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Walmart Prophet

In Biblical Principles, Christ Return, Christian Lifestyle, Christian Living, Church Growth, Conditional Prophecy, Correction, Discernment, Disobedience, Disunity, End Times, End-times, God, God Speaking, God’s Promises, Godly Counsel, Holy Spirit, Prophecy, Prophet, Prophetess, Reformation, Remnant, Renewal, Repentance, Revelation, Rhema Words, Righteous Living, Righteousness, Sovereign Prophecy, Spiritual Remnant, Unity, Words, Words of Knowledge, Words of Wisdom on November 29, 2023 at 6:12 pm

Wednesday, November 29, 2023

On Sunday I was reminded that God always finishes what He starts and brings to fulfillment His Work on earth. This has prompted me to repost a posting I did almost a year ago now, as it is more important than ever. Then at the beginning of December, I will begin with my annual Christmas and New Year’s postings.

Walmart Prophet

Walmart Prophet – January 22nd 2023 approximately 2:00 p.m.

Yesterday I had the most powerful encounter with another Believer that I have had in years, in of all places, Walmart.

The last couple of months Jesus has been impressing upon me over and over the need to give more care and attention to every single encounter I have every day. With every stranger, with every clerk in a store, with friends, other Believers, simply everyone. God is wanting me to make every encounter as meaningful as it can be. He has been stressing that this is extremely important in part because of the condition of our society and the disconnect between human beings. So I’ve been trying to be more mindful of that, not being in such a hurry and simply looking to see if God desires to do anything.

Well yesterday in Walmart I was in the mindset to do that when a white haired older gentleman approach me and began to talk. It only took about 30 to 45 seconds for him to ask me was I a Christian. I replied in the affirmative.

He began to remind me of the Scriptures that speak about how God would one day divide the real Christians from those who just claim to be Christians. He went on to say they are distinctions for determining what real Christians are. Then he pivoted the conversation and began to speak about what True God-honoring Congregations of Believers looked like versus what they did not, and additionally what they would have to be like during the end-times and prior to Christ return. Now he had my attention as this was something that God had actually shown me in the late 1990s. I listened with great spiritual discernment.

He began to talk about groups of Believers, those in the Outer Court, those in the Inner Court, and those in the Holy of Holies and their distinctions. As he spoke, he looked me directly in the eyes and began to move closer and closer. I looked him back just as intently and stood my ground as this seemingly stranger closed in on what we would call my personal space. He spoke about how you could tell the Real Believer from an unbeliever by the look in their eyes, and this was something I have always believed. The eyes, as he reminded me, are a window to the soul.

He was beginning to truly capture my attention fully. It seemed like an extremely unusual encounter because God has very rarely sent anyone to speak to me, I’m usually the one He has sent. I knew however in this moment I had to listen, and I was about to find out why.

I stood there and listen to this man, a man who had to be of God, if truly a man at all and not an angel, recount according to him the characteristics of a group of people or Believers (gatherings, as he called them) that would be considered part of the Outer Court (those congregations who house people who say they are Christians but may or may not be, more not than likely because True Christians likely would not stay in these congregations), the Inner Court (those congregations who house people who have actually obtained salvation but beyond that not much else and the congregation is not functioning as God desires), and the Holy of Holies (these are the congregations that are housing True Passionate Followers of Christ who are desiring to function as a group in the manners that God intends).

As the Man of God stood there describing those congregations or as he put it gatherings of God’s people who were a part of the Holy of Holies, I was spiritually astounded. I listened to this man recount every single characteristic of a congregation of Believers that God would bless and use, characteristics that God had given (spoken to) me back in the 1990s. God had described what He wanted His congregations to be before He could use them the way He desired and prior to His return, and He had described this way back then. Now this man was listing every characteristic one by one and why it was important. I was amazed, simply amazed! I had never forgotten what God had shown me He desired for His congregations to be, and I had never stopped spiritually advocating for the existence of those characteristics and functionality in congregations, but God wanted me to be reminded that today in 2023 He still wants the same thing he spoke in approximately 1998.

Then the Man of God moved on to me personally. He pointed out two specific things, and they were very specific. One was, God wanted me to know that a specific leader that ended up corrupt in the end, with a ministry that ended badly, was not always corrupt and that God was working there at one time, when they were following what He said. My view was imbalanced when it came to this particular ministry and leader because I always focused on the end, and gave little time or attention to what was real in the beginning, so I welcome that adjustment. The second was a spiritual principle that is at work in the Body of Christ that I need to give more attention to than I have been, so I received that exhortation as well.

As only God could do as soon as God’s points had been made the gentleman’s phone began to ring so loud it sounded like an alarm clock, like something saying wake up – wake up, and we both knew the encounter was over, although we did pause just staring in each other’s eyes making sure we understood each other. Then we both simply walked away.

We never know what our everyday encounters will bring and what exactly God would like to do through them, so it is in our best interest to take the time to pay close attention.

If this was not a case of me entertaining angels unaware, which it most likely was not, sir if you ever read this, which you might since we shop in the same location and there is a huge sign on my car with the blog address, if you do read it please use the comment section below to be in touch. I would be blessed by further communication with you.

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.

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Move of God – Revival

In Body of Christ, Denominationalism, Holy Spirit, Jimmy Carter, Move of God, President Carter, Prophecy, Prophet, Prophetess, Revival, Unity on March 4, 2023 at 5:18 pm

I realize that our reflections on the Book of Proverbs have been put on hold for a bit, but I’m going to continue to put it on hold at least through one more posting. Then I’m going to leave these three postings on the blog’s main page for some time before I pick back up with Proverbs, because I believe God is moving, that these last three postings tied together, and are crucial to a work that God is doing.

Originally posted February 11th 2023

Revival – The Move of God

Let me state first off that I understand what we define as a generation of people, so let’s not get too technical about that. I also know how Jesus referred to a generation or generations of people, and it was different than the box that we have put generations in today. For the purpose of this posting when I refer to a generation I will be referring to a group of people who were able to be born and reach the age of approximately 21 to 25 years old during a specific time in history.

We are beginning in this country, America, to see a revival that though instigated by God began to really spark first among young people. It is beginning to spread and will addresses the challenges that the generations below me face. Now understand, we all as Christian people face these challenges in our society today, but there is always kind of a core age group of people that begin to be sparked by God and it is those people and their leaders, which are usually older than them, who seem to be at the center of the birthing of another Revival or Move of God.

This is not an exact science, but it is a relatively consistent pattern. We see some degree of a Move of God approximately every 20 to 25 years. That is long enough for someone to be born and to grow to adulthood. I personally believe that is very spiritually significant and very much a part of God’s plan.

Side note:

I use a capital M and a capital R when I refer to a Move of God or Revival in a specific way. The reason that I do that is because a true Move of God, a true Revival of God’s people, is a manifestation of Jesus himself in the form of The Holy Spirit, one part of The Trinity. So that Move, that Revival, is a manifestation of God himself among us. Now people try to make that very weird but it’s not, it’s not weird at all, for when the Gifts and The Things of God are manifest it is him showing His Presence.

The last major Move of God was taking place in 1998, exactly 25 years ago. Now it extended in time as Moves and Revivals do, but it’s core, when the leaders, of which I was one, across the country, when those leaders had really received the Message from God regarding what he was doing during that Move and beyond. I state “and beyond” because I believe the Moves of God do connect, and at times overlap, for God’s very specific purposes and I believe this is one of those times. The reason being, when God really began to speak in 1998 to multiple leaders across the country, who did not know each other but later would come to know each other, he spoke what he wanted the church congregations, that he would ultimately end up blessing, to be and how they were to function during and at times extending past the lifetime of the people that he spoke this to, again of which I am one, and I am still very much alive obviously.

I believe this Move of God and the last Move of God are very much connected, as God is using the current generation to bring to completion (in many different ways) what God used us in 1998 to begin, promote, and strive for in the Glory of the advancement of the Kingdom of God. Get ready people because this generation, just like in our generation, will not qualify themselves for religiosity, THE POWER OF GOD ON THEM WILL BE THEIR QUALIFICATIONS.

During the past 25 years as I have watched various congregations receive that Message about how God wanted congregations to function, the things he wanted from the Body of Christ, I have seen them be blessed in abundance, grow and flourish incredibly. I have also seen those that refuse or refused to receive that Message, those congregations have dwindled and dwindled, they constantly struggle for money, they struggle to make a difference in a society and among the Body of Christ but they really don’t make a significant difference, and that is because they want to do things their way and they don’t want to listen to the Message that came so many years ago from God. Just as God stated, and the religious leaders out there refused to accept, God has broken the back of denominationalism and he continues to break it, ultimately it will be destroyed for there is only One Church, One Body of Christ. We see the manifestation of that breaking in this generation where God is moving and revival is beginning to take place, they want no part of denominationalism, they want to go to non-denominational congregations. You find so many denominations, which I will not name, rebranding themselves, taking out of the names of their churches or congregations that identifying name that connects them to a particular denomination. They are trying to appear non-denominational, but they are actually still associated with the specific denomination. Trying to hide your connection to denominationalism is not severing yourself from denominationalism, so these types of congregations continue to struggle.

There were so many things that God spoke about in the late 1990’s regarding where he wanted the Body of Christ to go that there is no way to go into them all in this posting, however, UNITY among the Body of Christ was absolutely crucial to the Christian community’s ability to continue to have an impact on their society. We have not yet reached that type of Unity and our influence in our society over the last 25 years has dropped to where it is almost nothing. I think that speaks for itself.

Please, please, use the “comment” link to contact me, sending me a message, regarding what God is doing where you are and in your life.

President Jimmy Carter

Let us keep President Jimmy Carter in our prayers as he prepares for his journey to be with his Savior, Jesus. There are some people, some men in the world, who are just so good at the center of who they are they are actually too good to lead our country, to do the things necessary. There are so many things that President Carter did for this country that people have no idea about, because while all of the critics were talking negatively about him, he and those people around him kept quiet about all of his accomplishments. He kept quiet as he negotiated the release of the Iran hostages that would take place under Reagan’s reign, but was actually Jimmy Carter’s doing. Part of the conditions for their release was that it could not take place until after President Reagan had taken office, yet, in his last few days of his presidency this is what President Carter was insuring would take place. How many of you actually knew that – Carter did the work, Regan was left with the credit.

President Carter taught Sunday School at his home Church for decades and decades and decades. I was blessed to get to attend his Sunday School Class one Sunday with my husband. I was doubly blessed to be able to speak with him and talk with him and his wife afterward. President Carter was at that time, and I assume still is, a huge fan of women in the ministry. I was a woman in the ministry, and here was a man in excess of a half century older than I, able to understand what God had called me to do when I was still struggling with men of my own age that found it very difficult to accept. That is what wisdom, godly wisdom, looks like.

I pray that President Carter’s transition to his new home with Jesus is a peaceful one. I say transition because Paul indicated that Christians don’t actually die, we pass from this life to the next life, and then our bodies cease to work. That is very different in my view from dying. When President Carter passes from this life to the next, he will be more alive than he has ever been in the 98, I believe it is 98, years that he has been here on this Earth.

God bless you, President Carter. Thank you for everything that you did for this country and for people around the world.

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.

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COVID-19 – God and Man at Work

In Agape Love, Attitude, Bible Study, Biblical Principles, Christian Lifestyle, Christian Living, Christianity, Church Growth, Contentment, Coronavirus, Coronavirus/COVID-19, COVID-19, Disunity, God's Voice, Godly Counsel, Holy Spirit, Love, Marriage, Repentance, Truth, Uncategorized, Wisdom on February 28, 2021 at 9:25 am

During the whole of the pandemic we have heard so much about the negative affects that the isolation and the restrictive movement have had on people’s lives, or so we hear in our local media. However, I challenge the notion that it has been all bad.

What has God been doing in the lives of people as He kept children at home, dads at home, moms at home, couples at home together? What has God been doing during the time when He stripped away religious practice and worship truly was up to the private individual, in their own way, in their own home?

Has there been mental and emotional, and perhaps even spiritual problems due to the isolation and the restricted movements of the pandemic? Yes, of course there have been. There has been horrible abuse, horrible loneliness, and sin has existed. However, there has also been great growth for individuals, for families, and for couples. Growth we will explore in more depth in another post. There has also been more time for individuals to take a good look at themselves, to explore their own inner spiritual person, come to terms with and perhaps do something in response to what they discovered during the isolation that God has allowed in their life.

The pandemic has caused financial loss, but I dare to say that in a spiritual and relational level it has done more good for people than harm, and certainly more good than what was financially lost. Blessings from God are not just material or financial more often the greater ones are intangible such as growth and change.

Sometimes God has to get people’s attention, sometimes God has to get a country’s attention, but God always leaves people who are repentant better off than they were when He started a particular work in their life.

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God speaks breaking His silence on Coronavirus/COVID-19

In Chrisitan Lifestyle, Christ, Coronavirus, Coronavirus/COVID-19, COVID-19, Easter, God, God's Voice, Godly Counsel, Holy Spirit, Prophecy, Prophet, Prophetess, Renewal, Repentance, Suffering, Truth, Unity on April 11, 2020 at 5:32 am

Saturday, April 11, 2020 (Holy Saturday) 4:45 am (eastern time United States of America)

The Word of the LORD to His people, thus says the Lord…

“Amid the suffering, amid the dying, you My people still cannot see to understand the twisted nature of your ways because you seek My Face, no, because you seek My Hand. You seek My Hand (My part in) this crisis, amid your trial, when you should be seeking My Face (My Message during) the scourge.

In days past I brought My Message to My people first, then to the rest of the world. I spoke first to My people. Again, I bring My Message to My people first, then the world.

I, Jesus, am the Church, the Church is My People not your temples of brick and mortar. Not your symbols of man’s ambition and greed. I never built a building I built a people. I called for unity among those people, called and called through my servants over the last many seasons (years), yet, most among you have refused to listen. You hid behind your walls of brick and mortar content in a man-made world, while ignoring your brothers and sisters everywhere you are not. Now pushed out of your walls of complacency will you listen!

I have called My people in recent seasons (years) to unity, not unity around sin, never, but unity in Me, in My Message, My Message not your message, and unity around the need to love and care for one another amid an ever growing sinful world. Without unity the world will tear at the very fabric of the Body I built. Without unity sin and decay will distort it’s purpose, My Purpose. Without unity a season of great despair will be coming, so unite now, while you have the time. I drove you out of your buildings to drive you back together. I want unity around My foundational principles and a love for Me. Give Me My Unity, and again I will give you My Power as in days past.

Hear Me, respond to Me, love Me.”

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Why My Church is NOT Growing – Part 10 – Abuse and The Church (Spiritual and Psychological Abuse)

In Abuse, Advice, Apostasy, Chrisitan Lifestyle, Christian Living, Church Growth, Evil, Exhortation, Holy Spirit, Renewal, Repentance, Revival, Suffering, Trust, Truth, Uncategorized on September 7, 2018 at 5:13 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.

One of the worst forms of abuse, in my belief, is spiritual abuse. This is when someone uses the things of God to control, manipulate, abuse, use, degrade, etc. other people. This has been done in extreme forms such as, ‘If I do not get X amount of money from my people God will take my life, close our church, etc.’ ‘If you do not read your Bible daily, God will not have fellowship with you.’ ‘If you are not in church each time the doors are open you are not a committed Christian.’ On and one we could go. I am sure each of you has your own example. The examples provided are damaging forms of spiritual and psychological abuse pure and simple.

A desire for a leader to obtain unquestionable dedication, which is free from accountability to the ones asked to give said dedication, is spiritual abuse. Does the Word of God call us to submit to the authorities He has placed in our lives? Yes. Who are those authorities however, and do we submit regardless? We do not submit regardless. We are accountable to God first, then to other people. We submit to our spiritual leaders when they are following the Will of God as found in God’s Word. We do not submit to sin or follow a leader into sin. How many cults, which started out with religious undertones, ended in disaster? Too many to recall. Why? Because people followed, even in the face of sin, because they believed they were to submit to authority without questioning authority.

A more hideous form of spiritual abuse is to distort and misuse the Word of God in order to get what one wants or justify one’s actions. So many people sit in church with their Bibles closed looking at an overhead screen trusting that the text on that screen matches what is actually in God’s Written Word. It only takes subtle and slight changes to God’s Word to distort its entire meaning and purpose. No matter how long you have known someone and no matter how much you trust them, you should have your Bibles out and open when they are speaking or teaching so that you can confirm that they are rightly dividing the Word of God. Especially grievous to the heart of God is this form of spiritual abuse that uses the Word of God, and God will deal with this abuse quite harshly.

When a person uses another person’s love for God to advance their own cause, regardless of what that cause might be, to get their way, to attempt to mislead or deceive the heart that trust in God both people are in danger. The abuser’s target is in danger of being spiritually and psychologically abused resulting in spiritual and perhaps psychological damage, and the perpetrator is in danger of the wrath of God that does come upon those individuals who use spiritual things to hurt God’s children.

Abuse in the Body of Christ, in all its forms, can stop when we become willing to both speak up and be spoken to when necessary. Accountability is a responsibly not an option. It is the basic fabric that holds the cloth of Christ’s Body together. Without the courage to question our leaders, we will find ourselves impotent and frustrated. Without the willingness to be questioned, we will find ourselves isolated and insolent.

This concludes the addressing of this difficult subject of abuse found within the church and how that abuse effects the growth of individual congregations as well as the universal church, which is the Body of Christ. We will continue to reflect on reasons why churches are not growing from various angles aside from the abuse angle.

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.

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How Do We Make Godly Decisions? – Study of Proverbs 4:5-9 – Wisdom and The Ornament of Grace

In Advice, Anxiety, Bible, Bible Study, Biblical Principles, Confusion, Decision Making, Discretion, Godly Counsel, Holy Spirit, Proverbs, Prudence, Renewal, Trust, Truth, Uncategorized, Wisdom on August 29, 2018 at 9:00 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.

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

5 Get wisdom, get understanding: forget it not; neither decline from the words of my mouth. 6 Forsake her not, and she shall preserve thee: love her, and she shall keep thee. 7 Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding. 8 Exalt her, and she shall promote thee: she shall bring thee to honour, when thou dost embrace her. 9 She shall give to thine head an ornament of grace: a crown of glory shall she deliver to thee.

It certainly appears that God, through King Solomon, makes it a point to repeat over and over in Proverbs the need for obtaining and applying godly wisdom. How easily we must forget this important aspect of life, otherwise, God would not have seen the need to mention it so often within just one of His books of the Bible, not to mention all the other books of the Bible He saw fit to bring the subject up in (verse 5).

Wisdom, the gathering of godly knowledge, godly understanding, godly insight, learning from your experiences with God, learning about God, His character, His expectations of us, and the application of all of these rolled into one, wisdom, will dramatically change your life for the better if you stick with the practice. Here are just some of the things God has stated in these verses that it will do for you.

Note – All words or phrases found in quotation marks are actual parts of the Hebrew definitions of the word or phrases found in the verses we are examining.

If you continue in that practice mentioned earlier of obtaining godly wisdom and applying godly wisdom and understanding, it will preserve and keep your life. Meaning according to the Hebrew language it will place a “hedge of thrones about” you that will “guard, protect, and attend to” the care and preservation of your life, from the forces without and the forces within that would seek to harm or destroy you (verse 6).

It is easy to understand that godly wisdom applied to a person’s life will enable God’s divine protection from evil forces and the evil actions of other people but understanding how it protects us from ourselves is a bit more difficult to understand.

When we seek, obtain, and apply godly wisdom, and it must be godly wisdom, not the wisdom of the world or man, it instills in us an alarm that sounds via the Holy Spirit when we should “beware” or ‘be circumspect” or “take heed to ourselves” or be cautious to “keep ourselves” on the “narrow path” being ever so careful to “observe” our motives, desires, and actions to ensure we are walking in wisdom. We are required by God to be our own “watchman” with the aide of the Holy Spirit, to see to it that we are walking in the Wisdom of God. To “obey” God and His godly wisdom is to allow Him to “keep” us by His Wisdom. This is what it is to be preserved and kept by wisdom (verse 6).

Verse seven makes it clear that in order to walk in that care and protection a person must make godly wisdom “principal” in their life. For something to be principal means it holds the highest of rank, according to the Hebrew “the first, in place, in time, order or rank – among our firstfruits.” Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary defines principal as, “a matter or thing of primary importance.”

Godly wisdom must take priority over our own ideas, our own desires, our own thoughts about what is best, worldly wisdom, ideas or principles set down by man regardless of how worthy those principles might be, and godly wisdom must take priority regardless of what other people think is best for us. In order for godly wisdom to preserve and keep you properly it must be your number one source of instruction for how you will choose to live your life and make your decisions (verse 7).

Once we have truly embraced godly wisdom and are applying it consistently to our life, we can expect to see the benefits that God has ordained for those who listen to Him and apply His Wisdom. Wisdom will bring promotion and honor to the life that embraces living by its principles (verse 8).

The Hebrew language makes it clear that to be promoted by Wisdom through God is to “rise and be raised in a variety of application both literally and figuratively – to bring up and exalt, to extol honor.” That “honour,” honor that comes from God as a result of applying wisdom will “bring a weighty richness” to life that results in God’s ‘glory being able to shine through your life’(verses 8 and 9).

Application of wisdom results in living a “noble” life where you “prevail” thanks to God’s “ornament of grace” that He has placed upon you because you have chosen to “obey” Him in obtaining and applying godly wisdom (verses 6, 7, 8, and 9).

An “ornament of grace” how splendid! Grace become “attached to” a person who embraces godly wisdom and applies godly wisdom (verse 9).

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.

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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.

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Revival – Church Growth – Move of God – Step 2

In Bible Study, Biblical Principles, Chrisitan Lifestyle, Christian, Christian Living, Church Growth, Holy Spirit, Prophecy, Remnant, Renewal, Repentance, Revival, Rhema Words, Truth, Uncategorized on June 27, 2018 at 8:50 am

As part of our series on Church Growth God has placed it on my heart that we deviate, temporarily for two more week and stick with the topic of “REVIVAL” within the Body of Christ, after which we will return to alternating between the Church Growth and Proverbs postings.

In the introduction to these revival postings I posed the following question. Do you long for revival? If you do not, search your heart and find out why.

An individual who truly loves God, loves God’s people, desires to grow in the knowledge of God, and desires that the Body of Christ continue to grow in the knowledge of God’s Will, God’s Desires, and God’s Purposes will long for the revival of God’s people. There is a hunger to know, ‘What is next God?’

We need to begin to pray for revival in us as individuals, in our congregation, in our spiritual square (community), and in the Body of Christ. We need to pray together, we need to pray openly, and we need anyone and everyone who feels the burden to pray, to pray. Prayer is a mighty force, prayer brings the Will of God into the reality of man.

7 Perfect Verses for American Reform and Revival

The Reforms of Asa  – 2 Chronicles 15:1-7 NKJV

1Now the Spirit of God came upon Azariah the son of Oded. 2And he went out to meet Asa, and said to him: “Hear me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin. The Lord is with you while you are with Him. If you seek Him, He will be found by you; but if you forsake Him, He will forsake you. 3For a long time Israel has been without the true God, without a teaching priest, and without law; 4but when in their trouble they turned to the Lord God of Israel, and sought Him, He was found by them. 5And in those times there was no peace to the one who went out, nor to the one who came in, but great turmoil was on all the inhabitants of the lands. 6So nation was destroyed by nation, and city by city, for God troubled them with every adversity. 7But you, be strong and do not let your hands be weak, for your work shall be rewarded!”

Reform means according to Webster’s Dictionary:

transitive verb

1 a : to put or change into an improved form or condition b : to amend or improve by change of form or removal of faults or abuses

2 : to put an end to (an evil) by enforcing or introducing a better method or course of action

3 : to induce or cause to abandon evil ways

noun

1 : amendment of what is defective, vicious, corrupt, or depraved

2 : a removal or correction of an abuse, a wrong, or errors

American society needs reform, the American church needs some forms of reform. We need to turn back to what God, and what following God, is all about – piety, dedication, commitment – purity of faith.

The following three statements will end each posting, I hunger for your feedback on all three.

Father…

"Complete the reformation."

I want to hear your thoughts on the above statement. What comes to your spirit, your heart, your mind, when you hear the words, “Complete the Reformation” – what does it mean to you?

Son…

Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary defines “revival” in one way as, “restoration of force, validity, or effect (as to a contract).”

That is exactly what God wants to do, restore the force that Christianity once was in America, making it a viable leading force in America again thus restoring its validity, and use that force and validity to effect His change on this Great Nation. God has a contract with every Believer upon which He will not falter. God had, and has, a contract with this Nation, “One Nation Under God” a nation formed under the guidance of God, a contract that He intends to see to it is upheld.

Holy Ghost…

This what I hear God saying to His Body, “Revival will come through a purity of faith.”

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.

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How Do We Make Godly Decisions? – Study of Proverbs 3:21-26 – Cure for Fear

In Advice, Anxiety, Bible, Bible Study, Biblical Principles, Chrisitan Lifestyle, Christian Living, Confusion, Courage, Decision Making, Depression, Discretion, Encouragement, Fear, Godly Counsel, Holy Spirit, Insomnia, Peace, Proverbs, Prudence, Renewal, Trust, Truth, Uncategorized, Wisdom on May 23, 2018 at 6:08 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.

21 My son, let not them depart from thine eyes: keep sound wisdom and discretion: 22 So shall they be life unto thy soul, and grace to thy neck. 23 Then shalt thou walk in thy way safely, and thy foot shall not stumble. 24 When thou liest down, thou shalt not be afraid: yea, thou shalt lie down, and thy sleep shall be sweet. 25 Be not afraid of sudden fear, neither of the desolation of the wicked, when it cometh. 26 For the LORD shall be thy confidence, and shall keep thy foot from being taken.

Cure for Fear

When a person acts with wisdom and discretion consistently in their life fear as less of an opportunity to grip their mind, heart, and soul. Likewise, when an individual conducts their life with an absence of wisdom and discretion fear tends to follow them wherever they go.

Wisdom breds life and is a fountain from which grace lows. Safety is found in the use of godly wisdom. Wisdom will keep a person from making mistakes that lead to failure.

Have trouble sleeping at night, check your heart and life for the use of or absence of the use of wisdom and discretion. When we make poor choices, ungodly choices, during the day, it makes sleep hard to come by at night. However, the opposite is also true. When we use discretion and godly wisdom in how we conduct ourselves during the day, when we lay our heads on our pillows at night we can rest, we can sleep with a peaceful heart and mind.

For those people who honor God with their lives, who are devoted to a life that is committed to Christ and the use of godly wisdom and godly discretion, they need not fear what people might do to them or not do for them, because they have a lion on their side. Verse twenty-five states not to be afraid when “sudden fear” or “the desolation of the wicked” “cometh” our way. Note the Scripture does not say if it comes your way, the verse says, “when it cometh.” There are things that will prompt those feeling of sudden fear in us, there are wicked people in the world who will rise up against us in an attempt ot harm us in some form, but if we are a person given to honoring God with our life and using His wisdom and discretion to conduct our lives, we can have faith, confidence, that God is on our side and is going to protect us.

In the Hebrew language one of the definitions used for the term “shall be thy confidence” is “lion”- imagine God as our lion fully prepared to devour anyone He must in order to protect us. What a thought! Honor God, use wisdom, use discretion, thus allowing God an open door in your life to be your lion.

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.

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Why My Church is NOT Growing – Part 4 – Personal Repentance

In Apostasy, Bible, Bible Study, Biblical Principles, Chrisitan Lifestyle, Christ, Christian Living, Christianity, Encouragement, End Times, Exhortation, God, God's Voice, Godliness, Godly Counsel, Holy Spirit, Jesus, Learning, Persecution, Prayer, Prophecy, Prophet, Prophetess, Remnant, Renewal, Repentance, Revival, Rhema Words, Spiritual Activism, Spiritual Remnant, Spirituality, Truth, Uncategorized, Wisdom on May 2, 2018 at 6:12 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.

To follow the will of God is to prosper; to rebel against the will of God is to be destroyed. – Mencius

Again, this will be challenging but it is what God wants said, THE CHURCH MUST REPENT, which means individuals must personally repent!

Each day when we arise, we make a choice within our spirits regarding whom we will follow. As the days turn to years the choices are many and the reasons for our choices varies but nevertheless they are our choices. Either we will follow our own will, the Will of God, the will of another person, or we will drift aimlessly through our days with no sense of direction or purpose. Whom we chose to follow, as well as choosing not to follow anyone and just drifting through life, affects and effects both other people affects and effects the Body of Christ as a whole.

Much like ripples on a pond our choices are ripples through life, ripples which begin with our personal choices, then reach out to our spouse and/or family members, from there out to our local congregations, next the Body of Christ, and ultimately to the world as a whole multiplying as they go. One wrong or selfish choice can affect the lives of a dozen people or more. Yet, do we look at each choice that way. Do we consider this truth when we are deciding whom we will follow each morning when we open our eyes to greet the new day? We should, and we can.

Joy has slipped from the lives of individual Christians and from the Church as a whole because for too long we have chosen to do things our way instead of choosing to do things God’s Way. We have awakened morning after morning choosing to do our own will, the will of another, or even the will of Satan himself instead of doing the Will of God. That choice day after day has drained the joy from our lives and that draining of joy has extended much like those ripples on a pond, to the entire Body of Christ to some degree. Where we were once excited about fellowship with Jesus and fellowship with each other now we are lifeless and somewhat empty. That can all change.

We as individuals have an option to repent, repent from self-will and once again make God number one in our lives. Our joy can be restored through our repentance. Once our joy is resorted we can begin to see the ripples on the pond extend to our spouse and family, our local congregation, and then to the overall Body of Christ.

We as a group, the Body of Christ, also need to extend that repentance to our local congregations, in respect to how we have done things, how we have neglected people or even mistreated them at times. Then we will begin to feel the impact of that repentance on the overall Body of Christ. Once that has taken place we will begin to see people once again attracted to the Church and attracted to what God has to offer their lives.

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.

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Why My Church is NOT Growing – Part 3 – Church Repentance

In Biblical Principles, Chrisitan Lifestyle, Christian, Christian Living, Christianity, Church Growth, End Times, God's Voice, Holy Spirit, Prophecy, Renewal, Repentance, Revival, Rhema Words, Spiritual Remnant, Truth, Uncategorized on April 18, 2018 at 3:15 pm

I have been waiting on God to ready the message and the messenger.

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.

This will be challenging but it is what God wants said at this time, THE CHURCH MUST REPENT!

The church has so compromised the Principles of God, the Ways of God, the Purposes of God, and the Will of God, that for most God has grown remote and silent. Religion has replaced sincere godly spirituality. Program has replaced the moving of the Holy Spirit.

2 Peter 2:1–3 (NKJV)

But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bring on themselves swift destruction. 2 And many will follow their destructive ways, because of whom the way of truth will be blasphemed. 3 By covetousness they will exploit you with deceptive words; for a long time their judgment has not been idle, and their destruction does not slumber.

The church has treated people, the lost and its own, in such a poor manner that the passion of God, the passion for God has been drained from its walls. A shallowness in love and intimacy sits side by side with cold love and events or programs meant to serve those individuals holding them instead of those individuals in attendance.

Matthew 24:9–12 (NKJV) Jesus speaking

9 “Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake. 10 And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another. 11 Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. 12 And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold.

The church is filled with leaders who are filled with selfish ambition and are ministering to meet their own needs instead of being servant leaders there to meet the needs of a dying world and decaying church. The leaders serve those individuals within their congregations with influence, money, or both often afraid to speak God’s Truth boldly for fear of offending their congregation and losing members. Of these leaders that I speak they are hirelings.

Ephesians 4:11–16 (NKJV)

11 And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, 12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, 13 till 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; 14 that 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, 15 but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ—16 from 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.

John 10:12 (NKJV) – Jesus speaking

12 But a hireling, he who is not the shepherd, one who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees; and the wolf catches the sheep and scatters them.

Philippians 1:15–16 (NKJV)

15 Some indeed preach Christ even from envy and strife, and some also from goodwill: 16 The former preach Christ from selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing to add affliction to my chains;

There is good news however, great news, God is a merciful God who will forgive the church and restore its influence on society if only the church will repent. Revival does not come without repentance. Repentance is the match that lights the flame in the heart to which revival comes. Repent!

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.

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Why My Church is NOT Growing – Part 2 – Motive

In Apostasy, Chrisitan Lifestyle, Christian, Christian Living, Exhortation, God's Voice, Godliness, Holy Spirit, Humanism, Prophecy, Remnant, Renewal, Revival, Rhema Words, Spiritual Activism, Truth, Uncategorized on March 24, 2018 at 2:46 pm

This blog will alternate weekly 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.

Always remember however low you set the bar in life you will come in yet lower, just below that bar; so you might as well set it very high, at least then, you will make it eighty-five percent of the way.

I will start out by making it plain that this blog topic is not meant to tear down The Church but instead to build up The Church through an honest call to repentance and change. If The Church refuses to look honestly at itself then it will not be capable of turning back to what Jesus intended it to be at its conception. An honest appraisal and review will go a long way toward restoring our, meaning the Body of Christ’s, reputation with the world and our own members. Refusal to assess where we are at is a call to march toward death. The Church is hemorrhaging now from its wounds and we must be willing to stop the bleeding in order that we might survive, and even thrive.

That said let me be the first to say as a Child of God, Christian Writer, Christian Spiritual Leader, and fellow member of the Body of Christ; I have made MANY mistakes in my forty plus years of Christian life and service that have reflected poorly on The Church, God, my family, my fellow Christians, and myself. I am the first to say, ‘I have failed many times to live up to Christ’s ideals.’ Yet, my failure to live up to those ideals does not make those ideals, God’s Standards, any less true, any less God’s Principles, or any less the real ideals of our Savior, the Christ, Jesus.

Therefore, since none of us are without sin, without failings, let us approach this issue within the Church and Body of Christ with humility and hold fast to the truth that we are to have mercy over judgment. We are only to use this blog discussion to make us, as the Body of Christ, better not condemn or judge the Body of Christ or any member therein, in an ungodly way. Never forget how much mercy your Heavenly Father has shown you. We as a Body of Believers can discern the truth, face the truth, and tell the truth without crossing that line into condemning or judging. That is all this blog seeks to do and all I want it to exhort others to do. Do you love people? Do you love your fellow brothers and sisters in Christ? I love people so I need to “speak and so do as those who will be judged by the law of liberty.” – James 2:12

The stories and examples given in future blog entries are real accounts which have been witnessed by me, told to me by the person it happened to, happened to me personally, and/or told to me through a third party or anonymously. No names or actual locations will be noted in the examples. Therefore, the privacy or confidentiality of no persons, including myself, will be violated in anyway.

Let this blog discussion be a tool in the hands of the Master Craftsman so that His Church might arise once again and be an example to the society in which they live.

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.

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How Do We Make Godly Decisions? – Study of Proverbs 3:9-10 – Give to God

In Advice, Agape Love, Anxiety, Bible, Bible Study, Biblical Principles, Chrisitan Lifestyle, Christian, Christian Living, Christianity, Confusion, Courage, Decision Making, Encouragement, Exhortation, Fear, Fruits of the Holy Spirit, God, God's Voice, Godliness, Godly Counsel, Holy Spirit, Humanism, Jesus, Learning, Proverbs, Prudence, Renewal, Trust, Truth, Uncategorized, Wisdom on March 18, 2018 at 9:11 am

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

9 Honour the LORD with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase: 10 So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine.

Give to God

The word “honour” in the Hebrew language gives the sense of in good times or bad times, during plenty and during lack, when it is a burden or when it is easy we are to honour God with what we have to give, with “thy substance.”

“and with the firstfruits” in the Hebrew language is defined as follows:

7225. רֵאשִׁית rê˒shı̂yth, ray-sheeth’; from the same as 7218; the first, in place, time, order or rank (spec. a firstfruit):— beginning, chief (-est), first (-fruits, part, time), principal thing.

“of all thine increase” in the Hebrew language is defined as follows:

8393. תְּבוּאָה tebûw˒âh, teb-oo-aw’; from 935; income, i.e. produce (lit. or fig.):— fruit, gain, increase, revenue.

“with plenty” in the Hebrew language is defined as follows:

7647. שָׂבָע sâbâ˓, saw-baw’; from 7646; copiousness:— abundance, plenteous (-ness, -ly).

7646. שָׂבַע sâba˓, saw-bah’; or

שָׂבֵעַ sâbêa˓, saw-bay’-ah; a prim. root; to sate, i.e. fill to satisfaction (lit. or fig.): — have enough, fill (full, self, with), be (to the) full (of), have plenty of, be satiate, satisfy (with), suffice, be weary of.

If you are giving to truly honor God you will be fully satisfied with what you have, you will not crave and want things beyond God’s plan for you. If you are giving to get from God, then you hunger and crave for more and more without finding lasting contentment or satisfaction.

Prosperity, copiousness, is not just about money, it is about quality of life and satisfaction of life.

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.

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How Do We Make Godly Decisions? – Study of Proverbs 3:7-8 – Evil Destroys Health

In Abuse, Advice, Anger, Anxiety, Bible, Bible Study, Biblical Principles, Birth, Chrisitan Lifestyle, Christian, Christian Living, Christianity, Confusion, Decision Making, Depression, Devotional, Discretion, Evil, Exhortation, Fear, Godliness, Godly Counsel, Health, Holy Spirit, Humanism, Illness, Peace, Proverbs, Prudence, Sickness, Truth, Uncategorized, Wisdom on February 9, 2018 at 2:59 pm

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

7 Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil. 8 It shall be health to thy navel, and marrow to thy bones.

Evil Destroys Health

These two verses seem very straight forward. Evil will damage or even destroy your heath, physically, mentally, emotionally, and/or spiritually. However, the verses stand as a warning by giving wise guidance for the cure. The approach of the writer is how to become healthy or recover one’s health not a list of health risk.

To indulge evil is to invite poor health. The person who constantly stays in a state of worry and anxiety instead of casting their concerns on God to take care of ends up with stress related health problems, emotional upheaval, and mental anxieties they can no longer control. The person who overworks themselves ends up with a heart attack. The person who constantly focuses on revenge, vengeance, hurting people, murders, killings, etc. is sure to develop a psychotic personality. The person who does not balance their eating habits but instead indulges excess in the areas of sugar or fat can end up with diabetes. The person who drinks too much, too often, can destroy their liver. The person who uses drugs can damage their heart and liver. A person who only focuses on what is wrong in life to the exclusion of what is good will become depressed, and if that state is continued in long enough will damage the brain chemistry in their mind. The person who smokes can end up with lung cancer. The person who is lazy and never exercises their body can end up with heart problems. A person who continues in habitual sin or anger toward God will slowly but surely spiritually die. The person who eats too much and is obese can develop heart problems or have a heart attack. The list could go on and on, but my point is made.

I am a firm believer that health can be recovered through repentance and change of one’s habits. After all is that not the first think thing a doctor tells someone to do. Stop doings A, B, and C and start doing X, Y, and Z.

The word “health” in the Hebrew language actually means “a cure, to mend (by stitching), cause to heal, repair, × thoroughly, make whole.” Therefore, departing from evil and undertaking God’s godly way[s] of doing things will bring healing to a person’s life.

“to thy navel” in the Hebrew language means “(specifically) the umbilical cord (also figuratively as the center of strength).” The core of our strength is found in departing from evil and instead turning toward God’s Way of living, this brings wholeness and healing to all areas of a person’s life. Therefore, it is wisdom to choose godliness over indulgence, to choose righteous living over sin.

It is not up to us to decide for ourselves what is right or good for us, God has already determined that in His Word. Being wise in our own eyes will end in only what we can accomplish for our health and wellbeing but having enough godly fear and respect for God to do things God’s Way will place us in a state of Divine health 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.

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How Do We Make Godly Decisions? – Study of Proverbs 3:5-6 – Deep Waters of Trust

In Advice, Anxiety, Bible, Bible Study, Biblical Principles, Chrisitan Lifestyle, Christ, Christian, Christian Living, Christianity, Confusion, Courage, Decision Making, Discretion, Encouragement, Exhortation, Fear, Godliness, Godly Counsel, Holy Spirit, Humanism, Learning, Peace, Renewal, Revival, Trust, Truth, Uncategorized, Wisdom on February 2, 2018 at 10:29 am

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

5 Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. 6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

Deep Waters of Trust

Books could and have been written on these two verses. There is so much that I could share about what it means to fully trust God and allow Him to direct your life with His Wisdom and grace. However, I will constrain myself a bit. This will be a long section, but manageable.

First, let us spend a few minutes examining what it really means for God to direct our paths in life. Then we will look at how to obtain that direction from God through trust in Him and acknowledgement of Him. My comments will follow the Hebrew definitions.

If we look into the Hebrew language shall direct, trust, and acknowledge are defined as follows:

“shall direct” =

3474. rv’y: yaÆshar, yaw-shar’; a prim. root; to be straight or even; figuratively to be (cause to make) right, pleasant, prosperous: —) bring (look, make, take the) straight (way), be upright (-ly)

God Himself will make the road we travel in life “straight or even” and we can be assured that we are headed in the right direction in life if He is at the helm of guiding our path. We will know that what we are doing is “right” for us and/or God will “cause to make” our situation right for us. By following God’s Will we can expect both “pleasant” and “prosperous” things in life, but not only pleasant and prosperous things. In following God’s Will we will be living in an “upright” manner and “be upright” in God’s eyes. Most importantly we can know that our purpose in life is being fulfilled by following God’s directions for “the straight way” is the only way in which a Holy God would lead a person.

“Trust” =

982. בָּטַח bâṭach, baw-takh’; a prim. root; prop. to hide for refuge [but not so precipitately as 2620]; fig. to trust, be confident or sure:— be bold (confident, secure, sure), put confidence, (make to) hope, (put, make to) trust.

In order to allow ourselves to be directed in the manner that I described above we must have “trust” in God. Trust in God grows as we mature spiritually. Therefore, do not expect ot trust God today the way you will a decade from now. When we trust God, we are willing “to hide for refuge” in Him when things go wrong or when we are mistreated knowing that He will take care of the situation. To trust God means that we are “confident or sure” that He loves us and that He is directing our paths in the way that is best for us regardless of what we might see at the moment in our circumstances. There is a sense of walking with God that exemplifies that we are “bold, confident, sure, and secure” in what we are doing and the choices we are making because in truth God is making the choices for us, we are just following. Walking like this instills a profound sense of “hope” for life that nothing else can give us.

“acknowledge” =

3045. יָדַע yâda˓, yaw-dah’; a prim. root; to know (prop. to ascertain by seeing); used in a great variety of senses, fig., lit., euphem. and infer. (incl. observation, care, recognition; and caus. instruction, designation, punishment, etc.) [as follow]:— acknowledge, acquaintance (-ted with), advise, answer, appoint, comprehend, consider

In order to walk with God directing our paths this way our trust must be willing to submit aka to “acknowledge” God in everything. People quickly find imbalance and an uneven road before them when they half-heartedly acknowledge God, meaning they acknowledge Him in some areas and follow His directions yet in other areas of their life they do things their way – hence, their life is unbalanced and lacks stability and order. Acknowledgement of God runs deep into every area of our lives and being. We are to “observe” how God works. We are to “care” about what matters to Him, and “recognize” His authority in our lives. We are to submit to His “instructions, designation, punishment” aka authority and correction, where necessary. We are to be “acquainted” with God’s character and ways so that we can recognize when something is not of God but perhaps instead the influence of another or of our own desires. We are to allow God to “advise” us, providing us with the “answer” we need when we have question. We are to allow Him to “appoint” our task and assignments in life, directing all that we are doing. We are to “comprehend and consider” His Will, His desire, and His Purpose for us specifically, as well as for mankind, as we make each choice and decision life.

Acknowledging God in all our ways so He can direct our paths is huge undertaking, but it makes life so restful and fulfilling when we have the wisdom to make this practice a habitual part of our life.

In 2003 God spoke to a congregation, including myself, where I was ministering regarding trust and love. The following is what The Spirit said to the congregation.

“To trust Me is to love Me. No person will trust Me who does not first love Me. Through that love, they come to understand the depth of My trustworthiness. For I am not man – man who is without integrity and honor, I am the Lord your God and I am forever trustworthy. My love for you and your love for Me will seal the leaking areas of insecurity that lead to your lack of trust in Me. Live your life as a life given to Me and My purposes, as well as being walked out in righteous living, and I will take care of you. So, you can put your trust in My faithfulness to you as you live before Me righteously. People suffer at times from lack of righteous living and that causes them harm; then they wonder where I was and why I did not protect them. I cannot protect those who will not listen to Me and follow My counsel. Trust requires, at times, that you do not always get to understand everything; if you did, it would not require trust. To walk with Me in power and mighty requires forsaking some of your human understanding and reasoning, then choosing to trust Me at times when things appear to make no sense. They will all come together in the end and you will see the glory of your Lord. When you are walking with Me in righteousness and trust there is no room in your life for fear. Fear is useless because I will be there to deliver you from the snares; I will be and am your salvation in all things.”

When it comes to trust, you know that you have come to a place of complete trust in an Almighty God when you can pray a prayer like the following from your heart and truly mean it not just say the words.

Heavenly Father,

Take my heart and remake it into what You want it to be. Remove from me each and every desire, idea, motive, plan and longing that is not in line with Your will. I want what You want for me, no matter what that might be. Give me a love for Your desires, ideas, plans and will for me and remove love for anything that does not fit into Your plan. For I know Your plan is far better for my life than anything I could ever understand. Make Your passions for me my passions, make them burn within my heart until that is all I want in life. Make my Spirit agree with your Spirit in all matters. I freely give You my heart now and ask You to begin to purify it and turn it so that I am as excited about Your plan for me as You are. I love You and I trust You with my life, my happiness, my fulfillment and yes, my heart.

I ask it all in the mighty name of Jesus, Amen and Amen!

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.