05/14/23 READ AND HEED

05/14/23 READ AND HEED

I've been reading proverbs and watching people.

If you do not want to become a clueless old person, don't be a know-it-all youth.

05/12/23 THE ARM OF FLESH WILL FAIL YOU

05/12/23 THE ARM OF FLESH WILL FAIL YOU

When the oppressive State crushes society, real men stand strong and wield the Sword of the Spirit, while wannabe men only wave the sword of steel in the air, and rattle their tongues, while they watch families, faith and freedom being taken away.

As totalitarianism tightens its grip on a nations throat, it produces resistance, driving some people "underground" and keeping the wanabees under wraps." When Christians are persecuted we continue to obey God and love our enemies and do that which is pleasing in God's sight.

If you read this and say this is not true, then you don't know Jesus. God transforms us by His miraculous saving power and He conforms us to the image of His Son, by purifying our hearts through the infilling and the continual indwelling of the Holy Spirit.

The Christian life (as described in the New Testament) is not when humans do the best they can, it is when humans lovingly and faithfully submit to the rule of God in their lives and therefore they do what God enables them to do.

05/12/23 BEING SPIRITUAL IS DELIVERANCE FROM CARNALITY

05/12/23 BEING SPIRITUAL IS DELIVERANCE FROM CARNALITY

Don't read the next sentence unless you read the info that follows it.

I woke up this morning feeling safe and secure because I know there is a 2nd, with many a proponent. Then I checked recent reports on State abuse and attacks on family, faith and freedom. Sure enough, the renegades are in charge, while big mouthed "warriors," are abandoning America's children. The self styled saviors of society are boasting and fuming, but they have not done anything to stem the tide of perversion and persecution in their own neighborhoods. This is one reason I don't boast in the flesh or trust in those who do.

But my first reason for not touting or exercising carnal force is because the New Testament makes it clear that Christians are not violent; neither do they boast in the arm of flesh, nor lie about their commitment to deliver anyone with carnal weapons.

Christians take up the Sword of the Spirit; not the sword of steel.
Christians fight the good fight of faith, not the war of the flesh.
Christians walk their talk and put their own lives between the children and the ravenous beast.
Christians are faithful to God and His call to self sacrifice.

Very few are soldiers of the Cross because most preachers are not telling their parishioners what true salvation entails, and requires.

You can't follow God and darkness at the same time.

If you are ever going to get right with God and if you are ever going to enlist in spiritual warfare, you better do it soon, before you are unable to do it at all.

05/11/23 WHAT IS WRONG WITH PEOPLE!

05/11/23 WHAT IS WRONG WITH PEOPLE!

I don't care how competent or nice the food server is, if the restaurant is adding excrement or poison to the dish, it is not a good restaurant. If the server really is a good person, then the server should leave that restaurant.

I don't care how competent or nice the teacher is, if the school is undermining faith, family or freedom, it is not a good school. If the teacher really is a good person, then the teacher should leave that school.

Christians must come out from the denizens of darkness and be separate. Parents must stop sending their children to the very institutions that have attacked the Bible, the family, morality, freedom. And teachers must abandon the ships of perversion.

I often think, "What is wrong with people?"

Parents, teachers and pastors need to stop supporting, promoting, allowing the violation of the children.

Don't sacrifice to Moloch.
Don't work with Moloch.
Don't excuse Moloch.

05/11/23 SAVIOR AND LORD...BOTH

05/11/23 SAVIOR AND LORD...BOTH

SAVIOR AND LORD
The Lordship of Christ is to confess that Jesus Christ is God and to profess a total submission to Him.

Though the Christian's heart can be purified from the sinful nature, subsequent to our salvation (justification, regeneration, conversion), our initial salvation makes it possible for the believer to live in obedience to the commandments of God and therefore, not sin.
1 John 3:9 NKJV
9 Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God.

1 John 5:4 NKJV
4 For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world--our faith.

1 John 5:18 NKJV
18 We know that whoever is born of God does not sin; but he who has been born of God keeps himself, and the wicked one does not touch him.

This is because salvation is not simply forgiveness of our sins in the past, but deliverance from the power of sin now. 

Romans 10:8-11 NKJV
8 But what does it say? "The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart" (that is, the word of faith which we preach):
9 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.
10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
11 For the Scripture says, "Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame."

We must confess that Jesus is Lord (our God) and believe in our hearts that God has raised Him from the dead. From the beginning of our relationship with God, we acknowledge Jesus as God, and therefore we obey Him.

Unlike the New Birth and the Death of our Old Man, this is not a Two-Step experience. Jesus becomes both our Savior and Lord when we are converted, when we are born again. If He is not our Lord, He is not our Savior. We are not saved if Jesus is not Lord. This is clearly and redundantly taught in the Bible.

Not only does the Bible state that God expects Christians to quit sinning, the Bible instructs believers in living victoriously over sin.

05/10/23 EVEN THE DUMB BEASTS

05/10/23 EVEN THE DUMB BEASTS

Even the dumb beast of the field knows when danger is present. Sadly, many of those who claim salvation turn to darkness in the time of storm. In fact, many of those who claim salvation are part of the dark system that endangers freedom, family, faith. 

2 Corinthians 6:14-18
14 Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness?
15 And what accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever?
16 And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God. As God has said: "I will dwell in them And walk among them. I will be their God, And they shall be My people."
17 Therefore "Come out from among them And be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean, And I will receive you."
18 "I will be a Father to you, And you shall be My sons and daughters, Says the Lord Almighty."

05/10/23 THERE IS ONE PRIORITY

05/10/23 THERE IS ONE PRIORITY

If we turn EVERYTHING in USA back to conservative, moral, family and freedom friendly rule, without Christ, USA is still lost.

We should vote for these qualities and we should vote against godless, Bible hating Communism and Communists, but salvation and godly living is obtained, attained and retained through a submissive, faith relationship with the God of the Bible; it is not obtained, attained or retained through political powers; it is lost when we align with political powers that oppose God. Political powers can either encourage and support Christian living or undermine and attack Christian living.

This is a wicked world and this world is not the Kingdom of God, therefore we will not see the King until the King comes back. However, we are the salt of the earth and we must be faithful to God and His word if we are going to be a positive influence in this world. When a person loses his spiritual saltiness, he is good for nothing... but to be cast out and trodden under.

We live in the world, but we are not of the world.
We must not love the world or the things of the world, because if we do, the love of the Father is not in us.
We must not be conformed to the world, but transformed by the renewing of our minds.

Expect to be hated by the world.
Expect the State to oppose God and His people.

Our warfare is not carnal (fleshly), but spiritual.
Our weapons are not fleshly, but spiritual.
We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against spiritual powers.

Even if we could get all the earthly benefits we want through the State, we cannot get salvation or spiritual victory through the State. 

I am glad when the State and when society recognizes Biblical truths, but it will always be a short lived recognition.

Remember, we are to obey God rather than men.

Christians are told to obey legitimate authority.
When obeying humans or human rule contradicts God, we must obey God instead.

05/10/23 LORDSHIP OF CHRIST IS THE ISSUE

05/10/23 LORDSHIP OF CHRIST IS THE ISSUE

I had people turn against me, my message and my ministry, years ago because I preached Christ's exclusive Lordship over His Church and over the individuals in His Body.

Make no mistake. The Lordship of Christ in our lives is radical and crucial. Most folks who claim salvation do not surrender to His Lordship. His Lordship means that He is God and therefore He has supreme authority over His people personally and corporately. This, in turn, means that we are going to be at odds with the world around us, including society and the State.

I preached a separated life from, and victorious life over the world, the flesh and the devil. This is costly. It has cost individual believers and entire nations their freedom to worship and serve God, as well as the loss of friends and family.

My preaching held to Biblical standards and sure enough, it resulted in oppression and losses. Because some folks were not willing to pay the price of total commitment, they chose to blame me and my preaching. They slandered God's message and ministry by saying I was an ISSUES PREACHER. I did not preach legalism, which usurps the rule of God with external rules and regulations made by men. 

I was an ISSUES PREACHER. But the issues I was concerned about were morality, Divine authority, Christian submission. Remember, God is an, "issues God," as we see in the Ten Commandments. God forbids certain behavior and requires certain other behavior. His issues are also found in the New Testament. In fact, the New Testament makes it clear that God's issues are spiritual (forbidding lust, not only physical adultery; forbidding covetousness, not only stealing; forbidding anger and hatred, not only murder). Not only does God forbid sinning in the Christian life, He delivers His people from sinning.

Though people faulted me for being an "issues" preacher (because of certain Biblical issues they did not like), they continued to raise their children by the same issues that I had taught them, and as a result they have reaped the benefit of being the parents of believing children. If other preachers had been focused on the issues, with which God was concerned, then maybe our country would not be traveling the path taken by society in the days of Noah and the days of Lot. Perversity and persecution are rising like a flood, destroying souls, families and our nation.

My, "issues preaching" was Biblical and salvific, for individuals and our society, if it had been accepted and followed. People are less impressed with Biblical truths today than they were 40 years ago. We are approaching a time when God will give entire swaths of society over to perversity and deception, because they have loved the lie and refused to obey the gospel. 

2 Thessalonians 2:7-12 (NKJV)
7 For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way.
8 And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming.
9 The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders,
10 and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved.
11 And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie,
12 that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness. 

Don't consider the call and invitation of God to holiness of heart and life lightly. Nonchalance will cost you and your family eternal life with God.

05/09/23 KNOWING IS ESSENTIAL

Christian truth is not one dimensional.

In order to grasp the full meaning of God's enlightenment (individually), we must have a knowledge and a proper understanding of the various doctrines of the Bible (prayer, worship, victorious living, grace, fellowship, ministry, family, spiritual unity, service). God revealed truth concerning man's condition, God's nature, God's requirements, God's plan, God's salvation, God's presence, God's people, end times. It is a lot to learn but it is not more than we need, or more than we are able to comprehend.

However, it is opposed by Satan, and he attacks from several angles, such as incompetent pastors and teachers, disinterested parishioners, false teachers and false doctrines, intimidation, misdirection.

We have entered a period of human history that is more like the days of Noah and the days of Lot than we have ever seen. Sadly, many of those who are church people will not be ready for the sudden destruction and will fail of the grace of God. 

Hebrews 12:14-17
14 Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord:
15 Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled;
16 Lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright.
17 For ye know how that afterward, when he would have inherited the blessing, he was rejected: for he found no place of repentance, though he sought it carefully with tears.

05/09/23 DON'T FOLLOW THE CROWD

05/09/23 DON'T FOLLOW THE CROWD

Christians do not need to line up with popular "Christian" teachers or doctrines, but we must line up with God's revelation.

05/09/23 LINE UP WITH TRUTH

05/09/23 LINE UP WITH TRUTH

Christians do no need to make the Bible line up with "science," (so-called), but we must line up with God and His word.

05/07/23 FIRST THINGS FIRST

05/07/23 FIRST THINGS FIRST

The birth of Christ is essential.
Knowing the date is incidental.
The death, and resurrection of Christ after three days are essential.
Knowing how many hours in those three days is incidental.
The return of Christ is essential.

Knowing the day and hour is not even possible.
There are other things that I don't know but I don't base my relationship with others on those kinds of things.

I have my view of those unclear areas, and I hold my views because I believe I have Biblical foundation. I also see advantages in my position and I see how my views can be helpful to believers in understanding God's word and living the lives they ought to live. But I do not insist that others adopt my views on incidentals. In fact, I don't insist they adopt my views on the essentials, but I do tell them God requires their acceptance of those essentials.

Even in some essentials, professing Christians disagree with me.

The Bible teaches that God saves His people from sin's penalty, power and pollution and from sinning. Some folks deny this, but I still love them, even though they are wrong.

Men are God's appointed heads of the family. Some folks deny this, but I still love them, even though they are wrong.

The New Testament makes it crystal clear that Christians are not violent and we do not kill others, for any reason. Some folks deny this, but I still love them, even though they are wrong.

If non-essentials cause you to be distanced from a loving, Biblical pastor, then you are having more of a problem than some minor disagreement over incidentals.

Years ago I was learning how to live faithfully as we were moving from Philadelphia to Laodicea, and I took some radical steps as a believer in an environment that was hostile to Christ and His people. Some of my people did not take some of the same steps that I took. I had no problem with that. Each one must walk in his or her own light. We got along fine. I trusted their faithfulness to God and they trusted my preaching and teaching and gave respectful submission to my leadership. Obviously I would not stand for anyone bringing discord and division, but that was not the case.

There are some things that I know that I don't know.
There are some things, in which I may be in error.
But there are some things I know, and I know that I know.

It is a mistake to focus on the incidentals and allow disagreements to hinder your relationship with your pastor or your church.
If it is important, then it is worthy of meaningful discussions and it is worthy of displaying Christian grace.
It is possible that a well learned, faithful pastor has discovered some truths you have not yet learned.
It is possible that you might need to change your mind about some things, (which probably has happened often in your pastor's own walk with God).

Jesus reproved followers who focused on the less important parts of the faith life, while they were being blind to the weightier matters.

Never forget: Christ is the Head of His Church. He sets the rules, the standards, the protocols. We are called to practice the presence of God, and to honor and protect the integrity of His word and His work. 

Ephesians 4:1-6 NKJV
1 I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called,
2 with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love,
3 endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling;
5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism;
6 one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.

05/07/23 A KEY TO SUCCESS

05/07/23 A KEY TO SUCCESS

If you can't be reproved,

and you won't be moved,

you won't be improved.

05/06/23 THAT SETTLES IT

05/06/23 THAT SETTLES IT

The lyrics of a song,
"God said it,
I believe it,
And that settles it for me."

Someone pointed out that the truth is,
God said it, and that settles it.

Both statements are true. If God said it, that settles it. But on a personal level an individual must accept the authority of God in order for the Bible to be the final authority to them personally.

Sometimes we may have questions about what a passage means, but when the Bible states a subject clearly and redundantly, we don't have to figure it out. We better be sure of the Biblical essentials and we better not allow the non-essential issues to divert our attention from the essentials.

The things we believe concerning God and His word need to draw us closer to Him and His people; they need to fill us with the fruit of the Spirit; they need to conform us to His image; they need to perfect us in the faith; they need to make us of one mind with God and one another; and they need to cleanse us from all sin.

05/06/23 IT'S A HEART THING, NOT HEAD THING

05/06/23 IT'S A HEART THING, NOT HEAD THING

I get information from the internet. I "Google" for information. HOWEVER, not all information on the internet, Google or other search engines is accurate or even true. In fact, many times the most popular answers and the bulk of answers to many questions are errant.

Christians must not use internet search engines to answer their Biblical questions or give them spiritual guidance. Most of the time, when I read articles by "Christian experts, "popular teachers," "learned apologists," "leading theologians," I find them to be mistaken, to be un-Biblical.

I often watch debates or discussions online, about Biblical truths, doctrines, passages and I am amazed at the blatant resistance and rejection of clear Biblical revelation by the supposed "teachers of truth."

People are more impressed with the wisdom of man than the simple truths of God. They are more convinced by high sounding, renowned authorities than clear and redundant Biblical revelation.

There is a plan behind this confusion and division. Satan wants people to follow the blind and deceived "intellectual" types rather than believe godly, Spirit filled, Bible believing pastors.

Even if you could win every argument, you could still be wrong about Biblical truth. In fact, sometimes people discount the essential, spiritual, deep teaching of a godly pastor because they disagree with him on a small, insignificant, unessential. inconsequential concept. This causes the person to miss the great truths of God taught by preacher because of something that the pastor may believe to be true, though he does not make that incidental point into a litmus test of salvation.

Heady people are often led astray because they think that truth is the rightful property of other heady people. The problem is that the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. God has not revealed His deeper truths exclusively or primarily to the exceptional minds, the academic elites of this world. 

1 Corinthians 1:20-31
20 Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?
21 For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe.
22 For Jews request a sign, and Greeks seek after wisdom;
23 but we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness,
24 but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.
25 Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.
26 For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called.
27 But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty;
28 and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are,
29 that no flesh should glory in His presence.
30 But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God--and righteousness and sanctification and redemption--
31 that, as it is written, "He who glories, let him glory in the Lord."