The Civilized World’s Made Things Harder For Us

The civilized world has taught us that we're independent and don't need anyone but ourselves. We are taught to think of ourselves first, to love ourselves, to be ourselves, to do for ourselves. We're taught that no one can make us do anything and we can do and be anything we want to. We're told anything and everything is ok as long as it makes us feel good and that we should feel good. We're taught how great and wonderful we are. We're taught that the stars are our limit -in other words there is no limit to what we can do. (sounds an awful lot like the tower of Babel to me) It's funny, but the more I study God's Word, the more I find that the world has lied to me about many, many things and has corrupted the meaning of many things as well. As I was studying Deut 5 I came across something surprising that I'd like to share with you. It's something else that our civilized world has made it hard for us to understand and relate to.

Deuteronomy 5:6 —“I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery."

Let's look closely at this first sentence. "I am the Lord your God". Before we can really be saved or have the fear of God or love Him or anything else, we first have to know that He is. As Hebrews 11:6 says: And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. Now that may seem strange to us, because we rarely question His existence, but then again, if we really believe He exists and is aware of us and all of that, wouldn't we tend toward being obedient to Him a whole lot more? No, I'm not suggesting we don't really believe in Him, but I am suggesting that we might benefit a lot from focusing on His existence and reflecting on it until we really, really knew it. At least, that's what I determined for myself.

I've thought for many years that because we're so "blessed" to live in such a "civilized" country, that we really don't understand concepts such as "God", or "slavery" or things like that. We know the definitions of them, but we don't have any real personally emotional attachment to them. Most of us have had jobs and bosses we may not have liked at all, but we could always quit. When I dwelled on the concepts of Lord's and slaves, and tried to imagine what it would be like to wake up in the morning, knowing that another person owned me and that they could literally kill me at their whim, it was hard to do that and make it "real" to myself. Sure, I can imagine it, but it's more like a fantasy then anything possible, even though I know that there were and are slaves all around the world. When I imagine it, I think I'd "run away" or find some way out of it - I can't make it last in my mind for a lifetime.

Yet, it IS real. God is real. God created us and He sustains our very lives every moment of every day. He can wipe us out en mass, or one at a time or any way He chooses, whenever and however He chooses. The fact that He doesn't do so, doesn't mean that He can't. He can bless us or curse us, give or take away. Yet for the most part, we ignore Him and go on with our lives as though He wasn't there. If we were slaves in this world with a physical Lord over us, we couldn't do that. He'd be in our face constantly and be a constant reminder that if we don't obey Him instantly, He could and just might, have us killed. See what I mean about why I felt I needed to dwell on that and make God more "real" to me?

So first, we need to know that God IS. He is God, He is the Lord. But, there's another word in that sentence that makes a HUGE difference in it's meaning. It doesn't say, "I am the Lord God", it says, "I am the Lord your God". Out of all the other people on this earth, He is MY God and I am His. He's personal. He knows and acknowledges me and wants me to know and acknowledge Him. It's more then that though. Because He's not "my God" and no one else's. He says that to everyone. It's up to each individual to accept Him as their God or reject Him. And that means something very important for each of us and this is what kind of blew me away when I realized it.

Everyone has a "god", it's just not always the One True God. In fact, everyone generally has quite a few gods. We all serve someone/something. That may change according to what happens during the day and how we're feeling, but regardless, we all serve something. It's just that in our civilized world, we don't think of them as gods. The problem with that is that The One True God does think of them as gods and He doesn't want us to serve any one or anything but Him. See, God designed us to be in relationship with Him -with God and so we seek that constantly whether we realize it or not. That's what I've always thought of as the empty "hole" we're always seeking to fill, that will make us "happy" and "complete". It's the something missing that we all search for even when we don't know we're looking for it.

Whenever we're not in an intimate relationship with God, we will be in an intimate relationship with something/someone else, because that's who our hearts have been designed. We have to be in an intimate relationship with something/someone. Many women look for it in a man. Many men look for it in a woman. Others look for it in work or school, money, children, booze or drugs, or books, movies, porn, sex, parties, friends, food, the internet, computer or video games, our homes, gardens, etc. or for instance when we endlessly strive for the approval of others, or the love of others. The things we look for it in aren't necessarily bad in and of themselves, although they can be at times, but they become bad no matter what they are because whether we know it or not, we become slaves to them. (Rom 6:16)

So we're all slaves, all the time. We're simply slaves to different things or people or "gods". Remember too, Jesus tells us that we cannot serve 2 masters. We have to choose. Besides which, God also tells us that He will not "share" us with others. It's Him or them. That's why Jesus pleads with us and says in Matthew 11:29–30 —Take my yoke upon 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.” * A yoke is what's used to join 2 cows or horses together so they can pull a plow. Jesus used that word because whoever or whatever we're slaves to, we're joined together with. We're "yoked" to them. That's again why we're told not to be "unequally yoked". If you yoke a little cow with a large horse, it won't work. They can't pull the plow evenly. Back to the point though, when we serve someone or something besides God, we are slaves to that and we're yoked to it whether we realize it or not.

And that too is something I really needed to dwell on because generally, in our day and time, we don't realize that. We think we're just hanging out with people or just eating junk food or just drinking, or just running after a man to love us, or whatever. We'd be more inclined to think of them serving us rather then the other way around. The Truth though, is that we're serving them; we're slaves to them. That's why we run to them every time we're scared, or depressed or worried or lonely, or whatever our personal triggers are.

Here's the really bad news for us who are saved. When we do that, we're not just slaves to those things, we're slaves to false gods. They are our "idols". We have put them in God's place in our lives. We can know that because if we didn't have any false gods or idols, we'd be running to the One True God, "our God", when we felt that way. All the various things we each choose as our idols and false gods, generally look pretty good to us. If they didn't, we wouldn't run to them. But in reality, they're cruel masters. For example, those of us who choose food, then must constantly worry about our weight and/or our health because our idol has messed up our cholesterol and our weight. Our false gods have made us promises to make us feel good and they can't keep those promises; worse, they lead to death. But there is a True God who will help us, if we will just choose to take His yoke on ourselves instead. Yes, we will still be yoked to someone, but this God is loving and His yoke is easy and the burden is light.

That brings us to the last part of that first line -“I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery". The One True God tells us that He is our personal God and He qualifies that, even though He certainly doesn't have to. He says that He is "our" God because He brought us out of the land of slavery. He doesn't want us yoked to those false idols that lie to us and use us and throw us away. He created us to be in an intimate relationship with Him, not with them. He wants 100% of us though and He wants us 100% of the time. All day, every day. He wants us to be yoked to Him and nothing else. Can you imagine yourself literally yoked to Jesus? That's what I try to do to remind myself that no matter where I go, what I do, what I look at or who I talk to, He is with me. He's not just a passive partner that I'm dragging around with them though. No. In fact, He's bearing most of the burden for me, making my burden lighter, just because He loves me and He's "my God."

Speaking of bring us out of slavery, some folks might say, that's not talking about me, that's talking about the Jew's when He brought them out of Egypt, and so it is. But it's also talking about you and me. Well, at least me for sure, because I know without any doubt at all that He's brought me out of my slavery. He rescued me from myself, from the occult, from the new age, from depression, from loneliness, from fear and worry, and from so many other things that I've been a slave to all my life that it would take too long to list them all. And He's still doing it. He brought me out of that slavery and shows me every time I start to slip back or sneak back into one of them. He says we all are enslaved to various different things, and if He hasn't freed you from those things yet, He wants to and He will, if you will let Him.

When we do finally agree with that first sentence and can say, "He is the Lord my God, who brought me out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery", then He adds a command to it. Then He tells us, “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. *“You shall have no other gods before me. * (Deut 5:6–7) Most of us don't even think twice about that statement. I know I certainly didn't used to. Not until I understood what a false god really was. When I finally understood that it could be other people, other things, and put it together with who I ran to when I was hurting, instead of running to Him and His Word, only then did I understand what a false god and an idol was. It's not necessarily some statue in a church that we kneel before, light incense to, pray to or "worship". (although that certainly can be one too). That's often what it was during the time when the Lord brought the Jew's out of Egypt, but times have changed and we worship other things now. Even they often worshiped other things besides their stone idols. Whether the idol is stone, wood, a person or thing, doesn't matter. It's still a false god and an idol and we should run away from it as fast as we can.

Why? Because He IS God. Because He is OUR God. Because He loves us and paid an awful price to bring us out of slavery and set us free from slavery to sin so we could be slaves to righteousness instead. Now our slavery doesn't lead to death, instead His yoke is easy, our burden is light and it leads to eternal life with Him.

This is now something I try to dwell on daily and reflect on it as it's important to let it really soak in. He is God and I am not. (in spite of what I often seem to think) I imagine myself literally yoked together with Jesus and try to hold that picture in my mind several times every day. I'll pick out something I do regularly, like opening the fridge or something like that, and every time I do that, I imagine myself yoked to Jesus to remind myself that He is here and He is REAL and that He is God.

Somehow we have to get past this "civilized" world's training that I'm god and make ourselves realize that we're really not and He really is, and just what that means. How can I love God with all my heart, with all my mind and all my strength if I don't really get what God is, what a Lord or Master is, or what a slave is? How can I fear God if I don't understand those things?

I've chosen the idea of imagining myself yoked to Jesus and remembering Deut 5:6-7 as well as Romans 6:16–23 and reflecting on them regularly every day.

Did you know you already have a counselor?

As I was reading my bible today, the Lord brought something to my attention. It was something I was already aware of, and yet I wasn't aware of how prevalent it was in His Word. The Lord tells us over and over again, that He is our counselor and wants us to come to Him when we need counsel. One of my favorite verses is the one in Isaiah where he's talking about Jesus and the Names of God and tells us that one of his Names is, "wonderful counselor". I can certainly vouch for that! You'll never, ever find a better one, that's for sure! What had gone right over my head though, until today, was another fact I knew. That one of the Names for the Holy Spirit is also "counselor"! So I started searching His Word for verses that spoke of God being a counselor to us and was amazed at how many there are. I doubt if I've found them all yet, but I've found well over 20 of them already!

I'll have to look up another thing too, because I also found a bunch of them that said not to take "men's counsel", or the "counsel of the wicked", etc. Oh, I'm sure none of us would ever seek out a wicked person to be a counselor though! Or do we, without realizing it? I just looked up what the word "wicked" translates from in the original language from here: Psalm 1:1 —Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. * That word is also generally translated as the "ungodly", or "unbelievers", hostile to God, guilty of sin, etc. Who's hostile to God though? We wouldn't go see someone that hated God certainly... but God says that all unbelievers are his enemies, and that their minds and hearts are hostile to Him; He tells us that we were like that before we were saved too. (Romans 5:10; Romans 8:7; James 4:4; Colossians 1:21) So not walking in the counsel of the wicked is actually saying not to accept counsel from any who are unbelievers!

Come to think of it though, I could even start a third list of scriptures, for I already know there are many scriptures that say that it's the believers who are mature in their faith that are to offer counsel to others, and that it's to them that we're to go to when we need help and feel the need to speak to another human and not just to God. The reason for that is pretty clear though. Generally most of us don't feel comfortable just talking to God and getting His counsel until we have become mature in our faith. Up till then, we generally still question if what we're "hearing" is from the Lord or not, so we need another believer to confirm it and help us learn to hear from Him.

Ultimately though, as we grow in our faith, we find that God is truly the perfect and very best counselor we could ever have or want; just as He's the very best teacher we could ever want. I would like to mention one other thing though that we often misunderstand about becoming mature in our faith. At least I did for a long time. We never stop learning. When someone becomes mature in their faith, that doesn't mean that they're done growing, or learning. Far from it! What it means is that they fully understand the basics of God's Word. They know what they believe and why they believe it. And most of all, they've got such a close relationship with the Lord that they know Him well. God still has much to show them and teach them, but they know Him and are at peace following Him. Hearing from Him is no longer a struggle, and no longer brings up doubts. They're very familiar with His voice and with His Word.

It's God's Will for every believer to become mature in their faith. That's not reserved for a special or favored few. When I say it's "God's Will" of course that mean it's something He expects of each of us.

Another thing I've found is that often people seem to link being mature in their faith as bragging or being a know it all, and certainly no one wants that kind of label. That's because the church has done such a horrid job of teaching believers though. So many seem to think that only pastors can be "mature in their faith". Sadly today though, many pastors aren't anywhere near being mature in their faith, and some are out right unbelievers! Other people link being mature in faith to being a senior citizen, as though that maturity comes with age. Yet Timothy who was quite young compared to the apostles, was quite mature in his faith, so we know that's not true. Maturity comes with time yes, because it takes time to learn and get to know the Lord, but if you start young, you can certainly become mature in your faith at a very young age. Being mature in faith has nothing to do with getting degrees from a school, church, or organization; nor does it have to do with being ordained by a church. The only thing maturity in faith requires is someone who's willing to spend time with the Lord in His Word every day. That plus time will eventually lead to maturity.

And again, that doesn't mean the person knows everything, they don't. It simply means they're not babies anymore and that they know enough to be able to help others discover the answers that the Lord has for them. They understand that wisdom, knowledge, understanding and discernment come from knowing the Lord. They're able to trust Him to give them the words they need to help others, which is why the bible calls them to counsel other members of the body of Christ. So they counsel others, knowing that really they're just helping the other person get to the point where they know longer need them and can go straight to the Lord themselves.

Let me share some of my favorite scriptures about this with you:

Isaiah 9:6 —For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. *
Isaiah 11:2 —The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him— the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of power, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord— *
Isaiah 28:29 —All this also comes from the Lord Almighty, wonderful in counsel and magnificent in wisdom. *
Job 12:13 —“To God belong wisdom and power; counsel and understanding are his.
Psalm 32:8 —I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you and watch over you. *

I love this one too as it shows how much better His counsel is:

Job 12:17 —He leads counselors away stripped and makes fools of judges. *
Psalm 33:10–11 —The Lord brings the counsel of the nations to nothing; he frustrates the plans of the peoples. *The counsel of the Lord stands forever, the plans of his heart to all generations. *

more of my favorites:
John 14:16–17 —And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever— *the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. *
Psalm 119:24 —Your statutes are my delight; they are my counselors. *
Psalm 16:7 —I will praise the Lord, who counsels me; even at night my heart instructs me. *
Psalm 73:24 —You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will take me into glory. *

and so many more, but I'll stop for now.

How, Why & When do we judge others?

How, Why & When do we judge others?

The Most Misused and Abused Verses in the Bible today are Matthew 7:1 —“Do not judge, or you too will be judged. * and Luke 6:37 —“Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. * You hear and see them constantly, both in "real life" and on line. People use them as little defensive shields to tell others that it's perfectly ok for them to sin and no one had better say anything about it to them.

But by using those verses for that, they show their own ignorance because that's not at all what Jesus was saying.

Usually when someone quotes the verse about not judging, it's because they're being held accountable for teaching false doctrine and don't want to hear it; or sometimes because they're treating others badly and when they're told that, they don't want to hear it so they quote that verse. Or they're living in sin and don't want to be held accountable for it like the Bible tells us to, so they quote that verse. I rarely hear it quoted in context...very, very rarely. It's almost always taken completely out of context.

Matthew 7:1–6 & Luke 6:41–42 are not teaching that we shouldn't judge at all. In fact the Lord tells us that we are to judge both ourselves and others. We can't very well be discerning like we're told to be if we don't judge others, nor can we determine who needs to be saved, rebuked, corrected, taught or anything else if we don't judge others. In John, Jesus tells us to stop judging people by their appearances and make right judgments, and in many other places He tells us how to judge, which is what the verses in Matthew and Luke do. They're not saying not to judge at all, but are telling us how to judge. We are not to be hypocrites or think we're better then others and we're not to judge others about trivial matters, in other words, be nit pickers.

God says we’re to judge righteously and not to judge another person’s heart as only He can see what’s in someone’s heart. He tells He will judge everyone and everything in His time, so we’re not to do so. But, we are to judge people’s actions and words to determine if they’re behavior or words are righteous or sinful, truth or lies. Why are we to do that though? So we can put down that person? So we can gossip about them, berate them? So we can say how wonderful they are? No!

There are several reasons we’re to judge others:

1. We’re to judge things like that to determine if it’s something we should do or say and why.

2. We’re to judge it to determine if the person is already saved or not; to the best of our ability using what the Lord showed us about seeing fruit in someone’s life. We’re to do this so that we’ll know if we need to tell that person about the gospel, or if we think they’re already saved, so we’ll know they’re our brother or sister in Christ.

3. We’re to judge so that we’ll know if they’re someone we should be hanging around with, as the Lord tells us that bad character corrupts good morals.

4. We’re to judge them so we can determine what kind of response the Lord would have us make toward them or what they’ve done or said. The Lord tells us that for both unbelievers, and believers, (even enemies) we’re to pray for them, so we need to listen and judge so we know how to pray. He tells us that as far as it depends on us, we’re to live in peace with all others. If we don’t pay attention and judge, we can’t do that.

5. We’re to judge others to determine if they’re teaching heresy and are false teachers, or if they’re simply mistaken about something and are scriptural teachers. We’re to judge this not so we can put them down or call them names, but in order to talk to them and show them their error(s) so they can repent. If they choose not to, then we need to be ready to disassociate with them. We’re also told to do this so we can warn fellow believers from listening to their teachings as it’s not scriptural. Again, this doesn’t include attacking the person, but simply telling other believers they’re false teachers and need to be avoided.

This last one needs to be broken down more though because some false teachers aren’t even saved and never have been, and other believers need to be warned about wolves in sheep’s clothing. Which brings us to whether or not we can determine if another person is actually saved or not. The simple answer is, No, we can’t. Not for sure anyway, because we can’t know what’s really in another person’s heart. But at the same time, the Lord tells us that it’s important for us to make this judgment call for our own good and that of the rest of the body of Christ. So what we have to do in this case is use the discernment the Lord gives to those mature in their faith.

We have to remember that the purpose of our judgment is to protect the body of Christ from false teaching, by either bringing the false teacher to repentance and reconciling with them or separating from them in obedience to God. We should be careful to not say that another person is definitely not saved, but rather that it appears that they’re not saved, and we should be able to give definite scriptural reasons why it appears that way. It should never be left up to “feelings”.

The goal, even with this last one is always to bring the person into a close relationship with the Lord, either for the first time or to be reconciled with Him, as well as protection for the body of Christ.

That’s what the Lord tells us about all relationships. Our goal should always be reconciliation, first with the Lord and then including ourselves. Unbelievers are to be shown the love of the Lord, and told about Him. Believers are of course also to be shown the love of the Lord. We talk about “the love of the Lord” a lot and yet few of us show it. That’s because the way the Lord loves us is totally unselfish. He never put Himself before us, He always did the opposite. He put our needs and desires ahead of His own, to the point of laying down His life for us when we still hated Him and were His enemies; and that’s exactly the kind of love He expects us to show all others.

That kind of love includes forgiving the way He forgives us. That means promising not to ever bring up the incident to the person, to others, or even to ourselves ever again. Whenever we do bring it up, even to ourselves, it’s sin against the Lord. The Lord, “remembers our sins no more, when we repent and confess them, and so we’re to do for others too. The Lord doesn’t tolerate sin, but He totally and freely forgives it when we repent and that’s the pattern He tells us to follow, and even gives us specific directions as to how to do it.

Loving others includes putting them before ourselves, just as the Lord did for us. It means giving up our right to be “right”, even when we know they’re wrong, and allowing them to have the last say and think they’re right, for the sake of love, peace and unity. (I’m not speaking about doctrine here, but just life situations)

The world tells us that we’re to take care of ourselves first, but God says No. He says we’re to take care of others before ourselves, all the time, not sometimes, and trust Him to take care of us.

Loving others includes giving to others sacrificially. Giving of ourselves, our time, our attention, our material goods, money, or whatever they need. Not just that however, though that’s hard enough. It means giving those things sacrificially. Going above and beyond the call of duty. If we have three apples, giving at least two of them, or even all three away when the need arises, and trusting God to supply our needs. Or to put it in a way that gets all of our attention, if we have only $20 to our name and we hear of someone who needs it, we’re to give them our $20, knowing the Lord will take care of us. That’s the kind of love the Lord wants us to show others.

Are we to supply drugs or alcohol to addicts? Of course not! But we are to give them love, shelter, food, etc. Should we give them money? Probably not. Instead, pay their bills, buy them food, take them out to eat, things like that so that you know their needs are truly being met. Are we to harangue them for their addiction? No! God didn’t do that to us did He? Instead He loved us, cared for our needs, and told us of our greatest need which was for Him.

Are we to only help them if they meet our desire for them to get help in rehab? Again, no! That’s not how the Lord treated us. He died for us when we hated Him. He didn’t wait until we’d agreed we needed help! Should we charge them for our help? Did the Lord charge us? No, He paid it all. But then who will help us pay our bills? The Lord will provide for us.

Does that mean we should support others who are physically able to work, but refuse to do so? No, the Lord said that if we don't work, we don't eat. However, if someone is ill, or disabled, then yes, they need our support. Or if they've just been laid off, are in between jobs, as long as they're looking and trying, then we should help them. We should treat them the way we would want to be treated, and we cannot be the judge of whether or not they are “trying” hard enough.  We are to take their word for it. 

What about if we think someone is lying about something? What if someone says they've repented of a sin, but they keep doing it? What if we think someone isn't trying, but they say they are? What does the Lord tell us to do then? His Word says we're to take them at their word, regardless of our "feelings". We're to treat them as though they're telling us the truth, unless a time comes that something absolutely proves that they've been lying. That's the whole thing with not judging someone's heart again. We can't know for sure what's in another person's heart. Only the Lord can know that for sure. It's in these kind of situations that the Lord says not to judge things before their time, to leave it up to Him to judge them, and in the mean time to assume they're speaking the truth. They will get what they have coming to them if they've been lying, for the Lord will see to it. We don't have to. But what if that means that they've been taking advantage of us all that time and we've wasted all that effort? God says that nothing we've done will have been wasted. Not one little bit of it. We may not understand or see why it was necessary, but we don't have to. All we have to do is obey.

Perhaps the Lord will use all we've done to plant seeds in that person, or in other people, or both. Perhaps He will use it to grow our faith, (hopefully He will!) or perhaps He will use it to show other believers what it looks like to be a real Christian in this type of situation. There are many different ways the Lord can and does use things, ways we can't even imagine. What we can know for sure though is that nothing we do will go to waste and that it will ultimately result in God's glory and our good. You just can't ask for anything better then that!

If we could just remember that we represent Jesus to everyone we come in contact with every day...our family members, our friends, our neighbors, co-workers, boss, people on the street, the mailman, other drivers on the road, people in the stores we go in, the restaurants we eat at, the places we go for fun. Those are the people the Lord has put in our lives for us to reach. Some of them we'll never even speak to, but they'll see us, they'll see our actions, and our actions as well as our words should give others a true picture of our Lord. They should show others His sacrificial love and forgiveness.

That doesn't mean we should never get angry, even our Lord got angry. What it means is that our anger should be righteous anger, not selfish anger. That's why we're told in our anger, not to sin. The purpose of righteous anger isn't to hurt or embarrass someone, it's to fix the problem, to once again bring about reconciliation. Righteous anger has the focus of solving the problem, not getting even or showing how wrong the other person was. Sometimes, that may even include the law being involved when a law has been broken. It's really all about what's in our hearts at the time that interests the Lord. Righteous anger becomes angry at the things that anger God, not just ourselves. How often did our Lord become “angry” when someone or even a whole group of people reviled Him, made fun of Him, called Him names, or even tried to run Him out of town? Not even once. But He did get angry when He saw what people were doing to His Father’s House, and He put a stop to it. That’s the difference between righteous anger and selfish anger.

Obviously there are many reasons we must judge others, but ultimately no matter what we determine about them, the bottom line is that we’re to love them the way the Lord loves us. That’s not easy. In fact, unless we rely on God, we simply can’t do it at all. But that’s ok, because the Lord wants us to be weak and to rely on Him, so we have nothing to worry about. Let’s be the people the Lord wants us to be and begin loving others as He told us to, so we’ll be recognized as His disciples!

“Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment.”” (John 7:24)

“So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.” (1 Cor 10:31)

“We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.” (2 Cor 5:20)

“By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”” (John 13:35)

“If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father’s commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command.” (John 15:10–14)

“Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom, because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment!” (James 2:12–13)

““Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.” (Luke 6:37)

Christian Accountability

It's sad, but I've found that most Christians want absolutely nothing to do with accountability. Instead of accepting reproof and correction as the Bible says we're too, they get angry and stomp off. (either literally if it's in person or by becoming angry and defensive and leaving the site if it's on line) Instead of realizing that the person cares about them and is trying to help them, they take it as an attack. Let me share a story of how I came to understand about this and maybe it'll help someone. I posted this in the sins forum so I'll just copy it from there:

After I was saved, the Lord gave me a wonderful woman to disciple me and I asked her to tell me every time she saw me sin. At first she wouldn't so I asked her why. She told me that she'd had many people ask her that very thing but every time she followed through and told them about it, they'd just get angry, which of course compounded the sin. I have to admit that I was totally shocked by that. I just couldn't even imagine someone getting angry because another believer had shown them that they were sinning. It just didn't make any sense at all to me!

Well I finally convinced her that I really meant it and wouldn't get angry. And so she began to tell me each time she'd see me sin. We set aside time at the end of the work day so it wouldn't interfere with work. She did a wonderful job of showing me my sins gently, just the way the Lord does. She never just dumped them on me but would point out one thing and then help me pray and work on it, looking at scripture that talked about that issue. Then we'd go onto the next thing etc. It was really wonderful and I grew SO MUCH during that time.

To me it was like having a spiritual mother. (or father I guess) As a child, I could count on my mother to always tell me the truth about myself, even if it was going to hurt, and then she'd help me do something to change it. And that's what we were doing now with her telling me about my sins. It's always much easier to see someone else's sins then to see your own. So it was a big help having her do that for me.

When I had to quit working due to an injury that made me disabled, I was no longer able to see her regularly and had to continue on my own. I really miss having someone that I can count on to tell me the Truth about me though. I've discovered for myself however that she was very right about most people not wanting to know what their sins are. I guess it goes back to pride or something. But I've seen more people get angry because they've been told they've done something wrong/they sinned, then anything else in the last 10 years. It still always takes me by surprise too.

How in the world can we conquer the sin in our lives if we don't realize it's there? Obviously the way to know about it is to know God's Word, but still, we're all experts at fooling ourselves. Well, at least I am. Since I am so good at it, I know I need help. I need to listen when others suggest I might be sinning, when others say I've done something I shouldn't have or that I have the wrong attitude about something or someone etc. So, that's what I try to do on my own now. Well, not really on my own, because the Lord always finds a way, a person, a situation or something to bring sin to my attention so I can deal with it.

Each Christian is called to help, stimulate, reprove, correct, and encourage one another within the body of Christ, and we're called to do that by using scripture, not by using worldly "wisdom" or anything else but scripture. In today's world, with it's focus on psychology and self help, and being told we're all basically good. tolerance of sin, etc, it's very hard to find Christians who honestly and truly WANT to know when they've sinned and aren't going to turn on you in anger (adding to their sin) when they're told so. Much to my dismay, I've found that my mentor was right. Most people don't want to know when they're wrong about something, when they've sinned, all they really want is a pat on the back and a "atta boy" or "you're doing great!". Thankfully there are a few, but not many at all. The reason that's so very sad to me is because it should be the other way around. Every Christian should first realize that they are a sinner, even though they're saved and they should realize that they need to be shown their sins and be grateful when someone does so.

James 5:16 tells us to confess our sins to one another. That's not talking about telling some priest so he can forgive you, because forgiveness comes from God alone. We're to talk to each other about our sins though for several reasons. One reason is that when we hide our sins from each other, it gives that sin more power over us. Sin and Satan love darkness and grow in the darkness. God loves the light and tells us to bring everything out into the light so it can't have anymore power over us.

Another reason for this is that when we don't talk to others about it, we tend to let it fester inside us so that to us, it just seems bigger and nastier all the time. When we talk about it with other Christians, it brings the sin down to a manageable size because we're able to be reminded that God is bigger then our sin.

Yet another reason is because when we don't talk about it, there's the danger or forgetting it or even minimizing it to ourselves and thinking, "oh it's not so bad". Isn't it amazing how we'll go to either extreme when we hide our sins? We'll either allow them to become huge monsters that stop us or we'll turn them into playful little mice that don't really bother us, and both are sinful ways of dealing with our sin.

As members of one body, we should all want to help each other and we should all want help ourselves.

I've just got to share something with you from a book I'm reading as it surprised me by addressing this subject too:

How are we to deal with such people? Scripture says to admonish the wayward. The Greek term employed (nouthe-teō) means “to put sense into in light of the consequences.” If you know believers who are not doing their duty—not using their gifts, not being supportive of the team effort—come alongside and put some sense into their heads. One way to do that is to speak softly and say, “I’ve been noticing you haven’t been faithful in your attendance, you’re not involved in a ministry, and you tend to criticize the church. You realize, don’t you, that if you continue in that path, there are spiritual consequences, and I don’t think you want those consequences, nor do I want you to experience them.”

It’s to be a gentle, loving warning, yet also have some passion in it. That’s how the Apostle Paul warned the elders of the Ephesian church: “with tears” (Acts 20:31). There’s a hurt in it that says, “I don’t want you to keep going in that direction because God will chasten apathy and rebellion.” When you truly love someone, you don’t hesitate to warn him or her. I don’t hesitate to do that with my wife and children and others who are close to me. It’s not because of some agenda I’ve got, but because I don’t want them to have to deal with the inevitable consequences of being spiritually aloof. I want them and everyone else in the church to know the fullness of God’s blessing.

This confrontation is necessary. The point of coming to church isn’t sitting and staring at the back of someone’s head. It’s a fellowship; it’s being involved in the lives of fellow believers—including the troublesome ones.

MacArthur, J. Anxiety Attacked.

I can tell about a person when I first meet them...

I've gotta share something with everyone about sensing if someone is a brother or sister in Christ. As you all know, my mom was not saved....far from it...she seemed to hate God and anything and everything He stood for, and especially the Catholic church. But, she loved me and wanted to be a good mother and allow me to make my own choices. Since I chose to believe God, even though she didn't, she allowed me to go to church with friends, bought me a bible and would every once in awhile, if we were in the area, would take me to the Christian Book Store in town. I just loved going there since it covered my two biggest passions: God and books!

What I'm about to describe actually happened more then once, with different people and always embarrassed me so much that I wanted to crawl in a hole when it happened. It made God look like a fool and the person look like an idiot, so I was not only embarrassed, but also angry when it would happen

Since she wasn't saved, my Mom wasn't at all interested in anything in the store when she'd take me, so she'd just stand inside near the check out counter to keep an eye on me, while I browsed through all the neat books, cards, games, etc. One time, when I'd found a book I wanted and was paying for it, another woman came up to the counter and engaged my Mom in conversation. The woman was just bubbling over with joy over her salvation, which is always nice to see. But then it happened. She came out with: "I can tell you're saved too, because I can feel the Spirit within you", and then continued on quckly talking about what the Lord was doing in her life. My mom just looked at me, and I wanted to just crawl in a hole. I had no idea what she'd do, but she didn't pop the ladies bubble. She just let her continue blabbing on and let her hang herself. I don't know who I felt worse for, my mom, the lady making a fool of herself, or myself, or even the Lord, and I had no idea what to do.

Finally the woman stopped talking, but she ended her little speech just as I'd finished paying for my book, by asking my mom something like "so what's the Lord doing in your life now?" Again my mom surprised me, because all she said was, "Oh, he's keeping me busy, but I have to go now as we have a lot to do today", at which point she grabbed my hand and led me out of the store. My mom didn't say much about it when we got in the car, but I knew exactly what she was thinking. She thought it was a great example for me that would show me what fools Christians really were to fall for that stuff. But outwardly she just rolled her eyes.

That whole episode really hurt me too because I'd been trying so hard to convince my Mom that God was real, and that He really loved and cared about her personally. I felt like that woman had just sabotaged years of work. If that wasn't bad enough, when my mom took me back to the same book store a few months later, it happened again! Even worse was that it happened with a different person! Looking back, I have to wonder if both of these people went to the came church and were being taught this garbage.

This different woman told my mom almost the exact same thing...."I can tell you're saved too, because I can feel God's love in you". I wanted to just scream! Then she went on to make it worse by saying, "I have the gift of discernment and that's why I know; I've always been able to just look at someone I meet and tell if they're saved or not. " I felt sick to my stomach I was so upset, so that time, as I recall, I interrupted before the woman could say anything else and told my Mom I was ready to go. I just wanted to get away from her! I felt like crying when I got in the car and it was all I could do to keep from it till I was home in my room alone. I didn't go back to that store until I had my own car and could drive myself.

This is really another example of people who think that discernment is a feeling, and it's not. I wrote about this before in the thread: Why do we persist in thinking discernment is a feeling? The Lord specifically tells us not to trust our feelings and He doesn't add, "except when" to that statement. Plus, He tells us that over and over again. Now, I'm not saying that we don't get feelings as well, or that our feelings aren't sometimes or even often, right. What I am saying is that no matter what our feelings say, we need to check with God's Word to determine if what we're feeling is right or not. But how do we do that when we're saying we "feel" as though someone is a good person or is born again or that we feel as though we shouldn't trust someone, etc. We can't look up the person's name in the Bible and see what kind of person they are, after all. But we can look and see what God tells us to do to determine what kind of person someone is, and I can tell you right now that it has absolutely nothing to do with our feelings! Instead, He tells us to look at their lives. What kind of fruit has their life produced? Obviously, we can't tell that at a first meeting with someone, we have to get to know them first, which is exactly what the Lord intended.

In fact, the Lord says that if someone tells us that they're born again, that we're to accept that as a fact unless or until we discover fruit that shows that they may be deluded, mistaken or outright lying.. He tells us too that we're to love everyone and treat everyone with love regardless of whether or not they're saved, regardless of whether or not we like them, or trust them, and most especially, regardless of how we "feel" about them. We're to follow His example, and we're also to remember that no matter what we say or do to someone, that we're actually saying and doing it to the Lord.

The bottom line
The bottom line is that no matter how many times a person's been "right" in how they perceived what a person was like, what they're doing is not discernment. At least it's not biblical discernment. In fact, it can often be self fulfilled prophecy. We decide we don't like or can't trust someone based on our feelings, and after that, we begin looking for things to verify our feelings about them. The Lord tells us that we will find whatever we're looking for. If we're looking for trash, that's what we'll find. If we're looking for good, that's what we'll find. He then goes on to say that He wants us looking for the good in others, so when we look to find fault with someone, it's actually a sin. We usually don't see it as looking to find fault though. Instead, we simply "pick up on" negative things that are said about people, and we grab hold of anything bad they've done.

When we've already made a determination about what a person is like, we will twist what they say and do to make it conform with our preconceived ideas about them. Of course we don't realize that we're doing that, and we'd be horribly offended if someone told us that's what we were doing, but it's true none the less. I know it's true because it's what God says, and I've also experienced it myself, because I used to think I could tell about other people right away too, until the Lord taught me otherwise.

I felt I should share this with everyone because I'd sure hate to see what happened to me and my Mom happen to someone else. Unfortunately the ladies who said these things to my Mom, never learned what a fool they'd made of themselves, or how badly they'd dishonored the Holy Spirit by claiming that He'd given them these "feelings". I feel badly for them too because I'm sure that the last thing they ever wanted to do was dishonor the Lord of mislead others about discernment.

 

I just re-read what I wrote and realize that I made it sound like it was a one sided conversation with the other women doing the talking and my mom being silent for the most part, but that's not what happened. I just didn't want to write out the whole conversation because I don't remember it verbatim except those parts, I only remember the other parts "in general". But I should have at least said that my mother nodded her head and allowed her to think she was a Christian. As I said, to her it was a great way to teach me how stupid Christians are.

Nor did she make it obvious at all that she wasn't interested in looking at anything in the store. She'd have been uncomfortable doing that. It was a very small store. (my kitchen is bigger then it was lol) It wasn't much bigger then a large walk in closet really, so there wasn't anywhere for my mom to go. No matter where you stood in the store, you were in front of products that we're for sale, posters etc. My mom was very good at acting and she made great use of her skills. How else could she have fooled a baptist preacher's 21 year old daughter into thinking she was her "friend" and then defiling her? Both times she told the women she'd already looked around and was just waiting for me. No, I'm sorry, but there was no way for those women to know whether or not my mother was a Christian or anything else. She always dressed like a lady and spoke like one too. (except when she was in a bar)

The Holy Spirit didn't give those women any feelings about my mother and He never would. He would never give anyone a "feeling" because that would go against God's Word. He doesn't tell us not to trust our feelings and then turn around and give us a feeling to trust.

I'm sure that if those women were born again and if they had a close relationship with the Lord and continued in it, and if read His Word regularly, that eventually He would teach them that He doesn't send or give us "feelings" and that we're to only trust His Word. (and that's a lot of "if's.") When I said they "never learned what a fool they'd made of themselves, or how badly they'd dishonored the Holy Spirit by claiming that He'd given them these "feelings", I meant that they didn't learn it from me right away, when it happened. They walked out of that store quite pleased and proud of themselves and I'm quite sure that they told all their friends about how they "discerned" that this woman in the book store was a Christian. Worse, they would have added that experience to their list of that proves they're "right". . In other words, I was talking about then, not 40 years later. I'm well aware that we all start from nothing and have to learn from God's Word and didn't mean that they never would learn that they'd been wrong.

However, that being said, I also have to say that this is a false teaching as well as a misunderstanding. There are churches that absolutely believe in their "feelings" and "experiences" and they place those feelings and experiences above God's Word as far as determining what's right or true and what's not. That's why I said I'd be willing to bet they both went to the same church. Although like most false teaching, this is much more prevalent today, it was around back then too. So if those ladies were involved in this and continued in it, they could very well still believe every bit of it today.

It's one of those things that is "Natural" for us to fall for because it glorifies our flesh, and our selves, not God. (although we find ways to tell ourselves that it glorifies God) We want to believe in ourselves, our feelings and our experiences, regardless of what God's Word says. That's partly what the whole thing about the trips to heaven and hell is about (as well as many other things). "I had an experience, therefore it's true", instead of "God's Word says this and therefore it's false". This is just one of the many ways that Satan has devised to undermine our belief in the sufficiency of God's Word. First he gets us to add something to it, like feelings or experiences and then after awhile, he gets us to place those feelings and experiences above God's Word. This is what's behind the whole "contemplative" movement and the emergence movement and several others today.

I apologize for not going into more detail about the conversations, but I'm always trying to shorten posts, and for the other reasons too, left that part out. I guess I still figure you all can read my mind .

Someone gave me a prophetic word/prophesied over me.

I saw a lot of this for awhile at a church I used to attend. There was one group of people that were always "prophesying" over others. It always looked like a circus to me when they did this and always disrupted the service. What was disconcerting to me about it was that it really seemed like these folks loved the Lord and tried to live their faith, but then they'd break out prophesying, and seemed to be able to turn it on at will, whenever they wanted to. I was a fairly new Christian at the time, so didn't know God's Word any where near as well as I know it now, but something just seemed very wrong with it all. These same folks were also very much into "healing" and didn't seem to think there was any reason that anyone should ever be sick. It seemed like a personal affront to them if someone wasn't healed instantly, yet no one ever was.

At first I'd listen to their prophesies very carefully and they were often quite specific. They'd tell people things like: "God is going to see to it that you come into a lot of money very soon so you can start a TV station that will honor Him and bring many into the Kingdom". That one really floored me and I waited expectantly to see it happen. Of course it never did and it's been over 15 years now.

They seemed to know the pastor well and often prophesied over him or his wife. I remember once they told her that God was going to give her her own ministry and how great it was going to be. I knew that the pastors wife was already busier then any two women usually were, so I wondered how He was going to make any more time for her to do something else. That one was difficult to determine if it came true or not. As far as they were concerned it did, but I wasn't so sure. She did later start a women's ministry, or rather she got it going for others anyway. But she'd done that many times in the past and I knew she'd continue to do it in the future, so it wasn't anything new and it certainly wasn't what their entire prophecy had seemed to indicate. That particular ministry fizzled out after a short time anyway.

I noticed that when these people did give a prophesy, it was always something spectacularly good for the person and often involved the person getting money which of course they always said was to be used for something that would bring glory to God. But then according to the things they'd say, anything could bring glory to Him, including just paying your bills. Which is true I suppose, but it just didn't sit right with me.

These folks also spoke in tongues and often preceded their prophecy by speaking in tongues or would prophecy in tongues first and then they'd interpret it for us. What I thought was strange was that no one else could ever interpret anything one of them said in tongues, only the person who spoke it could. Nor was there ever anyone who could or would stand up in agreement or disagreement with anything they prophesied.

There were others besides this core group of course. Over the years there always seemed to be a few folks that were really into this kind of thing.

Of course I asked the Lord about it and He had me study all the times a prophet spoke in the NT and then the OT. What I found interesting was that the vast majority of times, the prophecy wasn't nice, it wasn't something anyone would necessarily want to hear. Like when the prophet told (and demonstrated) how Paul was going to be arrested and put in chains; another common thing for the prophets to prophesy was to tell the person or persons that they were sinning and not doing God's Will. I just couldn't find anywhere where a prophet had spoke words anything like what these folks did regularly.

Having been saved out of the New Age and Occult garbage, I was very aware of psychics and what they did.Just as the article above pointed out, that's exactly what these people reminded me of. Thankfully I've never heard of seen of any of them giving prophetic "readings" around here though. I'm afraid I've have to speak a few words to them if so.

But then the Lord shocked me by giving me what I later came to understand were sometimes called either "words of knowledge" or "words of wisdom". Well, at least that's the closest thing I could come to for what He told me. Don't worry. He never told me things like "so and so's going to come into a lot of money" But what He would do regularly is ask me to pray for people, sometimes people I didn't even know. So I would, even when I wasn't sure what to pray about for them. Then, one day, He revealed things that He specifically wanted me to pray about for a person. I was acquainted with the person, but not well. Still, I was pretty shocked by what He'd put in my mind to pray about. I was being discipled by one of the elders at my church at the time, so I did ask them about it without telling them who I was praying for or what the Lord had told me to pray about. I just asked if that was "normal" for God They told me it was, and warned me to never tell anyone what the Lord had told me, unless He specifically told me to or gave me permission. I was very grateful for their warning and kept everything He told me close to my heart, and prayed as He directed. There didn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to when the Lord would give me information to pray about. Sometimes I'd have to pray not knowing anything at all about "why" I'd been told to pray. Other times I'd be praying as usual, only to be interrupted and given information to pray about something else for them. After a few months, I discovered, much to my surprise, that it was much easier for me to pray for someone I didn't know, then for those I did know. When I knew someone well, I tended to make assumptions about what they needed prayer for and discovered that I was more often wrong then right, because the Lord would interrupt me and tell me what they needed prayer for.

Anyway, after more then a year, the Lord finally gave me confirmation that showed me for absolute sure that I'd been hearing from Him and been doing His Will. At first various people that I'd been praying for would come up to me and say things in conversation that would confirm that I'd been praying for the right things. It was always a shocker to everyone, even me, even though I'd been praying for them about it. For instance a woman who I had always thought had a wonderful marriage and family, and who'd never given any indication that anything was wrong, announced that she had filed for divorce several months before but was now reconciled with her husband. After that happened any number of times, I felt amazed that the Lord had allowed me to be a part of all of it. Then after yet more years went by, He went further. A woman registered on FH and sent me a PM before she ever posted. She told me this horror story of all that had happened to her, ending with that they'd been going to take their own life. They felt so alone especially because they didn't even know anyone who they could ask to pray for them. For some reason though, at that moment, they'd suddenly felt the Lord all around them, loving them! It was an amazing testimony! It gave me goosebumps too because some of the particulars they'd told about, were the very same things I'd been praying about for a person I didn't know and had been praying for for over a year. I even knew what night that had happened on because I'd been awakened during the night to pray for them! So I wrote back and asked them if they knew what night it had happened. The replied and confirmed what I already knew in my heart, it was that very same night and the very same time that the Lord had woke me up!

Of course I immediately, for the first time, asked the Lord for permission to share that there had in fact been someone praying for them, and He gave it. I still remember writing that reply to them. I had tears streaming down my face. I told them the whole story of how the Lord had asked me to pray for them and how I had been doing so and for how long; and how He'd awakened me that particular night at that time, telling me to pray and pray hard! So I prayed and I kept praying until I felt completely at peace and knew I could stop. Needless to say, they too were astounded at just how much God loved them.

It still astounds me too, as I too had a time in my life when I thought no one cared about me enough to pray for me and I desperately needed prayer. I have no doubt in my mind though, that God made sure I was covered in prayer then, just as He did for this person. I know He does it for all of His children, because He loves us so.

So now you can see that while I don't for a moment believe any of those other people were speaking for God, I do believe that God speaks to us and even gives us insight and wisdom we need to do His Will. It's not something to be used to show off and look important to others, and not to interrupt a service with. Nor is it to tell people that "everything's going to be ok, that they'll get the money they need, their relationships will be repaired, etc. No. It's only to do His Will and help His children and to build up the body of Christ. So please, beware of those who have "words of knowledge or wisdom" for you, or who prophesize over you. Test them against the Word of God, and if it's not there, then the Word isn't from God.

2 Cor 13:1; 1 Cor 14:26–28; 1 Cor 14:29–30; 1 Cor 14:32–33;

Part 2:

I think most of these folks are well meaning people who love the Lord and want to do great things for Him, want to please Him, but have wound up being misled as to how to serve Him. I know for example that a great many churches tell people to "practice" speaking in tongues, to literally fake it and that then one day it will just "happen" for them. I was told that by any number of churches even, and I'm not pentecostal. It's the same with words of knowledge and wisdom. People are told to just say whatever comes into their minds and "believe it's from God". They're not taught discernment or accountability. Since that's what they're told, and what they hear from others all the time, they assume that's the correct way it's done.

The most dangerous thing I've seen in many churches is people "practicing" hearing from or trying to receive messages from the Holy Spirit. It's similar to getting words of knowledge or wisdom and yet different. It's hard to explain. It's yet another way that Satan has deceived the elect because in this case instead of just saying whatever comes into their heads, like so many do with the words of knowledge and wisdom, they actually begin to hear from demons. Without realizing it, they're doing exactly the same thing the new agers do when they hear from their so called "spirit guides". These people become more and more deceived as time goes by and often don't realize it for many years. They think they're having a special experience and as you know, we humans just love supernatural experiences and tend to cling to them. Plus of course it makes them feel "special" too, all of which makes it even harder for them to repent. Since these people really do love the Lord, they have a really hard time believing that they've been fooled by Satan for all that time. That too makes it hard for them to truly repent, because to repent we must first agree with God that what we've been doing is a sin. Somehow, to us, when we sin in these ways, it seems worse to us then if we'd lied or done some kind of "regular" sin. I guess that's part of the problem, that we tend to categorize sins that way and forget that what matters is that we repent, not what the sin was.

I've noticed though that when someone who was involved with that does truly repent, they seem to become even more on fire for God and really study His Word more then ever as they don't ever want to get caught in one of Satan's schemes again. Because of that, they grow quickly and the more they grow the more they study... it's like a circle and it effects everyone around them. I can easily see the Lord using them to do great things in their lives and the lives of all who know them after they truly repent though, as they seem to be the type that feels His Word is like a fire within them that they have to release, only now they realize that His Word isn't something put or heard in their minds, but is in their Bibles. Its amazing what God can do with us when we repent and do things His way!

Jeremiah 20:9 —But if I say, “I will not mention him or speak any more in his name,” his word is in my heart like a fire, a fire shut up in my bones. I am weary of holding it in; indeed, I cannot. *


Job 32:18–20 —For I am full of words, and the spirit within me compels me; *inside I am like bottled-up wine, like new wineskins ready to burst. *I must speak and find relief; I must open my lips and reply. *

Can a Goth be a Christian?

I’ve met some Goth’s who say they are saved and yet still dress, talk, and act very much like a Goth. This seemed strange to me until I realized that most Christians today still act the same way they did before they were saved.  Of course that doesn’t make it right, but it does make it very confusing for others who are newly saved. 

Christ call us all to be apart from the world, not a part of it, and that includes everything about us.  If a person is a Christian, a true follower of Christ, they are required to leave behind their old life, and to become a new person, set apart by God and for God. That means that those of us who used to dress in sexually suggestive clothing, stopped doing that, and began dressing modestly as befitted a follower of Christ. That means that those of us who got into music that was about drugs, sex, violence etc., stopped listening to it and instead listened to music that was uplifting and had the elements in it that the Lord told us to look for in the things we put into our minds: Phil 4:8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.

The same is true of the "Goth" experience. When you become a true follower of Christ, you are no longer "Goth", instead you belong to God, you become a Christian and are called by His Name.  Gal 2:20 I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

So as far as being "Goth" goes, there is no such thing if you are indeed a true disciple of Christ. You must give up your life, pick up your cross, and follow Him. As we’re told in Ephesians, we are to put off our old way of life and put on our new self which is created to be like God.  Goth’s who want to be saved, need to do what Jesus told us all to do first: “Count the cost”. (Luke 14)  they need to decide if it’s worth it to them to really give up their old ways and live according to God’s Word, just as every person that comes to Christ needs to decide.  Sadly, we don’t hear a lot about “counting the cost” in churches today.  All we hear is about the free gift of salvation.  Well, the gift is free, but our response to it is going to cost us since we have to give up our old ways, and give up being the masters of our own lives and give Jesus the reigns. We no longer run our lives according to our wills, but instead according to God’s Will.

Lastly, we’re told that when we are saved we become part of a “new man”, a part of the body of Christ. We’re also told that our job is to be an ambassador of Christ (2 Corinthians 5:20) to the world. We represent God and His Kingdom to the world.  Therefore we’re to dress, speak and act like citizens of Heaven, not citizens of this world.  So you shouldn’t try to dress, speak or act like me, or your pastor, or anyone else you know.  Instead, you should study God’s Word and find out what He says we’re to dress, speak and act like. For that’s the only way we have to know for sure how citizens of Heaven are to do things. In the “Pursuit of God” Tozer says:

"Millions call themselves by His name, it is true, and pay some token respect to Him, but a simple test will show how little He is really honored among them. Let the average man be put to the proof on the question of who or what is above, and his true position will be exposed. Let him be forced into making a choice between God and money, God and men, between God and personal ambition, God and self, God and human love, and God will take second place every time. Those other things will be exalted above. However the man may protest, the proof is in the choices he makes day after day throughout his life."

To that we can add, “let them choose between Goth or Christ, or Goth and popular music, etc” and God will take second place every time.”  Sad, but true.  All we have to do is look around and we can see the truth in it.  Not many have truly given up their lives for Christ, even though they say they have. I would certainly not want to be one of the ones who hear Jesus say, "I don’t know you” as He does in Matthew 25:12.

To help you get started, the following verses are a few that tell us how we’re to live when we’ve been saved.

Ephesians 4:22–24 —You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; *to be made new in the attitude of your minds; *and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.

James 4:4 You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God.

Romans 12:2 —Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

Leviticus 20:26 `And you shall be holy to Me, for I the Lord am holy, and have separated you from the peoples, that you should be Mine.

Psalm 4:3 Know that the Lord has set apart the godly for himself; the Lord will hear when I call to him.

1 Peter 2:9 But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;

1 Peter 3:15-16 But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander.

John 15:19 "If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.

Romans 13:14 —Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature.

1 Thessalonians 5:22 Abstain from all appearance of evil.

Ephesians 5:1–2 —Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children *and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

1 Corinthians 12:27 —Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.

Are You A Bruised Reed?

I’ve heard some people say with horror in their voice, “Whatever you do, don’t pray for God to do His Will in your life or something horrible will happen to you!”  And they really believe it!  I was totally shocked as I thought that they would know more about the Lord then I did since they’d been saved so much longer.  Sadly though, they didn’t understand Him at all.  This is our Lord and Savior we’re talking about.  Do you really think He would do something horrible to you? He is the one who gave His life for us.  He’s the one who told us that if we were weary or burdened to come to Him because He would give us rest! (Matthew 11:28–30)

In describing Him, Isaiah says, —He will not shout or cry out, or raise his voice in the streets. *A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out. In faithfulness he will bring forth justice; (Isaiah 42:2–3) This isn’t speaking of a literal reed that He might have seen laying in the street, or a lamp about to go out.  Isaiah is speaking of people here.  He’s speaking of people who are heart broken, scared, and who’s spirits are fragile and weak because they’ve been betrayed and hurt. He’s speaking about a person who trembles with fear when they hear a raised voice. We’re told that Jesus won’t alarm or hurt these people, but instead will nurture and restore them to strength and health. Not only that, but it assures us that He will do so softly, gently, tenderly, with love.

Does this sound like the kind of God who would do something horrible to you?  But you may say this is true, but what about the Father?  Jesus tells Philip in John 14 that if we have seen Him, then we’ve seen the Father. What He’s actually saying is that if we know Him, then we really know the Father too because He and the Father are one.  The Father doesn’t act any differently than He does.  Remember how often Jesus tells us that everything He says and does are because the Father has told Him to? Jesus was showing us what the Father is like.  Therefore if Jesus wouldn’t break a bruised reed, neither will the Father.

This is our God who came to bind up the broken hearted, to set prisoners free.  Let’s read the rest of the verse from Matthew 11:28–30 I spoke of earlier —“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. *Take my yoke upon 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.” *  How often are we told and shown how He searches for the lost to help them, how He binds up our wounds, and heals us, how He carries us close to His heart?  Recall the times He’s wept over people’s suffering and helped and comforted them; the times that instead of thinking of His own needs, He spent His time caring for the needs of others. Recall the bruised reed of the woman who was brought before Him, condemned.  Did He do something awful to her?  No, He set her free physically and spiritually too by forgiving her sins and telling her to go and sin no more.  He didn’t come and tell us to love others, even our enemies and not do it Himself.  All He commands of us, He also showed us by His life how to do.  This is our God my friends, and His plans for us are plans to prosper us, not to harm us, plans to give us hope and a future!  (Jeremiah 29:11)

But what about all the verses that talk about Him destroying His enemies and things like that?  That is easy to understand if you think for just a moment about it.  We aren’t His enemies any longer, we’re His children!  Yes, He will destroy His enemies one day soon, but for His children He says there is no condemnation for us and that He will save us and keep us from that time of wrath.  Romans tells us that because we’ve been justified by His blood, we will certainly be saved from God’s wrath through Jesus.  The wrath of God will be coming against all godlessness, and we have been declared righteous, so have no need to worry about that. In 1 Thessalonians we’re told outright again that Jesus rescues us from the coming wrath and that we were appointed to receive salvation, not His wrath.

I pray that all of this has shown us that our God is a God a love and that as His children we need never fear Him or fear what He will do.  Yes, He will stretch us beyond our comfort zones at times to encourage our growth, but no more then a good parent does with their children when encouraging them to do something the parent knows they’re capable of even though the child is concerned they’ll fail, and the good parent never harms the child or pushes them so hard as to make them fearful!  Of course, earthly parents aren’t perfect and we do make mistakes; but God is perfect and He never makes mistakes or misjudges anything or anyone.  We really can trust Him!  Having said we need never fear Him, I should also say that by that I’m not saying we shouldn’t feel a reverential awe of Him and a desire to please Him, which is what the “fear of the Lord” is referring to when it says that the “fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge”.

So let us praise God with Psalm 103, rejoicing in the God who loves us and doesn’t treat us as our sins deserve!  May His Will always be done in my life!  Thank You Lord!