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My Blog
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Vicki Gann: Posted on Thursday, September 07, 2017 5:10 PM
I cannot speak for you and tell you about what you see
and hear today but I can tell you about what I hear and see today. I hear a lot
of heart talk. I hear “He has such a good heart,” or, “She has such a good
heart,” while the “good-hearted” people they are talking about is living
continually every day in sin.
I hear repeatedly, “He or she is not hurting anyone, he or she cares so much about people, and his or her community. God knows they
have a good heart.” At the same time, this person is living day to day in sin
and appears to be ignoring God, their faith, and not discussing their devotion
and passion for God. They appear not to be living out His Word in their own
lives.
Through all this “good hearted” talk I was hearing it
lead me to ask my Heavenly Father what He calls a good heart, and what is He
looking for in a heart. Our Heavenly Father talks about our heart and His heart
all the time throughout His word and we do too on this earth whether we are believers
or non-believers. We all have a heart we use and talk about.
He truly says throughout His Word for us to love Him with
all our hearts. Him, not ourselves, or people, but Him. We see some of his
children throughout His word that sought after Him wholeheartedly, and they
received more than a full portion of His provision spiritually, physically, intellectually,
and emotionally. We also see throughout His Word many who “halfheartedly”
sought after Him did not receive all they could have from Him. They worshiped and praised Him but still had some other "gods" or idols they did not get rid of.
What did, and does God still look for in a human being’s heart?
He tells us what kind of heart he is looking for in a Priest and a King. Samuel tells King Saul his kingdom
will not endure because he had forsaken the Lord’s commands. He told Saul God
has picked another King to carry out His plan as King and God tells us why
through the book of 1 Samuel.
1 Samuel 2:35 I
will raise up for myself a faithful priest, who will do according to what is in
my heart and mind. I will firmly establish his house, and he will mister before
my anointed one always. We know Christ is the only Priest God anoints for
eternity, and through Him He anoints everyone who believes in Him. We all
become a member of the royal Priest Hood through Him. ( 1 Peter 2:9) He is the only Priest who fully knew God’s heart and mind
being of the same heart and mind of His Heavenly Father, and through Him by His
Given Spirit we are given His mind and heart.
1 Samuel 13:14 But
now your kingdom will not endure; the LORD has sought out a man after his own
heart and appointed him leader of his people, because you have not kept the
LORD’S command. We also know Jesus Christ fulfilled a true and pure heart
seeking His Heavenly Father’s heart as King, more than David could. He was King of kings. We have a better fulfillment
in Christ being that person after God’s heart than David had. David was a human
being born of a woman that had a human heart that tried it’s best to seek God’s
own heart, but through Christ we can fulfill being that person God is seeking
more than David ever could. David was not a man that sought to fill his own heart
with his accomplishments, with his understanding, his goodness, his works, his
own faith in himself to be who God wanted Him to be. David was a man that sought out to please God’s
heart.
When God told Him to repent, David repented with all his heart, when God
told Him to fight He fought with all His heart for God, when God told David to worship,
David worshiped God with all His heart. When God told David to pray, David
prayed with His whole heart.
That is why God promised Him through His line of lineage
our Savior would be born!
What is God looking for on earth when He is in Heaven? Is
He looking for people willing to help people? Is He looking for people who
praise other people and lift their hearts up? Is He looking for people who are
seeking to please others and understand others?
Psalm 14:2-3 The
LORD looks down from Heaven on the sons of men to see if there are any who understand,
and who seek God. All have turned aside, they have together become corrupt;
there is no one who does good, not even one.
At the time this Psalm was written no one was seeking
God. No prophets were sent, and no one understood God at all. All had turned
aside, they had come together corrupt, there was no one good, not even one. No
one was calling on the Lord or seeking His presence.
In Romans Paul states the same thing. There had been no
Prophets in 400 years that were anointed by the Spirit of God before John the Baptist.
Approximately 400 years separated the
time of Nehemiah from the birth of Jesus Christ. Some people call it the “silent”
years.
Romans 3:9 What
shall we conclude then? Are we any better? (worse) Not at all! We have already
made the charge that Jews and Gentiles alike are all under sin. As it is
written: “There is no one righteous, not even one there is none who
understands, no one who seeks God.
With all this written through God’s Word speaking to all
of us what kind of heart is God seeking and what kind of heart does He describe
as a good heart? The only heart that is good and the only heart that truly is
seeking God is what God calls a good heart.
He does not call a good heart that glorifies man, that
glorifies their good works, or their goodness, ways and wisdom. He does not
call a good heart one that loves people or things above Him making themselves a
god or any other object their idol to worship and praise.
He does not call a good
heart one that loves the world and conforms to the world. He does not call a
good heart one that loves living their own way and the puts the pleasures of
this world above Him. He does not call a good heart a heart that ignores Him
and His Word and continually lives in sin. He does not call a good heart that twist His
Words to suit their own lifestyle and needs. Where can we find a heart like
that when no one is good not even one? Who can understand God?
We can’t within ourselves but through His Son and the
Cross we have been given a new heart, and new Spirit and a renewed mind when we
surrender all of heart, soul, mind and body to Him!
Ezekiel 38:25 I
will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you
from all of your impurities and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new Spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone
and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to
follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.
Those are the children God looks down from Heaven to see,
they are the ones that understand Him, and are seeking His heart because they
have been given His through the Holy Spirit of His Son by way of the Cross. Those
are His reborn children and He is their God, Lord, and Heavenly Father.
Are you willing to surrender all your heart, soul, mind
and body to Him so you can have His. He tells us His heart is the only heart
that is good, and when you receive His heart you know He is telling the truth! |
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Vicki Gann: Posted on Wednesday, August 30, 2017 1:20 PM
Is talking about other people always gossiping?
The word “gossip” is not in the first translations of the
Bible but there are words in the Bible that have the same meaning.
Backstabbing, slander, and whisperer are some of the words that are translated
from the Hebrew and Greek words that mean you are a gossip, or gossiping.
The
NIV and some other translations use the word gossip which has the same meaning.
If the meaning stays the same words and translations can change due to the
different languages we have on earth now. That does not mean God’s Word changes
because the meaning of those words does not change just because the actual
words do.
For example: there are many words that mean dung, and
most of us today say them instead of dung, but they all mean the same thing.
We can talk about people without gossiping if our motives
and purpose is right. Throughout His Word God talked to His prophets about
people for them to learn what to do and what not to do themselves. Proverbs is
full of a Godly mother and a Godly father talking about foolish people to help
their son and daughters not to become foolish themselves. Psalms is full of
God’s people suffering from enemies of God, how they are dealing with
persecution and heartbreak, and how they want Him to rescue them.
This also means what God’s children are saying to one
another is no different than what they would say to the one they are talking
about face to face. For instance, Jeremiah would not tell God things about
himself or other people that Jeremiah would not say to the people themselves,
which he did repeatedly. Paul and the other disciples of Jesus talked about
other people as a teaching tool and the way God works in and through those that
repent and surrender their lives to their Heavenly Father through His Son Jesus
Christ.
This also does not mean the people of God hate the lost
and foolish people it means they want to learn about themselves from them by
the outcome of their lives, not only for themselves, but also to snatch the
foolish from the wrong path so they can know God and His provision. Jesus also
talked about people to His disciples. Let us look at some examples to help us
realize when and why it was important to Him to talk about other people to His disciples
and the whole world he lived in at the time. Through His Spirit He will give us
the same wisdom to use for all people in the world we live in.
Matthew 23:1 Then
Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples. “The teachers of the law and the
Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. So you must obey them and do everything they tell
you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach.” Some of you may think Jesus is putting others down, and
He is but with the right motives, and for His truth to convict them into
turning to Him so they can change. Why was Jesus talking about the religious
Pharisees? Do you think He told them face to face? Yes, He did without
hesitation. It was to awaken them, and to turn them toward Him. It was like a
Shepherds goad turning a wolf, dog, or pig into His sheep. Did they practice what they preached? NO,
that was the truth. Is it something they were doing wrong, yes, but it is His
truth His disciples and all people could hear and be changed from.
Today we still have religious people among us not practicing
what they preach. They preach one thing and live another way. Many people say,
“Put God first,” but they do not practice what they preach. Their lives are
proving something different than they are proclaiming. Is this gossiping about
them when we tell others about them? Would you tell them to their face to help
them so they too could be snatched from the wrong path, listen, and give them
our Heavenly Father’s way to lead them to His Son and Spirit of truth?
It is only slander when you are not speaking the truth, and
it is only hypocritical when you are doing the same thing. We should never
proclaim anything to someone else we are not doing ourselves. Jesus practiced
what He preached, and when the disciples received His Spirit they also
practiced what they preached.
Here is another example of Jesus talking about the
religious people in His day to His disciples.
Matthew 15:12 Then
the disciples came to him and asked, “Do you know that the Pharisees were
offended when they heard this? He replied, “Every plant that my heavenly Father
has not planted will be pulled up by the roots. Leave them; they are blind
guides. If a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into a pit.
When Jesus had finished telling His truth to all the
crowd about “These people” honoring me with their lips, but their hearts were
far from Him and they worshiped in vain the disciples were shocked that He
would say that to such respected and highly admired religious people they asked
Him, “Do you know that the Pharisees were offended? Don’t you know they are important, highly
respected, and admired religious people? Are you trying to offend the most
admired religious people?
The disciples at the time did not realize he came to end
their kind of religion and introduce a life-giving Spiritual relationship with
God teaching each person His Word, ways, and thoughts from within.
Jesus was not afraid of offending anyone, nor was He
afraid of being offended by anyone because His Father gave Him all truth to
poor out and all He received from Him guarded His heart. What He had been given
came from His Heavenly Father so no one could ever take it away or get in the
way of Him receiving what He needed to pour out for all to benefit from.
Today when we speak His truth as His child we may get
other “Christians” that come up to us and ask, “Don’t you know that offended
them?” Don’t you know who they are, how admired, how respected, and how loved
they are? Who are we being obedient to, their reputation, their own purpose,
their own accomplishments, or are we being obedient to God and His truth that
may help them be more dependent and devoted to Him?
When we have been exposed to blind guides, or when God
exposes us as a blind guide what is our response to them, and our response to
God? Are we worried we may offend them, or are we God’s children belonging to
Him speaking His words of truth out of love that may give them their true eye
sight? If He has revealed to us we are blind guides what is our response to
Him? Do we repent and have a changed heart in pleasing only Him in the future?
Any other philosophy and basic principles of the world
other than Christ will keep you from being a plant He has planted. If you
continue in this blindness He says He will pull us up by the false roots we are
building ourselves on and through us into the lake of fire. We do not know when
our time is done on this earth.
One more example, Jesus was taking a journey through
Samaria and he became tired and set down by a well. There was a Samaritan woman
at the well filling her water jars. The Hebrew Jews disliked the Samarian Jews
at the time because they mixed different beliefs. Jesus told her after some
lengthy conversation the water He could give her would become a spring of water
welling up to eternal life. He was speaking of His Spirit.
He then begins telling her about her people. He knew how
they were worshiping, and who they worshiped was wrong because of the way they
had been taught and He was the one that was going to teach them the right way.
The way He did this was through knowing things about the women supernaturally
He could not possibly know naturally, which was and is a sign He is God’s First
Holy Son begotten from God for His purpose. Jesus always came with signs,
miracles and wonders from His Father for His purpose, and through His Spirit we
do too.
John 4:21 Jesus declared, “Believe me, woman, a time is coming when you will worship the Father
neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You Samaritans worship what you do
not know, we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. Yet a
time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the
Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father
seeks.
The Samaritan women was being told by Jesus they were worshiping what they did not know. In other words, they were worshiping someone or someway and had no clue what they were doing was wrong. They were
being deceived by some man or woman from their past that lead them astray. They
didn’t know what they were doing was wrong. Jesus being who He was and the
purpose He came told this Samaritan woman the truth because He loved her and
all Samaritans and wanted them to know God’s truth and the kind of worshipers He was seeking now through Him and the ages to come.
Today there are many churches, worshipers, and religions
that have some truth but not all His truth and they too are being deceived.
They, like the Samaritans have mixed in different ways to worship and different
beliefs. Today He is calling His children just as He did Jesus at the well to
tell all the wrong religions that HE exposes are worshiping incorrectly
because they do not know it is through His Spirit of truth we worship and it is
still the kind of worshipers He is seeking.
The Samaritans could have been offended, stoned Him, or
asked Him to leave but they welcomed Him for a few days and learned for
themselves who He was instead of hearing it only through her testimony. We all
have been give His Spirit of truth to have a personal and meaning relationship
with Him to share with the whole world!
I hope this helps you realize talking about people is not
always a bad thing. I know He helped me understand when and how to talk about people, provided we are doing it for His
purpose and His Spirit is leading us the whole way! We can all receive His understanding if we choose to listen to Him. It is always up to everyone in how they respond when His truth is exposed and
told.
Until next time, His peace and love always |
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Vicki Gann: Posted on Tuesday, June 20, 2017 4:23 PM
THE GIFT THAT OPENS THE FLOODGATES
The day was
ordinary, and I was
ordinary. Nothing new under
the sun. I felt the same
ole wanting, I thought, could not be undone.
I was reading your
words, and mediating on them. I did not know you, or where you had been.
You opened the
flood gates that washed over me like a fountain of
truth that washed me clean, as I poured out my
tears of not knowing who you truly were
in all I had seen, and not seen.
I had never heard
you before this day. I do not know why.
It could be
because I truly did not hear why you came, and why only you could
take away my shame.
It could be
because I had blocked my ears. I kept telling
myself my sin was to great for you to remove
the weight.
I never knew how
Big and powerful you were, but truly no one
does until they receive the gift of your
Son that opens the flood gates that you can only
create. |
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Vicki Gann: Posted on Tuesday, June 20, 2017 3:22 PM
Have you received the gift from God that changes you?
Many church going “Christians” think they have received the
gift of God but clearly the outcome of their lives proves something different. If
you were a true child of God and saw me most of my life you would have known I
was one of those that had received His gift.
When a person truly receives the gift of God what happens
to a person within cannot be denied as being a gift they have received from
God. Our Heavenly Father reveals this to us through His Word and it is proven
and lived out in each child of God that has received Him. Today many churches
are preaching and teaching another word, and another gospel and there is no real
proof that a person has truly received him by the outcome of their souls,
spirit and body lived lives when they face circumstances or relationships in
their lives.
Through the Holy Spirit John records, the words of His
Lord, Jesus Christ, John 12:46 I have
come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay
in darkness.
This darkness Jesus is talking about is sin and if a
person is sinning everyday it is because they have not received anything from Almighty
God because in Him there is no darkness. John writes this in his first letter to
followers of Christ after He received the Holy Spirit.
1 John 1:5 This is
the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him
there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in
the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. But if we walk in the light,
as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus,
his Son purifies us from every sin.
If a person is claiming they have fellowship with Him and yet they sin everyday then they are lying
and not living out His truth. Many people today are having fellowship with one another,
but they do not have fellowship with Him
if they are still living the life they use to live. The darkness should be
fading, but if a person is still sinning, and claiming they have fellowship
with Him this is proof they are lying and not living His truth.
They still are having fellowship with darkness, and
accepting their sinful nature, and lifestyles. What makes them any different than anyone else
in the world when they are living as they use to live in the world? Jesus came
to turn a person away from darkness, and that is the proof of His light of
truth working in them, their minds and hearts are being renewed for the love
and fellowship with God. God sent His Son to open the eyes of the blind and
turn them from darkness to light, from the power of Satan to God, and He uses
His disciples the same way.
Acts 26:28 I (Jesus) am sending you to them to
open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of
Satan to God, so they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those
who are sanctified by faith in me. Paul states that a person should no longer continue to
live in sin if they have crucified themselves with Christ. Grace should not be
a reason to continue to sin, but God’s way through the gift of His Son to stop
a person from sinning. If they have been crucified through their death
spiritually then His resurrected life should prove they are living for
fellowship with the Father and Son and not continue to satisfy their sinful
natures any longer. If they do have fellowship and are living for God their
bodies should prove to be instruments of His righteousness that works in and
through them that draw people to Him, and not to themselves. Romans 6:1 What
shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no
means! We died to sin; how can we
live in it any longer? Or
don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized
into his death.
If a person is sinning everyday this clearly is proving
they have not crucified themselves at the Cross so He could resurrect His life
saving grace into them. Paul is clearly stating if a person has crucified
Himself fully to Christ they cannot go on sinning, it is impossible, and if you
are this is proof that you have not crucified yourself to Christ as Savior and
Lord of your life.
A person’s mind is set or trained to go two ways. It is
that simple but we like to complicate things and make ourselves more powerful
than He is. It boggles my mind when I hear a “Christian” say they will struggle
with sin the rest of their lives because they are evil. They are telling God
their evil is much more powerful than His grace, and His blood that was shed
for them on the Cross cannot give them victory over their sinful natures during their life time because their sinful natures are much more powerful than He is. They
are telling God what He willed for His Son to do for mankind on the Cross is not enough to rescue them from
the struggle of sin they face every day.
When an alcoholic says “I will suffer from this disease the
rest of my life.” They are telling God that their disease is much more powerful
than God and there is no way they can have complete healing, peace, or rest for
their souls the rest of their lives. Paul tells us plainly our minds are set or
trained to go in two directions. Our lives will prove how each one of us are living
by the way our minds are trained or set. Our Father can break any mind like he
shook the earth!
Those who live according to the sinful nature have their
minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in according to the Spirit have their mind set on what His Spirit desires. The mind of the
sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace;
the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God’s law, nor can it
do so. Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God, and this is why they believe their sinful nature is greater than His, their minds are set on their sinful nature and not His Spirit.
(NIV)Romans 8: 6 The
mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and
peace; the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God’s law, nor
can it do so. Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God. (KJV)For to be carnally minded is death; but to
be spiritually minded is life and peace. The word carnally is the Greek word, sarx. It means the flesh,
mere human nature, the earthly nature of man apart from divine influence, and
therefore prone to sin and opposed to God. All human beings have a carnal
nature, and it depends on what your mind is focused on, your flesh or His
Spirit. Who controls you, yourself and your sinful nature, or
have you crucified yourself, and given your rights to yourself for the Spirit
of God to control your mind? Where does your mind go, to your sinful nature, or
to His Spirit?
Each circumstance and relationship is given to us in this
world to prove these words. If our minds are set on the Spirit of God we will
always pour out His given light, and show His peace during all circumstances, and
especially the difficult ones. Many people think when their problems are bigger
God gets smaller, but truly the bigger our problems are the bigger God is, and
the more His peace and faith are seen. This today is not seen in most "Christians" when they face a trail or suffering of many kinds.
If we are controlled by our
sinful natures, we will have our mind set on death, worry, despair, hopelessness,
and loneliness, and we will not be pleasing God. We should be people above this
world not a part of this world, but many “Christians” are conforming and
staying conformed to this world revealing their flesh is more powerful than
Him.
If a person has not received His Spirit as Savior there
is no way a person can give their rights to Him for Him to control their mind
and become Lord of their lives. One must receive His Spirit of forgiveness as
Savior before they can give their rights to themselves over to Him for His
control as their Lord. Many today want a Savior but they do not want a Lord.
Him
being your Lord is proven when you face a trail. Him being a perfect Father is
proven when you face a trail because you have all you need given by Him to face
it without getting burned or stung by it. Many “Christians” are getting burned
and stung by their circumstances no different than those in the world.
Do we truly want God to control our lives, or are we
doing fine controlling it the way we want to, and are we molding him into the
image we choose to suit our purpose and needs? How we respond to our circumstances reveals how much faith we have in Him.
Are we living the life He has
given with His grace and love that never leaves us wanting for anyone or anything
else greater? Are we truly experiencing a
peace that goes beyond human understanding that is bigger than any problem we
face? Are we experiencing within ourselves a faith and hope that can move
mountains, and a joy that can’t be taken away? It is His miracle of salvation many
are not revealing they have received within themselves today that His word, and Spirit testifies too.
People register their vows, memberships, sign pledges,
recite creeds and are determined to go through by their decisions, and power, but
this is not salvation. People are trying so hard to get themselves through, but
truly the less we try the more He works in giving us all we need. All the work
we need to do is have faith in Him giving us all we need. Many today are
gathering together, and following a gospel and instructions that is not given
by Him.
Salvation means a person is drawn to the Cross by the
power of God Almighty and no other way can a person be saved, reborn, redeemed,
and sanctified. Their lives will always prove His work in and through them by their
devotion for Him, their minds being renewed by Him, and their sins becoming
less and less due to His amazing grace. They will not be living the same way every
day in sin, devoted to other things above Him, and their sins remaining the
same. Their desires will change, how
they do things will change, their purpose and their motives will change. There
deepest passion will change, and their strength will change.
His children are called to do many works in this world
that should be drawing others from the power of Satan to the power of God.
There should be “Christian” business men drawing other business men from the
power of Satan to God. There should be many politicians that are “Christians”
drawing other politicians from the power of Satan to the power of God. There
should be athletes that are “Christians” that are drawing other athletes from the
power of Satan to the power of God. There should be doctors, moms, dads,
brothers, sisters, teachers, professors and instructors of all kinds drawing
people from the power of Satan to the power of God. There should be “Christians”
in every work place, in every community, drawing people from the power of Satan
to the power of God. Today the world is grieving the Spirit of God, and the world
is creeping into His church grieving the Spirit of God.
Have you truly received Him and His forgiveness of your
sins? If so, don’t reject, misuse, or abuse His gift by continuing living in
sin, but be willing to give Him all rights to yourself, so He can transform you
from the power of Satan to the power of God. Then He will use you as an
instrument to work in and through by His words and deeds that draws other
people from the power of Satan to the power of God just as He used all the
other prophets and disciples that came before you.
If you have not received His forgiveness, go to Him now,
He is drawing you from His Spirit through these words He has given the world.
Ask Him to forgive you for your sinful nature, the nature that keeps you from acknowledging
Him, and how big He is, and mean it! Tell Him you want to be free of all that
is not Him in you! Tell Him you want to be free of all that is hindering His growth,
faith, wisdom, power and peace from growing in you.
Tell Him you want to know Him
as He truly is. Tell Him you will listen to Him above all other voices! Tell Him the truth!He will
give you His gift of His Son through His Spirit of truth that keeps on giving
as you keep on crucifying yourself for Him. Don’t forget He will tell you each
day what you must give up if you want to continue walking in the light as He is
in the light, and you must be willing to give it up! Being stubborn against Him
is much different than being stubborn for Him! |
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Vicki Gann: Posted on Tuesday, June 13, 2017 5:56 PM
 As He looks down on His reborn children, does He see us as sinners, or saints?
Today I hear many “Christians” call themselves sinners,
and some call themselves Saints, but what does God call His reborn children through Jesus Christ?
I found, throughout His word, and through His Spirit of
truth, His Spirit always reveals, God does not call His chosen children, thathave accepted Christ, sinners. This teaching has given many a false
theology of who He is, and a false theology always results in bad behavior.
Many “Christians” today, because of this teaching, sin every
day, and this teaching is causing many to not receive the fullness of who He is
within them.
First we are going to look at some definitions as we always do to help us clearly understand what some of His words mean.
Sanctify - The Greek word is hagiazo, it sounds like hag-ee-ad'-zo it means to purify internally by renewing of the soul.
example: 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24. May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul, and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful and he will do it.
cleanseth - KJV purifes - NIV Greek word is katharizo, it sounds like kath-ar-ld'-zo to make clean from sin and defilement, to purify from wickedness and pronounce clean.
example: 1 John 1:7 But if we walk in the light as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.
Redeemed - Greek word exagorazo, sounds like ex-ag-or-ad'-zo. payment of a price to recover from the power of another, to buy up for one's self.
Example: Galatians 3:13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written. "Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree". (Deut. 21:23) He redeemed us in order the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit.
Perfect - Greek word teleios, sounds like tel'-i-os. not wanting nothing necessary to completeness, mature spiritually. Someone that knows all they are given comes from God's perfection not their own perfection.
Example: Mathew 5:48 Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
I hear His children constantly calling themselves sinners,
and what we see ourselves as, we often believe we are. For example:
A good parent will always see their child as a good
version of themselves. A good moral parent teaches a child they are good, can
make good choices, and soon this child becomes self-reliant, self-sufficient,
and thinks they can accomplish anything they plan and desire by their own
choices. This comes from the parents and the view the parents have of
themselves, and they pass it on to their children.
A bad parent will
always see their child as a bad version of themselves. They treat their child
like they are not capable of making good choices, they will treat them like
they cannot change or never show any good behavior and the child soon takes on
this view of themselves. This again, is because of the view the parents have of
themselves, and they pass it on to the child.
When God is our Father through Jesus Christ, He sees His
Son they have received through His Spirit. He sees the work of His Son, and the
willingness of the child to give up all they need to, to please their Heavenly
Father IF He is the Lord of your life. Do not say He is Lord if He is not your
Lord. He does not see our sinful nature’s any longer, and He gives us grace to
be able to say “NO” to all ungodliness in us, and all the pleasures the world
calls us to put above Him.
God’s grace is much more powerful than any sin that is
within each of us, and all the pleasures the world as to offer. If you are not
seeing yourself as God sees you, then perhaps you are not willing to give up
something, or someone for Him that has become more important than Him. Idolatry
is a sin, and today many are being deceived because they think an idol is
another god like they use to have in the Old Testament, and it does not mean
anything or anyone each of us puts above Him today.
A person can idolize anything, or anyone above God, and
that will cause Him not to be able to work in you as He desires. He wants to pure heart for Him for His presence
to live in. He will not compete with anyone, or anything above Him, but you
will never know the peace that is greater than your understanding until you
give up that idol, or thing you love that is destroying you.
Titus 2:11 For the
grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to
say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled,
upright godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hop-the
glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself
for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that
are his very own, eager to do what is good. Here are some words God has given to Paul to share with
different churches he was building in different places God had sent Him during
the Biblical times.
Those who had received Jesus Christ in Rome God instructs
Paul to speak and write through His Spirit:
Romans 1:7 To all
that be in Rome, beloved of God, called
to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and the Lord
Jesus Christ.
You are called through God to be saints through Jesus
Christ.
Romans 8:27 And he
that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he
maketh intercession for the saints
according to the will of God.
The Holy Spirit searches our heart, and knows our mind,
and He intercedes for the saints according to His will.
Romans 15:25 But
now I go unto Jerusalem to minister unto the saints.
Paul called the body he was ministering to saints. I
wonder if this made them realize who God was calling them to be through His
Son. If I kept calling myself a sinner I would soon act like one.
Romans 15:15-16 I
have written you quite boldly on some points, as if to remind you of them
again, because of the grace God gave me to be a minister to the Gentiles with
the priestly duty of proclaiming the gospel of God, so the Gentiles might
become an offering acceptable of God, sanctified
by the Holy Spirit. If a person has the Spirit of God working in them then
they are being sanctified, and called and seen by God a child of God like he
sees His Son.
To the church in Corinth God instructs Paul to speak and
write:
1 Corinthians 1:2
To the church of God in Corinth, to those
sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be holy, together with those everywhere
who call on the name of our Lord and ours.
Are you being sanctified in Christ through His Spirit,
called to be holy, if so, you are a Saint.
1 Corinthians 6:1
Dare any of you, having a matter against another, go to law before the unjust,
and not before the saints?
Paul was rebuking some of the children of God for having
enough division between one another they took it to court instead of letting
the church solve their problem through the saints.
6:9-11 Do you not
know that the wicked will not inherit the Kingdom of God? Do not be deceived:
Neither the sexually immoral, or idolaters, nor adulterers, nor male prostitutes,
nor homosexual offenders, nor thieves, nor greedy, nor drunkards, nor slanders,
nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God, and ta is what some of you were. (PAST TENSE) BUT you were washed, you
were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by
the Spirit of our God.
This is the transformation from natural sinners to spirit
filled Saints through His Spirit, those who receive Christ are sanctified
through the power of His Spirit and sees their transformation from who they
were to who they are when they receive Him. 1 Corinthians 14:33
For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the
saints.
God is not the author of confusion for His saints, but
they have His peace. Christ is our peace, and it is His peace that qualify us
as being His saints.
The church in Ephesus Ephesians 2:19 Now therefore ye are no more strangers and
foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God;
This lets us know we no longer conform to this world, we
are strangers here, but citizens of the saints, a new household of God!
Ephesians 3:8 Unto
me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I
should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ;
I too am like Paul consider myself less than the least of
all the saints, but I am still a saint by the grace given through Christ to
preach among all people the unsearchable riches of Christ.
Ephesians 3:18 May be able to comprehend with all saints
what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height;
This is one of my favorite prayers throughout God’s word,
because I want everyone to be able to comprehend with all the saints how long,
wide, high and deep the love of God is. Truly it is endless, and pours out of
us without end.
Ephesians 4:12 For
the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of
the body of Christ
Paul is telling the church in Ephesus the work of the
Holy Spirit and His gifts of service is given to perfect the people of God, for
the work of the ministry, for edifying the people of God for God’s purpose of
making a people of His very own, becoming mature spiritually, attaining the
whole measure of the fullness of Christ. We can see through the first disciples
this was accomplished, many were healed, physically, spiritually, emotionally,
and intellectually, but today His purpose is not being fulfilled as it was
then.
Here are some from the Old Testament talking about His
people and they are self explained. Psalm 30:4 Sing unto the Lord, O ye saints of his, and
give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness.
Psalm 31:23 O love the Lord, all ye his saints: for the
Lord preserveth the faithful, and plentifully rewardeth the proud doer.
Psalm 37:28 For the Lord loveth judgment, and forsaketh
not his saints; they are preserved for ever: but the seed of the wicked shall
be cut off.
Psalm 89:7 God is greatly to be feared in the assembly of
the saints, and to be had in reverence of all them that are about him.
Psalm 149:1 Praise ye the Lord. Sing unto the Lord a new
song, and his praise in the congregation of saints.
Proverbs 2:8 He keepeth the paths of judgment, and
preserveth the way of his saints.
For a child of God to call themselves still sinners,
makes God sound like a bad parent because He does not see His Son has a sinner
so He surely does not see His children that have received Him still as sinner,
but a Saint because they have surrendered their life to Him through the Son.
God sees His children in Christ differently than He sees
others in the world, and these words may help you to see yourself as He sees
you in Christ. If you are not in Christ, a natural human being you will always
see yourself as a sinner too deep in the mud and mire for Him to save, or too
high for Him, a self-righteous sinner that is a self-sufficient person saving
themselves from all the evil that is within them.
A true child of God sees Himself as God sees them, and
that is one of His Saints through His Son, not a sinner, they have been reborn. A natural man will never see themselves as God sees them.
A person can be a slow saint, a lukewarm saint, a half dead saint, a stubborn saint,
a backsliding saint, an infant saint, or a whole spirit, body, and soul sanctified saint, but all are still one of His saints saved by grace being sanctified daily.
When you hear our Father tell
you how He sees you it will always take yourself past the way you see yourself!
I hope this helps you see yourself as God sees you. If you have truly received
Jesus Christ, His words of truth will give you the power to lift your soul and
spirit higher than yourself, no matter how low, or high you think you are, into
His Kingdom now for eternity!
If you have not received Jesus Christ, now is the day, so
you can see yourself as He sees you, washed clean of sin, sanctified through
His righteousness, justified, purified, and redeemed by His blood! You are Healed in all ways He
can heal a person, and you will see yourself as He sees you now and until he
calls you home if you remain in Him!
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Vicki Gann: Posted on Thursday, June 08, 2017 9:26 AM
Is Christianity a “brainwashing” religion?
When I was growing up I went to
church on and off with my family, as most of my readers already know, my grandfather was a
Methodist preacher and it was in “our own blood line” to go to “church.” We were raised to think this way, and their was no saying "no" when my parents wanted to go.The
reason I went most of my life was to please my parents, myself, or others. I really did not
know what to think about religion or what it truly meant to be a Christian
until much later in life. I was taught to make good choices and love Jesus who
died on the cross for me so I would be forgiven for my sins. I sinned and
thought I was forgiven, and I sinned and thought I was forgiven, and I repeated
this process without truly knowing who my Heavenly Father and Savior truly
w ere. I had no change within. This change within does not mean I rely on my own
feelings, or the opinions of others. This change, or new person within only
relies on three witnesses, and that is Him our Savior Jesus Christ, being the
Word of God, and Heavenly Father we receive from His Holy Spirit. 1 John 5:6 This is
the one who came by water and blood-Jesus Christ. He did not come by water
only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit who testifies because the
Spirit is the truth. For there are three that testify: The Spirit, the water
and the blood, and the three are in agreement. We accept man’s testimony, but
God’s testimony is greater because it is the testimony of God, which he has
given about his Son. Anyone who believes in the Son of God has this testimony
in his heart.
I never read the Bible growing up, and I never meditated
on His word or thought about who God was, and the reason for the Cross because
I was a “natural” human being, and there were “natural” human beings all around
me. We are all naturally made human beings with a spirit, soul and body, but
none of us are Holy. I did not know the Holy Spirit, the “third person” of the
Godhead, nor did I recognize Him, or was drawn to Him through others around me
most of my life. I had eyes but could not see, and I had ears but could not
hear.
Later in life I did freely receive the Holy Spirit, heard
Him through another person, was drawn to Him, and I fully gave my life to Him,
and my new life began through all He had given me. I became poor within when I
heard His words through this Holy Spirit filled person, and instantly I gave my poor incomplete self to Him. Then I became rich
within by all He was giving me of himself! I had a strong craving for His word, I
meditated on His Word countless hours, days, months and years, and I will continue
for the rest of my life.
Did reading His word brainwash me, or make me follow this
imaginary person? Many people today believe this to be true. Many people today
think he is a fantasy, or an imaginary person Christians have conjured up so
they can appear whole and true to themselves like any other religion or belief
system in the world.
Did the Bible become like a math book that I memorized,
and His word become like formulas? Did His principles appear as time tables so
I can recite them correctly and appear to be complete within myself like a math
problem or a science project? The whole education system uses repetition in
different contexts. Every year students learn the same concepts with different
levels of understanding or building blocks, like adding is simple in grade 1
but by grade 12 some have learned algebra, and calculus, adding, dividing,
subtracting to the greatest degree; which I never mastered!
The word brainwashing means any method of controlled
systematic indoctrination, especially one based on repetition or confusion.
The word brainwash can be used
as a verb, or a noun. The verb usage means to cause someone to undergo brainwashing. Example: “You are brainwashing them to
believe as you believe.” This would be forcing someone to believe the way you
believe over and over without any reprieve from childhood to adulthood. This
would be a controlled method, or way of making someone do something consciously
or subconsciously. Many religions or cults use this brain washing method, but does Christianity?
The noun usage of the word is
called the process of brainwashing as a thing. Example: “How did you brainwash
them, or what method did you use?” Most brain washing methods are accomplished
by strong willed individuals wanting to take over the weak-willed person for
their own vain purposes, cause and creed. They have pride in being the “king of
the mountain”, or think they have great power to make their cause and
themselves appear great, or great again.
With this written and said, is
Christianity a form of brainwashing? Christ died for each one of us for our
benefit, He is a real person that comes inside a person through His Spirit, and
He changes a person, renews their mind from His presence within when they
surrender all of themselves to Him. The person gets no recognition for who they
are, He does. The term, "The Bible tells me so" is true, but there is another great witness that is greater and that is the Author of the Bible, God himself.
Jesus is the Word of God, so
His Word the Holy Bible, is given to that person that has surrendered all to
Him. He will reveal His word as He determines, not as the person determines. That
is why they crave His word because He is the Word, and each person’s spirit
craves His word when they receive Him. He does not manipulate you to follow Him
or to read His word. He does not force you to receive what He has given to you
from His blood on the Cross. He wants to oversee your life as Lord, but He only
wants to if you want Him too.
How the person has changed
should be evident by how they react to their circumstances, by their words and actions, and how differently
they react to others. They are stubborn, but stubborn for Him and His purposes
and truths not stubborn against Him, or for their own purposes or creeds. His interest
will become their interest, and His will, will become their will because they have surrendered all in love for Him.
He gives each child His presence freely when they are prove ready to surrender all, and it is up to each person to surrender to His presence freely. Some will and
some will not. His presence takes a person far above their natural human nature and their intelligence of making them whole and complete in who they are, and above this world they live in, and He loves to prove it in, and through them.
Matthew 10:7 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.
No other religion takes the weight of sin off a person,
or heals another person through His saving power and grace. No other “religion”
removes the power sin as over them, and guilt from their sins freely given and
freely received. He lifts His true children past themselves into a new person
they have never met or known until that day they received the Spirit of God
through Jesus Christ, not because of the righteous things they have done, but
because of His mercy.
His presence gives each person a washing of their sinful
nature within into a new resurrected and renewal birth of a new person within.
The natural person never knows the weight of their sinful natures, they are
unaware of the weight of sin they are carrying around within themselves each
day until He takes it away. This is no brainwashing religion, or belief, it is
a Gift from God given within each person that receives Him.
Titus 3:3-7 At one
time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of
passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy being hated and hatting one
another. But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved
us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He
saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit whom he
poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having
been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal
life.
If you have never experienced this weight of sin being
removed from your inner soul, heart, and mind then you are being brainwashed
with lies and unbelief and no change within, or outwardly will occur. You may
be a person that memorizes the words like a math problem, or a person that
manipulates others into following your cause or your creed, but you are not a
person that knows Him as He truly is.
He is a real person, and He is the most real relationship
one can experience that opens a secret door within each natural person they do
not know is there. There is no fear into the unknown when He reveals His
presence within you. He is a God that gives, not a God that manipulates, or
forces you to memorize His principles or His words, they are within you when you
receive Him, and if you love Him, you will live them out! |
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Vicki Gann: Posted on Tuesday, May 30, 2017 3:56 PM
Is God opening a great door for you to speak?
1 Corinthians 16:9
because a great door for effective work has opened to me, and there are many
who oppose me.
Paul knew God had opened a great door in Corinth for God’s
work through Him, and he knew many were going to oppose him. He knew they were
not opposing him personally, but they would oppose God and the truth of the
gospel message about Jesus Christ our risen Lord, but at the same time he knew
many would receive Christ through the message, because He knew God was opening
a great door for His message of the Cross, and it is through His power the
words are heard. Some there truly wanted to embrace the truth, and loved the
truth.
Paul knew His Heavenly Father would always open a door for His message of the gospel through the Cross. He knew anytime he spoke the truth of the gospel message there could always be
someone that may oppose God’s words and truth, but that never stopped Paul from
telling His truth anywhere God sent him. Paul knew God loved the Jews, Gentiles,
and lost souls of the world, and that included all people. He knew no one was righteous, and all fall short
of the glory of God, and needed to hear His truth.
Paul knew that is why they needed to be told, to save
them, not to condemn them, whether all the people knew or not Paul did. Paul knew His Father had poured into Him through the Holy
Spirit all He needed of Himself to be poured out, and Paul was God’s drink
offering being poured out where ever Paul was sent in the lost world. Regardless
of who they thought God was; Paul knew the truth of who God was through Jesus Christ, His life, crucifixion, and resurrection by His given Spirit.
All these experiences of the life of Jesus Paul experienced within Himself through His Spirit's presence and teachings. Paul had been crucified through the Spirit of Christ, and He also had been redeemed and resurrected by that same power and Spirit that resurrected Jesus.
Unfortunately, those who love darkness and not the truth
will hate hearing His truth, discussing His truth, and worshiping His truth
any way they can because they hate their evil deeds continually being exposed. Those
who love the truth do not mind if their deeds are exposed by His light because
they know the truth of Christ sets them free from sin and evil having power
over them.
Those that love God and His truth, love hearing, talking, discussing, worshiping, and praising
Him and His truth any time, and any way they can because all that is being done in and
through them has been done through the Power of God. Which one are you, the one who hates the
truth, or loves the truth? That is the verdict we all need to address.
John 3:19 (Jesus
tells, a religious Pharisee, Nicodemus, who came to see Jesus in the ‘dark’
secretively because Nicodemus was afraid of the other “religious” people that
still lived in the dark) This is the verdict: Light has come into the world,
but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone
who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that
his deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light,
so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God.
Paul, the disciples, and apostles of Christ know this truth, and have already answered this verdict.
God has exposed the nature of man through Christ and His light but not all want
the light, they want to remain in darkness. Jesus revealed Paul’s evil deeds, he repented of his sinful nature,
and was saved for God to work in and through for His purpose. Paul was shown
God’s truth by the right hand of God, Jesus Christ, and we are too on our own
path seeking the answers. I hope when His light is revealed to you, you will
not remain in darkness, oppose his truth, but embrace it, speak it and live it out all the ways He gives you. He knows who will and
who will not, but we do not know until He reveals His light in them.
We can see Paul’s response to the people that received
Christ and his response to those who did not in God’s Word from Acts 18. We
also can read, and picture within our own mind from God’s understanding the
vision Jesus gives Paul because of the persecution Paul is receiving from the
Jews, and the Greeks in Corinth.
Remember, these are religious people who think they are
loving God the right way, they are being deceived by darkness, and think they
are living in the light and they do not realize what they are doing. This is
not all “lost” Gentiles, or pagan believers, but the Jews. Every Sabbath Paul
tried to reason in the Synagogue, trying to persuade Jews and Greeks. Then his
brothers in Christ joined him and he devoted himself exclusively to preaching,
testifying to the Jews that Jesus was the Christ, our Savior of the world!
Acts 18:5 When
Silas and Timothy came from Macedonia, Paul devoted himself exclusively to
preaching, testifying to the Jews that Jesus was the Christ. But when the Jews
opposed Paul and became abusive, he shook out his clothes in protest and said
to them, “Your blood be on your own heads! I am clear of my responsibility.
From now on I will go the Gentiles.” Paul appears angry here, but he was more passionate then angry, pleading with them rather than hating them or wanting to kill them. He knew what would happen to them if they
continued to live as they were living, and the most important thing to Paul was
God’s interest in other people. He always focused every thought He had to being
obedient to God through Christ.
Paul told them he had done all he could for them, He
was so upset at their response he shook the "dust" off his clothes in protest. He told them your
blood is now on your heads not mine. He was clear of his responsibility. God spoke to Paul the same words he spoke to the prophet Ezekiel, and God spoke the same words to Paul Jesus told the disciples. He speaks these same words to those who belong to him today.
Ezekiel 3:18 When I
say to a wicked man, ‘You will surely die, and you do not warn him, or speak
out to dissuade him from his evil ways in or to save his life, that wicked man
will die for his sins, and I will hold you accountable for his blood. But if
you do warn the wicked man and he does not turn from his wickedness or from his
evil ways, he will die for his sin; but you will have saved yourself.
Luke 10:11 Even the dust of your town that
clings to our feet, we wipe off as a testimony against you. Yet be sure of
this: The kingdom of God is near.' What did Paul do after shaking his dust of his clothes,
and tell them he was clear of all his responsibilities; their blood was on
their own hands? He went next door calmly to the house of Titus Justus, a worshiper
of God. He did not give up. He continued speaking God’s truth everywhere He went. That is exactly
what I would have done, gone to someone else that maybe wants to hear, and embrace His truth. Paul knew God had opened a door in Corinth, and he was going to continually walk through it.
Crispus was there, and he was the ruler of the synagogue
Paul just left. His entire household heard God's truth and they believed in the
Lord; and many of the Corinthians who heard him believed and were baptized! What a different response!
Acts 18:7 Than Paul
left the synagogue and went next door to the house of Titius Justus, a worshiper
of God. Crispus, the synagogue ruler, and his entire household believed in the Lord;
and many of the Corinthians who heard him believed and were baptized.
After all this one night Paul was pondering his day, and wondering what God had in store for him the days to come. Like we all do who belong to Him. Paul must have been tempted by fear not to continue speaking in Corinth, in
fear of something happening to him, or discouraged, tired of dusting his
clothes and feet off, and others not responding to God’s truth. Jesus comes to his rescue!
Acts 18:9 One night the Lord himself spoke to
Paul in a vision or a dream of some kind. “Do not be afraid; keep on speaking,
do not be silent. For I am with you, and no one is going to attack and harm
you, because I have many people in this city.” So, Paul stayed for a year and
half, teaching them the word of God. These are some of the most beautiful words our Lord tells
Paul, and to us who belong to Him and Him alone. Others will always try to keep
His children from speaking his truth. Many will oppose His truth, but don't give up. Paul continued there a year and a half putting up with persecution after persecution, but many wanted to hear His truth and Jesus knew who they were! We have our own temptations to quit speaking His truth, and I know Paul did, but Jesus always comes to our rescue!
We could be tempted by fear of losing a relationship with friends or even
family members. I wonder if Paul lost any relationships with any of his family members due to His family being “religious”
law giving, and living Jewish up bringing? Many of us may get discouraged from
our own temptations that try to get us to stop. Jesus knew Paul was getting
discouraged and afraid. That is why He came to him in a vision or a dream. He will always come to our rescue!
We today can be afraid for many reasons. Afraid of of
pleasing people at our work place instead of speaking His truth in fear of
losing our jobs. We can even be afraid in our church communities due to losing our relationships we have with them.We can be tempted not to speak His truth because we may lose a
close friend that we went to school with or grew up with. Truly we do not know
what God’s word will do in a person’s heart, and He will always open a door for
His true child to speak His message of saving Grace, some may oppose us, and
some may hear his truth, and he will never tell us to keep silent!
Jesus always tells those who belong to him, “Speak my
words, and do not worry.” The question he gives us, is do we truly belong to
Him, do we love Him above all, and if we do will we be His witnesses?
He is
always with those who belong to Him, who love Him more than themselves, others,
and things of this world, and life itself. He is always with those who want to
embrace His truth, and live in His light, more and more. He tells those who
belong to Him, “Don’t worry, for I am with you, and no one is
going to harm you, because I have many people who truly want to hear my truth in this place I have put you, so keep on speaking my truth I know my sheep and my sheep
know my voice.”
After Paul had finished speaking in the synagogue to
people that had opposed His truth, He dusted His feet off, announced his responsibility
had been fulfilled, their blood was on their own heads, and God continued to send Paul next
door through His Spirit.
He did not have to go far! Paul had no idea Crispus, the synagogue ruler, of all people, would love His truth, but our Father did! Jesus told Paul in his vision there
was more there that wanted to hear! He told Paul to keep speaking, don’t be silent. Keep walking through
all the doors through my Spirit I give you because I have many people who need my truth, and want
to hear my truth!
He says these same words to His children today, with the same love He had for Paul,
and through Paul He has for others who loves His truth, and is not afraid to come into His light! Are you afraid your deeds will be exposed? Come into his light, embrace His truth,and be cleansed of the darkness! Like Paul, we do not know who they are, until they hear, but our Heavenly Father does! When you do hear His truth, embrace it, and tell others how He cleansed you! Don't be silent when He opens doors for you!
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Vicki Gann: Posted on Tuesday, May 23, 2017 2:17 PM
What does our Heavenly Father
say about people pleasers?
I know I have a woman in this picture, but men can be people pleasers too. In the beginning of my life I was a people pleaser. I
wanted to do everything I could to please others and their needs, and I wanted
everyone to want to please me with my needs. You know, I’ll scratch your back
if you scratch mine. After a while I felt like I was pleasing everyone else and
their needs, what they expected of me, what they wanted me to be, and I was
being left out of the whole picture.
The next step I took was complete rebellion. I did what I
wanted, and what I wanted ended up bringing my life to a disaster! I then thought
no one would accept me. I could not look a person in the eye in fear they
may see the darkness underneath, especially not God. I was full of self-piety. I quickly covered up my darkness with other
things. Then I decided I would go back to people pleasing.
I could help people,
and that would make me feel good about myself. I would live among the “good”
world and I would do what the “good” world expected of me, and all would be
well. All this time Satan had me deceived. I still did not have the peace my
Heavenly Father spoke of, nor the fruits of His Spirit, and I was not sure
those "behaviors" He gives a person could ever be manifested in me.
Proverbs 14:12-14
The is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end, it leads to death. Even
in laughter the heart may ache, and joy may end in grief. The faithless will be
fully repaid for their ways, and the good man rewarded for his. A simple man believes
anything, but a prudent man gives thought to his steps.
I became tired and weary of all the suffering in the world,
and felt guilty if I did not please someone all the time. I had no idea what my
gifts were, and I had no idea what God was giving me for the service of His children
in building it up in the fullness of Him, because I was continually in
his way.
I had become a people pleaser, and the Cross had no effect on me. I know this now, but I did not know it then, because I was being deceived. I
was putting a heavy weight upon my shoulders I could not carry, but I thought I
could. I quickly became tried and weary of all the good I was doing and I did
not know why.
Galatians 1:10 “I’m not trying to
win the approval of people, but of God. If pleasing people were my goal, I
would not be Christ’s servant.”
From the
worlds point of view a people pleaser is the kind of person it welcomes. From a
natural human stand point a people pleaser is the only way to live, because
they do things and say things to please people, and people is what the “good”
world is all about.
In the “good” world it is all about loving people, people
pleasing people, people loving life and people helping people so they will not
have to suffer. In the “good” world it is all about people being good to
people. People putting others before themselves, and sacrificing their lives
for other people is what the good world is all about. In the “good” people world
if people are scratching each other’s back all is well, and everyone lives in
peace.
Romans 12:2 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.
James 4:4 You
adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity
with God? Therefore, whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself
an enemy of God.
It may look good from the outside looking in, but what
happens to a people pleaser inside? They never feel fulfilled, they always are
searching out for things to do, and they always appear tired and weary of the endless searching for answers they cannot find on their own.
A people pleaser does not know how to say no to other
people that want them to do something for them. They do not know how to
delegate, nor do they want too. They want to do it all themselves, and especially
the job no one else wants to do. That gives them more points in the "good" world.
They do not manage their time well, and they
feel guilty for not accomplishing what they set out to accomplish each day. People
pleasers live in guilt, and constantly are saying they are sorry for things they do not need to be sorry for.
They put upon
their shoulders great expectations of themselves, and the cares of this world
are too heavy for them, and they become tired and weary. They never truly have
rest in their souls. They know nothing of Christ and His peace that goes beyond
human understanding. They think they do but their lives truly reveal a busy and
hurried soul trying desperately to feel it with their good. I call it the “hamster
syndrome.” They look like Hamsters on a wheel but truly do not go anywhere. That was me for years of my adult life before I finally surrendered my life totally to Him.
People pleasers can’t put God first because it would offend someone
else if they did. People pleasers have no idea what their gifts, and service ministry is
for the children of God, and they are willing to do anything, at any time. They disregard others carrying their own cross because
they want to carry it themselves. They disregard His truth if it hurts someone’s
feelings. They are more afraid of offending people rather than offending God.
They live on praise from people, and do not seek the praise that comes from
God. A people pleaser is never persecuted for being a Christian, and all people
love them. People pleasers are false prophets, but they do not know they are. People
pleasers trust people and their view of themselves more than they trust their Lord and Savior.
John 6:44 How can
you believe if you accept praise from one another, yet make no effort to obtain
the praise that comes from the only God? (some manuscripts write, “The Only One
God.”) Luke 6:26 Woe to
you when all men speak well of you, for that is how their fathers treated the false
prophets. Proverbs 29:25 The fear of man
lays a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is safe.
A people pleaser relies on other people and
their testimony about themselves. They will not trust in God in what He gives
them, because God truly has not given them anything because they are putting
people above Him. A people pleaser is committing idolatry in God’s eyes. They
are living out the second commandment before the first commandment.
Jesus never
trusted any man and their testimony about him because He knew what is in a man,
and His Father always revealed what was hidden. Jesus only relied on what His
Father was giving Him, and He only focused on His Father to reveal His truth, and if we are being led by His Spirit we will be living as He did.
John 2:23 Now while
he (Jesus) was in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, many people saw the
miraculous signs he was doing and believed in his name. But Jesus would not
entrust himself to them, for he knows all men. He did not need man’s testimony
about man for he knew what was in a man.
Some other attributes of a people pleaser are they get in
their minds they are working for themselves, or other people, and not for God.
They do most of their deeds among other people so people can see them doing it,
or they tell other people about the good they are doing all the time. They also
like for others to see them pray, and they constantly want others to know they
are praying for them. They would rather be seen by others seeing them pray, and
for them to know they are praying, than God hearing them pray to Him in secret.
A reborn child of God will pray for all people, and never share
His righteousness He has given them in order to be seen by other people. Who they are in private with
their Father is who they are in public; there is no difference. Children born
of God do not talk about their deeds when helping other people. They keep their
deeds secret as possible, because they are doing it for their Father, not to
please people, or to get praise from other people, but to get their reward from Him. Colossians 3:23 Whatever you do,
work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, since you know that you will
receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are
serving. Anyone who does wrong will be repaid for his wrong, and there is no favoritism. Matthew 6:1-34 “Beware of
practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them,
for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven. “Thus, when
you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the
synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. Truly, I say
to you, they have received their reward. But when you give to the needy, do not
let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may
be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. “And when you
pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in
the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others.
Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. ...
Ephesians 6:5 Slaves,
obey your earthly masters with fear and trembling, with a sincere heart, as you
would Christ, not by the way of eye-service as people-pleasers, but as servants
of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart, rendering service with a good
will as to the Lord and not to man, knowing that whatever good anyone does,
this he will receive back from the Lord, whether he is a slave or free.
Masters, do the same to them, and stop your threatening, knowing that he who is
both their Master and yours is in heaven, and that there is no partiality with
him.
I view my earthy “master” today as my boss, or a government
elected official that has authority over me as if I am serving the Lord. They
should also view me the same as I view them, both serving the Lord as our true
Master and Lord because he shows no favoritism for anyone being greater than
anyone in His Kingdom. They should not threaten me by their given authority over
me that they have. We both should be serving the Lord through His authority
that He gives each of us through His Spirit of truth.
Another attribute of a people pleaser is they do not mind
at all being “equally yoked” and having fellowship with anyone the way they
want to have fellowship. They do not mind sharing their lives with anyone, and
they do not like confrontation with anyone. They live to keep the peace at all
cost. People pleasers think keeping the peace is more important than telling
the truth if they know it would offend someone else.
A people pleaser is not willing to separate themselves
for God among those who are unbelievers, and those who think they are
believers but continue to sin and call themselves believers. The only reason our Lord had any
association with an unbeliever is to show and tell them about their Heavenly
Father and His Kingdom because He wanted to save them. That was the reason our
Lord associated with anyone, and through Him we are His mouth, hands, and feet
for all.
We do not live for people, or ourselves any longer, we
belong to Him, and are used for His purposes, and have His interest dwelling in
us for others. We live through His Spirit, and we belong to Him. He is our
Savior, and Lord of our lives. The second commandment is only lived out after
the first, then His love and truth pours out of us for others always for His
purpose in drawing them to Him. We do not live for Him when we choose, but we
live each day and moment through His Spirit as He chooses.
2 Corinthians 6:14 Do not be unequally
yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with
lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness? 1 Corinthians 15:33
Do not be misled: “Bad company corrupts good character. Come back to your
senses as you ought, and stop sinning; for there are some who are ignorant of
God- I say this to your shame. 1 Corinthians 5:11
But now I am writing you that you must not associate with anyone who calls
himself a brother, but is sexually immoral or greedy, and idolater, or a slanderer,
a drunkard or a swindler. With such a man do not even eat. What does “equally yoked”, communion, and fellowship
mean?
Fellowship,
equally yoked, or communion means any two or more sharing a similar interest.
Unbelievers can have fellowship with one another because
they share their interest of their unbelief.
Sinners can have fellowship with one another because they
live in sin, and they have that interest in common.
A business man can
have common interest they share with other business men in their company, or share a common interest in business.
A doctor can have fellowship with another doctor because
they share a common interest in their profession.
An athlete, a painter, writer, teacher, lawyer, mother,
father, baker, chef, and any profession can share their similar interest and
have fellowship with one another. Many people have the same hobbies, or outside
interest they can share with one another. This is all fellowship we can share with all human beings.
All these different interests can be shared by any human
being at any time in their lives, but not all are good interest, and have His
purpose behind them. No child of God should be living in sin, nor should they
put any other interest in their lives above what interest Him.
A reborn child of God and what interest them should never come
before their interest or fellowship in sharing their faith, Gods’ word, and
their relationship with Christ and their Heavenly Father. What He gives His reborn child, and what
they give up for Him should be what they have in common, and desire to share with each other more than any other interest.
God tells us we
can all tell what a human being cherishes most by what is in their heart the
most. A child of God will always treasure their Lord, their Heavenly Father and
His word above any other treasure in this world. If people are first in your
life, many people will say you have a good heart because you care a lot for
people, but if it is not a heart for God above any person or thing, God will
look at it as idolatry.
People pleasers share their interest in pleasing people
with one another. They all love people, live for people, and all people love
them because they all put people before God. They will be like one another, and
be drawn to one another. A people pleaser will always give what people want to
hear above what they need to hear. They
hear others, and themselves above God’s truth through His word, and Satan is accomplishing his deception.
2 Timothy 4:3-5 For the time will come when men will not put
up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather
around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to
hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. But
you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist,
discharge all the duties of your ministry. God spoke through Paul to Timothy about people pleasers
in his day. He told Timothy there will be a time people would not put up with
sound doctrine but would fulfill their own desires and the desires of others.
There would be teachers that would only say what others wanted to hear so no one would be offended, or persecuted
by His truth any longer.
God spoke to Timothy through Paul and told Him to keep His head centered on Christ, not
to be timid and afraid, but to endure the hardships of persecution. He told Him to Preach the Word at all cost, to
always be prepared, to correct, rebuke and encourage – with great patience and
careful instruction. To do the work of being an evangelist by discharging all
the duties of his ministry through God’s Spirit, word and deed that was dwelling
in Him.
If you see yourself as a people pleaser, as I did some of my life, then repent as I did. You will know when there is no true peace and you are being controlled by your circumstances, or you still are conformed to the world and are apart of it. Ask God to forgive you for putting whoever you are
putting above Him. Ask God to forgive you for wanting to be more apart of this world than His Kingdom. Ask God to forgive you for getting in His way by not letting
others carry their own cross. Ask God to forgive you for being an enabler,
instead of a child of God correcting, rebuking, and encouraging through your
Spirit and Word of truth. Ask Him to forgive you for wanting all people to love
you above His love He has for you. Ask Him to forgive you for wanting to give
people what they wanted, instead of His truth, which is what they needed.
Talk to Him, you know what He needs to forgive you for, if you are a people pleaser, give yourself to Him with a sincere heart wanting to please Him, above caring what others think, and he will shower you with His forgiveness that takes your spirit, and soul beyond yourself and this world now!
You will know by the weight of the shame and guilt being removed
instantly! Then you can begin living solely for Him, and wholeheartedly wanting
to please Him above all people, so some can be drawn to Him, carry their own
Cross, as you carry yours, and live for Him! It is the only life worth living and dying for! |
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Vicki Gann: Posted on Wednesday, May 17, 2017 1:40 PM
Are the cares of life becoming thorns choking the life out of you?
Luke 8:14 The seed
that fell among thorns stands for those who hear, but as they go their way they
are choked by life’s worries, riches, and pleasures, and they do not mature.
In the parable of the “sower the seed” God tells us the “seed”
is the word of God, and the soil or place the seed is planted is the condition
of the person’s heart. In verse 14 the
thorns are riches, pleasures, and the worries of life that can over take a person’s
heart, after they hear God’s message, and they never mature spiritually.
Luke 8:11: This is
the meaning of the parable: The seed is the word of God…
Every person in the world will eventually hear God’s
message of the Cross, and each person will respond differently. First, a person
must hear the true message of the Cross through His Given Spirit when He
reveals to them who He is. He takes them above their natural mind, body and
spirit through His Given Holy Spirit into His Kingdom through His gospel message
of the Cross. The only one that knows our Heavenly Father is His Son, and the
only one that knows the Son is our Heavenly Father, and those He chooses to
reveal Himself to.
Many hear a “message” today, but it is not His truth, or
His whole message of the Cross, and His Kingdom that is much different than the
one we are living in today. Those who are His are in this world, but they are a
part of another Kingdom, not affected by this one due to what He gives each of
them of Himself. He takes His children beyond their natural human nature to His
Kingdom now in soul, and spirit through His Spirit, that gives life to their
mortal bodies now until He calls them home.
God tells us through the Messiah, Jesus Christ, in
Mathews account, Jesus will not return until all people have heard the true
message of His gospel and His Kingdom through His born-again children. That
still does not mean all who hear will repent when they hear the true message of
the Cross. Their own response to Him depends solely on them.
Matthew 24:14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be
proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then
the end will come. Now we know God wants all people in the world to hear the
message of the Cross. We know all things of God has been committed to the Son,
and no one knows the Son expect the Father and no one knows the Father except
the Son, and those the Son chooses to reveal His Father too.
Mathew 11:27“All
things have been committed to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son except
the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the
Son chooses to reveal him.
We know Jesus died for all people, so who are the ones that
hear and the ones that don’t. Or, who are the ones he chooses to reveal himself
too? He tells us many times but do we truly hear Him? In fact, God tells us
right before He says these words recorded by Mathew. Matthew 11:25 At
that time Jesus said, “I praise you Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because
you have hidden these things form the wise and learned, and reveal them to
little children. Yes, Father, for this was your good pleasure. Jesus tells us God, our Father, reveals His message and
words of His Son to those who come to Him like little children with no wisdom,
with no strength of their own, they are unwise, not knowing, not relying on
their own intellect, not relying on their own logic, their own understanding,
and their own mind, and power to save them from their sins, and the cares of
this world overwhelming them.
They are poor in spirit, body and soul, and want
to be saved from all their sins, and from all the cares of this world that can
tie them up, and they know they are not able to do it themselves. They have come to their wits end, and want to be taught by a
Father who is willing to teach them. Have you come to Jesus this way, if not,
He will not reveal Himself to you?
If a person thinks they are wise and knows all things,
without Him giving it to them through His Spirit, then He will never reveal Himself to them fully, not
because He can’t, but He will never compete with your pride, your self-righteousness,
or your self-piety until you give it all to Him. Those who are proud will
always be humbled by Him, but those who are humble He will exalt. When He
exalts a person, He gets all the glory and the praise they do not boast in themselves,
but in Him, and give Him all the glory and praise. Through their hearts their
mouths will speak His truth, and they will reveal what they treasure most by all He has given them of Himself.
Going back to the parable of the sower, this person in
this parable, has heard God’s truth through His word, they were a child coming
to their Heavenly Father, when God revealed His true message, His true gospel,
through His Son to this person, but what happened next? They let the cares of
this life, pleasures, and riches of this world choke out His word and His
presence He revealed to them. This can happen to any person when He has
revealed Himself to them, and they go out into the world and are choked by riches,
pleasures and their cares they may have in this world.
It can be any care they
are putting above His relationship. It can be their religion, their church community,
their church responsibilities, their responsibilities in life. It can be their
family, their children, their husband, people, possessions, accomplishments,
their own pride in saving themselves, or their self-piety, thinking they are
too sinful to be saved. All these are “cares” of this world.
The person quickly can become someone that does not rely
on Him as their Lord anymore because of their cares of this world. They also can be someone that has never truly relied on Him. Their sight
can take them quickly back to this world away from their faith He has given
them. Their own cares, and the pleasures of this world have become in their
minds bigger than He is. They have cares in this world they cannot shake, and
they leave their Lord behind them thinking they can care for them themselves.
They look at their blessings in life more important than their Lord’s personal relationship,
and do not mature spiritually in Him and His fullness within themselves.
Most of us know what the riches and the pleasures of this
world are that can become more important to us than His personal relationship
does. What are some the cares of this world that can choke a person, and how
can we give them to Him, when we cannot see Him, or touch Him?
For me, it was my children, and the death of my parents.
I always had a fear of something happening to them, or a fear of someone else
hurting them. I used to have night meres of something happening to my parents, and my children. I
lived most of my life trying to please my parents instead of trying to please God.
When
someone did not give my children what I thought they deserved I would behave
very badly, seek revenge, or act like a mother bear protecting her cubs charging
full speed ahead with no self-control at all. I would not want to murder
anyone, but my temperament would be out of control, and there was no telling what
would come out of my mouth loud enough for all to hear! No harsh curse words,
but a powerful presence of getting my way for my children’s sake according to circumstance they were in.
Their embarrassment could be seen all over their faces,
and humbled me, until he next time, and then it would happen again. I was
letting the cares of this world choke what God wanted to give me repeatedly. Our
pride in ourselves tells us we can do all things on our own, and Satan uses our
pride in being protectors of our children and our loved ones to keep us from receiving
what God has for us that takes us beyond ourselves and this world.
I was going to be the one that protected my children! I
had no faith in Him being their protector because He had not given me any. I
did not go to Him as a child willing to be taught by Him. I had no idea how I
could give them to Him to take care of, when they were here, facing all they
had to face, and He was there in Heaven somewhere, and I was down hear
protecting them. I truly did not know Him or who He was. First, I had not heard
the whole gospel message about the Cross and His Kingdom. Second, I was not
taught I had to come to Him as a child not knowing and being able to be
anything without Him. Once I heard His truth, and came to Him as a child not knowing
anything, He revealed Himself to me, and I gave myself fully to Him along with all my cares.
These are some of His truths He spoke to me, and still hear everyday.
Psalm 55:22 Cast
your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous
be shaken. The word cast means to throw, hull, or fling. If you are a
fisherman, you know how to cast a rod, but how do we cast to the Lord? We cast
or fling our cares to the Lord through our prayers. Our prayer is casting our
cares to Him. We throw or fling our prayers to Him with all
our hearts. What we catch from Him through our prayers is what He gives us to
sustain us. We catch His peace, grace, and love that always will sustain us. Like
a fish is what sustains a fisherman, when he or she cast their line for food,
what He gives us is His spiritual presence when we cast our prayers to Him. He is our food that sustains us
from letting the cares of this world overwhelm us.
Psalm 7:26 My flesh
and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion
forever. Those who are far from you will
perish, you destroy all who are unfaithful to you. But as for me, it is good to
be near God, I have made the Sovereign LORD my refuge; I will tell of all your
deeds.
He will never let His children be shaken by the cares of
this world when we continue to give him our cares through our prayers. I have
learned to cast all my cares to the Lord and He cares for them, and He gives me
what sustains me. I trust Him above myself taking care of all my cares because
He can take care of all my cares much better than I can. I speak of His deeds He has worked in me and through me. I speak of His deeds He has worked in others and through others for me. Nahum 1:7 The Lord
is good, a refuge in times of trouble. He cares for those who trust in him Peter 5:7 Cast all
your anxiety on him because he cares for you. Matthew 6:25“Therefore,
I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about
your body, what you will wear. How do we not worry about our life? We all need to eat,
drink and wear clothes, and how can we not worry about these things? Give all
your worries to Him and He will sustain you. God knows we need all these
things, and He tells us if we seek Him and His Kingdom first all these things
will come to us.
He fills our soul and mind of His ways, ideas, and plans for our lives with passions that drive
us to do our work He has called us to do in this world that sustains us in many
ways, and when the day comes we are not able to work, he will provide for us in
other ways, we will never worry about tomorrow, we will be like His birds, and the lilies of the filed because consumed in Him and all He gives us of Himself. WE will be seeking Him and His
righteousness above our own.
Today I do not see many not worrying about tomorrow,
and totally free trusting that He will give them all they need no matter what
age and season in life. I see fear of many kinds, people falling into temptations, and the cares of this world swallowing them up with no way out.
God compares us to birds, and lilies of the field, in His word. We all can see He takes care of them and they have no worries. They do not store up their food, or worry
about what they are wearing, and they are beautiful not lacking anything. They
eat each day what God provides, and the lilies of the fields are beautiful naturally
how God has dressed them. They do not worry at all about what they will eat or
what they are wearing. He tells us we
are worth much more to Him then they are, and through His presence, if we are
putting Him first, we will live these words out in our lives.
Matthew 7:31 So do
not worry, saying, “What shall I eat?” or ‘What shall we drink?” or “What shall
we wear?” For the pagan run after all these things, and your heavenly Father
knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and
ll these things will be given to you as well. Therefore, do not worry about
tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its
own.
Matthew 11:28 Come
to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give your rest. Take my
yoke up you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you
will find rest for your souls, for my yoke is easy and my burden is light. Any one that is weary and burdened (and that is all of us
at one time or another) is God's way of calling you to come to Him. He can give you rest for your souls. He wants
you to learn about who He is within you, and any time your heart is burdened or
weary He is calling you to Him. He is a humble Son of God not knowing anything but
what His Father has committed to Him, and through Him we are given the heart of
God, and we too are His children He has committed all of himself too through His Son. Only through Him will a person receive rest for their souls, as Jesus had rest for His soul in time of trouble, He will give
you His heart that makes your burden light as you carry your own cross. Luke 21:34-36 Be
careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with dissipation, drunkenness and
the anxieties of life, and that day will close on you unexpectedly like a trap.
For it will come
upon all those who live on the face of the whole earth. Be always on the watch, and pray that you may
be able to escape all this is about to happen, and that you may be able to
stand before the Son of Man. (KJV) And take heed
to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and
drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares. We all need to be careful, or take heed of ourselves and
make sure we are staying close to Him, and Him alone all ways He gives us through
His Spirit to keep close to Him.
He is the one that gives us a careful heart, renews
our mind, and that keeps us from being weighed down with the cares of this
life. Jesus tells us to be careful, because many will turn to wine and excessive
drinking and before they realize it the day will come they are standing before
the Son of God.
Jesus is talking to His disciples about His return and the last
days of the earth they are in after His resurrection. The cares of life will be great, and
before they know it, they will be tempted to turn to other ways to cope with
life, and before they realize it they will be standing face to face with the
Son of God.
All these words of my Lord helped me to give myself fully
to Him, to make right through His Spirit, and all my cares of this life. All these words are dwelling in His
children waiting to be revealed by Him. My prayer for all of us is to hold on
to Him and all He gives us of Himself to sustain us, above any other way to cope
with the cares of this life and the temptations of sin that wants to control
us, and tie us up. I hope these words help you to know how to receive Him, and
give all your cares to the only one that truly cares for you.
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Vicki Gann: Posted on Friday, May 12, 2017 1:45 PM
A Bible study on
Perplexity
Today we are going to discuss perplexity in the natural
flesh human soul, and in the Holy Spirit filled human soul, and the differences
in what or who they are perplexed about. I noticed years ago how God
transformed my perplexity. Today I do not think many “Christians” realize how
their perplexity changes, or if they do, they may not have received the full understanding as to why it has
changed.
Others may not be changing their perplexity, confusion, or troubled mind because they are not allowing Him to transform it, their ears are blocked by their own evil desires, they are being blocked from the prince of this dark world, or they are ignorant because they are being taught wrong.
Perplex - to cause to be puzzled or bewildered over what
is not understood or certain; confused mentally Example: Their strange response perplexed me.
God’s word uses the word troubled in some translations in
the place of perplexed. Confusion can cause a person’s mind to be troubled, and
a confused mind can cause someone to go in a wrong direction.
A natural flesh occupied human soul is perplexed about
many things, and for many reasons. In fact, a natural human being stays in a
perplexed, or confused state of mind. A natural human being or soul changes the
reasons why they are perplexed day to day due to their relationships or their
circumstances. They are never content. They stay in a perplexed state of mind
about God, and themselves. This is one of the weapons Satan uses to keep a
child of God away from what our Father is giving them, and it also is a state
of mind Satan uses to keep anyone from hearing God’s truth.
Satan loves to create perplexity to the point a person is
destroyed from hearing the truth about our Father and His Son Jesus Christ, and
the grace, and power He gives them. A natural human soul is perplexed about why
they exist, their purpose, where to go, and what to do. They have no
answers.
They rely solely on themselves, and find they truly never have that completeness they are searching for. Their minds continually fall short, and they search continually as to why their minds are in total confusion. They have no true judgement or discernment about themselves or others.
They have doubt, fear, and have an anxious state of mind from one day to the next. They deceive themselves and are easily deceived.
1 Corinthians 2:14
The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit
of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because
they are spiritually discerned. The spiritual man makes judgments about all
things, but he himself is not subject to any man’s judgment. For who has known
the mind of the Lord that he many instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.
The Holy Spirit that comes into a human soul through
Jesus Christ and the Cross searches all things, even the deep things of God
within that soul. For who among the natural human soul knows the thoughts of
another human soul except the man’s spirit within that soul? In the same way,
no one knows the thoughts of God’s soul except the Spirit of God. The Holy
Spirit filled human soul has not received the spirit of the world, they are
different, they have received the Spirit who is from God, so they can
understand clearly what God has freely given them.
1 Corinthians 2:10
The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. For who among men
knows the thoughts of a man except the man’s spirit within him? In the same
way, no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. We have not
received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we may
understand what God has freely given us. The only way a natural human being can recover from
perplexity or their perplexity is coming from the right place is to surrender
their mind to Jesus Christ as their Lord. Many people say they surrender all to
God, but truly this is evident in ourselves and in others when our mind is not
being transformed into His mind.
Today many “Christians” have the same mindset
as someone in the world, they do not think differently than someone else who
lives in the world, and they remain in confusion. Jesus
said, in this world we will have trouble, perplexity, and heart break, but the response a Christian has is much different than the response a natural man has when they face trouble. God’s Holy Spirit is the One
truth of God, and the mind of God given to us so we may know Him and His power and He may
know us and how much we need Him.
Today we are going to discuss some reasons, a true child
of God, a Holy Spirit filled person is perplexed, and a natural human being,
unbeliever, pagan, or Gentile person is perplexed. Our Father will reveal to us
the difference, and help us to realize who we are, and who we are not. If we recognize the difference He has given
us within ourselves as a true child of God, rejoice in Him, praise Him for
revealing His truth in us; we have been given the mind of Christ! If you
recognize He has not manifested this difference in you, then repent, ask Him to
give you His reasons your mind is being confused, perplexed, or troubled so He
can give you rest in Him. We will start with Daniel.
Daniel 4:19 (
Daniel Interprets the Dream) Then Daniel (also called Belteshazzar) was greatly
perplexed for a time, and his
thoughts terrified him. So the king said, “Belteshazzar, do not let the dream
or its meaning alarm you.” Belteshazzar answered, “My lord, if only the dream
applied to your enemies and its meaning to your adversaries!
The KJV uses the word troubled instead of perplexed.
Daniel was alarmed, perplexed, and confused because the dream was not about the
king’s enemies, or adversaries, but the king himself. King Nebuchadnezzar had become to know that
Daniel had the Spirit of the Holy God in him, and the kind knew that was the
only reason Daniel could interpret his dreams. King Nebuchadnezzar had already
seen the miracle of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego when he had this dream, and
even praised God for saving them from the fire. Even though Daniel was
troubled, alarmed, or perplexed, he did not fall into despair, but fearlessly
told the king what God had given him about the king’s dream.
This reveals to us when a righteous man, one of God’s
chosen, a Holy Spirit filled person gets a troubled or perplexed mind due to
what is being revealed through Gods Spirit about another person, and they fearlessly speak what God reveals regardless of the outcome. Daniel offered his
advice to the king because he had more fear of not pleasing God then he had of
not pleasing the king. Many false prophets had a fear of kings more than God,
and told kings only what they wanted to hear, and not the truth. Although
Daniel respected the king, God was greater in Daniels life, greater then king,
and greater to Daniel than any other relationship or circumstance.
Even though Daniel was perplexed and troubled he did not
fall into fear or despair, he spoke the words God gave him to speak, because He
wanted to please God, for God’s sake, and Daniel cared about the king’s
relationship with God more than his own relationship with the king. Daniel's interest in others had become God’s interest in others only because Daniel
surrendered all of Himself to God, so God revealed many works in Daniel and
through Daniel. Through Christ and the Cross, we receive His Holy Spirit, and our
mind, soul, body, spirit and heart transform the same way. Our interest in
others become God’s interest in others, and our soul, body and spirit prove His
transformation, and redeeming work for all to benefit from. The King was not willing to take hold
of God’s instructions through Daniel, and he suffered for it. Daniel 4:27
Therefore, O king, be pleased to accept my advice: Renounce your sins by doing
what is right, and your wickedness by being kind to the oppressed. It may be
that then your prosperity will continue.
The king kept his prideful ways, boasting about himself,
taking credit for building up His kingdom, and gave no credit to God. He
suffered seven years he did not need to suffer, but he was humbled by God
through them, repented, and regained his kingdom better than it was before.
Daniel did God’s will, no matter how alarmed, perplexed, or troubled he was
about the dream. He warned the King regardless of the king’s response, because
Daniel lived and belonged to God.
Luke 9:7 Now Herod
the tetrarch heard about all that was going on. And he was perplexed because some were saying that John had been raised from
the dead,
Herod was a tetrarch, a governor or a ruler of one of the
four divisions of Rome when Christ walked the earth. Herod was perplexed about
what was going on because some people were saying John the Baptist was raised
from the dead, and others claimed prophets had come back to life because the
disciples of Jesus was sent to village to village, preaching the gospel and
healing people everywhere!
Herod killed John the Baptist by having him beheaded
so he was confused or perplexed about all that was going on. Herod wanted to know
who was performing all these miracles, and he tried to see him. We know Herod’s perplexity
lead him in the wrong direction, because he lived through his natural mind, and
by his own power. It grew into despair and later it caused him to make a wrong
decision. Therefore, it is very important for us to look where our confusion
comes from, and for what reason.
Acts 2:12- 13 Amazed
and perplexed, they asked one
another, “What does this mean?” Some, however, made fun of them and said, “They
have had too much to drink.”
This occurred when the Jews came from all over the region
to meet on the day of Pentecost, and the Holy Spirit came upon them. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a
violent wind came from Heaven and filled the whole house where they were
sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to
rest one each one of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and
began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them. A crowd came
together in bewilderment, because each one heard them speaking in his own
language. Peter addressed the crowd and told them what it meant, “In the last days, God says, I will pour out
my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughter will prophesy, your young men
will see visions, your old men will dream dreams. Even on my servants, both men
and women I will pour out my Spirit in those days and they will prophesy. When a child of God receives the Holy Spirit, they will
be amazed, perplexed, and confused at first because their mind is transforming,
their emotions are changing, they are being healed in unexplained ways, their
denying themselves, their carrying a Cross that is given by His power and
grace, and their growing in Him. They will dream dreams, see visions, and they
will prophesy. These people that have chosen the way of Christ, God's way, through His Spirit filled life will not remain timid, or prideful in their own
works, but speak, and walk in His truth boldly with His love and authority guarding their hearts, and without resentment, malice or harsh judgment toward anyone else that do not believe as they do.
They are given gifts they could have never imagined from
God to prove they are His Spirit filled children, so others will be drawn to
Him, not to them for their own purposes. They love God with all their heart, with
all their soul, with all their strength, and with all their mind because He has
given all they have in all ways it can be given. Through His love, a child of God that is living to
please Him, will love others for His purpose, not their own. They are bearing
fruit for Him because they belong to Him, and they do not belong to themselves
or others any longer. They live for God and Him alone.
A true child of God becomes a part of another world,
another Kingdom that is led by the Heavenly Father, and His Son, and that
person is not a part of this one any longer. If this transformation does not
give you some perplexity then God has not taken hold of you. All His children
will have some perplexity at first because a new person has taken up residence
within them, and He wants to change them into His Holy Image, and this type of
confusion can be overwhelming at times, but at the same time He gives you a
peace that goes beyond your understanding.
Paul writes to the children of God in Corinth to explain
what happens to each of us that have fully given themselves to Christ, not to
some, but to all of us who are living in and through Him fully as being His
treasures, in His jars of clay.
2 Corinthians 4:8
We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in
despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We
always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life may be
revealed in our mortal body. So then, death is at work in us but life is at
work in you.
If you call yourself a Christian and these experiences
are not manifesting within yourself through His power that is within you then
you are not being molded by His hands, as you are being his clay, and Him being
your Potter. If He is your Potter and you are His clay these experiences will
be happening to you. This is not a sad, miserable, victimized, sorrowful, guilt
ridden life, but the only abundant life worth living, and He will mold you,
shape you, and He will be exalted through it.
God writes through Paul to the believers in Corinth as he
writes to His children today, we are hard pressed on every side, but not
crushed. Perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck
down, but not destroyed. Paul does not say some believers, a few believers,
many believers, He says “We” are, meaning all who are in Christ are, and it is
to show that this all-surpassing power is from God, and not from us!
Hard pressed on
every side, but not crushed. A natural human being will always be crushed
by his or her circumstances, or his or her relationships. No natural human
being has the power to overcome their circumstances or their relationships, all
natural human souls will be crushed by them sooner or later. God reveals this to
us and through us in the beginning of our relationship with Him through His
Spirit of truth, we are no longer crushed by them, but molded and shaped by His
power through them for His sake. We become stronger through our circumstances
by His power and grace. We are not changed through our circumstances or
experiences, we are changed by Him through them.
A natural soul can change and
learn through their circumstances, and through their own relationships, all people can learn, and change without God, but He will not the glory, there will be none of His fruit bearing, and no fruit from His Spirit will be manifesting in them.
A Holy Spirit filled person learns from God, and through others that God is in. This
means anyone at any accountable age can learn from Him through their
circumstances and relationships, and not be crushed by them, but transformed by
Him through them. They will transform from within, through them, because HE changes
them.
Perplexed, but not
in despair.A natural person will be perplexed about many things. There perplexity, as I have already written, will always be in despair, and end without completeness. Their mind is not being transformed by Him, not because He does not want to transform them, but they are not willing.
Those who remember, like Paul, what it was like to live through
the natural spirit of man, know the difference, and I remember how confused,
and perplexed I was about myself, God, and all my relationships, and
circumstances before I knew my Lord and Savior. I learned from my experiences,
and relationships, just like every natural human being can, but no change
within me ever took place, nor was I being transformed to His likeness. I was not perplexed about what perplexed Him because He was not in me. I did not have a relationship with Him as my true
Lord and Savior, so His relationship was not lived out. Only my heart, mind, body and spirit was living in me, and what I willed. I only saw and heard others in the world.
A Holy Spirit filled person will be perplexed about
others, but the will have no despair, and it will not end in despair. They have His hope, faith and love to guide their minds. They are never perplexed about what
their Heavenly Father is doing in and through them, about their own
relationship with God because they are full of His Spirit, and He is teaching
them all things. For there is nothing
hidden that will not be disclosed, and nothing concealed that will not be known
or brought out into the open. Therefore,
consider carefully how you listen. Whoever has will be given more; whoever does
not have, even what he thinks he has will be taken from him. (Luke 8:17)
A child of God will be perplexed about other lost souls,
about other believers that say they have faith in Christ but their mouths, and hearts
reveal something different. A
Spirit filled person will be perplexed about people who are willing to be deceived
after they have been told the truth, and they will be perplexed about people
who distort God’s truth, but a Holy Spirit filled person will not be in
despair even though they are perplexed.
I wonder if there were any Holy Spirit
filled souls that were perplexed about me before I knew Him? They never told me
they were, but then again, I never claimed I knew Him or was walking through
His Spirit. I never spoke His words because He was not in me giving me the
understanding of them to speak. His words were not dwelling in me to use as He determined.
His love, peace and grace will guide His Holy Spirit filled child to
pray for the lost, faithless, the ones that are being deceived, and the ones that are persecuting them. All these a
Holy Spirit filled person will be perplexed about, but not in despair. He will give them what they
need in word and deed when He gives them an opportunity to speak or to comfort
those the Holy Spirit filled Christian is perplexed about.
Like Daniel, Jesus,
Paul and all the first disciples, no matter how troubled or perplexed a Spirit filled child of God is about another soul, a child of God speaks and walks through His Spirit of truth
regardless of the circumstances or the relationship he puts before them.The Holy
Spirit filled child of God lives in God, for God, and through God for all
people. They are perplexed, but not in despair. Persecuted but not
abandoned. A Spirit filled child of God will always be persecuted, but it
may be in different measures. Today many Christians are being heavily
persecuted, beaten, and put to death. Through my research, Christians are
estimating 90,000 thousand Christians are killed a year, and 215 million
experience persecution in countries across the globe according to the world watch
list given by Open Doors USA a Christian
Today publication. This number has to do with many wars, and not just from
Muslims. Go to OpenDoorUSA.org/WWL to
get more information about severe persecution from 50 countries.
There are all kinds of levels of persecution that can cause perplexity. It can
come from a family member not wanting to be around a Spirit filled child of God, and a friend not
wanting to be around them. It can come from co-workers at a job or anywhere they walk, and
speak through His presence. It can also come from
another group of believers, and church community that do not want to live by
His truth that His Word proclaims.
A Holy
Spirit filled person can recognize if His peace is not being received instantly from someone
else, because He reveals it to them because they are focused on Him, and not the
other person. As He sent His disciples out into the world He sends us out, and
as He was sent they and us are sent doing our Father’s will, and some will not
receive His peace.
Many Christians today say they do not look at other
people and their walk, but if you are focused on Him, He will reveal how you
speak and walk, and through you He will reveal how others speak and how they
walk for all to benefit from. If you are focused on people you will not see
correctly, you will either see all the good, or all the bad, but never clearly that reveals His
truth for all to befit from.
Only through Him can anyone see clearly has He wants them to see, and He
will reveal what He wants every child of His to see, they do not know until He
reveals it, but if you are fully His to work in and through you will see as He
sees. His truth, or a lie, the darkness, or His light, this world, or His
Kingdom, all will be revealed, and who is up for such a task?
When a child of God speaks His truth plainly through His
Spirit of authority and grace it can be rejected by another person only because
they are not willing to live by His truth, and that person can look at a child
of God as an enemy. It does not matter how kind, and merciful the child of God
is, not because of who they are, but because of who He is. The persecutor is rejecting
His truth not the persons truth. It is not a matter of getting their own way, but His
way, through His Words, not their own. Regardless if they listen, or reject His truth, a child of God continues to follow His Spirit.
Today His truth is being accepted as relative, and
comparative depending on the person. Today many Christians
believe God gives people different truths depending on how each person perceives
it, and the time they receive it. This means each person can have their own
truth. This is not true, a false teaching that has spread among many believers. Each person that has received Christ are taught by the same mind, and the same Spirit. This is where their unity comes from.
Above all you must understand God’s word was not made for private
interpretation. It is given by One Spirit for all to receive the same
understanding from, through His Wisdom, and if at any time the mature in Christ
do disagree, wait patiently through His Spirit; He will always reveal His
truth. He has proven this truth so many times in my own life.
2 Peter 1:20 Above all, you must understand that no
prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation. For
prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as
they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. Philippians 2:14 I press
toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in
Christ Jesus. All of us who are mature
(spiritually) should take such a view of things. And if on some point you
think differently, that too God will make clear to you. Only let us live up to
what we have already attained.
Persecution can come from people in another country,
across the table, or down the street, but our Lord will never abandon a true
child of God, and He will always give them what they need through it all! His
children are always blessed by Him through their persecution. God speaks
through Paul’s letters to Timothy and tells him if a person is not being persecuted then they are not in Christ.
The world today can be among His body of believers, just like it was among the early church, false prophets, and false witnesses, and people who distort the word of God, can all be among His body of believers. Jesus said, "Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them." God speaks this through Our Lord by Johns
recorded account.
It is not because of who a true child of God is as an individual is why they get
persecuted, but because of who He is, and if you belong to Him as His child,
you will be obedient to Him, and you will be persecuted by others.
John 15:18 “If the
world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the
world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you don’t belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the
world. This is why the world hates you.
Remember the words I spoke to you. ‘No servant is greater than his master, if they persecuted me, they will persecute you also.
If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also. They will treat you this way because of my name, for they don’t know
the One who sent me. 2 Timothy 3:12 In
fact everyone who wants to live a Godly life in Christ Jesus will be
persecuted, while evil men and impostors will go from bad to worse, deceiving
and being deceived.
Struck down, but
not destroyed.If you are a Holy Spirit filled child of God you will be
struck down. This word struck down, means put in a lower place, to humiliate,
ridicule, or mock. Many people will try to humiliate a true child of God in
many ways due to who He is in them; His righteousness, and His wisdom that is
His truth; they did it to Him first, and if He is in you it will be done to
you. Through Him a child of God will have most of the answers because He gives
them all the answers. People who do not have all the answers will hate the ones
that do because they are prideful.
If you are living a true Spirit filled Holy
life people will try to humiliate you, they will ridicule you, and try to make
themselves seam higher than you are because they are prideful in who they have created themselves to be.
A child of God
is confident in Christ and what He gives them, not in themselves, they know all
they have is due to what He gives. A prideful person may use many things to try
to humiliate a child of God.
People that persecute a child of God can use their age to try to humiliate a child of God,
they may use their own works to try and humiliate a child of God, their education, gender, and accomplishments to
try to make a child of God seam smaller than they are, not because of who they
are, but because of who He is.
That is why Jesus tells the crowd, those who think they are first will be last, and those who know they are last will be first. This means the prideful will fall, and the humble He will exalt. Because the humble person knows all they have been given has come from Him, not from themselves and their power.
A Spirit filled child of God will not let perception destroy
their spirit or sou, they will always remain true to who He is in them, they will remain
standing in His presence, will not be shaken, they will not stoop to the false
prophet’s level, submit to them, they will stay true to His word, His ways through His teachings. A true
child of God will not humiliate anyone, they will never ridicule anyone or mock
anyone. They will tell His truth boldly, with His given authority, remain in His love,
and let the circumstances fall where they may.
They will never be destroyed, nor will they desire to
destroy anyone, only sin and evil, but at the same time they will not
compromise His truth. It is up to the person that is persecuting them if they
want to continue being deceived, or be reborn fully living in and through Him.
Those who are fully in Christ will continue to pray for those who are persecuting
them. They are lifted up to the Father, and put into His hands. Our prayers will be His rain drops falling on their heads, and His truth will set them free from their sins.
Matthew 5:43 “You
have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I
tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may
be sons of your Father in heaven. He caused his sun to rise on the evil and the
good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.
This does not mean we love sin, and we accept our sins,
or anyone’s sin. This also does not mean we must live with those who persecute
us, or be equally yoked with our persecutors.
This means we love our enemy’s through prayer, and we still will bless
them through God’s Holy word of truth when He gives us an opportunity to speak to them for their benefit and ours. Many today are ignoring their sin, and loving without His truth, and that benefits no one.
Galatians 4:20 how
I wish I could be with you now and change my tone, because I am perplexed about you! God writes, just as He speaks through Paul to the church
in Galatians as He speaks to us today. God is showing His concern through Paul for the Galatians as He does through us for others. Formerly, they did not know God, they were
slaves to those who by nature are not gods, just like we are all before we know
God through Christ. He tells them now since they know God or rather are known
by God- how is it that they are turning back to those weak and miserable principles?
This is what Paul is perplexed about, and if Christ is in us we too will be
perplexed about someone turning away from God after they have been told the
truth, and received the message with joy.
God ask them through Paul's letter, as He ask us and through us today as well, “Do you wish to be enslaved by them all
over again? He tells them they are observing special days, months, seasons and
years! They used to be in Christ when Paul visited them
before, now some of them were turning back to false principles, away from their
faith in Christ giving them all they need, and they began disliking Paul for
telling them the truth. They began treating him as an enemy! Truly they were treating Christ as a enemy, and Paul was perplexed about them and their response.
He became perplexed,
and his tone was not pleasant, but he wished he could come to them and his tone
be changed. Paul’s greatest desire was for Christ to be formed in others has He
was formed in Paul. That is God's will for all of us to be in Christ fully sanctified. Paul pleaded for the Galatians to be like Him in Christ for
he became like them to show the work of Christ, and how he transformed him.
This type of perplexity comes from a heart that is
totally devoted to God wholeheartedly, and wants others to love God has they
do, and they become perplexed when someone goes backwards instead of moving
forwards in faith in Christ giving them all they need daily to love and walk
through His Given Spirit. We are free in Christ from the in traditions that enslave us, observing certain days, months, seasons and years, and Paul wanted them to
experience the true freedom Christ could only give them each day for one another through His life giving Spirit.
Have we let
Christianity become enslaved by observing certain days, months, seasons and
years all over again just like the organized religion of the Jews that put a
heavy yoke upon the people? God was not able to work in and through the natural man as
He desired. He knew this in the beginning, and planned Jesus has their Savior before the creation of the world. They were promised a New promise in Christ that gives them a New heart, from His Spirit that transforms them.
I am perplexed about this myself just as Paul was. Has His church today
gone backwards instead of forwards in faith in Him giving us all we need each
day? Have we gone back to observing special days, months, seasons, and years above His daily presence living in and through us?
Through all this perplexity my hope is in Christ that we
all realize where our perplexity comes from, and where it is taking us. If He
is transforming it, or has transformed it without despair, but with His grace,
and peace. We all will be perplexed at different times, and for different
reasons, and the reason why will reveal who we are. If we test ourselves and
find that we are perplexed for His reason and purpose, praise God! We know it
does not not end in despair, but His peace, hope and His amazing grace is transforming us through His life given Spirit.
If you find yourself perplexed by your own desires, and it is ending in despair, repent now, this hour and this day! Ask your Heavenly Father to forgive you for letting your confusion, or troubled mind take you away from His purpose in your life. Ask Him to help you be perplexed about what perplexes Him, and He will give you His peace and hope.
May all of us learn to be perplexed about what He is perplexed about.
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