ps. 45:7) just to name a few.

Hate toward Christians has existed since the day Christ first walked the earth. Hatred toward Christians will continue until the day Christ returns for His Bride, The Church. Hatred toward Christians is a sign of, (a) their discipleship (Matt. 24:9) with and for Christ, (b) their election (John 15:19) by Christ Jesus, and (c) their regeneration (1 John 3:13–15) in Christ.

In the next posting we will begin the actual review of chapter nine of David Kupelian’s book, How Evil Works. A powerful chapter that deals with the evil power of hate.

How Evil Works

http://www.amazon.com/How-Evil-Works-Understanding-Transforming/dp/1439168202/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1443464127&sr=8-1&keywords=How+evil+works

Evil can be understood and overcome before it transforms our country entirely. Evil can be understood and overcome before it transforms someone you know or even you. Knowledge is power and without it we will perish. We need to be extremely knowledgeable when it comes to evil.

Hosea 4:6 (NKJV)

My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.

Because you have rejected knowledge,

I also will reject you from being priest for Me;

Because you have forgotten the law of your God,

I also will forget your children.

The Marketing of Evil

https://www.amazon.com/Marketing-Evil-Pseudo-Experts-Corruption-Disguised/dp/1942475217/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1483474172&sr=8-1&keywords=The+Marketing+of+Evil

Evil is sold in our society just as anything else might be sold, through marketing. Satan has marketed his product through those willing and those ignorant to his schemes. Through his craftiness he has turned the minds of even Believers to think that tolerance of his evil is some form of love. In so doing he has transformed to a large degree the once Devout Church and transformed our society to an enormous degree. He has not accomplished this without his workers however, the willing, the sold out for their own gain, and the ignorant masses following blindly behind the majority.

 

 

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.

, , , , , , , , , , , ,

Evil Transforms (If We Let It) – Pt.20 The Cancer of Divorce

In Bible, Biblical Principles, Chrisitan Lifestyle, Christian, Christian Living, Christianity, Divorce, Femininity, Feminism, Forgiveness, Marriage, Masculinity, Truth, Uncategorized on December 7, 2016 at 4:29 pm

In this piece we will explore one last point from chapter eight of David Kupelian’s book, How Evil Works. Please find a link below where you can purchase the book from Amazon, should you desire to do so. The final point made in this chapter is in regard to marriage, divorce, and the affect of both on America.

Marriage is, among other things, the representation of God’s union with Israel (Isaiah 54:5) and Jesus’ union with The Church, The Body of Christ (Ephesians 5:23-32). The hindrance of marriage is a part of the Great Apostasy (1 Timothy 4:1-5), which is to come on the earth. Marriage is meant to bring happiness to mankind (Genesis 2:18), be a means by which our races are continued (Genesis 1:27-28), and be a pathway for bringing children into the world to become godly men and women (Malachi 2:14-15). Marriage is a state of being that was, and is, instituted by God (Genesis 18-24), as a union between a man and woman (Genesis 2:22-24). It is meant to be a permanent bond (Matthew 19:6) between a man and woman that only ends or is broken by the death (Romans 7:2-3) of one or both persons. Divorce is only allowed based on biblical standards in the case of adultery (Matthew 19:9) or desertion (1 Corinthians 7:10-17). Yet divorce, and divorce for convenience sake, is common place in America’s society today.

Jesus’ teaching on marriage and divorce:

Matthew 19:1–9 (NKJV)

Instruction About Divorce

Mark 10:1–16; Luke 18:15–17

19 Now it came to pass, when Jesus had finished these sayings, that He departed from Galilee and came to the region of Judea beyond the Jordan. 2 And great multitudes followed Him, and He healed them there.

3 The Pharisees also came to Him, testing Him, and saying to Him, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for just any reason?”

4 And He answered and said to them, “Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning ‘made them male and female,’ 5 and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? 6 So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate.”

7 They said to Him, “Why then did Moses command to give a certificate of divorce, and to put her away?”

8 He said to them, “Moses, because of the hardness of your hearts, permitted you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so. 9 And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery; and whoever marries her who is divorced commits adultery.”

As the author points out divorce is taking its toll on society and to a large degree destroying the very fabric of American society and the American home. The author, a man, seems primarily to put the responsibility on men when it comes to divorce. He states that a man should not blame a woman for giving up on him and divorcing him because “Your intense need for their emotional and sexual support, your selfishness, and impatience, your immaturity – all this and much more literally creates and feeds the resentment within your beloved.” He then points out that women are more vulnerable than men and that men must be strong for their wives inspiring their wives to be strong. The author also states that men should give up their “hurt feeling” that are often really anger toward the wife for being emotional and perhaps unreasonable because the man is actually the one who has created the frustration in large part in his wife, through the attitudes mentioned earlier.

Kupelian believes that “America needs to get a handle on its divorce epidemic.” It is producing and resulting in what he describes as “national suicide” one family at a time. The conflicts and pain builds up over the course of time and people reach a point where one or either both believes they cannot endure the painful presence of the other any longer. The author makes a profound statement however on this sad commentary, “How many marriages could be saved if the spouse intent on divorce were just to learn to give up all that anger toward the other?”

The continual and total release of anger, coupled with forgiveness can keep a marriage together throughout the course of a lifetime.

Ephesians 4:26 (NKJV)

“Be angry, and do not sin”: do not let the sun go down on your wrath,

Ephesians 4:31 (NKJV)

Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice.

Ephesians 4:32 (NKJV)

And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.

Matthew 6:12 (NKJV) Jesus speaking

And forgive us our debts, (trespasses)

As we forgive our debtors. (trespassers)

The author closes the chapter with three suggestions that would keep people from divorce. He offers simple suggestions but the suggestions are not simple things to do in a world where “me” is top priority in life.

1. Men need to stop viewing women as though they were created to serve their ego because women were not created for that purpose. Men should instead care for them simple to care about them, for who they are, not because of what you are getting from the relationship.

2. Women give up your anger toward your man. Realize their failure to find real, selfless love for you is a serious flaw they have, very serious. However, your resentment toward them because of this flaw is your serious flaw.

3. “Reject divorce as an option.”

In the next posting we will begin to review chapter nine of David Kupelian’s book, How Evil Works. That chapter deals with the evil power of hate.

 

 

How Evil Works

http://www.amazon.com/How-Evil-Works-Understanding-Transforming/dp/1439168202/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1443464127&sr=8-1&keywords=How+evil+works

Evil can be understood and overcome before it transforms our country entirely. Evil can be understood and overcome before it transforms someone you know or even you. Knowledge is power and without it we will perish. We need to be extremely knowledgeable when it comes to evil.

Hosea 4:6 (NKJV)

My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.

Because you have rejected knowledge,

I also will reject you from being priest for Me;

Because you have forgotten the law of your God,

I also will forget your children.

The Marketing of Evil

http://www.amazon.com/Marketing-Evil-Pseudo-Experts-Corruption-Disguised-ebook/dp/B006N75LFI/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1443464127&sr=8-2&keywords=How+evil+works

Evil is sold in our society just as anything else might be sold, through marketing. Satan has marketed his product through those willing and those ignorant to his schemes. Through his craftiness he has turned the minds of even Believers to think that tolerance of his evil is some form of love. In so doing he has transformed to a large degree the once Devout Church and transformed our society to an enormous degree. He has not accomplished this without his workers however, the willing, the sold out for their own gain, and the ignorant masses following blindly behind the majority.

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.