fearnot
Living With Pain
Posts: 7,659
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Post by fearnot on Jul 15, 2020 13:36:30 GMT -5
As always your words are so helpful But I really had to stop and think almost at the start of what you wrote
:If anyone can speak to others about the gospel without offending them, then they either aren't speaking the Truth,...." Wow!
I never really thought of it like that
What I don't understand is why are there people who don't have any, or very little trouble with that? I guess the unsaved in general don't
However then I think of Christians like lawyers.....not fearful, bold and courageous
Is being bold for Jesus a gift some have more of or do some Christians ( like me) not love Him or others enough
To risk being hated?
Nevertheless, much of what you said are 'seeds' for me
This also we another You said:
"Honestly though, we don't need to be concerned about it. In the long run it really doesn't matter if they like us or not. What matters is that we at least give them a chance to go to heaven instead of hell."
That is where I am lacking loving because I am still more concerned about being liked, and tho I am concerned about their going to hell...I can't seem to kick my wanting to be liked to the curb... and I do not like that selfishness in me not to mention being scared of their anger.
I was thinking about your lovely compliment about this thread and two things came to mind
First, I am writing in one sense for 'me' to better know God's word and the world today because I know I need to be in the Word, in order to love God, more and more
But Secondly, either before, after, a day before, the night before Sometime I pray about what I will write That God will get the glory and not me if possible He might draw one or more people closer to Him
But, I have no idea, if anyone.... but you and sometimes Anna, read anything I write..... which bring me back to the first purpose LOL to just be in the Bible every day.
I also ask pray that the Holy Spirit would help me and I think He does...
Because often I will come with nothing, but some vague idea
or maybe I saw a headline or read some line in a book or something in a commentary
But as to having a real plan.....nada
And yet, I feel kind of 'lead' by God and a more organized outline begins and I do sometimes have a thought and then do a search to see what someone like John MacArthur has to say about it
but even when I am writing, I ask God, is this what you want me to say? is this right?
oh .....and if not....
will you have Cindy correct me LOLOL
And guess what? He answers that prayer every time LOLOL
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Post by Cindy on Jul 16, 2020 10:43:00 GMT -5
I saw a news article where a young gay activist was incensed that some Christian church or group had actually 'STOLE THEIR...the gay movement's ....Rainbow and were using it!!!!
It made me think about several things
First: Was it really possible that this young person, had absolutely no idea about what the Bible said about the rainbow???
1[smear:#e6193b]1 I establish my covenant with you, that never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of the flood, and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth.” 12 And God said, “This is the sign of the covenant that I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all future generations: 13 I have set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth. 14 When I bring clouds over the earth and the bow is seen in the clouds, 15 I will remember my covenant that is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh. And the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh. 16 When the bow is in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth.” 17 God said to Noah, “This is the sign of the covenant that I have established between me and all flesh that is on the earth.” Genesis 9:11-17[/smear:#3a19e6:0]
Well, it certainly is possible, if her parents were atheists, and public schools never talk about or teach what is in the Bible....I guess she could easily have lived her life without a clue.
That reminded me of just how almost all Christian symbols, holidays etc have been hijacked but the secular culture but really, Satan also had his hand in it as well, as he wants to mock, and corrupt scripture.
Here are some ways Satan mocks and even more 'corrupts' scripture by bringing godly symbols, and holidays to a base consumerism etc.
A look at Christmas I have for many years been reminded that the Christmas tree points to the purpose of Jesus being born He will die on a cross ( and the tree is a reminder of it for me)
But it has been hijacked into making it just a decorator's dream
Still, the lights on the tree, say to me, that Jesus birth ( what we celebrate at Christmas)'is the 'light' coming into the world.
[smear:#192ce6]9 The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. John 1:9[/smear:#e61942:0]
1[smear:#9719e6]2 Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” John 8:12[/smear:#daf403:0]
Giving of gifts is biblical But going into debt is not
But what does the gift giving symbolize Well to me the most important thing is
[smear:#19e624]23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 6:23[/smear:#cb19e6:0]
And in a way, I think this is where Satan has made a great deception youth and even adults today see Christmas as: all about me more more more stuff gimme gimme
The 'Christ' in Christ-mas is never given one thought and they miss the greatest gift they could ever be given.
[smear:#0b9581] 16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16[/smear:#6bf40b:0]
Enjoying feasting is also okay in the Bible but gluttony is not
[smear:#51cb63]20 Be not among drunkards or among gluttonous eaters of meat, 21 for the drunkard and the glutton will come to poverty, and slumber will clothe them with rags. Proverbs 23:20,21[/smear:#b445aa:0]
So between the over spending on material items, drinking and providing a huge meal many may be almost heading to the poorhouse when instead, Christ-mas is to be an uplifting celebration of the greatest gift we have ever known.
Instead people have caved into self, excess, inability to control themselves they instead have shopped til they dropped, taught our children to also worship blatant consumerism and foster the spoiled brat syndrome and then there is the
feeding them lies of Santa Claus, ( there was a true Christian man named Saint Nicholas of Myra...but that is another issue) the Santa Claus of today, has no relationship)
But even the idea that the Santa Claus of today... is keeping a list of your good and bad behavior and you can get 'stuff' by being good and not much by being bad...is in itself a corrupted theology and so many others like Frosty the Snowman, etc.
with often, not one word about the real reason for the Season the birth of Jesus.
Perhaps even sadder is Easter I am not anti-Easter egg hunts but when that is the total aspect of Easter it is heart breaking because
Easter is the Christian celebration of Jesus Christ’s resurrection from the dead. This is the most important aspect of Christianity.
[smear:#17585f]14 And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. 1 Corinthians 15:14[/smear:#c319e6:0]
I think the secular world is happy to go along with Satan corrupting these and many other Christian symbols, Holidays etc. because they do not want to even think about God.
instead:
1[smear:#178b34]8 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. 19 For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. 20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. 21 For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools, Romans 1:18-22[/smear:#5819e6:0]
The sad result of becoming fools by kicking God out of your mind, is the emptiness inside as you live in this dark world, and at the edge of your thoughts, where you are headed for eternity. When I reflect back on my youth ( something I try not to very often anymore) but I really really was walking around in darkness oh the sun was shinning but I had no real purpose ( some vague secular ideas....but none satisfying)
and in an odd sense, I was almost literally bumping into other lost and blind people who were also empty and dead men and woman walking there was no real beauty, love, compassion, hope, direction etc.
And so that poor young woman who thinks Christians stole 'her' rainbow is to be pitied she is blind and so so lost. Done for today
Yes, I remember on our old board, every year when it would get close to Easter or Christmas, I could count on their being a lot of arguments as to whether or not it was ok to celebrate those days. What got to me though was that the arguments were between people who said they were born again, not unbelievers! To this day I don't understand how Christians could argue like that and not realize that this whole thing was a trap of Satan's to cause strife and discontent among fellow Christians. I'm not one to blame Satan about everything and never have been, but some things are simply too obvious to deny. We are taught that Satan comes to steal, kill and destroy; that he is a master liar and loves to bring strife and discontent between people who should love each other. I'm sure Satan is just loving the way he was able to stir things up with the fight about the holidays.
I love to read historical fiction and have read quite a bit about the times before the civil war when our country was very young. The one thing that really impressed me was the way the people spent the holidays. The adults were every bit as excited about Christmas and Easter as the kids are today and the kids back then were as exited as they are now too. But guess what? They didn't have a bunch of presents! In fact, the most they might get would be a loaf of freshly baked bread or fruitcake or something along those lines. The children did not get toys, and the adults didn't get anything either - other then possibly a loaf of bread from a loving neighbor, friend or family member. You know what excited them? Going to church to celebrate the birth of the Lord or going to celebrate His Resurrection. They enjoyed having the time off work too. Today when people get time off work, they can't wait to relax and spend the day on themselves, however they want to. Back then, they couldn't wait to spend the day going to church and worshiping God even at home by singing Christmas of Easter hymns. Reading about it brought tears to my eyes, as I could imagine the joy they were feeling. Reflecting on what the holidays were like back then, shows how terribly spoiled even our most unspoiled children are today. I mean that the children we would consider totally unspoiled would be shown to be obviously very spoiled simply by comparing them to the to the children back then. And often you don't have to go anywhere near that far back.
When I was just a toddler, we had a Mexican girl living with us. For legal purposes, she was our "maid", but in reality, my parents did everything except for adopt her and they would have done that too if she'd wanted them to. They put her through collage and paid her weekly for housecleaning so she could send money to her parents to help them. Just before Christmas my Mom sat me down and told me it was very important that if I got something like as small as a simple tshirt (not the kind we have today - back then a tshirt was a white undershirt) or underwear for Christmas, that I was to thank the person who gave it to me and make them feel as though it was the very best gift I'd ever gotten in my whole life. I wondered why she'd say that, but of course agreed with her. Well because she always sent her pay checks to her parents, Vickie didn't have much money to guy gifts with, and she did get me a plain little tshirt. I did exactly what my Mom told me to do, and Vickie was sure I really liked it.
Even though I probably would have only been 4 in a couple more months, I remembered that every Christmas and birthday from that time on and made sure that anyone who got me a gift, knew it was greatly appreciated. At the same time though, I did expect to get gifts. Why wouldn't I? It was a fact that I always got lots of gifts at those times. Realizing that now, and looking back in our history and seeing how a child that lived out west in the 1800's was thrilled to get an orange and maybe a pair of mittens their Mom had made them. They too couldn't wait for Christmas, but for them too it was mostly about celebrating our God and Savior and not about the little gifts they may have gotten.
I don't know how we got to the place we are now where people literally go broke buying Christmas gifts for their kids and each other, but it's insane. I have a friend who came up with what I thought was a great way to curtail the number of gifts the kids get. She read the Christmas story out of the Bible to her kids and then asked them how many gifts the Lord Jesus got. Of course the answer was 3 - gold, frankincense and myrrh. So she told her kids that from then on they would be getting only 3 gifts each: one big gift (for the gold) then one medium one and one small one (representing the spices). And that's what she did too! I told my kids about it hoping they would do something similar so they wouldn't be going broke each year buying gifts, but sadly they didn't. They thought they could keep their spending down but soon discovered how hard it was to actually do.
I doubt if many people think that Satan was involved with how we deal with the holidays, but I'd be willing to bet on it. That just reminded me of something I saw on the news last Christmas! It was about this English mother who literally spent over $2,000.00 on Christmas gifts for her 3 children! Can you believe it???? How insane is that? And she doesn't understand why most people think she's crazy for doing that! And then there are the many people who put her down, but secretly wish they could do the very same thing. Sad. What a great way to get your kids and yourself addicted to the things of this world.
“Turn my heart toward your statutes and not toward selfish gain. Turn my eyes away from worthless things; preserve my life according to your word.” (Psalm 119:36–37)
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fearnot
Living With Pain
Posts: 7,659
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Post by fearnot on Jul 16, 2020 11:12:24 GMT -5
I am not really sure the woman who spent $2,000 dollars is so unusual? I think a lot more patents spend that...and even more.
It seems to them ( I think) the way of showing how much they 'love' their children.....
They think the are saying to their child....I worked my fingers to the bone to get you these 'things' So you can know I love you.
But I have seen so many children, after sped tearing open a ton of packages, then look around and say:
Is that all????!!!!
It is sad, and so hard to get out of
But the really saddest part, is there is no talk of what Christ-mas is really about. The real gift, the real greatest gift and demonstration of true love ever given
In a way, you can't exactly blame the child who is so spoiled and asks:
it that all there is?
If a parent is saying 'things' show love
then in a way, of course the child want more 'love/things'
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Post by Cindy on Jul 16, 2020 11:13:25 GMT -5
oops missed this, will post my reply in a minute but want to save it first. I'm going to reply inside your post. As always your words are so helpful But I really had to stop and think almost at the start of what you wrote
:If anyone can speak to others about the gospel without offending them, then they either aren't speaking the Truth,...." Wow!
I never really thought of it like that
What I don't understand is why are there people who don't have any, or very little trouble with that? I guess the unsaved in general don't
Don't have trouble with what? Not sure what you're talking about... do you mean not having trouble with speaking the truth, or not caring about the truth, or not being saved or not being angry or what?
However then I think of Christians like lawyers.....not fearful, bold and courageous
Is being bold for Jesus a gift some have more of or do some Christians ( like me) not love Him or others enough
The good Lord made us each different. No one is exactly like another person, not even identical twins. Someone told me once that He did that so that we could each have our very own special way of relating to Him. That because I'm different then you, my relationship with Him will be different then yours, because I'll be relating to Him through the personality and characteristics He gave me, just as you will. So each of us will have our own special relationship with Him that utilizes the special way He created us in His image. No one is better then another person or worse. We're all created in His image with very special differences that He can relate to through us. If He wanted us all to be bold, then He would have created us all that way. If He wanted us all to be outgoing, then that's what He would have created. But He created you and me to be introverts and that's great because we can relate to other introverts, whereas someone who's an extrovert would likely scare away an introvert! So the Lord created each of us to be who we are so that we could reach certain other people that He sends into our life.
To risk being hated?
Nevertheless, much of what you said are 'seeds' for me
This also we another You said:
"Honestly though, we don't need to be concerned about it. In the long run it really doesn't matter if they like us or not. What matters is that we at least give them a chance to go to heaven instead of hell."
That is where I am lacking loving because I am still more concerned about being liked, and tho I am concerned about their going to hell...I can't seem to kick my wanting to be liked to the curb... and I do not like that selfishness in me not to mention being scared of their anger.
We're all concerned with being liked Barbara and if anyone says they're not, I'd be willing to bet my paycheck that they're lying! You know what? Timothy was scared and wanted to be liked too and because of that, wasn't witnessing the way he should have. Know what Paul told him? “I have been reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also. For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline. So do not be ashamed to testify about our Lord, or ashamed of me his prisoner. But join with me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God,” (2 Timothy 1:5–8) He first reminded Timothy of his faith and how he'd known the scriptures since he was a child; he reminded him too of the prayers said for him when Paul laid his hands on him. Then Paul simply laid down the law and told him basically to just do it, which is the same answer he gives us. We should just go do it because God doesn't give us a spirit of fear or of being timid - that's Satan and our flesh. God gives us a spirit of power, love and self discipline. Think about that. Why would God give us self discipline? Because we need it to force ourselves to go talk to people about Jesus! God gives us the love for Him and for others that we need (so we always have enough love!) and He gives us all the power we need and the self discipline we need. So we have no excuse. We just have to take the first step and the Lord will pour those things into us, giving us all we need. But Paul doesn't sugar coat it either. Next he tells Timothy, join with me in suffering for the gospel! Yuk! None of us wants to do that. We'd rather have friends then to have our neighbors telling other people to stay away from us because we're bible thumpers. But Paul says "come join me!" So we'll certainly be in good company! Finally he again reminds us of where we will get what we need in order to do this.... by the power of God! So again there's no excuse for us. Our choice is to trust and obey or not to.
I've had to really reflect on those verses to give myself the courage to get up and obey.
I was thinking about your lovely compliment about this thread and two things came to mind
First, I am writing in one sense for 'me' to better know God's word and the world today because I know I need to be in the Word, in order to love God, more and more
But Secondly, either before, after, a day before, the night before Sometime I about what I will write That God will get the glory and not me if possible He might draw one or more people closer to Him
But, I have no idea, if anyone.... but you and sometimes Anna, read anything I write..... which bring me back to the first purpose LOL to just be in the Bible every day.
I also ask that the Holy Spirit would help me and I think He does...
I'm positive He does!
Because often I will come with nothing, but some vague idea
or maybe I saw a headline or read some line in a book or something in a commentary
But as to having a real plan.....nada
And yet, I feel kind of 'lead' by God and a more organized outline begins and I do sometimes have a thought and then do a search to see what someone like John MacArthur has to say about it
but even when I am writing, I ask God, is this what you want me to say? is this right?
oh .....and if not....
will you have Cindy correct me LOLOL
And guess what? He answers that prayer every time LOLOL
LOL You're doing awesome!
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fearnot
Living With Pain
Posts: 7,659
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Post by fearnot on Jul 16, 2020 11:30:50 GMT -5
I've been thinking how the technology of the world today, and emotions are for the most part ( or so it often seems to me),
not a good mix, nor going in a good and godly way.
And furthermore, this combination of the two, seems to be lighting a bigger and bigger fire of: anger, confusion, despair, hopelessness , disappointment, hatred, fear, terror etc .
The internet has also been a wonderful tool and has been used for great good also!
but... when combined with untamed emotions or relying on our feelings too much.... to the point where we are not in control of our emotions... rather, they are in control of us
Thus
misunderstanding, jumping to conclusions before all the facts are in, deceit, etc. have become very serious problems.
It is not that emotions are bad, for we are made in God's image and one of the main emotions of God is love.
[smear:#06ac26]8 Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. 1 John 4:8[/smear:#e6198a:0]
Do we 'feel' anger and outrage? yes, of course, but does that mean we should always act, with fury back at people? What if, we do not have all the facts and more importantly what does God say:
[smear:#70dd85]the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God. James 1:20[/smear:#e61941:0]
I saw an image last night of several New York police men, bleeding profusely from their heads BLM and antifa are still lividly angry at what they think ALL cops do so, they feel completely justified into giving into their angry ( because its 'justified') to do the very things, they claim the police do
There is no forgiveness, no compassion, no second chances in their hearts they are still fired up on emotions of anger and rage
What does God say tho?
[smear:#e67219]Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. 2 Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ Galatians 6:1,2[/smear:#09939c:0]
I found it hard not to run with my emotions viewing that video and seeing those protesters with bats cracking the police over the heads...
of the police who did not have guns drawn and were just doing their job, making sure the protesters were safe....
So I had to control my feeling of outrage and instead, realize these are lost people blind, deceived, etc,
like the girl I wrote about yesterday they are to be pitied but should nevertheless be held accountable for their actions.... just like they complain police are not held accountable ( really do police not go to jail ever?....is that true?)
Those protesters I saw yesterday have taken justice into their own hands, run solely on their angry emotions... not on facts, about those (exact or particular) policemen, they battered.
They made assumptions like: All police are cruel, evil, racist and so on. and then acted on purely emotional decisions but could it be, is there any chance, that instead they only perpetuated innocent people getting hurt?
Instead, we need to grow in our knowledge of God
[smear:#d514f6]Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect Romans 12:2[/smear:#19a2e6:0]
We all need to grow to emotional maturity....and be more like Jesus.
[smear:#e67619]19 Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; James 1:19[/smear:#9a19e6:0]
So these protesters viciously hit police over the head with bats do they really feel it would now be okay to have that very same thing done to them? Or would this verse work better?
[smear:#88185c]31 And as you wish that others would do to you, do so to them. Luke 6:31[/smear:#19e675:0]
There is revenge or forgiveness There is also justice, and injustice
And there is this verse:
[smear:#63083d]Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you. Ephesians:32[/smear:#6019e6:0]
What can a person do when they have rage or anger tempting them to act on it well the first thing would be pray about it
..[smear:#28a771]..in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4[/smear:#e619bc:0]
And another strong feeling or emotion, ruling so many via internet ( tho we all have this sin anyway, its just intensified) is pride
We know what that reaps....so much virtual signaling, about how great we are compared to that group.... you can fill in the blank as to who 'that' group' you are so much better than, That is another aspect.
For now, lets look at one verse that talks about God and anger
[smear:#a719e6]The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. Psalms 103:8[/smear:#549b53:0]
Done for today
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fearnot
Living With Pain
Posts: 7,659
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Post by fearnot on Jul 17, 2020 10:52:33 GMT -5
I am under the impression that every day that goes by, we are seeing records of lawlessness...... by civil unrest ( tho there is nothing 'civil' about it) anarchy, violence, hatred, rioting, looting, etc.
being broken, to a staggering amount in our country,
But really , it's all over the world.
We don't hear much about what is going on in South Africa, China, Europe,Middle East etc etc. because we are having so much right here. Still we are watching the world rapidly deteriorate at a much greater pace than ever before.
Jesus said:
[smear:#19e641]6 And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet. Matthew 24:6 [/smear:#e61951:0]
I have to confess, I do sometimes feel 'alarmed' (Portland just an hour away, is being besieged just like Seattle)
and yet, in another way, I am not, because, the way the world is now, and most likely will continue to get worse and worse... is one more 'proof' that the Bible is true.
It is not that these things have not happened before, but it the 'global' aspect, and so many many other biblical predictions all at the same time.
Society cannot fix some atrocity by committing others.... or try to 'fix'one problem, by creating 10 more or fight racism by racism etc.
An example to follow might be this:
[smear:#e619b2]17 Then I said to them, “You see the trouble we are in, how Jerusalem lies in ruins with its gates burned. Come, let us build the wall of Jerusalem, that we may no longer suffer derision.” 18 And I told them of the hand of my God that had been upon me for good, and also of the words that the king had spoken to me. And they said, “Let us rise up and build.” So they strengthened their hands for the good work. Nehemiah 2:17,18[/smear:#19e679:0]
Instead of creating chaos....
[smear:#e6192b] 40 But all things should be done decently and in order. 1 Corinthians 14:40[/smear:#733ef6:0]
But chaos is on the rise, big time...it been coming, but now, it is really wanting to 'rule' and in all facets of life for example:
We know that Sodom and Gomorrah was a lewd society and many others throughout history.
Again some of the differences in our world today is it is being taught in schools, is rampant in movies, music, found all over the internet, so it a world wide decaying and spiraling down and down to the lowest degradation, etc. which reminds of of Romans chapter one which is being played out world wide.
[smear:#19e676]24 Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, 25 because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen. Romans 1:24,25[/smear:#8d51eb:0]
We had the sexual 'revolution' in the 60's as young people rebelled against the uptight primness of the culture and that has continue to stream roll i nto basically a type of insanity ( a debased mind).
[smear:#e64519]28 And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. 29 They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, 30 slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, 31 foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless Roman 1:28-31[/smear:#19e637:0]
This freedom the devil continues to sell to the young, does not produce love, ( but lots of lust), and it ends up in millions of babies being killed, and the suicide rate for teens also continues to rise,
the ideas Satan promotes, is to assault God, in every way possible.
All of this insanity comes from the fact humans are sinners, and from our enemy, the devil. when we abandon the True Truth of God and listen to the devil, no real good can ever come out of it.
If we continue down that path it will come to this:
[smear:#d808f7]44 You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father's desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies. John 8:44[/smear:#820d2d:0]
It may sound like God is a kill joy and the devil understands... you 'need' to be free
However when God has limits, its out of love ( because He know the pain you are headed towards if we listen to the devil)
The devil does not care about people, his wish is they all will die a slow horrible death but he lies and cons people very well, smiling as they slowly kill themselves.
Satan also has a master plan, and will use some to worship him, obey him so all this chaos, will eventually lead to people clamoring for peace, socialism, a global village a one world in peace and harmony etc.
Satan will promise that his chosen man, the anti-Christ will be the one to deliver it. Satan deals in confusion
but God
[smear:#b719e6]33 For God is not a God of confusion but of peace. 1 Corinthians 14:33 [/smear:#e67019:0]
That is where this is chaos all heading. but it is not bad enough yet..... nor has the rapture happened yet.
Done for today
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Post by Cindy on Jul 17, 2020 12:07:05 GMT -5
I've been thinking how the technology of the world today, and emotions are for the most part ( or so it often seems to me),
not a good mix, nor going in a good and godly way.
And furthermore, this combination of the two, seems to be lighting a bigger and bigger fire of: anger, confusion, despair, hopelessness , disappointment, hatred, fear, terror etc .
The internet has also been a wonderful tool and has been used for great good also!
but... when combined with untamed emotions or relying on our feelings too much.... to the point where we are not in control of our emotions... rather, they are in control of us
Thus
misunderstanding, jumping to conclusions before all the facts are in, deceit, etc. have become very serious problems.
It is not that emotions are bad, for we are made in God's image and one of the main emotions of God is love.
[smear:#06ac26]8 Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. 1 John 4:8[/smear:#e6198a:0]
Do we 'feel' anger and outrage? yes, of course, but does that mean we should always act, with fury back at people? What if, we do not have all the facts and more importantly what does God say:
[smear:#70dd85]the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God. James 1:20[/smear:#e61941:0]
I saw an image last night of several New York police men, bleeding profusely from their heads BLM and antifa are still lividly angry at what they think ALL cops do so, they feel completely justified into giving into their angry ( because its 'justified') to do the very things, they claim the police do
There is no forgiveness, no compassion, no second chances in their hearts they are still fired up on emotions of anger and rage
What does God say tho?
[smear:#e67219]Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. 2 Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ Galatians 6:1,2[/smear:#09939c:0]
I found it hard not to run with my emotions viewing that video and seeing those protesters with bats cracking the police over the heads...
of the police who did not have guns drawn and were just doing their job, making sure the protesters were safe....
So I had to control my feeling of outrage and instead, realize these are lost people blind, deceived, etc,
like the girl I wrote about yesterday they are to be pitied but should nevertheless be held accountable for their actions.... just like they complain police are not held accountable ( really do police not go to jail ever?....is that true?)
Those protesters I saw yesterday have taken justice into their own hands, run solely on their angry emotions... not on facts, about those (exact or particular) policemen, they battered.
They made assumptions like: All police are cruel, evil, racist and so on. and then acted on purely emotional decisions but could it be, is there any chance, that instead they only perpetuated innocent people getting hurt?
Instead, we need to grow in our knowledge of God
[smear:#d514f6]Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect Romans 12:2[/smear:#19a2e6:0]
We all need to grow to emotional maturity....and be more like Jesus.
[smear:#e67619]19 Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; James 1:19[/smear:#9a19e6:0]
So these protesters viciously hit police over the head with bats do they really feel it would now be okay to have that very same thing done to them? Or would this verse work better?
[smear:#88185c]31 And as you wish that others would do to you, do so to them. Luke 6:31[/smear:#19e675:0]
There is revenge or forgiveness There is also justice, and injustice
And there is this verse:
[smear:#63083d]Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you. Ephesians:32[/smear:#6019e6:0]
What can a person do when they have rage or anger tempting them to act on it well the first thing would be about it
..[smear:#28a771]..in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4[/smear:#e619bc:0]
And another strong feeling or emotion, ruling so many via internet ( tho we all have this sin anyway, its just intensified) is pride
We know what that reaps....so much virtual signaling, about how great we are compared to that group.... you can fill in the blank as to who 'that' group' you are so much better than, That is another aspect.
For now, lets look at one verse that talks about God and anger
[smear:#a719e6]The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. Psalms 103:8[/smear:#549b53:0]
Done for today
Well said! I just read this in my notes during my Bible study time and thought you might like it: Scripture provides more than 1 picture of life after death; a judgment seat isn’t the only one. Equally prominent in Scripture, if not more so, is the wedding banquet. If you feel at times like a spiritual street person, destitute & homeless, then you are invited. If you are spiritually superior, smug, or indifferent, then be warned. It is the outcasts & those who come as needy children who eat at the banquet table. How can this be? Outcasts & those with a glaring sense of their own spiritual neediness can only put their trust in someone other than themselves. This is what God requires—that we trust in him alone. Our trust in Christ is never perfect, but it is one sign that we belong to Christ & that the work of the cross is applied to us. In part this means we are cleansed. Robes that were once blemished & hands that were bloody because of our murderous ways are washed. They are white, & white is the color of a bride beautifully dressed for her husband (Rev 21:2). We are intended to be the bride of Christ, & when we belong to him we are intended to hear, “As a bridegroom rejoices over his bride, so will your God rejoice over you” (Isaiah 62:5). How do you qualify to be a bride? Simply acknowledge that you need cleansing & beauty from Christ. Heart of the matter
I've been thinking a lot about all this anger we see today too. I've noticed it on facebook too, only in a different way. In a way that many take for a good thing, because when you first see it, many think it sounds good. It's just a simple sentence and all it says is, "If your abuser is in my friends list, pm me and they won't be for long." Sounds good, right? After all, you're supporting your friend. Actually, no, you're not. What you're really doing is helping your friend continue to be a victim, and worst of all, (if you're really saved) is that you're being disobedient to Christ. Now, what I'm saying is not for the unsaved, because they wouldn't understand this at all, and what I'd suggest would be impossible for them to do. For those of us who are saved however, we should realize that reacting in an unloving manner toward an abuser, only makes us unloving and doesn't help anyone at all. People who aren't really saved, are appalled when they're told that Jesus expects us to truly love the person who abused us, or who abused our friend. That He expects us to show our love for the person by both our actions and our words, and thereby prove that our love is real. Obviously, we can't do that. Only God can. But when someone is saved, God pours His love into their heart and makes them able to love others, even abusers the way He does. It's this kind of love for abusers that changes lives.
When the world sees someone really loving their abuser, it invariably also sees the abuser changing, little bit by little bit, until suddenly there's a big change and they see the abuser is filled with joy, love and peace, because they too have now been saved! This is the kind of love that caused Christianity to grow so fast in the beginning. It grew because real people who were truly saved, loved the people who were abusing them the same way Jesus was loving them.
At first it was often loving the Romans, or even fellow Jews who had forced them out of their family, their synagogue, and often even their job, because of their belief in Jesus. Instead of complaining and telling everyone how mean those people were, and how rotten they really were, they obeyed the Lord and loved the abuser just like Jesus loved them! They went out of their way to help them; they went out of their way to do kind things for them; and went out of their way to make sure they said good, loving, and kind things to the people who had abused them. And not only those things, but when their abusers responded with something mean or hurtful, they just did twice as many loving things back! They also made sure that they never repeated anything about what their abuser had done to them, and that they never thought about what had been done to them either.
When they found themselves thinking about what had been done to them, they immediately asked the Lord's forgiveness for breaking their promise. What promise? The promise that they wouldn't think about the sin done against them, just as God promises to "forget" our sins and not bring them up against us ever again. Instead they would take their thoughts about the sin and the sinner captive, and replace them with something that would reflect what we're told to think about in Phil 4:8.
Sorry, I got carried away...but I'd like to finish what I'm writing...maybe tomorrow, and hopefully I'll be able to post it on facebook. (especially since my oldest daughter is one of the people who has that sentence on their page.)
Edited to add... I'll have to try and work on this tomorrow as we have to go shopping today...
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fearnot
Living With Pain
Posts: 7,659
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Post by fearnot on Jul 18, 2020 10:31:02 GMT -5
That was just wonderful Cindy!!! Thank you!!!!!! Waiting to hear more....a lot more even :)
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fearnot
Living With Pain
Posts: 7,659
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Post by fearnot on Jul 18, 2020 11:21:23 GMT -5
Christians (and Christian/conservatives) may wish to fix the world, but we cannot, any more than secular sinners.
Only God, His Word, and Jesus can do that....and our only real hope is the return of Jesus, because, the so called 'golden' eras of history are not ever coming back.
The thousand year reign of Jesus will be the last 'golden era' on earth.
The anti-Christ will come along ( after the rapture) and promise peace, but his reign will be the worst the world has ever seen.
But we know the world will continue in rebellion and apostasy
[smear:#58ba38]3 Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction 2 Thessalonians 2:3[/smear:#8e44c1:0]
This is know as the great falling away in the KJV....
The church is in large part, falling away, to an eventual wholesale rejection of God’s Word.
But we are seeing on a world wide scale, defection from the Bible, Christian faith, and from the true God.
The whole planet is heading rapidly towards full scale rebellion against God and His Christ. Christians are considered mean-spirited, outdated, ignorant, etc. etc. etc. and those are the 'good' labels LOL
As an result of this constant falling away, we are seeing this verse all over the world
[smear:#bc325c]12 And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. Matthew 24:12[/smear:#19e627:0]
Today, people want to rip off any remaining 'binding' influences of Christianity:
[smear:#38b79f]1 Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? 2 The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord and against his Anointed, saying, 3 “Let us burst their bonds apart and cast away their cords from us.” Psalm 2:1-3 [/smear:#e66819:0]
Just like when Jesus walked on earth, people now, as back then reject His mercy and grace they choose anything Satan offers they chose a murderer over Jesus/God They blaspheme God now more than ever And so are lurching drunkenly, towards judgment day, at warp speed.
Sadly people who continue on the path of rebellion are heading towards this
[smear:#f59d05] 9 They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might 2 Thessalonians 1:9[/smear:#732192:0]
And least anyone get the wrong idea, that because the Lord has not come yet He is actually tolerant of rebellion ( like many more leaders are seeming to be tolerant of rebellion in our country and world wide)
God is NOT being tolerant, He is being patient.
[smear:#2a6523]9 The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. 2 Peter 3:9[/smear:#c75a08:0]
Even many who go to church, will fall away, because they were never born again
[smear:#710964] Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons, 1 Timothy 4:1[/smear:#82f512:0]
One clue may be they continue to habitually live ungodly lives.
However, many churches today are not helping, they placate, appease, accommodate, and dumb down the gospel, in order to keep many carnal people in their church happy.
So they are non confronting, and 'seeker friendly' at their 'best' but often continue the downward slide until they begin preaching another gospel and become false prophets in sheep clothing, perverting the true gospel.
However, all rebellion, be it secular, or in the church
God has made it clear, rebellion will not in the end, be successful
This ongoing massive spiritual revolt against God will come to an end because there is coming, in the future, a final judgment
[smear:#e61995]10 Enter into the rock and hide in the dust from before the terror of the Lord, and from the splendor of his majesty. 11 The haughty looks of man shall be brought low, and the lofty pride of men shall be humbled, and the Lord alone will be exalted in that day. 12 For the Lord of hosts has a day against all that is proud and lofty, against all that is lifted up—and it shall be brought low; Isaiah 2:10-12 [/smear:#19e63b:0]
Done for Today
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fearnot
Living With Pain
Posts: 7,659
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Post by fearnot on Jul 19, 2020 9:17:29 GMT -5
As time goes by, it gets harder and harder to live in a world filled with unbelievers, and yet, we have to keep in mind, that as difficult as it is, they are our 'mission' field.
Sin is the dominate aspect of all humanity: [smear:#08b1b0] “None is righteous, no, not one; 11 no one understands; no one seeks for God. 12 All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.” 13 “Their throat is an open grave; they use their tongues to deceive.” “The venom of asps is under their lips.” 14 “Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness.” 15 “Their feet are swift to shed blood; 16 in their paths are ruin and misery, 17 and the way of peace they have not known.” 18 “There is no fear of God before their eyes.” Romans 3:11-8[/smear:#9619e6:0]
You might think at first, that pride, and boasting belongs to the rich and powerful.
They are arrogant, and feel they must be recognized by all as 'important'. they always are boasting and promoting themselves,, they are full of self esteem, ambition. self-centered, etc.
However, it does not take long with someone of a 'so called' lower class, to see those very same characteristics, in virtually everybody:
be it in a gang leader ( those under him feel certain they should be the leader), the bully on the school ground ( those he picks on are waiting for the day of revenge, because they want to be that strong person who has power and control over the weak), the head cheerleader ( the other cheerleaders feel they are prettier and that they should be the head cheerleader), one mom comparing herself against another, even in church, one is more 'holy' or righteous than the other, etc. etc, etc.
This pride issues continues, no matter how poor, or how limited one's power, or influence.... right down to two small young children trying to be the 'best' or the most powerful etc..
But what does God think of this boasting and pride?
[smear:#e61937]The boastful shall not stand before your eyes; you hate all evildoers. Psalm 5:5[/smear:#2f19e6:0]
If you don't have the position, power, money etc, others have, you believe you should have, people ought to serve you!!
But the psalmist say this:
[smear:#2019e6]Why should I fear in times of trouble, when the iniquity of those who cheat me surrounds me, 6 those who trust in their wealth and boast of the abundance of their riches? 7 Truly no man can ransom another, or give to God the price of his life Psalm 49: 5-7 [/smear:#e66119:0]
What nobody wants..... ( people throughout history never have but especially in the world today, where we are actually teaching: Be Proud of Yourself)
is to be a 'humble servant'.
Humility is viewed as weakness. To be a humble servant is a disrespect of self
But again, what does God say in His Word, the Bible about being humble?
[smear:#9529a8]25 But Jesus called them to him and said, You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. 26 It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, 27 and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, 28 even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
Matthew 20:25-28 [/smear:#3ba459:0]
Those words are so foreign to us to day.... be a ..............servant?!?!?! What?
There are two examples in the Bible:
Judas Iscariot, the one who treacherously betrayed our Lord ( my Lord and Savior) Jesus.
Judas was an ambitious man. He wanted prominence in life. He was full of pride, and 'self' .
He also was greedy for money and wealth
Perhaps in the beginning, he thought Jesus........ ( the miracle worker), would soon provide all those things, and Judas would be 'somebody, with great power, wealth, etc.
At first, Judas may have thought he was on his way towards his goals, because Jesus gave him a position of power and trust, as the one to hold the money bag... ( greed was one of his evil sinful character flaws) ... In fact, even more than greedy, he was a thief:
[smear:#e619b4]4 But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (he who was about to betray him), said, 5 “Why was this ointment not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?” 6 He said this, not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief, and having charge of the moneybag he used to help himself to what was put into it. John 12:4-6[/smear:#19e6d3:0]
Another character trait of Judas was he was a Hypocrite, he spent 3 years, with Jesus, and pretended to love Jesus like the others, but his desired to be prominent , killed any small iota of love he may have felt at first.
I think, perhaps ,at first, Judas might have been jealous of Jesus. and then, as Jesus began to "fail' in Judas eyes ( by not providing all the honor, wealth, power etc Judas wanted and felt he deserved), he allowed anger to well up in his heart and then hatred.... which lead to betrayal.... of the Son of God.
We see this happening all the time in our world In the never ending dog eat dog, climb on the backs of others, do whatever it takes to be top dog.....
Of course one outstanding difference, in Judas case, was the fact, he was with Jesus 3 years and saw thousand upon thousands more miracles that Jesus did
[smear:#f70da5]25 Now there are also many other things that Jesus did. Were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written. John 21:25[/smear:#5805ef:0]
Judas knew Jesus was like no other man that had ever existed!!!
More tomorrow Done for today
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Post by Cindy on Jul 20, 2020 10:06:39 GMT -5
That was just wonderful Cindy!!! Thank you!!!!!! Waiting to hear more....a lot more even :) Thanks Barbara! I don't know when I'll be able to get to it,.... I hate that I don't have the time right away, but I don't so there's not much point in me getting upset about it, huh?
Christians (and Christian/conservatives) may wish to fix the world, but we cannot, any more than secular sinners.
Only God, His Word, and Jesus can do that....and our only real hope is the return of Jesus, because, the so called 'golden' eras of history are not ever coming back.
The thousand year reign of Jesus will be the last 'golden era' on earth.
The anti-Christ will come along ( after the rapture) and promise peace, but his reign will be the worst the world has ever seen.
But we know the world will continue in rebellion and apostasy
[smear:#58ba38]3 Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction 2 Thessalonians 2:3[/smear:#8e44c1:0]
This is know as the great falling away in the KJV....
The church is in large part, falling away, to an eventual wholesale rejection of God’s Word.
But we are seeing on a world wide scale, defection from the Bible, Christian faith, and from the true God.
The whole planet is heading rapidly towards full scale rebellion against God and His Christ. Christians are considered mean-spirited, outdated, ignorant, etc. etc. etc. and those are the 'good' labels LOL
As an result of this constant falling away, we are seeing this verse all over the world
[smear:#bc325c]12 And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. Matthew 24:12[/smear:#19e627:0]
Today, people want to rip off any remaining 'binding' influences of Christianity:
[smear:#38b79f]1 Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? 2 The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord and against his Anointed, saying, 3 “Let us burst their bonds apart and cast away their cords from us.” Psalm 2:1-3 [/smear:#e66819:0]
Just like when Jesus walked on earth, people now, as back then reject His mercy and grace they choose anything Satan offers they chose a murderer over Jesus/God They blaspheme God now more than ever And so are lurching drunkenly, towards judgment day, at warp speed.
Sadly people who continue on the path of rebellion are heading towards this
[smear:#f59d05] 9 They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might 2 Thessalonians 1:9[/smear:#732192:0]
And least anyone get the wrong idea, that because the Lord has not come yet He is actually tolerant of rebellion ( like many more leaders are seeming to be tolerant of rebellion in our country and world wide)
God is NOT being tolerant, He is being patient.
[smear:#2a6523]9 The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. 2 Peter 3:9[/smear:#c75a08:0]
Even many who go to church, will fall away, because they were never born again
[smear:#710964] Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons, 1 Timothy 4:1[/smear:#82f512:0]
One clue may be they continue to habitually live ungodly lives.
However, many churches today are not helping, they placate, appease, accommodate, and dumb down the gospel, in order to keep many carnal people in their church happy.
So they are non confronting, and 'seeker friendly' at their 'best' but often continue the downward slide until they begin preaching another gospel and become false prophets in sheep clothing, perverting the true gospel.
However, all rebellion, be it secular, or in the church
God has made it clear, rebellion will not in the end, be successful
This ongoing massive spiritual revolt against God will come to an end because there is coming, in the future, a final judgment
[smear:#e61995]10 Enter into the rock and hide in the dust from before the terror of the Lord, and from the splendor of his majesty. 11 The haughty looks of man shall be brought low, and the lofty pride of men shall be humbled, and the Lord alone will be exalted in that day. 12 For the Lord of hosts has a day against all that is proud and lofty, against all that is lifted up—and it shall be brought low; Isaiah 2:10-12 [/smear:#19e63b:0]
Done for Today
Well said! It breaks my heart to see so many people who really think they're saved but who obviously aren't. The fruit of their lives shows the truth. Now some of the people are so good at deceiving others that you really can't tell for sure if they're saved or not. That's ok. Jesus said that would happen too, and that we need not worry about it. His angels will be able to tell who's really saved and who's not; and those who aren't will get what's coming to them. The world is on a roller coaster ride toward hell. All I can do is join the Holy Spirit and the rest of the Bride and say, Come Lord Jesus!
As time goes by, it gets harder and harder to live in a world filled with unbelievers, and yet, we have to keep in mind, that as difficult as it is, they are our 'mission' field.
Sin is the dominate aspect of all humanity: [smear:#08b1b0] “None is righteous, no, not one; 11 no one understands; no one seeks for God. 12 All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.” 13 “Their throat is an open grave; they use their tongues to deceive.” “The venom of asps is under their lips.” 14 “Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness.” 15 “Their feet are swift to shed blood; 16 in their paths are ruin and misery, 17 and the way of peace they have not known.” 18 “There is no fear of God before their eyes.” Romans 3:11-8[/smear:#9619e6:0]
You might think at first, that pride, and boasting belongs to the rich and powerful.
They are arrogant, and feel they must be recognized by all as 'important'. they always are boasting and promoting themselves,, they are full of self esteem, ambition. self-centered, etc.
However, it does not take long with someone of a 'so called' lower class, to see those very same characteristics, in virtually everybody:
be it in a gang leader ( those under him feel certain they should be the leader), the bully on the school ground ( those he picks on are waiting for the day of revenge, because they want to be that strong person who has power and control over the weak), the head cheerleader ( the other cheerleaders feel they are prettier and that they should be the head cheerleader), one mom comparing herself against another, even in church, one is more 'holy' or righteous than the other, etc. etc, etc.
This pride issues continues, no matter how poor, or how limited one's power, or influence.... right down to two small young children trying to be the 'best' or the most powerful etc..
But what does God think of this boasting and pride?
[smear:#e61937]The boastful shall not stand before your eyes; you hate all evildoers. Psalm 5:5[/smear:#2f19e6:0]
If you don't have the position, power, money etc, others have, you believe you should have, people ought to serve you!!
But the psalmist say this:
[smear:#2019e6]Why should I fear in times of trouble, when the iniquity of those who cheat me surrounds me, 6 those who trust in their wealth and boast of the abundance of their riches? 7 Truly no man can ransom another, or give to God the price of his life Psalm 49: 5-7 [/smear:#e66119:0]
What nobody wants..... ( people throughout history never have but especially in the world today, where we are actually teaching: Be Proud of Yourself)
is to be a 'humble servant'.
Humility is viewed as weakness. To be a humble servant is a disrespect of self
But again, what does God say in His Word, the Bible about being humble?
[smear:#9529a8]25 But Jesus called them to him and said, You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. 26 It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, 27 and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, 28 even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
Matthew 20:25-28 [/smear:#3ba459:0]
Those words are so foreign to us to day.... be a ..............servant?!?!?! What?
There are two examples in the Bible:
Judas Iscariot, the one who treacherously betrayed our Lord ( my Lord and Savior) Jesus.
Judas was an ambitious man. He wanted prominence in life. He was full of pride, and 'self' .
He also was greedy for money and wealth
Perhaps in the beginning, he thought Jesus........ ( the miracle worker), would soon provide all those things, and Judas would be 'somebody, with great power, wealth, etc.
At first, Judas may have thought he was on his way towards his goals, because Jesus gave him a position of power and trust, as the one to hold the money bag... ( greed was one of his evil sinful character flaws) ... In fact, even more than greedy, he was a thief:
[smear:#e619b4]4 But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (he who was about to betray him), said, 5 “Why was this ointment not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?” 6 He said this, not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief, and having charge of the moneybag he used to help himself to what was put into it. John 12:4-6[/smear:#19e6d3:0]
Another character trait of Judas was he was a Hypocrite, he spent 3 years, with Jesus, and pretended to love Jesus like the others, but his desired to be prominent , killed any small iota of love he may have felt at first.
I think, perhaps ,at first, Judas might have been jealous of Jesus. and then, as Jesus began to "fail' in Judas eyes ( by not providing all the honor, wealth, power etc Judas wanted and felt he deserved), he allowed anger to well up in his heart and then hatred.... which lead to betrayal.... of the Son of God.
We see this happening all the time in our world In the never ending dog eat dog, climb on the backs of others, do whatever it takes to be top dog.....
Of course one outstanding difference, in Judas case, was the fact, he was with Jesus 3 years and saw thousand upon thousands more miracles that Jesus did
[smear:#f70da5]25 Now there are also many other things that Jesus did. Were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written. John 21:25[/smear:#5805ef:0]
Judas knew Jesus was like no other man that had ever existed!!!
More tomorrow Done for today
Again well done! Yes, it is amazing when you reflect on all that Judas saw and even did himself. Somehow, up until I did a study on the gospels, it had never occurred to me that Judas had even done miracles himself! That just blew my mind when I realized that! But the Bible makes it quite clear that he did. Right after listing the names of the 12 disciples, including Judas who would betray Him, scripture says: “These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: “Do not go among the Gentiles or enter any town of the Samaritans. Go rather to the lost sheep of Israel. As you go, preach this message: ‘The kingdom of heaven is near.’ Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received, freely give.” (Matthew 10:5–8) Yet after doing all those things, and hearing all that Jesus taught for 3 years, Judas was never saved! That also blows my mind! It makes me really think hard about it. I mean how could someone see all that he must have seen, and hear all that he must have heard from Jesus Himself; how could he have seen and felt the amazing love Jesus had for him, and yet turn away and not be saved???? And then, on top of that, betray Him? It makes me think of a couple of things... first of how strongly our sin nature has us in it's grips before salvation; and then I have to admit that people can be so very, very close to salvation and yet never really be saved at all. That's the scary part! I wish pastors would preach on this, and warn people that they too could be that close to salvation and yet not really saved. They could be people who tell others that they're a prophet, and may even believe that themselves; they could always be busy feeding the hungry and poor people, and doing other good works. They could be busy teaching Sunday School, or even be a pastor, and yet not really be saved! Jesus speaks about these people here in a verse that again, I wish more pastors would preach on.. notice that Jesus says these people call Him "Lord", so they think they're saved, or at least want to think that. “Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’” (Matthew 7:22–23)
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fearnot
Living With Pain
Posts: 7,659
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Post by fearnot on Jul 20, 2020 11:16:20 GMT -5
Thank you Cindy!!! I always love reading your input.
I agree with you, it is so hard to understand Judas....he actually knew Jesus, saw more miracles that we could even imagine, and as you said, he did some too....and yet....
My fear has always been, I would deny Jesus out of 'fear' and/or torture kind of like Peter But this did not seem to be the motivation for Judas, and so that is so hard to understand.
Especially, when like you said, Judas saw and felt the amazing love Jesus had for him......how could power, money, prominence be more important?
Although, as far as prominence goes we see that James and John ask for such as well..... But they did not then betray the Lord when denied.
And yet, without being born again, it seems every human would do the same.
All that is going on right now, is a glaring example of the human desire to be 'somebody', powerful, rich etc etc etc. It is so sad....and there but for the grace of God, would I have gone. And it still tries to tempt me now and again.....but with little or no success.
And that is all God working in me....may He get all the glory!!
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fearnot
Living With Pain
Posts: 7,659
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Post by fearnot on Jul 20, 2020 11:24:24 GMT -5
A great example of someone who had been given great gifts. that many people today, strive for and who had to be careful therefore of 'pride' was Paul:
[smear:#e63919]7 So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. 8 Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. 9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10 For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong. 2 Corinthians 12: 7-10[/smear:#1938e6:0]
Judas had much pride like Satan but unlike the way Paul dealt with his pride
Judas never renounced it, instead because of it he became a tool of Satan,
Satan still wants the ultimate in prominence....he wants to be God this is the ultimate in pride (but many humans want to be 'God' also (and sadly, so are so many humans today being deceived by the devil)
The verses below show Satan's ego, pride and wanting to be God
[smear:#bc19e6]“12 How you are fallen from heaven, O Day Star, son of Dawn! How you are cut down to the ground, you who laid the nations low! 13 You said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to heaven; above the stars of God I will set my throne on high; I will sit on the mount of assembly in the far reaches of the north; 14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.’ 15 But you are brought down to Sheol, to the far reaches of the pit. Isaiah 14:12-15[/smear:#1abeb2:0]
In some ways those young people ( and old ones too) that wish to over throw the USA kind of remind me of Judas, in that....
Judas likely thought that the Messiah would overthrow Israel’s enemies and restore the kingdom. One of Judas reasons for staying with Jesus, was for this hoped for revolution.
But just like the devil lied to Judas, Satan lies to the unsaved today.
Judas was 'nobody' to the devil, just a useful idiot. The devil even indwelt Judas for a short time
[smear:#19e620] 3 Then Satan entered into Judas called Iscariot, who was of the number of the twelve. Luke 22:3 [/smear:#df19e6:0]
However, after using Judas ( for his vendetta against Jesus) the devil tossed Judas aside like a rotting corpse
Judas hung himself and died, but as his corpse began to decompose, it slipped from the rope, falling headlong, . . . burst open and all his entrails gushed out
[smear:#e61989]18 Now this man acquired a field with the reward of his wickedness, and falling headlong he burst open in the middle and all his bowels gushed out. Acts 1:18[/smear:#16a614:0]
A warning to those who would like to have the power the devil might lend them for a time you are nothing to the devil... Satan did not protect Judas from this horrifying end the devil simply did not care, The devil let him hang himself and rot he just used him.
This verse reminds me of Satan
[smear:#9f19e6]16 For behold, I am raising up in the land a shepherd who does not care for those being destroyed, or seek the young or heal the maimed or nourish the healthy, but devours the flesh.... Zechariah 11:16[/smear:#05f08f:0]
Still, God's plan had to be fulfilled.
Do not think Judas was like some MK ultra mind control robot used by God, who unwilling became the victim/villain.
God never ever works that way, this was Judas choice.
This verse reminds me of Judas final choice
[smear:#96be22]Even my close friend in whom I trusted, who ate my bread, has lifted his heel against me. Psalms 41:9[/smear:#7d49a9:0]
It goes all the way back to the Garden of Eden and people asking about why does God allow evil?
It is true, God could have made everybody a good 'robot' but a person who cannot make a choice, can never truly choose 'love'
Judas was so close to Jesus and yet he was so lost, caught up in pride, self, etc. Judas was damned...so close and yet so far.
And so what the devil/Satan meant for evil God meant for good. That still holds for our times in today's world
Done for today
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fearnot
Living With Pain
Posts: 7,659
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Post by fearnot on Jul 21, 2020 9:58:52 GMT -5
Just another quick thought about Judas... His ingratitude, morphed into an impossible to eradicate, 'root of bitterness'.
We need to be on guard for that in our hearts also, because the result is a hardened heart, that can no longer be softened.
[smear:#46cb60]15 See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no “root of bitterness” springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled; Hebrews 12:15[/smear:#e619b4:0]
And so this was
[smear:#2ef74d]4 For it is impossible, in the case of those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, and have shared in the Holy Spirit, 5 and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come, 6 and then have fallen away, to restore them again to repentance, since they are crucifying once again the Son of God to their own harm and holding him up to contempt. Hebrews 6:4-6[/smear:#c0066c:0]
A bit about these verses....
Judas was never saved...so he did NOT lose his salvation.
But he had personally experienced all the facts about Jesus...intellectually ( thus he was enlightened)
This is important for those who have 'heard' the gospel...
Judas actually heard it from Jesus and once a person knows all the facts.... There is really nothing more to be said.
Judas saw the multitude of miracle Jesus preformed and heard the gospel but he was never born again
He was around the Holy Spirit but the Spirit was not IN him.
By turning from Jesus, he was saying Jesus deserved to be crucified.
Judas had 'tried' Jesus and found Jesus lacking because Judas was so preoccupied with his own glory, instead of giving to God.....he was so deceived.... and Satan was stalking and luring Judas to eternal tragedy...to eternal night, dark, pain forever and ever.
[smear:#f86007]27 Then after he had taken the morsel, Satan entered into him. Jesus said to him, “What you are going to do, do quickly.” John 13:27[/smear:#891b2f:0]
In another sense Judas 'tried' Jesus as if he Judas was a court of law, and found Jesus guilty Jesus asked:
[smear:#09acbc]15 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Matthew 16:15[/smear:#db19e6:0]
This is a question we all have to answer today ( as in the past)
Jesus said we are either for Him or against Him
[smear:#e619ba]30 Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters. Matthew 12:30 [/smear:#19e670:0]
and this is the result of being against Jesus
[smear:#cf1308]29 How much worse punishment, do you think, will be deserved by the one who has trampled underfoot the Son of God, and has profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has outraged the Spirit of grace? Hebrews 10:29[/smear:#1965e6:0]
There is all kind of evil and sin in our world and it dominates the life of humanity.
Every human has to make a choice concerning the evil and sin inside themselves turning to the Savior or choosing to side with the supernatural demonic and satanic evil side.
As we slide into more and more dire times and time is getting shorter the choice we make is crucial
In one way or in one sense, I think God is blessing people by all the chaos.
It is forcing people to ask questions and look for a solid True answer Fear can be a good thing in that way.
Done for today
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Post by Cindy on Jul 21, 2020 11:09:08 GMT -5
Thank you Cindy!!! I always love reading your input.
I agree with you, it is so hard to understand Judas....he actually knew Jesus, saw more miracles that we could even imagine, and as you said, he did some too....and yet....
My fear has always been, I would deny Jesus out of 'fear' and/or torture kind of like Peter But this did not seem to be the motivation for Judas, and so that is so hard to understand.
Especially, when like you said, Judas saw and felt the amazing love Jesus had for him......how could power, money, prominence be more important?
Although, as far as prominence goes we see that James and John ask for such as well..... But they did not then betray the Lord when denied.
And yet, without being born again, it seems every human would do the same.
All that is going on right now, is a glaring example of the human desire to be 'somebody', powerful, rich etc etc etc. It is so sad....and there but for the grace of God, would I have gone. And it still tries to tempt me now and again.....but with little or no success.
And that is all God working in me....may He get all the glory!! I wanted to mention something that I thought of when you said your fear had always been that you'd deny Jesus like Peter, etc. But why were you afraid of that? Jesus forgave Peter. But no one could sin in that way today or at any time after Peter did, because shortly after that the Lord was crucified, and then rose again. In other words, no one could know the Lord in the flesh, and yet deny knowing Him, once He was crucified. It's just not possible. Neither can people sin in the same way Judas did, for the same reason. People can learn about Him however and then reject Him, and do so all the time because they haven't accepted the gift of salvation. People can also deny Him after being saved because they're afraid their friends will make fun of them or won't like them etc. (sounds to me like they should get different friends then!) But if they do sin in that way, it can be forgiven. In fact, if they're saved, it's already forgiven. They just need to confess it and repent so they don't have the guilt bothering them anymore.
Just another quick thought about Judas... His ingratitude, morphed into an impossible to eradicate, 'root of bitterness'.
We need to be on guard for that in our hearts also, because the result is a hardened heart, that can no longer be softened.
[smear:#46cb60]15 See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no “root of bitterness” springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled; Hebrews 12:15[/smear:#e619b4:0]
That's for sure! And that can happen very easily if we don't pay attention to our thoughts. Especially when we're angry or upset about something or someone.
Gotta run, cats are driving me crazy! you're doing such a great job!
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Post by Cindy on Jul 22, 2020 10:43:54 GMT -5
I think I should just keep my mouth shut when I haven't had much sleep in weeks because when I read what I wrote yesterday, it didn't come out at all like I meant for it to! Again! I'm sorry Barbara. I don't know why that's happening, other then that I'm super tired and in a lot of extra pain and have been for a month now. I took a specimen in to the lab yesterday to see if maybe I have a UTI on top of everything else...I should hear back from them today. Which reminds me, I need to find a doctor to write my prescription since my doctor is retiring at the end of this month.. I'll go do that now since you haven't posted yet. Then if I have time, maybe I can work on what I started writing before..
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fearnot
Living With Pain
Posts: 7,659
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Post by fearnot on Jul 22, 2020 13:30:32 GMT -5
I didn't take it as tho you were being mean or something, rather being helpful, in pointing out, no one living today, could sin like Judas of Peter ( however Peter was not a traitor, selling Jesus for Crucifixion ( for the price of a slave)
Your reply was comforting, in that you pointed out, once saved always saved. Thank you.
I've been praying about your health I will step it up tho Keep me ( us) posted.
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fearnot
Living With Pain
Posts: 7,659
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Post by fearnot on Jul 22, 2020 13:45:36 GMT -5
Thinking about the continuing signs, plagues, floods, locusts, chaos etc etc. we are heading for the most tumultuous of times.... Lawlessness in abounding more and more and people are destroying the very system God put in place to protect the weak and needy...
so that the police have their hands tied and can no longer be 'peacekeepers'. Are there some 'bad' actors....I would imagine so
On the other hand, keeping the 'peace is extremely hard to do It requires tremendous sacrifice:
there is concern about their physical safety ( they are dealing with 'bad' guys daily and each day is putting their lives at risk),
their mental health ( they see so much more sadness, horror, evil on a daily basis, than the average person),
they often have to give up time with their family,
And they are 'hated' etc. [smear:#c419e6]Blessed are the peacekeepers, for they shall by called the children of God. -Matthew 5:9[/smear:#e61941:0]
And here is a verse many rioters hate:
[smear:#63b575] 4 for he is God's servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God's wrath on the wrongdoer. Romans 13:4[/smear:#02b1a8:0]
Tho the next verses were for brothers and sisters in church I think, they might fit for today's rebels:
[smear:#e63919]As for a person who stirs up division, after warning him once and then twice, have nothing more to do with him, Titus 3:10[/smear:#a219e6:0]
Rather then continue arguing with a family member ( bent on 'revolution', anti-God etc.) or someone online etc.
We need to pull away for a time ( at least) or we will be guilty of casting our pearls before swine:
[smear:#7cc07f]6 “Do not give dogs what is holy, and do not throw your pearls before pigs, lest they trample them underfoot and turn to attack you". Matthew 7:6[/smear:#19e1e6:0]
Dogs and pigs are symbolic of those who mock, ridicule, and reject the Bible ( the 'pearls)
And in fact, this is their outlook
[smear:#9a55f5]18 For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 1 Corinthians 1:18[/smear:#08c1ad:0]
Which bring us to the even more important truth as to what is going on ( all the things listed and many many more) these things going on the the world today are part of an ever increasing spiritual battle.
We should not blame every problem in the world on Satan and his demons on the other hand, we must not underestimate the fact, there is a fierce battle going on.
1[smear:#e61935]0 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. Ephesians 6:10,11[/smear:#97e619:0]
And one way to fight this battle is:
[smear:#e619db]I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you. Psalms 119:11[/smear:#90cd08:0]
Because we are living more and more (daily) in an: [smear:#fa58ec] 39 But he answered them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. Matthew 12:39[/smear:#19e6a2:0]
And we do not ever want to engage in a battle of words with the devil ( Like Eve)....we would run the risk of being deceived by the master liar.
Even the archangel Michael, did not engage the devil , with words and clever arguments, instead he said:
[smear:#0ca693]9 But when the archangel Michael, contending with the devil, was disputing about the body of Moses, he did not presume to pronounce a blasphemous judgment, but said, “The Lord rebuke you.” Jude 1:9[/smear:#d366f4:0]
But storing up God's word does have extreme benefits
[smear:#0cb20e]12 For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. Hebrews 4:12[/smear:#f4a200:0]
Done for today
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anna
Trials
Posts: 1,876
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Post by anna on Jul 23, 2020 7:07:13 GMT -5
I hope that you Barbra and Cindy feel encouraged and blessed by what you write in this thread, you have many views and will continue to get views. It is easy for people to be takers and even look to find fault at what a person writes, those people could comment and try to contribute. If a person is in agreement with flesh are they supportive of the spirit? Please don’t agree with anything that can destroy your brother or sister. May all those who preach Christ be blessed and embraced. In times when corrections come; or in times or something should not have been done; lay that part of flesh down; knowing it has no place with you; and go forward in spirit; knowing that with each passing moment Jesus delivers through many situations. Judge not, that you be not judged, for with what judgment you judge, ye shall be judged.John 15:12 “This is my commandment, that you love one another, as I have loved you.”
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fearnot
Living With Pain
Posts: 7,659
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Post by fearnot on Jul 23, 2020 9:48:36 GMT -5
Thank you Anna
I am working on this thread...in part, because if you recall awhile back
I mentioned how I have known some Christians that can bring scripture, God, Jesus etc. smoothly into any conversation. I have always thought it was a great gift.
But of course, it means they have spent a lot of time reading and memorizing, scripture...so much so, it is always at the forefront of their mind.
I think....Cindy thought this topic would be a good way, to not only stay in the Word, but also to make connections with what is going on in the world today.
But double thank you....your verse is great and it gives me a topic for today!! :) I wasn't quite sure what to talk about today and tie it with scripture, but you just gave me an idea.
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fearnot
Living With Pain
Posts: 7,659
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Post by fearnot on Jul 23, 2020 10:17:36 GMT -5
In looking at the chaos, rebellion etc. going on today, people sometimes point to these verses in scripture , in order to say. that in taking notice or calling out the rioters behavior as wrong we should not judge them and they cannot be judged, because of these verses
[smear:#e619aa]“Judge not, that you be not judged. 2 For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. 3 Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? 4 Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye.Matthew 7:1[/smear:#1ce619:0]
which brings me to a much overlooked key of studying scripture:
We are to look at the WHOLE council of God on any given subject.... not just one verse or one paragraph.
For example, someone could read the above verse, and based on it alone, .. conclude, that to suggest rioting is a sin would be in itself...a sin of being judgmental
The problem with that is, the person seemingly has not read all that God has to say about: judging and may not have even understood those first verses I posted above.
Here is just one verse (also about judging):
[smear:#063da3]24 Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment.” John 7:24[/smear:#b8028c:0]
Note in the above verse we are told to judge, but we must judge with right judgment.
So what would a 'wrong' way of judging be? Well, not looking at the fact, we are all sinners not looking at the 'log in your own eye'
In other words, judging on the basis of our own self-righteousness and based on our own pride of being so much better than the ones we are judging.
A good example of how NOT to judge would be like the Pharisee in the parable Jesus told: [smear:#177412] 9 He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt: 10 “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus:
‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’ Luke 18:9-12[/smear:#781e6d:0]
Notice the Pharisee thinks so highly of himself and looks on the tax collector with scorn and contempt...he is super self-righteous and a hypocrite.
This would be the wrong way to make a judgment about any behavior.... even about murder, sexual immorality of any kind ( there are lots) etc etc.
Why?
First we must always
[smear:#7f0534] 15 Rather, speaking the truth in love,[/smear:#1e8735:0]
Why?
Because we might fall, into the very same sin.
But Jesus did not say....Do NOT remove the speck from your brother's eye To leave it there would be cruel What Jesus said, was beware of your own sins first.....
But trust me, I would find it sooooo much easier, never to correct anyone and my personal sin lies more in that direction!! But that is NOT love Just letting someone walk right into a blazing fire because they are blind.
And all the more so because we now live in a culture of NO moral absolutes Some might say, well fine, its not right for you but it is for me.
Strangely, that is tricky in itself because we might get caught in the very same sin [smear:#078952] 6 Brothers,if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness.
Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted.[/smear:#76e619:0]
If someone is super angry and raging, for example the temptation is strong, not to get angry yell back.
But on what, or whom, do we, in such a morally ambiguous culture, turn to, in order to make correct judgments?
God, and His Word ( the Bible).
And we need to do our utmost, to have all the facts, and not jump to conclusions I think, that jumping to conclusions is something that is a pandemic these days:
[smear:#929a04] If one gives an answer before he hears, it is his folly and shame. Proverbs 18:13[/smear:#e61934:0]
But to say that Jesus forbids any judgment.... would mean we should do away with any court of law and never judge the sin of : a mass murderer, a pedophile, a rapist, an arsonists, a thief a slave owner etc. etc.
Jesus was not condemning courts of law, and in fact, the Bible instituted them.
We must discern correctly.
There are so many things in scripture we must make a judgment on for example we have to make a judgment on who is a false prophet [smear:#780941] 5 “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. Matthew 7:15[/smear:#027973:0]
or what use would this verse be?
[smear:#409b3e]14 But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.[/smear:#781f60:0]
If we do not judge then there is no good or evil
Even those who are rioting cannot complain about a policeman they thought was wrong they can not make any judgment either
Tho to this day, I am not sure we have all the facts on that tragedy but even IF we did, to then condemn all police based on a few bad actors would be a wrong type of judgment you cannot judge a whole group ( like all police, or all whites, or all blacks, etc etc.)
[smear:#8407a9]17 “You shall not hate your brother in your heart, but you shall reason frankly with your neighbor, lest you incur sin because of him. Leviticus 19:17 [/smear:#03a993:0]
so love confronts, but confronts lovingly not by angry rioting ( judge the sin, not the person).
We are not to judge with unmerciful condemnation, we are not the final court of law God is and that time will come in the future.
so in the first verses I posted God is making clear the kind of Judging we are NOT to do but to never judge anything, any sin, ever, would be foolish.
But we should never make judgments based on OUR thoughts, ideas or ideals.
Further, we need to be ready ,to be lovingly corrected also
[smear:#6e19e6] Let a righteous man strike me—it is a kindness; let him rebuke me—it is oil for my head; let my head not refuse it.... Psalms 141:5[/smear:#e6192c:0]
I think today part of the problem is knowing the difference between criticizing, being 'judgmental' condemning a person.... and Judging, based on God's standards for good, out of love. we cannot play God for sure but we also cannot ignore what God says.
If we only see everything wrong in others and nothing in our lives ( not seeing our own sin) we are trying to play God.
we are to judge the sin.... not the sinner ( that would be God's job).
We always need to keep in mind we are sinners [smear:#18591d] Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions. 2 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin! 3 For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. 4 Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, Psalms 51:1-4[/smear:#e61982:0]
Only then:
[smear:#87102b]Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will return to you. Psalms 51:13[/smear:#188535:0] Those verses do not mean we are not to help a sinning brother or sister, but we are to always keep in mind we ( I) sin also.
We (I) am not trying to embarrass or ridicule other people... nor give them a piece of 'my' mind. It is to give God's words in a trying time when chaos of all kinds are abounding more and more.
Done for Today.
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fearnot
Living With Pain
Posts: 7,659
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Post by fearnot on Jul 24, 2020 9:59:53 GMT -5
In the USA today we have been very successful in removing God from the culture, and are we reaping good benefits from this? I personally do not think so and do not see any evidence of it.
I see less and less of these verse being acted out in society today:
[smear:#e6194b]“37 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. Matthew 37-39[/smear:#2319e6:1]
Right along with trying to remove any trace of God another big push is to somehow rid the culture of the 'toxic white male'. Apparently the idea is white men, are too violent, too unemotional, too greedy, too caveman like, too stupid, too aggressive, etc.
And what would replace them, it seems to be either turn them into complete wimps or abort all males, etc.
This reminds me somehow of Eve in the Garden..... She did not ask God advise or help with Satan ( the snake) nor did she consult with Adam.
What about her 'toxic' behavior? She acted independently, as if God or Adam did not exist, and decided on her own what or who to believe and what was right and true. [smear:#1d991d] 6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. Genesis 3:6[/smear:#e64c19:0]
If you are a believer, then you know how well that worked out....without God or a male's input.
And notice She gave some to her ( now tamed) husband....and he obeyed her, and ate Well scripture does not put it that way.... just that he ate.
But I think today many women are still trying to be in complete control. Even in various religions and cults. But that is to be expected when from the very start, Eve and then Adam acted like Atheists ( tho they KNEW) God existed!
God had 'spoken' with Adam For example:
[smear:#37a974]16 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, 17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” Genesis 2:16,17[/smear:#b419e6:0]
God let Eve and then Adam rebel. But it had consequences...
and we see lots of rebellion today but what does rebellion often reap
fear, chaos, pain, suffering, destruction, violence, death etc.
Now in today's world, as then in the Garden, God does not coerce people He gave Adam and Eve the truth presently it is still easy to find the truth by reading the Bible Tho the day may come, when it won't be so easy to get a Bible.
However, I don't think unbeliever's have the same extent of free will as Adam... They do have free will to choose the pet sins. the problem is they can't really choose righteousness, godliness because they are 'slaves'.
[smear:#3b9e97]Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin. John 8:34[/smear:#e619e1:0]
They have free will, but will not choose something, they do not want.
Which brings us back to trying to kick God out of everything, and woman trying to feminize men. Tho this started in the Garden, it has continued to increase I think one of the end times signs we have been watching for a long time is the complete decay and destruction of marriage. At one time, many families ( never all) family.... was a safe and loving place
but now this verse seems to apply even to marriages ( well really divorce, which continues to skyrocket )
[smear:#6b157f]12 And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. Matthew 24:12[/smear:#228214:0]
But that is just one consequence of doing our own thing. Done for today
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Post by Cindy on Jul 24, 2020 13:37:27 GMT -5
I didn't take it as tho you were being mean or something, rather being helpful, in pointing out, no one living today, could sin like Judas of Peter ( however Peter was not a traitor, selling Jesus for Crucifixion ( for the price of a slave)
Your reply was comforting, in that you pointed out, once saved always saved. Thank you.
I've been praying about your health I will step it up tho Keep me ( us) posted. You're such a blessing Barbara, thank you!
Thinking about the continuing signs, plagues, floods, locusts, chaos etc etc. we are heading for the most tumultuous of times.... Lawlessness in abounding more and more and people are destroying the very system God put in place to protect the weak and needy...
so that the police have their hands tied and can no longer be 'peacekeepers'. Are there some 'bad' actors....I would imagine so
On the other hand, keeping the 'peace is extremely hard to do It requires tremendous sacrifice:
there is concern about their physical safety ( they are dealing with 'bad' guys daily and each day is putting their lives at risk),
their mental health ( they see so much more sadness, horror, evil on a daily basis, than the average person),
they often have to give up time with their family,
And they are 'hated' etc. [smear:#c419e6]Blessed are the peacekeepers, for they shall by called the children of God. -Matthew 5:9[/smear:#e61941:0]
And here is a verse many rioters hate:
[smear:#63b575] 4 for he is God's servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God's wrath on the wrongdoer. Romans 13:4[/smear:#02b1a8:0]
Tho the next verses were for brothers and sisters in church I think, they might fit for today's rebels:
[smear:#e63919]As for a person who stirs up division, after warning him once and then twice, have nothing more to do with him, Titus 3:10[/smear:#a219e6:0]
Rather then continue arguing with a family member ( bent on 'revolution', anti-God etc.) or someone online etc.
We need to pull away for a time ( at least) or we will be guilty of casting our pearls before swine:
[smear:#7cc07f]6 “Do not give dogs what is holy, and do not throw your pearls before pigs, lest they trample them underfoot and turn to attack you". Matthew 7:6[/smear:#19e1e6:0]
Dogs and pigs are symbolic of those who mock, ridicule, and reject the Bible ( the 'pearls)
And in fact, this is their outlook
[smear:#9a55f5]18 For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 1 Corinthians 1:18[/smear:#08c1ad:0]
Which bring us to the even more important truth as to what is going on ( all the things listed and many many more) these things going on the the world today are part of an ever increasing spiritual battle.
We should not blame every problem in the world on Satan and his demons on the other hand, we must not underestimate the fact, there is a fierce battle going on.
1[smear:#e61935]0 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. Ephesians 6:10,11[/smear:#97e619:0]
And one way to fight this battle is:
[smear:#e619db]I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you. Psalms 119:11[/smear:#90cd08:0]
Because we are living more and more (daily) in an: [smear:#fa58ec] 39 But he answered them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. Matthew 12:39[/smear:#19e6a2:0]
And we do not ever want to engage in a battle of words with the devil ( Like Eve)....we would run the risk of being deceived by the master liar.
Even the archangel Michael, did not engage the devil , with words and clever arguments, instead he said:
[smear:#0ca693]9 But when the archangel Michael, contending with the devil, was disputing about the body of Moses, he did not presume to pronounce a blasphemous judgment, but said, “The Lord rebuke you.” Jude 1:9[/smear:#d366f4:0]
But storing up God's word does have extreme benefits
[smear:#0cb20e]12 For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. Hebrews 4:12[/smear:#f4a200:0]
Done for today
I loved reading what you wrote, and especially liked how you pointed out that we are in a spiritual battle!
I've also continued to think about all the anger I see and hear about. It's everywhere really. When I was studying this morning, I kept running into scriptures about anger and they seem to fit here very well. First look at what we're told to do: “Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice.” (Ephesians 4:31) and ““In your anger do not sin”: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry,” (Ephesians 4:26) But of course, our sin nature wants us to be angry and hateful, just like most people are today. God has warned us that anger can quickly turn to murder, both literally and figuratively. Anger also causes bitterness, and when we are bitter about something, we are also captive to sin and that's a horrible place to be. (Acts 8:23) Sinful anger and bitterness, is contagious, and therefore causes a lot of trouble (as we've seen) and defiles many people. (Hebrews 12:15) I'd be willing to bet that the vast majority of the protesters and the BLM people are bitter, angry people, all the time. Paul describes them perfectly: ““Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.” “Their feet are swift to shed blood; ruin and misery mark their ways, and the way of peace they do not know.” “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”” (Romans 3:14–18) It's like Paul saw what was going on in our time and wrote about it, isn't it?
I hope that you Barbra and Cindy feel encouraged and blessed by what you write in this thread, you have many views and will continue to get views. It is easy for people to be takers and even look to find fault at what a person writes, those people could comment and try to contribute. If a person is in agreement with flesh are they supportive of the spirit? Please don’t agree with anything that can destroy your brother or sister. May all those who preach Christ be blessed and embraced. In times when corrections come; or in times or something should not have been done; lay that part of flesh down; knowing it has no place with you; and go forward in spirit; knowing that with each passing moment Jesus delivers through many situations. Judge not, that you be not judged, for with what judgment you judge, ye shall be judged.John 15:12 “This is my commandment, that you love one another, as I have loved you.” Thank you Marlene! Thank you Anna
I am working on this thread...in part, because if you recall awhile back
I mentioned how I have known some Christians that can bring scripture, God, Jesus etc. smoothly into any conversation. I have always thought it was a great gift.
But of course, it means they have spent a lot of time reading and memorizing, scripture...so much so, it is always at the forefront of their mind.
I think....Cindy thought this topic would be a good way, to not only stay in the Word, but also to make connections with what is going on in the world today.
But double thank you....your verse is great and it gives me a topic for today!! :) I wasn't quite sure what to talk about today and tie it with scripture, but you just gave me an idea.
I love the way God guides us and helps us through our friends LOL
In looking at the chaos, rebellion etc. going on today, people sometimes point to these verses in scripture , in order to say. that in taking notice or calling out the rioters behavior as wrong we should not judge them and they cannot be judged, because of these verses
[smear:#e619aa]“Judge not, that you be not judged. 2 For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. 3 Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? 4 Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye.Matthew 7:1[/smear:#1ce619:0]
which brings me to a much overlooked key of studying scripture:
We are to look at the WHOLE council of God on any given subject.... not just one verse or one paragraph.
For example, someone could read the above verse, and based on it alone, .. conclude, that to suggest rioting is a sin would be in itself...a sin of being judgmental
The problem with that is, the person seemingly has not read all that God has to say about: judging and may not have even understood those first verses I posted above.
Here is just one verse (also about judging):
[smear:#063da3]24 Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment.” John 7:24[/smear:#b8028c:0]
Note in the above verse we are told to judge, but we must judge with right judgment.
So what would a 'wrong' way of judging be? Well, not looking at the fact, we are all sinners not looking at the 'log in your own eye'
In other words, judging on the basis of our own self-righteousness and based on our own pride of being so much better than the ones we are judging.
A good example of how NOT to judge would be like the Pharisee in the parable Jesus told: [smear:#177412] 9 He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt: 10 “Two men went up into the temple to , one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus:
‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’ Luke 18:9-12[/smear:#781e6d:0]
Notice the Pharisee thinks so highly of himself and looks on the tax collector with scorn and contempt...he is super self-righteous and a hypocrite.
This would be the wrong way to make a judgment about any behavior.... even about murder, sexual immorality of any kind ( there are lots) etc etc.
Why?
First we must always
[smear:#7f0534] 15 Rather, speaking the truth in love,[/smear:#1e8735:0]
Why?
Because we might fall, into the very same sin.
But Jesus did not say....Do NOT remove the speck from your brother's eye To leave it there would be cruel What Jesus said, was beware of your own sins first.....
But trust me, I would find it sooooo much easier, never to correct anyone and my personal sin lies more in that direction!! But that is NOT love Just letting someone walk right into a blazing fire because they are blind.
And all the more so because we now live in a culture of NO moral absolutes Some might say, well fine, its not right for you but it is for me.
Strangely, that is tricky in itself because we might get caught in the very same sin [smear:#078952] 6 Brothers,if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness.
Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted.[/smear:#76e619:0]
If someone is super angry and raging, for example the temptation is strong, not to get angry yell back.
But on what, or whom, do we, in such a morally ambiguous culture, turn to, in order to make correct judgments?
God, and His Word ( the Bible).
And we need to do our utmost, to have all the facts, and not jump to conclusions I think, that jumping to conclusions is something that is a pandemic these days:
[smear:#929a04] If one gives an answer before he hears, it is his folly and shame. Proverbs 18:13[/smear:#e61934:0]
But to say that Jesus forbids any judgment.... would mean we should do away with any court of law and never judge the sin of : a mass murderer, a pedophile, a rapist, an arsonists, a thief a slave owner etc. etc.
Jesus was not condemning courts of law, and in fact, the Bible instituted them.
We must discern correctly.
There are so many things in scripture we must make a judgment on for example we have to make a judgment on who is a false prophet [smear:#780941] 5 “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. Matthew 7:15[/smear:#027973:0]
or what use would this verse be?
[smear:#409b3e]14 But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.[/smear:#781f60:0]
If we do not judge then there is no good or evil
Even those who are rioting cannot complain about a policeman they thought was wrong they can not make any judgment either
Tho to this day, I am not sure we have all the facts on that tragedy but even IF we did, to then condemn all police based on a few bad actors would be a wrong type of judgment you cannot judge a whole group ( like all police, or all whites, or all blacks, etc etc.)
[smear:#8407a9]17 “You shall not hate your brother in your heart, but you shall reason frankly with your neighbor, lest you incur sin because of him. Leviticus 19:17 [/smear:#03a993:0]
so love confronts, but confronts lovingly not by angry rioting ( judge the sin, not the person).
We are not to judge with unmerciful condemnation, we are not the final court of law God is and that time will come in the future.
so in the first verses I posted God is making clear the kind of Judging we are NOT to do but to never judge anything, any sin, ever, would be foolish.
But we should never make judgments based on OUR thoughts, ideas or ideals.
Further, we need to be ready ,to be lovingly corrected also
[smear:#6e19e6] Let a righteous man strike me—it is a kindness; let him rebuke me—it is oil for my head; let my head not refuse it.... Psalms 141:5[/smear:#e6192c:0]
I think today part of the problem is knowing the difference between criticizing, being 'judgmental' condemning a person.... and Judging, based on God's standards for good, out of love. we cannot play God for sure but we also cannot ignore what God says.
If we only see everything wrong in others and nothing in our lives ( not seeing our own sin) we are trying to play God.
we are to judge the sin.... not the sinner ( that would be God's job).
We always need to keep in mind we are sinners [smear:#18591d] Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions. 2 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin! 3 For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. 4 Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, Psalms 51:1-4[/smear:#e61982:0]
Only then:
[smear:#87102b]Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will return to you. Psalms 51:13[/smear:#188535:0] Those verses do not mean we are not to help a sinning brother or sister, but we are to always keep in mind we ( I) sin also.
We (I) am not trying to embarrass or ridicule other people... nor give them a piece of 'my' mind. It is to give God's words in a trying time when chaos of all kinds are abounding more and more.
Done for Today.
Well done as usual!
In the USA today we have been very successful in removing God from the culture, and are we reaping good benefits from this? I personally do not think so and do not see any evidence of it.
I see less and less of these verse being acted out in society today:
[smear:#e6194b]“37 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. Matthew 37-39[/smear:#2319e6:1]
Right along with trying to remove any trace of God another big push is to somehow rid the culture of the 'toxic white male'. Apparently the idea is white men, are too violent, too unemotional, too greedy, too caveman like, too stupid, too aggressive, etc.
And what would replace them, it seems to be either turn them into complete wimps or abort all males, etc.
This reminds me somehow of Eve in the Garden..... She did not ask God advise or help with Satan ( the snake) nor did she consult with Adam.
What about her 'toxic' behavior? She acted independently, as if God or Adam did not exist, and decided on her own what or who to believe and what was right and true. [smear:#1d991d] 6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. Genesis 3:6[/smear:#e64c19:0]
If you are a believer, then you know how well that worked out....without God or a male's input.
And notice She gave some to her ( now tamed) husband....and he obeyed her, and ate Well scripture does not put it that way.... just that he ate.
But I think today many women are still trying to be in complete control. Even in various religions and cults. But that is to be expected when from the very start, Eve and then Adam acted like Atheists ( tho they KNEW) God existed!
God had 'spoken' with Adam For example:
[smear:#37a974]16 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, 17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” Genesis 2:16,17[/smear:#b419e6:0]
God let Eve and then Adam rebel. But it had consequences...
and we see lots of rebellion today but what does rebellion often reap
fear, chaos, pain, suffering, destruction, violence, death etc.
Now in today's world, as then in the Garden, God does not coerce people He gave Adam and Eve the truth presently it is still easy to find the truth by reading the Bible Tho the day may come, when it won't be so easy to get a Bible.
However, I don't think unbeliever's have the same extent of free will as Adam... They do have free will to choose the pet sins. the problem is they can't really choose righteousness, godliness because they are 'slaves'.
[smear:#3b9e97]Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin. John 8:34[/smear:#e619e1:0]
They have free will, but will not choose something, they do not want.
Which brings us back to trying to kick God out of everything, and woman trying to feminize men. Tho this started in the Garden, it has continued to increase I think one of the end times signs we have been watching for a long time is the complete decay and destruction of marriage. At one time, many families ( never all) family.... was a safe and loving place
but now this verse seems to apply even to marriages ( well really divorce, which continues to skyrocket )
[smear:#6b157f]12 And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. Matthew 24:12[/smear:#228214:0]
But that is just one consequence of doing our own thing. Done for today
Good job! You're on a roll!
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fearnot
Living With Pain
Posts: 7,659
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Post by fearnot on Jul 25, 2020 10:51:42 GMT -5
Thank You as always Cindy. It is kind of funny....I always pray first, but sometimes I think, well that was okay or pretty good, but other times....maybe, not so much.
But you are always so encouraging, thank you!!
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fearnot
Living With Pain
Posts: 7,659
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Post by fearnot on Jul 25, 2020 11:08:01 GMT -5
The year 2020 has so far turned out to be unpredictable, unprecedented, scary, bizarre, full of angst, people full of anger and confusion etc,
Furthermore, there is no indication, that the world will be going back to 'normal' any time soon.
So what are Christians to do in such strange times, often seemingly dystopic- like times?
This has always been a comforting verse to me:
[smear:#06f06c]8 It is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.” Deuteronomy 31:8[/smear:#c719e6:0]
Could things continue in a downward spiral? I think that is possible, maybe even likely only time will tell but how are we to respond?
God tells us, to continue to love ( not always easy if anger and fear are knocking on our 'door'....nevertheless...)
[smear:#e62819]There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. I John 4:18[/smear:#0d9a9c:0]
The love spoken here would not be the kind of love often spoken of in the secular world love like:
I love coffee or I love my car or I love football etc etc.
The love in the verse above, is a mature self- sacrificing love.
So in the world as it is today, we may feel at moments, like wishing to shake some sense in some folks, on the one hand, we might feel like we want to cower in fear, but neither of those are options.
We are to love them, for they know not what they do.
And the first thing we need to do is to bring it all to God in prayer:
[smear:#e6196c]Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6,7[/smear:#1938e6:0]
A Christian might even wonder, what if things get so bad, that killing and murder begin to rampage in the not to distant future Well beside the fact, we should not be 'living' in the past or the future
Still, God has provide us peace, even concerning something like that:
[smear:#952286]And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell. Matthew 10:28[/smear:#1e837a:0]
We know we will all die eventually, unless we are raptured it is true, we could perhaps be killed, it happens.... but Christians already have eternal life, it is only this body, that will die.
[smear:#19e66a]In God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can man do to me? Psalm 56:11[/smear:#e69519:0]
It seems in the world today, people do not want to let go of their anger, and anger can lead to murder.
Just an aside...this is also a good verse for all of us today
[smear:#4c9f0e]“Do not call conspiracy all that this people calls conspiracy, and do not fear what they fear, nor be in dread. Isaiah 8:12[/smear:#19c0e6:0]
I do not think that verse means that there are no real 'conspiracies' in fact, I think there are some, maybe many But what does it profit, getting all wound up in them? I have noticed, they often cause anger, rage, fear, etc.
They 'could' be 'fact' but it is hard to discern If we want to know, what is 'really' going on in absolute truth all we have to do is turn to scripture.
Another thing we have to be very very careful about conspiracies is they may have a lot of 'truth' to them and yet be straight from the devil himself Satan is a master deceiver, but he know scripture, probably way better than any Christian
So a conspiracy might even have scripture quoted in it, along with, carefully crafted 'new age' ideas, mankind will evolve to a higher level, we need a one world government and so on and on but those things would be so subtle, a person might never realize it until they were almost completely fooled.
[smear:#7a19e6] 24 For false Christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect. Matthew 24:24[/smear:#ea49b1:0]
I think it could be a mistake to think a false prophet would have to be some long haired, guy in a dirty robe and sandals.
He could even be someone on the internet perhaps some special military guy who knows many political secrets or maybe some psychiatrist or doctor or financial wizard etc etc. who have some deep inner knowledge or of secret things going on
We need to beware of getting involved in such things and keep our minds on:
[smear:#9f19e6]You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you. Isaiah 26:3[/smear:#19e660:0]
Done for today
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fearnot
Living With Pain
Posts: 7,659
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Post by fearnot on Jul 26, 2020 9:57:30 GMT -5
I am pretty sure, we are coming up on around 60 days or 2 months of protests and riots in our country. It does not seem to be quieting down, but rather spreading to more and more cities, and ramping up and escalating in organization and violence .
In the past, in our country ( USA) protests about a war or whatever, usually was a one day happening, or perhaps, as long as a whole weekend.
I think the unprecedented length of time and continual growth and anger of these protests/riots are on a two fold level.
On one level, there is the secular world: which is awash in all manner of confusion, unrest, and tumult. ( not just in our country but worldwide as well)
However, many unique things have come together all at the same time:
A worldwide pandemic, massive amounts of people out of work, a huge divide in culture, 'race', religion etc.
Which brings me to the other aspect or level, that is fueling this turmoil, maelstrom, disorder, and violence:
It is actually the more malevolent level of all this it's a spiritual battle that has been planned by the devil since time began.
We can be certain that the chaos and confusion is not of God:
[smear:#5b0a8a]33 For God is not a God of confusion but of peace.... I Corinthians 14:33[/smear:#037370:0]
and God says this:
[smear:#19e624]40 But all things should be done decently and in order. I Corinthians 14:40[/smear:#0e5984:0]
I am pretty sure that many of the young ( and old) protesting and rioting, think, they are doing so for a excellent, honorable, commendable, valuable, admirable etc etc. cause. They are standing up for those who cannot stand up for themselves, so they are soldiers for 'righteousness' in their own eyes.
But are they really? On either of the two levels The purely secular lever or the spiritual level?
On the secular level, are some of them there ( at least in part) virtue signaling: I am compassionate you police, conservatives etc. are evil
or even there for the thrill the excitement of making 'history' or tearing down the evil USA and being a part of finally bringing out of the chaos a new world of peace a one world of unity
They are not going in at the narrow gate but rather the gate of 'destruction':
[smear:#ac279c]13 “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. 14 For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few. Matthew 7:13,14[/smear:#20a1ad:0]
Rioting, destroying, violence is easy...
building, sacrificing, making peace, loving your 'enemy' living a godly life... not so much.
No matter how lofty the ideals, the rioters might think is the justification for disorder, destruction and violence
they are certainly, not promoting peace or love. [smear:#b335bf] 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:7[/smear:#59e619:0]
One can't really say this of violent rioting:
[smear:#f32f44]9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. Matthew 5:9[/smear:#c119e6:0]
More tommorow Done for today
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Post by Cindy on Jul 27, 2020 10:31:21 GMT -5
Thank You as always Cindy. It is kind of funny....I always first, but sometimes I think, well that was okay or pretty good, but other times....maybe, not so much.
But you are always so encouraging, thank you!! I know what you mean as I often feel the same way about something I've written. But I've discovered that often when I think something I wrote isn't that good, that others really like it and get a lot out of it. So I just trust God that whatever He leads me to write about is going to be good for someone, and even if it's only one person, that's just fine by me!
The year 2020 has so far turned out to be unpredictable, unprecedented, scary, bizarre, full of angst, people full of anger and confusion etc,
Furthermore, there is no indication, that the world will be going back to 'normal' any time soon.
So what are Christians to do in such strange times, often seemingly dystopic- like times?
This has always been a comforting verse to me:
[smear:#06f06c]8 It is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.” Deuteronomy 31:8[/smear:#c719e6:0]
Could things continue in a downward spiral? I think that is possible, maybe even likely only time will tell but how are we to respond?
God tells us, to continue to love ( not always easy if anger and fear are knocking on our 'door'....nevertheless...)
[smear:#e62819]There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. I John 4:18[/smear:#0d9a9c:0]
The love spoken here would not be the kind of love often spoken of in the secular world love like:
I love coffee or I love my car or I love football etc etc.
The love in the verse above, is a mature self- sacrificing love.
So in the world as it is today, we may feel at moments, like wishing to shake some sense in some folks, on the one hand, we might feel like we want to cower in fear, but neither of those are options.
We are to love them, for they know not what they do.
And the first thing we need to do is to bring it all to God in prayer:
[smear:#e6196c]Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6,7[/smear:#1938e6:0]
A Christian might even wonder, what if things get so bad, that killing and murder begin to rampage in the not to distant future Well beside the fact, we should not be 'living' in the past or the future
Still, God has provide us peace, even concerning something like that:
[smear:#952286]And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell. Matthew 10:28[/smear:#1e837a:0]
We know we will all die eventually, unless we are raptured it is true, we could perhaps be killed, it happens.... but Christians already have eternal life, it is only this body, that will die.
[smear:#19e66a]In God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can man do to me? Psalm 56:11[/smear:#e69519:0]
It seems in the world today, people do not want to let go of their anger, and anger can lead to murder.
Just an aside...this is also a good verse for all of us today
[smear:#4c9f0e]“Do not call conspiracy all that this people calls conspiracy, and do not fear what they fear, nor be in dread. Isaiah 8:12[/smear:#19c0e6:0]
I do not think that verse means that there are no real 'conspiracies' in fact, I think there are some, maybe many But what does it profit, getting all wound up in them? I have noticed, they often cause anger, rage, fear, etc.
They 'could' be 'fact' but it is hard to discern If we want to know, what is 'really' going on in absolute truth all we have to do is turn to scripture.
Another thing we have to be very very careful about conspiracies is they may have a lot of 'truth' to them and yet be straight from the devil himself Satan is a master deceiver, but he know scripture, probably way better than any Christian
So a conspiracy might even have scripture quoted in it, along with, carefully crafted 'new age' ideas, mankind will evolve to a higher level, we need a one world government and so on and on but those things would be so subtle, a person might never realize it until they were almost completely fooled.
[smear:#7a19e6] 24 For false Christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect. Matthew 24:24[/smear:#ea49b1:0]
I think it could be a mistake to think a false prophet would have to be some long haired, guy in a dirty robe and sandals.
He could even be someone on the internet perhaps some special military guy who knows many political secrets or maybe some psychiatrist or doctor or financial wizard etc etc. who have some deep inner knowledge or of secret things going on
We need to beware of getting involved in such things and keep our minds on:
[smear:#9f19e6]You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you. Isaiah 26:3[/smear:#19e660:0]
Done for today
Good! In case someone is unfamiliar with this word, Dystopic is from the word, Dystopia which means a society characterized by human misery, as squalor, oppression, disease, and overcrowding.
That's very true that the verse isn't saying there are no conspiracies because there certainly are some, and will continue to some. What God is telling us though is that we are to ignore the conspiracies and not get involved talking about them, reading about them, writing about them, etc and most of all not worrying about them - which is what will happen is we're constantly thinking about them.
There's probably a number of reasons the Lord doesn't want us to worry, but one is because worry can cause us to be angry or it can cause us to fear which can also cause anger. Check out this scripture: “My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, for man’s anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires.” (James 1:19–20) God can't get much plainer then that about why He doesn't want us to be angry. Because He doesn't want us to be angry, there is a great deal about anger and how we should deal with it in both the Old and New Testaments.
One that's very well known but also very much disregarded is the verse that tells us not to let the sun go down on our anger. We act as though God doesn't really mean that. But if we obeyed that one single verse, many people would be alive today that were murdered, and many marriages would still be together that are divorced today; and there would be much more good will in general instead of the gross amount of anger and malice that we see today. One reason that so much evil comes from anger is explained in that same verse: ““In your anger do not sin”: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold.” (Ephesians 4:26–27) Uncontrolled anger gives Satan a foothold in our life, and that should be something that scares us badly enough to make sure we obey God and don't let anger control us any longer! These next two verses explain a little more about it, letting us know that uncontrolled anger only leads to evil and that people who allow themselves to become angry easily, and frequently, are acting like a food. “Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret—it leads only to evil.” (Psalm 37:8) “Do not be quickly provoked in your spirit, for anger resides in the lap of fools.” (Ecclesiastes 7:9)
What is a "fool" according to God's word though? It's not what most people tend to define it as. Instead, it's defined as those who lack wisdom and understanding, especially in relation to God. These two scriptures show this definition is accurate. “For the fool speaks folly, his mind is busy with evil: He practices ungodliness and spreads error concerning the LORD; the hungry he leaves empty and from the thirsty he withholds water.” (Isaiah 32:6) ““My people are fools; they do not know me. They are senseless children; they have no understanding. They are skilled in doing evil; they know not how to do good.”” (Jeremiah 4:22) Sadly, fools are also often defined as someone who does not know the Lord. Or, if they do know the Lord, then they are described as someone who is disobedient, and often an idolater who relies on themselves instead of God.
The reason I keep bringing up stuff about anger is because we're seeing so much of it today. We need to be especially careful that we don't allow the anger that's all around us to cause us to become angry too. Remember, sin is contagious and uncontrolled, unrighteous anger is a sin. We need to protect ourselves from it! I'm certain that the Antichrist and the False Prophet are alive and well today. Partly because I believe that we are in fact in the last days of this Age of Grace. But even if we weren't in the last days, because the end times began at the same time as the Church, I think Satan has always had someone on hand to fill those roles in every generation. If God had decided to start the Tribulation at some point around the time of WW2, the Antichrist would probably have been Hitler. That's easy to see because hindsight is always 2020. We can't know who the Antichrist is and it really shouldn't matter to us. If God wanted us to know, He would have told us. All we need to do is point the people who are living through the Tribulation to the Bible. Hopefully, they'll be saved and be in His Word as much as they possibly can be.
I am pretty sure, we are coming up on around 60 days or 2 months of protests and riots in our country. It does not seem to be quieting down, but rather spreading to more and more cities, and ramping up and escalating in organization and violence .
In the past, in our country ( USA) protests about a war or whatever, usually was a one day happening, or perhaps, as long as a whole weekend.
I think the unprecedented length of time and continual growth and anger of these protests/riots are on a two fold level.
On one level, there is the secular world: which is awash in all manner of confusion, unrest, and tumult. ( not just in our country but worldwide as well)
However, many unique things have come together all at the same time:
A worldwide pandemic, massive amounts of people out of work, a huge divide in culture, 'race', religion etc.
Which brings me to the other aspect or level, that is fueling this turmoil, maelstrom, disorder, and violence:
It is actually the more malevolent level of all this it's a spiritual battle that has been planned by the devil since time began.
We can be certain that the chaos and confusion is not of God:
[smear:#5b0a8a]33 For God is not a God of confusion but of peace.... I Corinthians 14:33[/smear:#037370:0]
and God says this:
[smear:#19e624]40 But all things should be done decently and in order. I Corinthians 14:40[/smear:#0e5984:0]
I am pretty sure that many of the young ( and old) protesting and rioting, think, they are doing so for a excellent, honorable, commendable, valuable, admirable etc etc. cause. They are standing up for those who cannot stand up for themselves, so they are soldiers for 'righteousness' in their own eyes.
But are they really? On either of the two levels The purely secular lever or the spiritual level?
On the secular level, are some of them there ( at least in part) virtue signaling: I am compassionate you police, conservatives etc. are evil
or even there for the thrill the excitement of making 'history' or tearing down the evil USA and being a part of finally bringing out of the chaos a new world of peace a one world of unity
They are not going in at the narrow gate but rather the gate of 'destruction':
[smear:#ac279c]13 “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. 14 For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few. Matthew 7:13,14[/smear:#20a1ad:0]
Rioting, destroying, violence is easy...
building, sacrificing, making peace, loving your 'enemy' living a godly life... not so much.
No matter how lofty the ideals, the rioters might think is the justification for disorder, destruction and violence
they are certainly, not promoting peace or love. [smear:#b335bf] 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:7[/smear:#59e619:0]
One can't really say this of violent rioting:
[smear:#f32f44]9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. Matthew 5:9[/smear:#c119e6:0]
More tommorow Done for today
Very true! Most of the people rioting are doing so simply because they're angry. When someone is angry, they're saying I'm right and you - the person or subject they're rioting or protesting about - is wrong. Then other people will show up because they're angry that the other people are angry and they think the other people are wrong! And so on and on it goes. Beware anger and beware getting angry. Like you posted, God commands us to be peacemakers, not protesters and certainly not rioters. That's just crazy! Well done Barbara!
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fearnot
Living With Pain
Posts: 7,659
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Post by fearnot on Jul 27, 2020 11:00:19 GMT -5
Thank you sooooo much for your added insight etc.!! :)
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fearnot
Living With Pain
Posts: 7,659
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Post by fearnot on Jul 27, 2020 11:14:58 GMT -5
Thinking about the ever increasing levels of anger today and the violence that is also increasing
Who benefits from it?
As I mentioned yesterday there is a secular battle going on, but also more importantly a 'spiritual' battle... and the one who 'benefits' from, anger, chaos, violence, etc. is the devil:
[smear:#e61954]12 Therefore, rejoice, O heavens and you who dwell in them! But woe to you, O earth and sea, for the devil has come down to you in great wrath, because he knows that his time is short!” Revelation 12:12[/smear:#110c73:0]
Note: one of the main things about the devil: he has great wrath that should give us pause!
But if there is enough unprecedented chaos... world wide.... for long enough time.... and the 'church' is gone, so there is no longer any spiritual hope, light, salt etc.
( and the rapture happens)
Then it is the perfect set up and time for Satan to bring on stage the Anti-Christ for 'peace' ( a false peace) to the whole world
[smear:#e6194b]3 Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction.... 2 Thessalonians 2:3[/smear:#352072:0]
Notice the 3 elements in this verse concerning the anti-Christ rebellion lawlessness destruction
I do not think we are at full tilt yet, but we sure are speeding and increasing in that direction. Satan is busy deceiving, misleading , stirring up anger, rage, and wrath, etc. world wide
[smear:#046709]6 And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet. Matthew 24:6[/smear:#870622:0]
[smear:#60e619]12 And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold Matthew 24:12[/smear:#c219e6:0]
So chaos and shutting the voice of the church and believers will also be a big help to the devil and work to his benefit:
[smear:#cd49b7]Where there is no guidance, a people falls.... Proverbs 11:14[/smear:#19e677:0]
And how should the believer respond? Here is some guidance:
[smear:#c819e6]Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. Psalms 1:1,2[/smear:#60fa05:0]
and we need to keep this in mind:
[smear:#b7495b]Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. Galatians 6:7[/smear:#3d7542:0]
We must remember that anger, violence, Chaos, is not peace, and only assists Satan, his demons and the eventual or soon rolling out of his anti-Christ.
To add to this, is the locusts traveling around the globe, destroying crops and because of massive flooding in China their crops are also in grave danger.
Can people go about trying to 'right a wrong'... in an unjust, harmful, hurtful, spiteful, mistaken... sinful or evil way? I think so
[smear:#2b824d]9 And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—
Revelation 12:9[/smear:#9d3468:0]
And while I do not think all the rioters are 'evil' I do think they are deceived not necessarily about what they 'think' they are trying to do ( but I think even that is misunderstood.... they are working on only a secular level, and the evils of the world are on a spiritual level, that only trusting in Jesus will cure)
In any case, the way they are going about it...... No good will come of it but much pain and evil
[smear:#a1b70f] 13 while evil people and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. 2 Timothy 3:13[/smear:#1f19e6:0]
Done for today
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Post by Cindy on Jul 28, 2020 9:46:17 GMT -5
Thank you sooooo much for your added insight etc.!! :)
I kind of doubt if I added anything that others don't already know lol
Thinking about the ever increasing levels of anger today and the violence that is also increasing
Who benefits from it?
As I mentioned yesterday there is a secular battle going on, but also more importantly a 'spiritual' battle... and the one who 'benefits' from, anger, chaos, violence, etc. is the devil:
[smear:#e61954]12 Therefore, rejoice, O heavens and you who dwell in them! But woe to you, O earth and sea, for the devil has come down to you in great wrath, because he knows that his time is short!” Revelation 12:12[/smear:#110c73:0]
Note: one of the main things about the devil: he has great wrath that should give us pause!
But if there is enough unprecedented chaos... world wide.... for long enough time.... and the 'church' is gone, so there is no longer any spiritual hope, light, salt etc.
( and the rapture happens)
Then it is the perfect set up and time for Satan to bring on stage the Anti-Christ for 'peace' ( a false peace) to the whole world
[smear:#e6194b]3 Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction.... 2 Thessalonians 2:3[/smear:#352072:0]
Notice the 3 elements in this verse concerning the anti-Christ rebellion lawlessness destruction
I do not think we are at full tilt yet, but we sure are speeding and increasing in that direction. Satan is busy deceiving, misleading , stirring up anger, rage, and wrath, etc. world wide
[smear:#046709]6 And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet. Matthew 24:6[/smear:#870622:0]
[smear:#60e619]12 And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold Matthew 24:12[/smear:#c219e6:0]
So chaos and shutting the voice of the church and believers will also be a big help to the devil and work to his benefit:
[smear:#cd49b7]Where there is no guidance, a people falls.... Proverbs 11:14[/smear:#19e677:0]
And how should the believer respond? Here is some guidance:
[smear:#c819e6]Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. Psalms 1:1,2[/smear:#60fa05:0]
and we need to keep this in mind:
[smear:#b7495b]Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. Galatians 6:7[/smear:#3d7542:0]
We must remember that anger, violence, Chaos, is not peace, and only assists Satan, his demons and the eventual or soon rolling out of his anti-Christ.
To add to this, is the locusts traveling around the globe, destroying crops and because of massive flooding in China their crops are also in grave danger.
Can people go about trying to 'right a wrong'... in an unjust, harmful, hurtful, spiteful, mistaken... sinful or evil way? I think so
[smear:#2b824d]9 And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—
Revelation 12:9[/smear:#9d3468:0]
And while I do not think all the rioters are 'evil' I do think they are deceived not necessarily about what they 'think' they are trying to do ( but I think even that is misunderstood.... they are working on only a secular level, and the evils of the world are on a spiritual level, that only trusting in Jesus will cure)
In any case, the way they are going about it...... No good will come of it but much pain and evil
[smear:#a1b70f] 13 while evil people and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. 2 Timothy 3:13[/smear:#1f19e6:0]
Done for today
Well said!
A friend called me last night and was telling me about this guy she'd been listening to on a Christian radio station. She needed to know if what he was saying was true. I was shocked at what I heard. First she told me something he'd said that showed he was one of the king James only cult. So while any cult is bad, I figured he couldn't be too awful. But then she told me he said we're in the tribulation now and of course we aren't. That's ridiculous! I wonder how he plans to fleece the people he's talking to about this. Next she said that the church had replaced Israel, and i thought, good grief, now he's mixed up in the replacement theology! What in the world will be next??? Then she said that he had also said that the rapture had already happened! When I asked how in the world anyone could say that, she explained that he said that 144,000 people had been raptured, which immediately told me he was a Jehovah Witness or at least had adopted some of their ideas. There were other false teachings he was preaching as well (of course). This to me is amazing that someone could mix up so many different false teachings and cults. It's like they quite literally picked out the ones they personally liked and thought they could use and threw out the rest, which included all scriptural teaching of the truth.
I wish now that I could have recorded that phone call so that I could go back and pick out all the different false teachings he was into and list them here. It was a real mixed bag, which makes me wonder why he's doing this, and if he plans to ask people for money because I can't imagine any other reason for choosing all these different things. To anyone who knows the Bible, what he's saying is simple laughable. What's not funny though are those who will be misled by him. I take comfort though knowing that Jesus will repay him for what he's doing: “But if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea. “Woe to the world because of the things that cause people to sin! Such things must come, but woe to the man through whom they come!” (Matthew 18:6–7) The "little ones" in this scripture are referring not to children, but to Christians who haven't yet grown in their faith to know the Bible and what it teaches. He's not speaking of people who have been saying they were saved for 20 years but have never bothered to read and study God's Word. He's talking about those who were recently saved and haven't had time to know His Word yet, or those who through no fault of their own are unable to understand it without a lot of help. Or even someone who is learning and growing in their faith, but just isn't sure about whatever it is the wolf in sheep's clothing is trying to say is true.
Still I'm amazed at the many different false teachings that this guy is lumping together into one package and trying to get people to believe them all! It's just plain crazy!!!!
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