Manipulative and Controlling

There is something called “gaslighting” which is a manipulative and controlling technique used by master liars and manipulators in order to get preconceived results out of other people. And there are many such master con artists out there who use such techniques to manipulate and to control others, usually without their knowledge.

 

They first create scenes by putting on a false persona or by setting up a false situation in order to get a desired result which then they can use against the other person. So, they will fake a challenge or a conflict or they may even fake a confession in order to get the other person to respond in a particular way which they intend to use against the other person.

 

There is something they want, some kind of compliance, or they want to make the other person look bad to others, or they want to accuse the other person falsely in order to accomplish a particular goal. It is all about manipulation and control, and even the most aware of us can be caught in their traps if we are not careful and if we are not on guard constantly.

 

Especially if we are compassionate and caring people who are passionate about helping others, we might easily fall into one of their traps because we fell for a story that wasn’t true. Or if we are people of conviction and moral purity and if we are passionate about truth and righteousness and against sin and wickedness, we might also be led into one of their traps.

 

For, these master manipulators and controllers are very skilled at what they do. They know exactly what to do and to say and how to do it and how and when to say it and in front of whom to do it or to say it in order to accomplish their evil plots against others. They are very skilled actors and performers who know how to move people’s emotions.

 

And you may be able to catch some or most of their tricks, but you may not be able to catch all of them. For, if one doesn’t work, they will try another and another until they find one that does work, just like how Satan works, too. And they may wait until you are in a weakened state to get at you, too, because they know your defenses will not be as sharp.

 

Some pastors and many politicians and newscasters are very good at this, too. Memes on social media work this way, as well, I have found. First they reel you in with the bait and then they get you on their hook, and then they are able to inflict the intended pain and/or punishment which they preconceived because they have something they want to accomplish.

 

It is a lot like that movie I like to quote from where the guy makes a confession and he says, “Remember the squirrels?” “First I knocked them out of their nest with a rock. Then I saved them.” But these manipulators are not looking to save anyone but themselves and what they want out of it, so it may have the appearance of “saving,” but it also may be a trap.

 

For, what they are doing is evil. It has a hidden agenda behind it which is not for the good of the people, but which is for the good of their own agendas. They may even appear as the “victim” themselves, or they may appear as “angels coming to the rescue,” when in reality all this was a ruse in order to get us to fall into their trap and to do what they had hoped.

 

So, what they are doing is morally corrupt. It is wicked. It is evil. Even if it may have an outward appearance of good, lying underneath is evil intent. And this is why we must be discerning, but even the most discerning of us may not pick up on every trick. And we may fall into some traps. But I am not talking about falling into sin. I am talking about being tricked into believing something that is a lie. And it may cost us.

 

But if it does, because we got hornswoggled unknowingly, we can’t worry about the results. They will be what they will be. We just have to trust the Lord in it all and believe that he is going to work all things for good for us who love and obey him, who have been called according to his purpose.

 

Matthew 6:25-34 ESV

 

“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.

 

“But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

 

“Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.”

 

Praise You in This Storm  

 

Mark Hall and Bernie Herms

I was sure by now, God You would have reached down
and wiped our tears away,
stepped in and saved the day.
But once again, I say amen
and it's still raining
as the thunder rolls
I barely hear You whisper through the rain,
"I'm with you"
and as Your mercy falls
I raise my hands and praise
the God who gives and takes away.

And I'll praise you in this storm
and I will lift my hands
for You are who You are
no matter where I am
and every tear I've cried
You hold in your hand
You never left my side
and though my heart is torn
I will praise You in this storm

I lift my eyes unto the hills
where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ohYhdqXg6is

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We Cannot Obey God and the World

Matthew 6:22-23 ESV

 

“The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!”

 

Light and Darkness

 

Our eyes are what God has given to us so that we can see things visible, and lamps are also used to help us to see things, especially in the darkness. The word “eye” also means “judgment, discernment, and perceptiveness.” And the word “lamp” means “light,” and “light,” from a biblical perspective, means “Jesus Christ, truth, the gospel, revelation, and righteousness.”

 

Our body includes our whole being. It includes our physical structure as well as it includes our soul, which is not something physical, but it has to do with the core of who we are, what we are about, our heart (not the physical but emotional heart), and our character, personality, will, and spirit.

 

So, this is not speaking of physical eyes or of physical health, but this is speaking of spiritual eyes and of our spiritual health. If our spiritual eyesight (perceptiveness, judgment, discernment) is healthy (sound, whole; a single undivided focus without a secret double agenda), then our whole body (mind, body, heart, and soul) will be full of light (truth, righteousness).

 

In contrast, if our spiritual eyesight (judgment, discernment) is bad (evil, wicked, malicious, slothful), our whole being (body, mind, heart, and soul) will be full of darkness (absent of truth and righteousness, full of evil, wickedness, immorality, disobedience, and rebellion against God).

 

So, if the light (truth, righteousness) in us is darkness (evil, wickedness, unrighteousness, and lies), how great is that darkness (total absence of light, truth, and righteousness). And this is exactly where many people are living, including many people who profess faith in Jesus Christ. They are still walking in the darkness for they refuse to come into the light.

 

So, this is a lot like the cheap grace gospel. It is being promoted as truth and righteousness, but it is full of darkness. And this is because it makes no demands for death to sin and living to righteousness, and it requires no obedience or submission to Christ as Lord (owner-master). It makes a mockery of God’s grace, and it turns it into a license for lasciviousness.

 

Therefore, those who have adopted the cheap grace gospel into their lives are also promoting themselves as full of light while they are still full of darkness. For, they never surrendered their lives to the cross of Christ. They never bowed the knee to Jesus in humble submission to his will for their lives. So they were never crucified with Christ in death to sin, so they were never given new lives in Christ Jesus to be lived for his glory.

 

So, the light in them is darkness because it is a false light (truth), for their lives were not transformed of the Spirit of God. They weren’t delivered out of their slavery to sin nor from the control sin had over their lives, for they are being convinced that faith in Jesus Christ does not require repentance nor obedience nor submission to Christ as their owner-master.

 

Matthew 6:24 ESV

 

“No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.”

 

Can’t Serve Two Masters

 

This word “serve” actually means to be a slave to, to be subject to, to obey, or to be devoted to. And this means that all personal ownership rights are assigned to the owner, who is supposed to be Jesus Christ, but it can be a false god or an idol in our lives which is taking the place of Christ.

 

The word “money” is literally “the treasure a person trusts in.” So, it isn’t just money, but it can be anything we cherish, adore, value, or hold dear to our hearts, meaning things or people of this world or of the flesh of man. Therefore, we can’t serve (obey) God and mammon (earthly treasures).

 

So, basically this is saying that we can’t obey (be slaves to) the things of this world and obey (be slaves to) God/Jesus Christ at the same time. Interestingly enough, Romans 6:16 goes right along with this:

 

“Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness?”

 

And this goes right along with the teaching about our eyes and our bodies, and about light and darkness. Light and darkness cannot coexist in our lives, though the cheap grace gospel says they can. This is not saying that we must live in absolute sinless perfection or else, but this is saying that we can’t travel east and west at the same time. They are opposite directions.

 

We are either slaves of God or we are slaves of sin. We are either walking according to the Spirit or we are walking according to the flesh. We can’t do both at the same time. We cannot make sin our practice and practice righteousness at the same time. They are opposites. That would be like trying to travel east and west at the same time.

 

So, our lives are either committed to the flesh or they are committed to the Lord and to living holy lives pleasing to him. We can’t try to do a balancing act between the two. And Jesus Christ doesn’t accept second place or a back seat or just a few minutes of our day while we spend the rest of the day serving our own selfish desires.

 

We can’t blend evil in with good. Jesus died on that cross to deliver us from our slavery to sin so we would now be slaves of God and of his righteousness. He died that we might no longer live for ourselves but for him who gave his life up for us. He did not die just to forgive us our sins so that we can escape hell and go to heaven when we die.

 

Jesus died to transform us and to conform us to his likeness not just to forgive our sins, and especially not so we can now keep on living in sin, only now guilt free and with the guarantee of heaven as our eternal destiny. So, if you are being told that you can believe in Jesus and that you can keep on in your sinful practices, you are believing a lie.

 

We are either slaves to sin or we are slaves to God and to his righteousness. Which will it be?

 

[Lu 9:23-26; Jn 6:35-58; Jn 15:1-11; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-17; Eph 4:17-24; 1 Jn 1:5-9; 1 Jn 2:3-6; 1 Pet 2:24; 1 Co 6:9-10, 19-20; 2 Co 5:10, 15; Gal 5:16-21; Eph 5:3-6; Gal 6:7-8; Rom 2:6-8; Tit 2:11-14; 1 Jn 3:4-10]

 

Praise You in This Storm  

 

Mark Hall and Bernie Herms

I lift my eyes unto the hills
where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth
I lift my eyes unto the hills
where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ohYhdqXg6is

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Requirements for Salvation?

Is obedience required for salvation? Are there things we must do or not do in order to receive salvation from sin and eternal life with God?

John 8:51 ESV: “Truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death.” 

John 14:23-24 ESV: “Jesus answered him, ‘If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. Whoever does not love me does not keep my words. And the word that you hear is not mine but the Father's who sent me.’”

Hebrews 5:9 ESV: “And being made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him.”

John 3:36 BLB: “The one believing in the Son has eternal life, but the one not obeying the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him."

Acts 5:32 ESV: “And we are witnesses to these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him.”

Romans 2:6-8 ESV: “He will render to each one according to his works: to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life; But for those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury.”

Romans 6:16 ESV: “Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness?”

2 Thessalonians 1:7-8 ESV: “..when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.”

1 John 2:3-5 ESV: “And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments. Whoever says ‘I know him’ but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected.”

1 John 3:24 ESV: “Those who obey his commands live in him, and he in them. And this is how we know that he lives in us: We know it by the Spirit he gave us.”

1 John 5:3 ESV: “This is love for God: to obey his commands. And his commands are not burdensome…”

2 John 1:6 ESV: “And this is love: that we walk in obedience to his commands. As you have heard from the beginning, his command is that you walk in love.”

1 Peter 1:2 ESV: “…who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and sprinkling by his blood: Grace and peace be yours in abundance.”

Luke 9:23-26 ESV: “And he said to all, ‘If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself? For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words, of him will the Son of Man be ashamed when he comes in his glory and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.’”

John 10:27 ESV: “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.”

Romans 8:12-14 ESV: “So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.”

Romans 8:5-8 ESV: “For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law; indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.”

Galatians 5:19-21 ESV: “Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.”

Galatians 6:7-8 ESV: “Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.”

2 Corinthians 5:10 ESV: “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.”

1 John 3:7-10 ESV: “Little children, let no one deceive you. Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous. Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God's seed abides in him; and he cannot keep on sinning, because he has been born of God. By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother.”

Titus 2:11-14 ESV: “For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.”

Ephesians 2:10 ESV: “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”

Jas. 1:21-25 ESV: “Therefore, putting aside all filthiness and all that remains of wickedness, in humility receive the word implanted, which is able to save your souls. But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror; for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was. But one who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man will be blessed in what he does.”

Written in a Song

An Original Work / September 26, 2021

Who is right and who is wrong?

It’ll be written in a song.

Who’s pretending he is right?

Who from truth has taken flight?

Who are actors playing you,

Hoping you will think they’re true?

Stage productions wearing thin

While they look at you and grin.

Does deception really exist?

Do you in your thoughts resist?

Do you live in fairy land

Thinking all is surely grand?

Idols have you made of man,

Thinking on them you’ll depend?

Think that they’ll not fail you,

And that to you they’ll be true?

Not a good idea to do,

Set up humans as gurus.

Blindly follow, stay in line

Without question who’s behind.

Testing, testing, that we’ll do,

Ask our questions, through and through.

Don’t believe them just because

They are someone with a cause.

Check them out. Listen to their words.

Learn to listen and discern.

Watch their patterns, watch their gates,

Who they love and who they hate.

Pray to God in heaven above

Ask for wisdom. Ask for love.

Make decisions prayerfully,

And keep testing dutifully.

Where We Invest Our Lives

Matthew 6:19-21 ESV

 

“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

 

The Things of This World

 

Life on this earth is temporary. The things of this world are temporary. All that we have in the way of worldly goods could be here today and gone tomorrow. And with the events of these past 20 months, I believe we have gotten a glimpse of how easily they can all disappear – all the things we take for granted (in America) day after day which we assume will just be there.

 

People in this world are temporary, too. Our lives could be here today and gone tomorrow. Those we love and have come to depend on to be there could go away. Our spouses could leave us for someone else or they could die. Our children or grandchildren could move away, or they could die. Or they could just not want to be with us anymore.

 

Our pastors or our government leaders could also disappear. They could die or they could desert and betray us. We could learn that who we thought they were was a lie and that they were deceiving us all along. And they could turn on us and turn against us and do us harm instead of the good that they swore to do for us. For not everyone tells the truth. Many liars exist.

 

Our houses or apartments could catch on fire or could be destroyed in a hurricane, a tornado, a flood, a tsunami, or a volcanic eruption or in war. And we may be asked to abandon our homes and to leave and to go someplace else not knowing what will await us there. Or we could be forced into camps of some kind, perhaps like in WW11.

 

Or literally we could have a thief break into our homes or into our computers and into our bank accounts and they could rob us of everything we own to where there is nothing left. They may even take things of ours of sentimental value which would have no value to them only to try to cause us pain and emotional suffering.

 

So, we need to hold lightly to the things of this world. We have to consider that everything we possess belongs to God and that it is his to provide or it is his to take away. And this could even include our health or our reputations or our freedoms to assemble with other believers or to speak the truth to others in a public setting. All this could be here today and gone tomorrow.

 

Treasures in Heaven

 

So, we are not to make idols of the things of this world which are here today and gone tomorrow. All that we have on this earth is temporary. It is fleeting. And one day it will all be gone, and it will profit us nothing. Nothing of this world will save us – no politicians, no governments, and no military. It doesn’t matter who is in office, man cannot be our saviors.

 

Therefore, we need to invest our lives in what is permanent, in what has eternal value, and in what can save people’s souls from hell and give them eternal life with God. We need to invest our lives in the gospel of Jesus Christ and in our relationships with our Lord and in obedience to his commands and in sharing the TRUE GOSPEL with the people of the world.

 

We need to be the Lord’s servants in doing what he calls us to do, in going wherever he sends us, and in saying whatever he gives us to say, which cannot be against his divine character and will for our lives, and which cannot be contradictory to the foundational teachings of the gospel. Just because we said, “God said,” doesn’t mean that “God said.”

 

We need to be investing our lives in other people’s lives in ministering God’s love and grace to them and in ministering to their physical needs, too, as directed by God’s Spirit who will show us where the real needs are. We need to be helping the hurting and lifting up the fallen and encouraging the downhearted with the truths of God’s holy word.

 

And we need to be exhorting one another as followers of Jesus Christ to walk in the fulness of God’s love and grace in obedience to his commands and in being and doing who and what he has called us to be and to do. We need to be encouraging one another in our walks of faith to live holy lives pleasing to God and to forsake our sins to follow our Lord in obedience.

 

Treasures and Hearts

 

Where our treasure is, there our heart will be also. If we invest our lives solely or primarily in the things of this world, our hearts and our passions will be there, and not with God. But if we invest our lives in the things of God, in the things that matter for eternity, and in the things that turn people’s hearts away from their sins to following our Lord in obedience, that is where our hearts will be. Our passions and desires will be for our Lord.

 

So, again, we need to hold lightly to the things of this world and to other humans, too, and our dependency needs to be in the Lord, and not in other humans who are likely to fail us or to even betray us. And then when the world goes crazy, which it is, we will not be shaken by it all, especially if we study the Scriptures regarding the events of these final days on the earth.

 

For our faith and our hope are solely in the Lord, and therefore we are on solid ground, and we will not be shaken when the world comes crashing down all around us, which it is, and which it will even more, because the Bible says it will. And while we wait for our Lord’s return, we must be investing our lives in what has eternal value and in that which will lead others to genuine God-given faith in Jesus Christ.

 

Praise You in This Storm 

 

Mark Hall and Bernie Herms

I was sure by now, God You would have reached down
and wiped our tears away,
stepped in and saved the day.
But once again, I say amen
and it's still raining
as the thunder rolls
I barely hear You whisper through the rain,
"I'm with you"
and as Your mercy falls
I raise my hands and praise
the God who gives and takes away.

I lift my eyes unto the hills
where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth
I lift my eyes unto the hills
where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ohYhdqXg6is

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My Whole Being Rejoices

Psalms 16:4-6 ESV

 

“The sorrows of those who run after another god shall multiply;

    their drink offerings of blood I will not pour out

    or take their names on my lips.

 

“The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup;

    you hold my lot.

The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;

    indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance.”

 

What is “another god”? It isn’t just an idol carved in wood or precious stones. It is anything which takes God’s rightful place in our hearts as King. It is anything which supersedes God as Lord (master) of our hearts. And it is anything to which we give our hearts, devotion, praise, adoration, time, affection, passion, and desire in place of or above God.

 

So, anyone who runs after another god could be anyone who is making something other than God his idol. His idol could be himself or another person, or it could be his possessions, his money, power, prestige, popularity, or praise from others. His idol could be his pride or bitterness or resentment or the lusts of his flesh and pornography or whatever.

 

His idol could also be a false Jesus and a false gospel which he has received in place of the true gospel because it requires nothing of him and it allows him to continue in his deliberate and habitual and premeditated sin while he ignores God and his commands, and while he ignores how his sins hurt other people, too. And this is because he is focused on self, not on others.

 

Their sorrows are increased. I have a question about that one. Many who are following after the idols of this world appear to be at peace or happy with their lifestyles of choice. They choose their idols over God because they can then live how they want without conscience or without guilt. And they may only feel guilty if they are around Christians who are walking with the Lord.

 

It appears that the original word translated “sorrows” could mean “sorrows” or “idols.” I tend to lean toward the idea that their idols increase or are multiplied, because they are never satisfied, because idols don’t satisfy but they leave the idolater always wanting more. Many sex addicts begin with one fetish, but then they keep adding more and more.

 

In the end, though, they will have great sorrow when they stand before God, and he tells them that he never knew them and that they who are workers of iniquity are to depart from him. And they will have great sorrow when they are cast into hell, and they do not get to go to God’s heaven which their false gospel promised them.

 

But we who profess Jesus Christ to be Lord and Savior of our lives are not to be those who chase after other idols. The Lord is to be our chosen portion and cup. He is to be our only God whom we worship. He alone is to be the one to receive our undying devotion and loyalty and our fidelity, other than our spouse who comes second to God.

 

Psalms 16:7-10 ESV

 

“I bless the Lord who gives me counsel;

    in the night also my heart instructs me.

I have set the Lord always before me;

    because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken.

 

“Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices;

    my flesh also dwells secure.

For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol,

    or let your holy one see corruption.”

 

If Jesus Christ is truly the Lord of our lives, then he is our master, our boss. We live and work for him, and he is the one who decides how we live our lives and what we do. Our job is to listen to him and then to follow him in obedience to his commands and in obedience to his calling upon our individual lives, too. For he has both gifts and ministries which he has assigned to us.

 

Thus, we are to be listening to his counsel daily, inquiring of him as to what he has for us each day. Now, I understand people work full-time jobs to provide for their families. And I understand that people who have children living at home must take care of their children, and they have house chores to do and groceries to buy, etc., so much of their time is spoken for.

 

But we don’t separate our secular lives from our spiritual lives. All should be under God’s control and his direction and guidance. He should have mastery over every aspect of our lives, and we should be seeking his guidance and counsel in whatever it is we do each day. He is not to just get a small part of our day, but he is to get 100% of our lives.

 

So, we should always have our ears tuned into the Spirit’s voice so that we can receive his guidance and counsel throughout our days and throughout our daily chores and activities and responsibilities. And we should be sensitized to divine opportunities to share Jesus with the people of this world, too, in whatever way the Lord leads, but never in compromising or backing down from truth in order to make people like us.

 

When Jesus Christ is our Lord, and when we are following him in his ways and in his truth, and we are listening to him, and we are seeking his guidance, and we are walking in holiness and in righteousness in his power and strength, those are indicators that our faith in him is genuine and that we are in true relationship with him, and therefore we can claim heaven as our eternal destiny and be assured that we will inherit eternal life.

 

Psalms 16:11 ESV

 

“You make known to me the path of life;

    in your presence there is fullness of joy;

    at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.”

 

The “path of life” is the way of the cross of Christ in dying with him to sin and in living to him and to his righteousness. It is the way of obedience to our Lord and to his commands. It is also the way of surrender of our lives to Jesus Christ in making him truly Lord (owner-master) of our lives.

 

It does not include walking in the ways of the flesh and of the world and living in deliberate and premeditated and habitual sin against God. For, if we are not obeying our Lord and if we are walking in sin, making sin our practice, then we are not walking in the path of life, but we are still walking in the way of sin and of the flesh, and we will not inherit eternal life with God.

 

There is fulness of joy in the Lord and peace beyond measure when we are walking in his ways and in his truth and when we are not giving the devil a foothold in our lives to where we obey Satan and the flesh over God. For, there is no greater joy than walking with the Lord in victory over sin and in obedience to the Lord’s will for our lives. No better place to be ever!

 

Praise You in This Storm  

 

Mark Hall and Bernie Herms

I lift my eyes unto the hills
where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth
I lift my eyes unto the hills
where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ohYhdqXg6is

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And We are His House IF

Hebrews 3:6-15 ESV

 

“But Christ is faithful over God's house as a son. And we are his house, if indeed we hold fast our confidence and our boasting in our hope.

 

Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says,

 

“Today, if you hear his voice,

do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion,

    on the day of testing in the wilderness,

where your fathers put me to the test

    and saw my works for forty years.

Therefore I was provoked with that generation,

and said, ‘They always go astray in their heart;

    they have not known my ways.’

As I swore in my wrath,

    ‘They shall not enter my rest.’”

 

Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. For we have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end. As it is said,

 

“Today, if you hear his voice,

do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.”

 

A “Quick Fix”

 

Many people today are preaching a “quick fix” gospel with an easy in, and no way out approach to our salvation from sin. All you have to do is pray a prayer to receive Christ into your heart and then you are welcomed into the family of God, and you are told that heaven is now your eternal destiny guaranteed, no matter how you live from this point forward.

 

But that is not the gospel Jesus taught. That is not the gospel the New Testament apostles taught, at least not if you read what they said in context. Jesus and his NT apostles taught dying with Christ to sin, being transformed in heart and mind of the Spirit of God, and they taught walks of obedience to the Lord and no longer walking in the flesh in habitual sin.

 

And they taught that we must continue in that faith in walks of obedience to our Lord and in the forsaking our sins firmly until the end of time. Jesus said if we continue in his word that we are truly his disciples. By the gospel we are saved if we hold firmly to the gospel. And we must continue in our faith, established and firm, not moved from the hope held out in the gospel (Jn 8:31-32; 1 Co 15:2; Col 1:21-23; 2 Tim 2:10-13; Heb 3:6, 14-15).

 

If You Hear Him

 

Many people today who profess faith in Jesus Christ have bought into a cheap grace gospel which is telling them that nothing is required of them other than some obscure “belief” in Jesus Christ which is rarely defined. They just have to “believe” and then their sins are forgiven, and they are on their way to heaven, but they don’t have to do anything.

 

But that also is not what the Scriptures teach. They teach we must die with Christ to sin, be changed in heart and mind, and that we must walk in obedience to our Lord and no longer in sin if we want to be saved from our sins and have eternal life with God (Lu 9:23-26; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-17; Gal 5:16-21; Eph 5:3-6; Gal 6:7-8; Rom 2:6-8; 1 Co 6:9-10; 1 Jn 3:4-10).

 

So, this is why we have this warning here in Hebrews 3 which is not just for the Jewish Christians of that time, but which is for all people of all time. If we have heard the voice of Jesus calling us to believe in him and to follow him with our lives, but we harden our hearts and we refuse to listen to him, and so we listen to men instead, and therefore we rebel against him, we will not enter his eternal rest, but we will die in our sins.

 

And God calls disobedience (in practice) unbelief, both in the Old Testament and in the New Testament. If we are not walking in obedience to our Lord as a matter of practice, but we are saying that we know him, we are liars who are not living by the truth, and we don’t know the Lord (1 Jn 2:3-6).

 

So, if the Lord speaks to our hearts, and he calls us to himself, and we choose to believe in him, but we refuse to submit to him and to obey him, then that is not belief. For the faith to believe in Jesus comes from God, is gifted to us by God, and it is founded in Jesus and perfected by him, so this faith will submit to Christ as Lord, forsake sin, and follow Jesus in obedience.

 

Take Care

 

So, there is a caution here for us. We must take care that we don’t have unbelieving hearts especially while we are convinced we do believe in Jesus. For many think they believe in Jesus because they have been sold “a bill of goods,” i.e., a big fat lie! But genuine faith in Jesus dies with him to sin and lives to him and to his righteousness as a matter of life course, and this faith continues until the end of time.

 

So, what are we commanded to do in response to this? We are to exhort one another every day so that not one of us may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. But in today’s church culture, if you take this seriously, and if this is what you practice, you will most likely be scolded for it, accused falsely of being self-righteous or legalistic, and you may be told to mind your own business or to find another “church” where you will be a “better fit.”

 

But don’t let that discourage you. Don’t let that take you out. We need to keep speaking the truth, for the lies are very loud and they are being spread far and wide, and many people are flocking to the lies and are rejecting the truth. But those who reject the truth in favor of the lies will not inherit eternal life with God. For if they make sin their practice they will die in their sins. So, keep on speaking the truth, for many need to hear it.

 

Praise You in This Storm  

 

Mark Hall and Bernie Herms

I was sure by now, God You would have reached down
and wiped our tears away,
stepped in and saved the day.
But once again, I say amen
and it's still raining
as the thunder rolls
I barely hear You whisper through the rain,
"I'm with you"
and as Your mercy falls
I raise my hands and praise
the God who gives and takes away.

I lift my eyes unto the hills
where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth
I lift my eyes unto the hills
where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ohYhdqXg6is

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