God's Truth In Love

Posts Tagged ‘Spiritual Remnant’

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The Pesty Moralist – The Prophet / Part 3

In Bible, Biblical Principles, Christian Living, Encouragement, Exhortation, God, God's Voice, Godly Counsel, Holy Spirit, Persecution, Prophecy, Prophet, Prophetess, Remnant, Revival, Rhema Words, Spiritual Activism, Spiritual Activists, Spiritual Remnant, Truth, Uncategorized on July 12, 2014 at 5:00 am

Throughout this series if the solitary word prophet is used it is meant to include both the male prophet and the female prophetess whose roles as mouthpieces for God are interchangeable.

The prophet views injustice differently from most people. To the majority the solitary act of injustice is a slight injustice, this is not so for the prophet. For the prophet injustice, any injustice, is considered a threat to world as a whole and is a catastrophe. When injustice is manifest in falsehood, misery, hypocrisy, or outrage the impatience of the prophet becomes apparent to all who sees or hears him or her because the individual feels fiercely the wrath of God against ungodliness and sin. God hates injustice and the prophet hates injustice – intensely.

For the prophet he or she takes what they say so seriously that from their perspective, their life and soul are at stake due to what is going to happen with what he or she says. Those prophetic utterances are both urging and alarming, they are forcing people onward, and they carry a summons. The prophet’s language is often explosive, glowing, firm, harsh, compassionate, and fused with contradictions. Their apparent contradictions are more paradoxes than actual literal contradictions.

The prophet loves people but with a much deeper love than is common, a form of holy love. Therefore, the prophet is intent on intensifying responsibility, contemptuous of pretense and self-pity, along with being impatient with excuses. Their tone of voice is rarely sweet and caressing but instead it is often both consoling and disturbing. Their words can cut at the heart, sometimes horrify, and often are shocking to people when they expect to be edify through a kinder gentler means. Their mouths are a “sharp sword” they are a “polished arrow” from God (Isaiah 49:2) as they are an agent of Christ.

You may see life as tranquil but the prophet’s eyes see the world reeling in confusion. You may see the here and now the prophet sees a vision of an end. The prophet is human yet hears things others do not hear (the voice of God) and experiences things that defy understanding. The prophet’s words begin to prick where people’s conscience ends and thus they are viewed as someone who assaults the minds of people. The prophet destroys the false images people have erected in their minds. They challenge the religiously holy and religiously revered, exposing pretensions in religion. In so doing their words come across as stern, sour, and stinging yet, behind them is compassion and love for mankind. Why do they do this?

Exhortation is a prophet and prophetess’s prominent theme not mere prediction. Their ability to foretell is a sign of authority, yet his or her essential task is to declare the Word of God in the here and now. Prophets see the world from God’s point of view as transcendent not immanent truth. Their apparent exaggerations are simply a deeper penetration of truth – truth again, from God’s point of view, not the prophet’s. A prophet’s accusations are more easily understood when you evaluate them not through what man views as good but instead through what God views as holy.

I wish to remind the readers that these are not simply my own beliefs this series is a collection of agreed upon beliefs by many respected servants of God, highly versed in this topic.

 

 

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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The Pesty Moralist – The Prophet / Part 2

In Apostasy, Bible, Biblical Principles, Chrisitan Lifestyle, Christian Living, End Times, Exhortation, God, God's Voice, Godliness, Godly Counsel, Jesus, Persecution, Prophecy, Prophet, Prophetess, Remnant, Revival, Rhema Words, Spiritual Activism, Spiritual Activists, Spiritual Remnant, Truth, Uncategorized on July 10, 2014 at 12:25 pm

Throughout this series if the solitary word Prophet is used it is meant to include both the male prophet and the female prophetess whose roles as mouthpieces for God are interchangeable.

For some people discussions can be indifferent intellectual arguments but not for the prophet. This type of attitude actually frightens the prophet because he or she realizes that people may be dying spiritually, mentally, emotionally, or even physically and not even be aware they are dying or at best they are surviving yet refuse to use their god given abilities to the fullest.

To these types of people view, a prophet’s words as onslaughts that dash illusions of false security. The prophet questions their prudence and impartiality. Continually the prophet seems to be a source of challenging evasions upon the life they wish to remain in and enjoy. The prophet seeks to call faith to account.

You cannot understand a prophet unless you attempt to think with a prophet’s mind – with their concerns and their heart. If the prophet’s concerns do not pain us, exalt us, or strike at us, we do not really sense what they are sensing. The prophet starts a message with doom but ends with hope showing the path to redemption.

Prophecy is a construal of a moment in time; it is a divine understanding of a human condition or situation. Prophecy is an explanation, interpretation, or exegesis from the Divine perspective. Prophecy is not only a way of thinking it is a way of living. The prophet has said no to his or her society, condemning its syncretism, postulations, complacency, rebelliousness, and habits.

The prophet is often compelled to proclaim the opposite of what his or her heart expected. The prophet’s basic purpose is to assist reconciliation between man and God. Man needs that reconciliation when man’s false sense of sovereignty, aggressive and extensive pride, along with his abuse of freedom has led him away from 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.

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The Pesty Moralist – The Prophet / Part 1

In Apostasy, Bible, Biblical Principles, Chrisitan Lifestyle, Christian, Christian Living, Christianity, End Times, Exhortation, God, God's Voice, Godliness, Holy Spirit, Jesus, Persecution, Prophecy, Prophet, Prophetess, Remnant, Revival, Rhema Words, Spiritual Activism, Spiritual Activists, Spiritual Remnant, Truth, Uncategorized on July 3, 2014 at 11:00 pm

Throughout this series if the solitary word Prophet is used it is meant to include both the male prophet and the female prophetess whose roles as mouthpieces for God are interchangeable.

Prophets/Prophetesses have been referred to as “the most disturbing people who ever lived.”

They challenge people’s thinking, their ideas, their beliefs, and especially their morality, which makes people extremely uncomfortable. Their boldness, under the power of the Spirit of God, scares people at worst and intimidates them at best. These are the people whose image is our refuse in distress and the people whose voices and visions sustain our faith as God shows through them. They constantly call into question whether or not God’s Standard is being upheld. These qualities disturb people and thus cause people to view them as “the most disturbing people who ever lived.”

The Prophet/Prophetess lives with a form of awareness that he or she possesses facts that have not derived from their own mind. Facts that have come from God Himself through Divine revelation, a means of direct communication from God, which can include but is not limited to Words of Knowledge and Words of Wisdom.

A prophet’s explanation for a situation defies pan-theology and pan-psychology. Their explanation calls upon God-theology and God-psychology to deal with the circumstances in a godly manner based upon the Word of God, whether Logos or Rhema, nothing more and nothing less will do for the prophet.

Prophets are not just prophets they might also be a statesman (political leader), an activist, a poet, a preachers, the social critic, the patriot, or the moralist.

The following are very basic definitions of what a “prophet” and “prophetess” are as found in the Hebrew Language of the Old Testament and the Greek Language of the New Testament.

Prophet –

5030. נָבִיא nâbı̂y˒, naw-bee’; from 5012; a prophet or (gen.) inspired man:— prophecy, that prophesy, prophet.

5012. נָבָא nâbâ˒, naw-baw’; a prim. root; to prophesy, i.e. speak (or sing) by inspiration (in prediction or simple discourse):— prophesy (-ing), make self a prophet.

Prophetess –

4398. προφῆτις prŏphētis, prof-ay´-tis; fem. of 4396; a female foreteller or an inspired woman:— prophetess.

4396. προφήτης prŏphētēs, prof-ay´-tace; from a compound of 4253 and 5346; a foreteller (“prophet”); by anal. an inspired speaker; by extens. a poet:— prophet.

4253. πρό prŏ, prŏ; a primary prep.; “fore”, i.e. in front of, prior (fig. superior) to:— above, ago, before, or ever. In composition it retains the same significations.

5346. φημί phēmi, fay-mee´; prop. the same as the base of 5457 and 5316; to show or make known one’s thoughts, i.e. speak or say:— affirm, say. comp. 3004.

The prophet’s or prophetess’s awareness of God, God’s Will, the mind of God, and the heart of God cannot be fully explained or their consciousness fully comprehended but we can attempt to understand it to some degree. Therefore, the goal through this series will be to try to grasp to some degree what it is like to feel, think, act, and respond as a prophet/prophetess.

 

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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God Wins Once Again

In Advice, Agape Love, Apostasy, Bible, Biblical Principles, Chrisitan Lifestyle, Christian, Christian Living, Christianity, Devotional, Encouragement, End Times, Exhortation, Fruits of the Holy Spirit, God, God's Voice, Godliness, Godly Counsel, Holy Spirit, Jesus, Love, Persecution, Prayer, Prophecy, Prophet, Prophetess, Remnant, Revival, Rhema Words, Spiritual Activism, Spiritual Activists, Spiritual Fruit, Spiritual Remnant, Truth, Uncategorized on June 30, 2014 at 5:25 pm

The Supreme Court justices have ruled and Hobby Lobby’s Green family will not have to comply with Obama Care’s mandate to supply the abortion pill via a company’s insurance plan. The same ruling was given to the Hahn family, kitchen cabinet manufacturers, the owners of Conestoga Wood Specialties.

This is a significant victory for Christians everywhere because the highest court in our land, The United States of America, still says; the laws of the land cannot force you to go against your moral religious convictions.

This ruling was a much-needed victory for Devout Christians everywhere. We praise God for it, here in America!

Thank you for your prayers.

 

 

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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The Pesty Moralist – The Prophet

In Apostasy, Bible, Biblical Principles, Chrisitan Lifestyle, Christian, Christian Living, Christianity, End Times, Exhortation, Fruits of the Holy Spirit, God, God's Voice, Godliness, Godly Counsel, Holy Spirit, Jesus, Persecution, Prophecy, Prophet, Prophetess, Remnant, Revival, Rhema Words, Spiritual Activism, Spiritual Activists, Spiritual Fruit, Spiritual Remnant, Truth, Uncategorized on June 28, 2014 at 9:29 am

Introduction

Recently while combing through what questions would get replies on the blog and in what order I have spotted a disturbing trend. A variety of questions, several of which I will address this week, involve the suppression of or squelching of what is God, what is godly, and what is Truth. The quantity and pace of the injustice and persecution that people, God’s people, are facing is accelerating at an alarming rate, especially here in America where I am located.

It is in reading these questions, emails, articles, watching these new stories and counseling these people that God has grown within me the burning desire to be actively involved in activism on behalf of Jesus’ people. Well hidden from public view, because mainstream mass media does not deem it news worthy, thank God for the Christian press and media, there are lives being affected everyday by a society and a church that are abandoning the principles of and solid dedication to Christ, and the principles of God found in His Word. By the time, most pew warmers who call themselves Christians wake up to what is going on their right to speak of religion outside of their church building may well be gone.

Then there are those who are speaking out, those the world and the apostate church find hard to tolerate because they are not politically correct and tolerate of all things, basing morality upon independent choice. They are the ones who firmly believe true morality is based on the unchangeable Word of God and nothing else. They are the moralists, the prophets, the godly forecasters, the godly foreseers, the godly foretellers, the godly predictors, the godly prognosticators, the godly prophesiers, the godly futurists, the godly seers – regardless of the label you slap on them, they are on the side of God, on the side of holiness and morality, they are the people gifted with more than ordinary spiritual and moral insight. They use that gift of spiritual and moral insight, which comes from God Almighty, to confront the individual, the community, the state, the country, the leaders both spiritual and secular, and the church when any have slid down into the sewer of sin.

These individuals, these prophets and moralists, are on the rise like never before in my lifetime and they are because God knows they are needed and has ordained it so. This is why I have decided once I answer a few of those questions, the back stories of which God used to prompted this action, I am going to spend some time writing about understanding the prophet and their role in society, as well as the Body of Christ.

I have studied behind several people, some of whom were modern prophets, over the course of some twenty years and as there should be, there is consistent collective views of these “prophets” presents by reliable sources I have read and studied. Please know that the thoughts expressed in each part of this series will not be merely my own but will be thoughts expressed and shared by that collective group of people who have spent years in study of this topic and whose views are harmonious in both context and content. I will only share thoughts, beliefs, and views that I personally believe and that have also been views, which I have observed to be a consistent pattern of belief by respected reliable individuals, prophets, and scholars.

The individual writer who seems to have been the most in-depth and objective of them, in my opinion, is Abraham J. Heschel. It seems of those individuals I have read he spent more time pulling together all the views, thoughts, and beliefs many people share, into two bodies of work. I am a firm believer in Jesus and follow Him faithfully. Heschel was a devout Jew. However, on the topic of studying the Ancient Biblical Prophets as well as Modern Prophets, this Rabbi is one of the best – this I must acknowledge and therefore glean what I can from his research, though I might not agree with him on everything and especially on Jesus. Nevertheless, I will use his teachings, which are really just a collective set of beliefs held by most scholars on prophet, as well as most actual prophets, thus I will quote him throughout this series.

Therefore, to familiarize my readers with this scholar, I would like to share some information about Abraham Heschel.

Abraham J. Heschel was an “American rabbi and one of the leading Jewish theologians and Jewish philosophers of the 20th century” according to academia. He went to the University of Berlin, where in 1934 he received his doctorate for a study of the biblical prophets.  His book, “The Prophets” is recognized as a masterpiece of biblical scholarship.

According to an interview Heschel gave, “it is the Bible—particularly the prophets—that provides a primary model for authentic spirituality. Biblical revelation is not a mystical act of seeking God but an awareness of being sought and reached by Him: The prophets bear witness to an event that they formulate in their own words, but the event itself is God’s reaching out.” Heschel believed that prophets do not speak for God so much as they remind their audience of God’s voice for the voiceless, the poor and oppressed. This did not mean that Heschel did not believe prophets spoke on God’s behalf, as God directed, it was meant to direct people’s thoughts to the fact that prophets today are not adding to truth, to the Word of God, they are pointing Truth out, they are directing people to the Word, they are carrying a Standard that they do not believe mankind has a right to escape – as they owe their very existence to God.

Heschel considers Hebrew prophets as receivers of the "Divine Pathos", expression of the wrath and sorrow of God over his nation that has forsaken him. Do we not face that today in our nation, the United States of America, as well as many other nations throughout the world? Have we not as a society forsaken the things of God, the Will of God, and the Ways of God? Has society not abandoned holiness for self and sin?

Heschel though Jewish considered prophets to still exist in modern times. His publisher states, "The standard Jewish view is that prophecy ended with the ancient prophets, somewhere early in the Second Temple era. Heschel demonstrated that this view is not altogether accurate. Belief in the possibility of continued prophetic inspiration, and in its actual occurrence appear throughout much of the medieval period, and even in modern times.”

 

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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Questions

In Advice, Agape Love, Apostasy, Bible, Biblical Principles, Chrisitan Lifestyle, Christian, Christian Living, Christianity, Devotional, Encouragement, End Times, Exhortation, Fruits of the Holy Spirit, God, God's Voice, Godliness, Godly Counsel, Holy Spirit, Jesus, Love, Persecution, Prayer, Prophecy, Prophet, Prophetess, Remnant, Revival, Rhema Words, Spiritual Activism, Spiritual Activists, Spiritual Fruit, Spiritual Remnant, Truth, Uncategorized on June 26, 2014 at 5:00 pm

I still have quite a large number of questions that center around biblical clarification and theology. I am organizing those questions according to topic, as their topics would apply, from Genesis to Revelation. Unless the Lord Jesus leads me in another direction I will come back to these questions and begin answering them after I finish the series titled, “The Pesty Moralist – The Prophet” the introduction of which will be reposted in the next few days.

Questions of a more personal nature that require a quicker answer will be answered via direct email, as they have been previously.

 

Regarding worldviews:

Secular sources – self-help, advice, mass media – some of these resources can be useful in obtaining knowledge about what is going on in our world but they are not credible sources for a Believer when it comes to establishing beliefs, opinions, and directives for life. The gap between the two foundational platforms (biblical vs. secular) is too vast at this point in our present day society to bring reconciliation between the two. A Believer should seek out Christian lifestyle training, godly counsel, and Christian forms of mass media using those to shape their approach to life.

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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Hobby Lobby

In Advice, Agape Love, Apostasy, Bible, Biblical Principles, Chrisitan Lifestyle, Christian, Christian Living, Christianity, Devotional, Encouragement, End Times, Exhortation, Fruits of the Holy Spirit, God, God's Voice, Godliness, Godly Counsel, Holy Spirit, Jesus, Love, Persecution, Prayer, Prophecy, Prophet, Prophetess, Remnant, Revival, Rhema Words, Spiritual Activism, Spiritual Activists, Spiritual Fruit, Spiritual Remnant, Truth, Uncategorized on June 23, 2014 at 10:40 am

Everyone please pray.  The Supreme Court is hearing Hobby Lobby’s case today.  Then the justices will be considering the case in the days to come. Please pray.

This company has set a superlative example of how Christians should interact with the world in a godly manner that is also professionalism at its best when it comes to conducting business with the unsaved and the world in general. The Green family has fought hard to retain their ability to live out their faith and do business with the world – this decision will be extremely important to Religious Freedoms in America.

http://www.hobbylobbycase.com/

 

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/wp/2014/03/24/heres-what-you-need-to-know-about-the-hobby-lobby-case/

Again, please pray.

 

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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The Pesty Moralist – The Prophet

In God, God's Voice, Godliness, Holy Spirit, Jesus, Persecution, Prophecy, Prophet, Prophetess, Remnant, Revival, Rhema Words, Spiritual Activism, Spiritual Activists, Spiritual Remnant, Truth on June 19, 2014 at 8:26 am

Introduction

Recently while combing through what questions would get replies on the blog and in what order I have spotted a disturbing trend. A variety of questions, several of which I will address this week, involve the suppression of or squelching of what is God, what is godly, and what is Truth. The quantity and pace of the injustice and persecution that people, God’s people, are facing is accelerating at an alarming rate, especially here in America where I am located.

It is in reading these questions, emails, articles, watching these new stories and counseling these people that God has grown within me the burning desire to be actively involved in activism on behalf of Jesus’ people. Well hidden from public view, because mainstream mass media does not deem it news worthy, thank God for the Christian press and media, there are lives being affected everyday by a society and a church that are abandoning the principles of and solid dedication to Christ, and the principles of God found in His Word. By the time, most pew warmers who call themselves Christians wake up to what is going on their right to speak of religion outside of their church building may well be gone.

Then there are those who are speaking out, those the world and the apostate church find hard to tolerate because they are not politically correct and tolerate of all things, basing morality upon independent choice. They are the ones who firmly believe true morality is based on the unchangeable Word of God and nothing else. They are the moralists, the prophets, the godly forecasters, the godly foreseers, the godly foretellers, the godly predictors, the godly prognosticators, the godly prophesiers, the godly futurists, the godly seers – regardless of the label you slap on them, they are on the side of God, on the side of holiness and morality, they are the people gifted with more than ordinary spiritual and moral insight. They use that gift of spiritual and moral insight, which comes from God Almighty, to confront the individual, the community, the state, the country, the leaders both spiritual and secular, and the church when any have slid down into the sewer of sin.

These individuals, these prophets and moralists, are on the rise like never before in my lifetime and they are because God knows they are needed and has ordained it so. This is why I have decided once I answer a few of those questions, the back stories of which God used to prompted this action, I am going to spend some time writing about understanding the prophet and their role in society, as well as the Body of Christ.

I have studied behind several people, some of whom were modern prophets, over the course of some twenty years and as there should be, there is consistent collective views of these “prophets” presents by reliable sources I have read and studied. Please know that the thoughts expressed in each part of this series will not be merely my own but will be thoughts expressed and shared by that collective group of people who have spent years in study of this topic and whose views are harmonious in both context and content. I will only share thoughts, beliefs, and views that I personally believe and that have also been views, which I have observed to be a consistent pattern of belief by respected reliable individuals, prophets, and scholars.

The individual writer who seems to have been the most in-depth and objective of them, in my opinion, is Abraham J. Heschel. It seems of those individuals I have read he spent more time pulling together all the views, thoughts, and beliefs many people share, into two bodies of work. I am a firm believer in Jesus and follow Him faithfully. Heschel was a devote Jew. However, on the topic of studying the Ancient Biblical Prophets as well as Modern Prophets, this Rabbi is one of the best – this I must acknowledge and therefore glean what I can from his research, though I might not agree with him on everything and especially on Jesus. Nevertheless, I will use his teachings, which are really just a collective set of beliefs held by most scholars on prophet, as well as most actual prophets, thus I will quote him throughout this series.

Therefore, to familiarize my readers with this scholar, I would like to share some information about Abraham Heschel.

Abraham J. Heschel was an “American rabbi and one of the leading Jewish theologians and Jewish philosophers of the 20th century” according to academia. He went to the University of Berlin, where in 1934 he received his doctorate for a study of the biblical prophets.  His book, “The Prophets” is recognized as a masterpiece of biblical scholarship.

According to an interview Heschel gave, “it is the Bible—particularly the prophets—that provides a primary model for authentic spirituality. Biblical revelation is not a mystical act of seeking God but an awareness of being sought and reached by Him: The prophets bear witness to an event that they formulate in their own words, but the event itself is God’s reaching out.” Heschel believed that prophets do not speak for God so much as they remind their audience of God’s voice for the voiceless, the poor and oppressed. This did not mean that Heschel did not believe prophets spoke on God’s behalf, as God directed, it was meant to direct people’s thoughts to the fact that prophets today are not adding to truth, to the Word of God, they are pointing Truth out, they are directing people to the Word, they are carrying a Standard that they do not believe mankind has a right to escape – as they owe their very existence to God.

Heschel considers Hebrew prophets as receivers of the "Divine Pathos", expression of the wrath and sorrow of God over his nation that has forsaken him. Do we not face that today in our nation, the United States of America, as well as many other nations throughout the world? Have we not as a society forsaken the things of God, the Will of God, and the Ways of God? Has society not abandoned holiness for self and sin?

Heschel though Jewish considered prophets to still exist in modern times. His publisher states, "The standard Jewish view is that prophecy ended with the ancient prophets, somewhere early in the Second Temple era. Heschel demonstrated that this view is not altogether accurate. Belief in the possibility of continued prophetic inspiration, and in its actual occurrence appear throughout much of the medieval period, and even in modern times.”

I will post this introduction again, once the questions are answered, and just before part one of this series.

 

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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Faith and Freedom

In Advice, Apostasy, Bible, Biblical Principles, Chrisitan Lifestyle, Christian, Christian Living, Christianity, Devotional, Encouragement, End Times, Exhortation, God, God's Voice, Godliness, Godly Counsel, Holy Spirit, Jesus, Love, Persecution, Prophecy, Prophet, Prophetess, Remnant, Revival, Rhema Words, Spiritual Activism, Spiritual Activists, Spiritual Remnant, Truth, Uncategorized on April 18, 2014 at 6:37 pm

Alliance Defending Freedom Online Town Hall

 

Living out Your Faith in an Increasingly Hostile Culture

 

http://www.alliancedefendingfreedom.org/home/detail/8962

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Fruit or Vegetable Series ~ Part Sixteen – Self-control/Temperance

In Agape Love, Apostasy, Bible, Biblical Principles, Chrisitan Lifestyle, Christian, Christian Living, Christianity, Devotional, Encouragement, End Times, Exhortation, Fruits of the Holy Spirit, God, God's Voice, Godliness, Holy Spirit, Jesus, Love, Persecution, Prophecy, Prophet, Prophetess, Remnant, Revival, Rhema Words, Spiritual Activism, Spiritual Activists, Spiritual Fruit, Spiritual Remnant, Truth, Uncategorized on April 7, 2014 at 6:12 pm

Monday, April 07, 2014

In this segment, we will look at the virtue of “self-control” and “temperance” which is an aspect of the fruit of the Spirit. What we will examine is godly temperance and godly self-control not the worldly version of self-control or self-discipline. When self-discipline is applied in a worldly setting, it commonly has the undertones of refining oneself into a self-god. Self-discipline is mainly applied to accomplish ones own goals or remake oneself in one’s own desired image. Godly self-control is about walking out the steps necessary for God to manifest His Will in your life. Temperance is about bringing balance and simplicity to life through bringing all things into subjection under the Will of God for your life. Though the differences may appear slight, the attitudes and motives behind the differences vary vastly.

What does it mean to be in subjection to God’s Will? Subjection per Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary means, “to make (as oneself) amenable to the discipline and control of a superior.” In order to come under God’s Will, and stay under God’s Will, a person must make any number of choices daily that places his or her will aside and chooses God’s Will instead. When we make those choices, we are exhibiting the virtues of the fruit of Spirit known as godly self-control and temperance.

Galatians 5:22–23 (NKJV)

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness [KJV – gentleness], goodness, faithfulness [KJV – faith], 23 gentleness [KJV – Meekness], self-control [KJV – temperance].

As stated previously in earlier writings, the word or term used in the King James Version of the Bible is the word needed in order to look up the exact meaning of said word in the Greek or Hebrew language. When researching biblical words one must always go back through the KJV 1611 Bible. Therefore, whereas the NKJV uses the word self-control the KJV uses the word temperance in this verse. The definition in the Greek Language for the word “temperance” used in Galatians 5:23 is as follows.

“temperance”

1466. ἐγκράτεια ĕgkratĕia, eng-krat´-i-ah; from 1468; self-control (espec. continence):— temperance.

1468. ἐγκρατής ĕgkratēs, eng-krat-ace´; from 1722 and 2904; strong in a thing (masterful), i.e. (fig. and refl.) self-controlled (in appetite, etc.):— temperate.

2904. κράτος kratŏs, krat´-os; perh. a primary word; vigor [“great”] (lit. or fig.):— dominion, might [-ily], power, strength.

Note: Continence has to do with sexual appetite and desires.

Let me make a distinction here. Self-control and temperance are not exactly the same things. They would affect, or effect, two different areas of a Believers life. Temperance will bring about a form of habitual moderation, which will spread over the entirety of the individual lifestyle. Self-control will deal with bringing control to a person actions, emotions and impulses. God uses the one, temperance, to allow God’s character to be walked out in a person over the course of a lifetime in every area of life. God uses the other, self-control, to break the bondages, bring order, and give victory to the individual in areas where their life does not exhibit godliness and could even be out of control.

For the reasons explained in the previous paragraph, I believe the change in Bible translations that brought about the use of the word “self-control” in place of the use of the word “temperance” has damaged the overall meaning God intended for this verse. This change, like so many others, has to do with the societal vices of our day and society’s attitudes toward excess. Habitual moderation in all things is extremely unpopular among the world and carnal Christians.

I also want to touch on another point very lightly. Temperance is connected to having “a sound mind” as described in 2 Timothy 1:7. Having study the various aspect of the mental health profession for many years, I can tell you that in almost all psychological problems an imbalance in behavior or thinking is present and is a factor in the cause of the problem. Just review in your mind the symptoms of most disorders and you will find a pattern of imbalanced behavior and/or thinking. Balance brings order to a person’s life, mind, and relationships. Extremes and excess bring disorder and destruction.

For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. – 2 Timothy 1:7

The definition in the Greek Language for the term “of a sound mind” is as follows.

“of a sound mind” =

4995. from 4994; discipline, i.e. self-control:— sound mind.

4994. from 4998; to make of sound mind, i.e. (fig.) to discipline or correct:— teach to be sober.

4998. from the base of 4982 and that of 5424; safe (sound) in mind, i.e. self-controlled (moderate as to opinion or passion):— discreet, sober, temperate.

4982. “safe”); to save, i.e. deliver or protect (lit. or fig.):— heal, preserve, save (self), do well, be (make) whole.

5424. (to rein in or curb; comp. 5420); the midrif (as a partition of the body), i.e. (fig. and by impl. of sympathy) the feelings (or sensitive nature; by extens. [also in the plur.] the mind or cognitive faculties):— understanding.

5420. apparently a strengthening form of the base of 5424; to fence or inclose, i.e. (spec.) to block up (fig. to silence):— stop.

Note: “moderate as to opinion” is not inclusive of, nor an excuse for, compromising or watering down God’s Word.

Here are some examples of how we might express godly self-control/temperance toward God, self, and others as well as through service.* When we practice temperance in our daily schedule, we do not become too busy to spend a bit of time in solitude with God each day. We exhibit self-control and temperance toward ourselves by exercising regularly, getting enough sleep, balancing our work and recreation, and not eating to excess. By deferring to other people’s desires and wishes in a balanced way, where the relationship benefits both parties, a person is showing temperance. Not allowing your Christian service to place you in a position where are too busy for quiet time with God or too busy for your spouse and friends is an act of using temperance, and through being balanced the quality of what you give to those you serve will honor God.

“the more holy the life the more mysterious it becomes by its apparent simplicity and littleness.”

Rev. Jean-Pierre De Caussade S.J.

*I have a question for all of you. I have written this series from a template I set up at the beginning of the series. That template included the following sentence. “Here are some examples of how we might express godly ________________ toward God, self, and others as well as through service?” Does anyone see a problem? The question mark is the problem. This is not a question it is a statement. All of you let me write this entire series and never once mentioned I had misused a question mark. Now I know several of you are writers yourself, others teachers, pastors, psychologists, etc. I guess that since it took me until the end of the series to catch the typo myself, then perhaps, most of you have suffered from word blindness and like me just placed a period there instead. Like I often say, thank goodness for proofreaders. Although I am not interested in hearing about every little typo, in the future, if you see me repeating the same mistake over the course of several postings please send me a comment or note and let me know. I would be grateful. As a Christian Community, are we not suppose to be our brother’s keeper? We are all supposed to be helping one another to be better, to do better, and not to inappropriately use question marks.

I hope you all have enjoyed the series. This concludes the Fruit or Vegetable Series and I will be undertaking your questions with my next posting. I have quite a few questions and I am currently sorting though how to tackle them. Questions I currently have, or that come in, which I consider high priority will be, answered a soon as possible. Other questions, I may just put in order by what book of the Bible they might apply to or if the topic has particular relevance in society at the time.

 

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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Thoughts and Answers

In Agape Love, Apostasy, Bible, Biblical Principles, Chrisitan Lifestyle, Christian, Christian Living, Christianity, Devotional, Encouragement, End Times, Exhortation, Fruits of the Holy Spirit, God, God's Voice, Godliness, Holy Spirit, Jesus, Love, Persecution, Prophecy, Prophet, Prophetess, Remnant, Revival, Rhema Words, Spiritual Activism, Spiritual Activists, Spiritual Fruit, Spiritual Remnant, Truth, Uncategorized on April 3, 2014 at 9:25 am

Thursday, April 03, 2014

Here are a few thoughts, pebbles of wisdom that will provide the answers to many questions, which have come up as of late. I realize these appear to be only one or two sentence answers to questions, which for many people are profoundly life changing, but I assure you often the answers in life are truly simply but accepting them and applying them can be extremely difficult.

If you are not confident that God loves you then you will never truly be able to love beyond yourself, with godly love.

A life void of individuals who will tell you the truth is a life lived like a masquerade party; no one ever knows what is behind the mask.

You cannot give away what you yourself do not acquire, apply, and cling too consistently.

It is better to feed a few spiritual thirsty Devoted Followers well than to pour yourself out on religiously dry bones found among the masses. Keep in mind Jesus’ core group consisted of twelve.

What is done over the course of a lifetime is what matters; you cannot live off one huge victory/success nor should you allow one huge failure/mistake to define your life.

The holiness of a Devoted Believer’s life should be both disturbing and soothing to non-believers.

 

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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Fruit or Vegetable Series ~ Part Fifteen – Gentleness/Meekness

In Agape Love, Apostasy, Bible, Biblical Principles, Chrisitan Lifestyle, Christian, Christian Living, Christianity, Devotional, Encouragement, End Times, Exhortation, Fruits of the Holy Spirit, God, God's Voice, Godliness, Holy Spirit, Jesus, Love, Persecution, Prophecy, Prophet, Prophetess, Remnant, Revival, Rhema Words, Spiritual Activism, Spiritual Activists, Spiritual Fruit, Spiritual Remnant, Truth, Uncategorized on March 28, 2014 at 5:06 pm

Friday, March 28, 2014

In this segment, we will look at the virtue of “gentleness/meekness” which is an aspect of the fruit of the Spirit. What we will examine is godly gentleness/meekness not worldly apathy and passivity. Gentleness/Meekness, like many of the virtues found in the fruit of the Spirit, is both and inner and outer quality. A person can appear to be very meek and humble on the outside but on the inside, they sit with a constant sense of superiority rarely vocalizing the inner judgments they feel and the mental tearing to shreds of the people around them they participate in, all the while veining a mask of false modesty and false gentleness.

Galatians 5:22–23 (NKJV)

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness [KJV – gentleness], goodness, faithfulness [KJV – faith], 23 gentleness [KJV – Meekness], self-control [KJV – temperance].

As stated previously in earlier writings, the word or term used in the King James Version of the Bible is the word needed in order to look up the exact meaning of said word in the Greek or Hebrew language. When researching biblical words one must always go back through the KJV 1611 Bible. Therefore, whereas the NKJV uses the word gentleness the KJV uses the word meekness in this verse. The definition in the Greek Language for the word “meekness” used in Galatians 5:23 is as follows.

“meekness”

4236. πρᾳότης praiŏtēs, prah-ot´-ace; from 4235; gentleness, by impl. humility:— meekness.

4235. πρᾷος praiŏs, prah´-os; a form of 4239, used in certain parts; gentle, i.e. humble:— meek.

Just as we should not misinterpret apathy, passivity, or false modesty as true godly meekness we must not misinterpret holy boldness and godly confidence as a lack of inner or outer gentleness and meekness. Just as individuals have their own temperament, the fruit of the Spirit is exhibited through that temperament in a way specific to that particular temperament. We are not all cut from the same mold but we are created in the same likeness, the likeness of our Creator, the Almighty God.

Humility is very much a part of meekness. If we cannot evaluate ourselves accurately, which is what true humility is, then we cannot be gentle or meek when we relate to others. A person who exercises true humility recognizes both their strengths and their weaknesses, understanding their capabilities and their limitations; essentially, they understand who and how God created them to be.

Here are some examples of how we might express godly gentleness/meekness toward God, self, and others as well as through service? With God, we exercise the greatest form of meekness when we subject ourselves to His Will, showing reverential fear for Him, and change in the areas in which He desires us to change. “God will hear, and afflict them, Even He who abides from of old. Selah Because they do not change, Therefore they do not fear God.” Psalm 55:19 (NKJV) By understand and accepting ourselves as God created us we show the greatest amount of gentleness we can ever show to ourselves. People’s continual struggle with who they are, how they look, etc. is ultimately their greatest source of pain and the prison in which others can lock them. Choosing to deal with a sincerely distressed person, not an attention seeker, with gentleness and meekness shows them we love them. Giving time to, and showing care for, those individuals the world deems all put worthless and who are often overlook, is meekness found in the form of humility and gentleness; a great act of service for people who often have no way of repaying your kindness.

Meekness and gentleness is not a form of weakness. On the contrary, it is the exact opposite for it takes great personal inner strength to be gentle and meek. Jesus was our example of the highest form of meekness and gentleness.

 

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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Fruit or Vegetable Series ~ Part Fourteen – Faithfulness/Faith

In Agape Love, Apostasy, Bible, Biblical Principles, Chrisitan Lifestyle, Christian, Christian Living, Christianity, Devotional, Encouragement, End Times, Exhortation, Fruits of the Holy Spirit, God, God's Voice, Godliness, Holy Spirit, Jesus, Love, Persecution, Prophecy, Prophet, Prophetess, Remnant, Revival, Rhema Words, Spiritual Activism, Spiritual Activists, Spiritual Fruit, Spiritual Remnant, Truth, Uncategorized on March 22, 2014 at 6:51 pm

Saturday, March 22, 2014

This part of the Fruit and Vegetable Series will be the most important part by far. The virtue of faith and/or faithfulness is without a doubt the aspect of the fruit of the Spirit that will impact the life of a Believer the most and leave the most lasting results, either positive or negative upon their life.

As we will look at the virtue of “faithfulness/faith”, what we will examine is godly faithfulness and faith not a worldly concept of dedication and positive thinking. Often the world and religious legalism are dedicated to a project or practice because it makes them look good or feel good about themselves. These practices and projects are not things done out of faithfulness to God and faith in what God has ordained.

Immediately I need to bring clarity to difference between faith and faithfulness and why they cannot be separated spiritually. Faith is about what we believe. Faithfulness is about what we do. What we believe will directly impact what we do. What we do and do not do will directly impact our faith. If we do not believe we will not act and if we do not act our ability to believe will never grow, thus, deeper faith will be allowed to develop. Some people believe what they choose, others believe what they know; the latter is faith. Any aspect of the fruit of the Spirit, along with all faith, originates with God but once originated God allows us to choose what we will do with that faith.

Galatians 5:22–23 (NKJV)

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness [KJV – gentleness], goodness, faithfulness [KJV – faith], 23 gentleness [KJV – Meekness], self-control [KJV – temperance].

As stated previously in earlier writings, the word or term used in the King James Version of the Bible is the word needed in order to look up the exact meaning of said word in the Greek or Hebrew language. When researching biblical words one must always go back through the KJV 1611 Bible. Therefore, whereas the NKJV uses the word faithfulness the KJV uses the word faith in this verse. The definition in the Greek Language for the word “faith” used in Galatians 5:22 is as follows.

“faith”

4102. πίστις pistis, pis´-tis; from 3982; persuasion, i.e. credence; mor. conviction (of relig. truth, or the truthfulness of God or a relig. teacher), espec. reliance upon Christ for salvation; abstr. constancy in such profession; by extension, the system of religious (Gospel) truth itself:— assurance, belief, believe, faith, fidelity.

3982. πείθω pĕithō, pi´-tho; a primary verb; to convince (by argument, true or false); by anal. to pacify or conciliate (by other fair means); refl. or pass. to assent (to evidence or authority), to rely (by inward certainty):— agree, assure, believe, have confidence, be (wax) confident, make friend, obey, persuade, trust, yield.

You cannot separate faith and obedience of which faithfulness is a part. Faith and obedience are kind of like two sides of one coin. Noah believed God and built an ark. Abraham trusted God and went. In order to have such faith one must be willing to grow their faith through faithfulness and the testing of that faith/faithfulness.

In order for a person to walk in faith, they must walk in Divine protection. Authentic godliness rather than religiousness is our best defense against Satan’s seductions and attacks. One’s godliness must be tested if they, or anyone else, are to know the depths of their faith. There is a peace that comes from walking in godliness and faith, and then there is the peace with which Satan seduces people.

Satan’s false peace is a peace that comes not from overcoming in a godly way but instead is produced from the evasion of apathy and deadness into ones faith that leaves them lethargic, numb and sleeping in the light – faith is decaying or all but dead in individuals who experience this form of peace. They are spiritually lifeless people with little or no passion in life, drones living off of the faith of those around them. Again, testing the spirits of people exposes these individuals and the depth of their faith.

I do not know a godly spiritual leader who has not had their faith and faithfulness tested, otherwise they would not have been found ready to be a leader. Testing of one’s faith is a tough and often painful process but absolutely necessary. The Bible is filled with examples of tested faith. Jesus did not sweat blood in the garden because He was breezing through His assignment. He struggled, He sought another path, and then He obeyed. He lost everyone and went to the cross alone. Most of the prophets and apostles struggled alone with their faith and the resulting persecution.

Why alone? Dejected identity – rejection causes people to loss heart – test the depth of someone’s faith by putting them in a position of rejection and see how they respond. This will tell you a great deal about their faith and faithfulness. You will quickly discover who cares enough to fight for what they said they believed in, their desires, their beliefs, their relationships, their godly passions and purpose, etc. or do they fall into self-pity and respond with no action, or even worse, they pull back or turn back. Faith not worth acting on is not much faith. Faithfulness that cannot overcome a few roadblocks is not a characteristic that is rooted very deeply in a person.

There is a Jewish practice, which is also used by Christian Spiritual Leader to test people’s faith and faithfulness before giving them a place of leadership and authority, as the novice Believer should not be a leader. 1 Timothy 3:6 (NKJV) not a novice, lest being puffed up with pride he fall into the same condemnation as the devil. This practice is typically reserved for proselytes and is meant to detect godly faith in Truths verses intellectual ascent to Truths. The practice has its roots in Scripture and was done many times. Essentially the practice is to reject or rebuff a proselyte (new convert) three times, in varying degrees of severity, both to see if he or she is sincere in their faith and faithfulness and to show him or her that it is hard to be a Devoted Follower and live a life of faith and faithfulness to God. How the individual responds tells the Spiritual Leader what they need to know about the person’s preparedness, commitment, faith, and faithfulness.

Here are some examples of how we might express godly faithfulness/faith toward God, self, and others as well as through service? By trusting in God and obeying His directives, we show Him our faith as well as our faithfulness to Him and His purpose for us. We express godly faith/faithfulness toward ourselves when daily, in our private lives, we follow the personal directives we have been given by God based on His priorities for our life. Our faith and faithfulness shows to people as we continue in our commitment to them and our commitment to godly covenants, such as marriage. By being there for people, time after time despite the hardships, we show them our faith and faithfulness through the act of service to them.

Faith in the faithfulness of an Unchanging God is something that is developed to a greater and greater degree as each year passes and you continue in faith and faithfulness. It can grow to the degree that there is almost nothing you do not believe can happen, or you can do, if God tells you it is going to happen or you must get it done. That is a glorious day! That makes for a glorious life!

People complain about never getting a chance in life, yet, they never take any risk in life. The difference between people who make a difference in society, their world, their community, their Christian Fellowship, who stand for something, and who fulfill their godly purpose in life and those who never do hinges greatly on their faith and their faithfulness.

 

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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Updates – Name and Questions

In Agape Love, Apostasy, Bible, Biblical Principles, Chrisitan Lifestyle, Christian, Christian Living, Christianity, Devotional, Encouragement, End Times, Exhortation, Fruits of the Holy Spirit, God, God's Voice, Godliness, Holy Spirit, Jesus, Love, Persecution, Prophecy, Prophet, Prophetess, Remnant, Revival, Rhema Words, Spiritual Activism, Spiritual Activists, Spiritual Fruit, Spiritual Remnant, Truth, Uncategorized on March 22, 2014 at 1:14 pm

Saturday, March 22, 2014

I wanted to take a few moments and post a couple of information updates before releasing the next posting in the Fruit and Vegetable Series on faith and faithfulness.

The other night I went to a movie called, God’s Not Dead and I highly recommend it to anyone who loves Jesus, the TRUE Christians, the Spiritual Remnant of God, and especially those that can see that Christian Liberties are being stripped away in America.

God’s Not Dead

http://godsnotdeadthemovie.com/

At the end of this movie, they listed a website, which I did not recognize and that surprised me so I investigated. I learned something I had not realized and want to pass the information along to any of you who might not know yet. The long cherished Christian advocacy organization, which the former head of International Christian Media helped establish years ago is no longer the Alliance Defense Fund, the organization changed its name to Alliance Defending Freedom. They are still affiliated with all their ministries, doing the same powerful work, and still providing their Christian Allied Attorneys to those in need; all that has really changed is the name, but what a change.

In my view, the name is more aptly applicable today in our oppressive society where government and secular mass media are rapidly becoming so generalized and socialistic that only empty generic religion will be tolerated and having true godly principles that you voice and/or stand up for is becoming a crime, socially and legally. From what I can surmise, in part, the name change was a desire to make a stronger statement about their intent to defend Christian liberties and the right to free speech as well as freedom of religion in the United States.

On another note.

Whereas there are many questions that need to be addressed and answered via the blog, I would like to finish the current series before addressing any more questions. Questions are emerging from secondary sources outside of blog subscribers, therefore, I am going to open the blog up so questions can be sent directly though the “comment” link at the end of each posting on the main page. As always, you have my assurance questions will be handled in a generic fashion and the privacy of the individual asking the question will continue to be honored, as it always has been. Questions can also be submitted anonymously via the “comment” link.

Please continue to send your questions and comments and I will get back to you as soon as possible.

 

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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Fruit or Vegetable Series ~ ~ Part Thirteen – Goodness

In Agape Love, Apostasy, Bible, Biblical Principles, Chrisitan Lifestyle, Christian, Christian Living, Christianity, Devotional, Encouragement, End Times, Exhortation, Fruits of the Holy Spirit, God, God's Voice, Godliness, Holy Spirit, Jesus, Love, Persecution, Prophecy, Prophet, Prophetess, Remnant, Revival, Rhema Words, Spiritual Activism, Spiritual Activists, Spiritual Fruit, Spiritual Remnant, Truth, Uncategorized on March 8, 2014 at 10:00 am

Saturday, March 08, 2014

In this segment, we will look at the virtue of “goodness” which is an aspect of the fruit of the Spirit. What we will examine is godly goodness not a worldly concept of doing good. People will often do good in order to get the praise of man in the form of applause, being thought well of, their name on a building or listed in a program, etc. Things done with this type of motive are not things done out of a godly heart that just wishes to please God and bless others.

Galatians 5:22–23 (NKJV)

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness [KJV – gentleness], goodness, faithfulness [KJV – faith], 23 gentleness [KJV – Meekness], self-control [KJV – temperance].

The definition in the Greek Language for the word “goodness” used in Galatians 5:22 is as follows.

19. ἀγαθωσύνη agathōsunē, ag-ath-o-soo´-nay; from 18; goodness, i.e. virtue or beneficence:— goodness.

18. ἀγαθός agathŏs, ag-ath-os´; a prim. word; “good” (in any sense, often as noun):— benefit, good (-s, things), well. comp. 2570.

When we decide to be given to benevolence, the walking out of goodness, it should be because it is something that God has instructed us to do and for no other reason. Any alms, benefaction, acts of kindness, or contribution we make to another person’s life should only come from a heart willing to do as God desires them to do, for goodness is born out of virtue and virtue produces benevolence toward others. Goodness towards others can take many different forms from giving a friend the $1,000.00 they desperately need, no strings attached, to buying a stranger a hamburger and everything in-between.

Here are some examples of how we might express godly goodness toward God, self, and others as well as through service? We express goodness toward God when we are willing to sacrifice what we want in order to contribute to what He wants us to do, for we are contributing our time and money to His cause, not our own. By taking the time to care of ourselves with proper rest, food, and exercise we are showing ourselves goodness, for all three benefit our lives. When we go clean the house of a sick friend, we are showing goodness to them. That phone call we make to another who has lost a loved one to death is showing goodness to them in a society where to pick up the phone and actually talk to another person takes too much of people’s precious time, so they text for convince. Preparing meals for those who are overloaded with stress, sickness, or grief can be a tremendous act of service exemplifying the virtue of goodness.

If you are spreading goodness to others as an act of agape love for people and an even deeper love for Christ then you are acting with godly goodness. If you are doing good toward another in order to score points with them or God then you have your reward for you are acting out of worldly motives.

 

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.