“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance…  (Galatians 5)

 

The above passage is known as the fruit of the Spirit.  It is fruit singular because it grows from only one Source some say that it is singular because it grows together and at the same time.  This writer is not among those that say such a thing.  We cannot understand that belief as it has been our experience that these fruits grow at different times and ripen at their own rate.  We do not base this upon our own experience as it is the experience of others as well.

An example: “Look at all that fruit!”  When you enter a market and see multiple kinds of fruit you might say what is written in quotes above. Do you notice that fruit, though spelled singular is used as plural? We will define the Fruit of the Spirit as being present in and from only One (1) Source, the Spirit. This fruit being present in this One (1) source, develops and ripens at different stages. Therefore it may take all of one’s Christ-ian life to develop or ripen, love being first and self control being last. We believe the Fruit of the Spirit will ripen in the order in which the Spirit has written them. The fruit will ripen in accordance to the Spirit’s sovereignty in your life.  The more the Spirit has His way, the more will His fruit ripen. The more you walk in the Spirit, the more you entertain and engage the Spirit, the more you live in the Spirit, the more you will grow ripe and ready.

What does one do with ripened fruit?  One may take the fruit and put it inside of one’s self, making it a part of self….”You are what you eat” or one may make preserves (saves) from the fruit.

It is also the experience of others that the fruit grows in the order it is mentioned in our passages above and that would make spiritual sense.  It makes sense that love and joy would bud first as our love for God and others is in answer to the love of God, “We love God [and others] because He first loved us.”  Is our Love for God the first response and reaction to learning about and experiencing God’s love for us in Salvation?  When a sinner learns that God so loved Him that He sent His only Begotten Son to die and rise again in the sinner’s stead, does He not love God for this?

After learning of God’s love and Christ’s sacrifice and subsequent victory in the sinner’s stead does the sinner not respond in kind?  Does the sinner not then experience the growth of unexplainable and prior unknown joy?  The sinner turned saint realizes his sin is forgiven and forgotten and that he needs not fear ever again, is not joy the growth of this love and new found confidence in Christ?…yea, methinks…..me knows it is.

As the saint walks in the Spirit, lives in the Spirit and wars againt the flesh what is the next fruit to sprout and ripen?  The next fruit that grows and is listed with the other fruits is longsuffering.  What is longsuffering?  Typically, longsuffering is defines as being patient with those around us and not demonstrating impatience with them.  It can also be defined as enduring others in a sense of patience.  We are told that God’s longsuffering is salvation.  This means God dealt with His vessels of mercy and brought them to a place of repentance and salvation in longsuffering.  This means He did not deal with the vessels of wrath in longsuffering but instead fitted them to destruction. O’ How humbled and thankful are we, reader, to know God has suffered us so long and brought us unto Salvation?

We are called to live in the Spirit or to bear the fruit of lonsuffering as well.  This demonstrates for others what longsuffering is, as it is an attribute of God and God’s elect.  We will add another species of longsuffering as well.
Paul writes and tells us that he endured much for the sake of God’s elect.  Paul not only endured the short comings of those around him, but he also endured much in terms of actual physical and mental, and emotional suffering, one can read 2 Corinthians 11 for a list of paul’s longsuffering due to the elects sake and in answer to the love of God.

What are other features of longsuffering?  When the believer suffers long, he forebears those around him, he forgives others when they seek it, and he refuses the temptation to bitterness.  Reader, let me be very, very clear at this point.  If you go to church, read your Bible, and even say your prays and you do not love God and others, and you do not have joy, and you are not a person of longsuffering let me say your salvation is very much suspect, that is it is to say doubted. If one loves not God, let him be accursed, condemned, damned.

One of the ugliest things in the Christ-ian world is an unforgiving and bitter Christ-ian.  This kind of “believer” is a kin to vomit flavoured ice cream or feces flavoured jelly-bellies.
Why must a Christ-ian be longsuffering?  A christ-ian must be longsuffering because the Godhead is longsuffering.  Look back at the previous paragraph, You will notice I sandwiched forgiveness between forbearance and bitterness. This is because the believer is to forbear others in order to avoid the need of forgiveness and one must not allow bitterness to overtake one’s self if forgiveness is not sought by the offender. Forbearance is bearing with or putting up with others before the need of forgiveness is in play.  Bitterness is the anger and resentment one feels for another who has wronged him and who seeks not foregiveness.

At this point in our article we will answer two (2) why questions.

1. Why must we be longsuffering, IE. forbearing, forgiving, and bitter-free
2. Why do persons not seek forgiveness?

We, as believers, are longsuffering because:
*God has been, is, and forever will be longsuffering with you and me. Longsuffering should be natural to us as it is a supernatural ability and we are supernatural beings. As said above, if you find this divine attribute missing from your supernatural make up. your salvation is suspect and you should examine yourself. Or
*You have been hurt so badly and the anti-spirit of un-forgiveness and bitterness has been so long with you, it would feel as though a part of you has died if you were to forgive.  This is because that part of you will die…it will be mortified through the Spirit, it will be crucified to your flesh which is crucified to the world.  There are spiritually obese believers and if you would give up your bitterness and refusal to forgive you will lose much spiritual weight and baggage.  Besides, as you know, you are the one who is really hurting by allowing this anti-spirit to drive you.
*God commands us to be forgiving and threatens us with His witholding of forgiveness from us.  If we want God to be longsuffering towards usward, we must be longsuffering towards others.  This is a simple Biblical precept and principle.
*To be longsuffering is to be Christ-like and if that is not enough of a reason to be longsuffering, you are in a bad place, Reader.

Why do others not seek forgiveness from those whom they have wronged?
1.Pride…it is as simple as that one (1) syllable word. Pride…there is the letter i dead center of the word. Pr is at the beginning as in proud, problem, pretentious, and pregnant as in with pride.  The latter two (2) letters are de, as in death, dead, detestable deterrant, devil, demon, demonic.  Another way to look at pride is: The proud-heart..(p)rides into Hell.
A person refuses to seek forgiveness out of pride, to seek forgiveness is to admit one has done wrong and is under the power of the wronged party. It has been asked, “Would God forgive the devil?” The answer is, ” I don’t answer hypothetical questions.”  This question is a non-starter because the devil will never seek forgiveness nor will his angels or his children as they all have been turned over to the reprobate mind and are all reprobate concerning truth and the faith.  When a person refuses to humble themselves and ask for forgiveness they are acting like the devil himself.
2. Sometimes the offending party has no idea s/he has crossed a line.  I can remember years ago, a man…a good man and a good friend, in the attempt to compliment his wife, said to me, “I feel sorry for you.”  I asked, “why?” and he responded, “Your wife is not as pretty as my wife.”………….close your mouths, readers, or pick up your jaw from the ground.  In complimenting his wife he offended and insulted my wife and me….What to do….what to do… Forbearance can be difficult at times, but forebearance will win the day and will cover a multitude of sins.  What did we do?  Nothing.  We both understood he meant no offense at all.  This man would insult us not if you paid him…as I said, he is a good man and a good friend. To this day, I know not if he realizes what he said.
Sometimes, Reader, the offending party does not realize their offense.  This is why the Master directs, instructs, commands us to be the one who approaches the offending party and opens discussions regarding the offense.
3. The offending party is not sorry for their actions or words.  There are persons that have the motto, “Never apologize.”  To apologize means more than saying sorry or demonstrating regret, it is explaining the actions that caused the offense or defending them, hence the word apologetics.
It could be you have misunderstood and they need not apologize.  You may have acted foolishly in “answering a matter before hearing it.” I have done this many times.

Another question, What if you have been the picture of forbearance and you are willing to forgive, but the offender will not repent…what can be done?  Our Lord gives us the steps in the Book of Matthew, but what about the inside? What about our feelings? Reader, if the offender does not seek your forgiveness, for whatever reason, you CANNOT forgive them. Forgiveness must be sought after in order to obtain it.  If you, happily and freely forgive everyone for everything you condone their actions and you do not have that right.  Yes, Reader, I said, you do not have the right to forgive unless forgiveness is sought, wanted, desired, asked for, pleaded for, etc. What is one to do with their feelings?  One should, could, would, and must deny the eroding spirit of bitterness.  Do not entertain that kind of mind-set. You cannot allow bitterness to set in, for bitterness will “bitte” you and eat you alive.

When a person says, “I forgave you, already” after someone seeks that forgiveness they are misspeaking.  They have not forgiven them; they have refused to allow bitterness to nest in their heart, but the act of forgiveness has not been enacted until forgiveness is asked for.

Summary:  We are not teaching unforgiveness, God forbid.  We are teaching what proper forgiveness is….what longsuffering is…what forbearance is, and what bitterness is and does. The balance of forgiveness must be kept lest the Christ-ian condones all manner of wrong-doing and unrighteousness.  In other words, Forgiveness takes two (2) to be forgiveness; the refusal to entertain bitterness takes only one (1)….refusing bitterness takes one, who is one with the Supernatural Spirit of our Loooooooonnnnnngggggggggsuffering God.

“And ye would not.”  (Matthew 23)

 

Christ-ian Reader,  Have ever wondered why persons will not believe the Gospel?  If you are like most new believers are/were you thought all your friends and family would believe the Gospel when you tell them about Christ, am I right?  After all it makes so much sense and it is such a “good offer.”  But like all the believers before you, you were sorely disappointed and maybe a little dumbfounded, right?  You probably said to yourself, “Why won’t they just believe?”

We will spend our time in this article (DV) answering that very question. As with many doctrines in Scripture there will be presented to you a human side of unbelief and the divine side that lies behind the veil.  We will present the former first (1st) in bullet point form.

*Persons will not believe because they simply do not want to.  Look at the Lord’s charge in Matthew 23:37,  “And ye would not.”  Our Lord said this just after Je had said to disbelieving Jews that He would have gathered them all together under His wings as a mother hen gathers in her chicks…”but ye would not.”

*There are persons that have not heard the Gospel.  You might say and think that is a ridiculous comment.  My reader, it is not.  You might say, “Everyone has heard of Jesus, there is a church on every corner and there are Bibles sold in ever store. There are preachers on so many television and radio stations….everyone has heard, there are missionaries all over the world.”  I would reply by saying this, “One can here of our Lord and not hear the Gospel. As far as churches being on ever corner, what does that have to do with anything? There are persons that have never been to McDonalds and that franchise is ‘everywhere’ and just because there are preachers on many t.v.s and radios, does this mean ‘every’ person has tuned them in?  By the comment that Bibles are sold ‘everwhere,’ does this mean that ‘every’ person reading this has purchased a pornography magazine since they, too are sold ‘everywhere?’ and them since there are missionaries all over the world, should we infer that ‘every’ person has them heard these missionaries?” The answer to the above is, of course not.
Another point is, many that have heard “a gospel” does not mean they have heard the Gospel. One more point, Even if a person has heard the Gospel they may need to hear it again or they may be at a different point in their lives and are now more likely yo listen.

*Many persons have the wrong idea of the person of our Lord.  We have been spending time in art museums, they help me exercise and improve my observation skills in life. Have you ever been in an art museum? Have you ever noted the way in which Christ is portrayed in art?  If your only exposure to Christ was in these artist’s portrayals of Him, would you take Him seriously?

*What if your only exposure to Christ was through another person and this other person was a wicked, abusive in every possible sense, self-centered, self interested, self inflated, self proclaiming spiritual bastard that views everyone as a used tissue paper? If this was the case with you, how interested would you be with a religion or a church that uses this person as a Sunday School teacher?  Or if you knew these facts about him, could you stand listening to his condescending “witness?”  How seriously could you take a God that would employ this monster?

*What if you were brought up in a home by a otherwise loving parent(s) that hated God and spoke ill of God’s Son?  Most would feel like they are betraying their parent(s) if they ever gave any attention to Christ-ianity of Christ Himself. As in the home of an atheist, Jew, or Muslum.

*What if you thought you and the human race were truly great, in terms of it’s development and it’s extraordinary achievements?  What if you looked at your abilities and self-realized achievements, without any help from God?  When persons look at the great towers in a great city or they look at the “wonders” of technology they see only man and his greatness.  When one looks at the advances of medicine one is made to “wonder” and to be in “awe.”  When persons look at men like Steve Jobs, they are seeing “a god” by their own worship of the man.  With all of the above, why would anyone need “God?”

*When a family can simply tear itself apart and build a new one to destroy, why would they need God in their lives?  When a child watches the disintegration of all they have ever known, through divorce or the death of a loved one, or maybe this child suffers greatly at the hands of “a loved one” and s/he reaches out to God and God isn’t there…what are they to think? When suicide seems to be a better option than God…we have a problem.

*Another reason persons will not believe is a pretty obvious one.  Persons do not want any kind of authority over them.  This can be seen by disobedient and hate-filled children, This can be seen by the rather recent hatred for police and hate-filled protests against the gov’t and the President.  This can be seen by the rapid growth in murder and gangs and the drug pandemic.
When a child(ren) or “grown-ups” show the level of rebellion the world is seeing today, what the nation is really and truly seeing is a rebellion against God Who is the Ultimate Authority, for all authority is placed in that position by God (Romans 13) and in the Law “Obey thy Father and thy Mother,” which is the training grounds for honouring authority in life as an adult.
God is the ultimate expression of authority and to buck any authority is to buck God’s Righteous and Holy, and JUST rule and reign.  God can exalt and abase what and whom He pleases and no hand, no man, no party, no lower authority, no man-made law, no word can stay His Hand or Stop His Purpose or Pleasure and this frustrates and angers man just as it did Lucifer before.

The tower of Babel in Genesis 11 is a perfect example of the above.  The people of the earth build a great tower or ladder (technology) because they thought they could use this ladder to climb to heaven and dethrone God. This people were afraid of what God might do to them, they feared His authority and abilities to do as He pleases. the younger men had grown up hearing detracting things said about God, and they learned to view God in as a monster. It has been said that a father is the lens wherewith children view and interpret God, and these younger persons must have thought God as terrible if they viewed Him through the lens of their fathers and heard from others how Bad God is. Many of these person were ignorant to the events of Noah or they misunderstood them as God being at fault.  You see, reader, there is nothing new under the sun.  Human nature has not changed and has not improved, it may have hidden some of it’s depravity but we all know, I think, that it simply lies dormant.

The above speaks to the human reasons that cause mankind to reject and even hate God. Below we will now (DV) look at the reason mankind or some of mankind rejects and hates God.  We will look behind the veil and see the divine reason (singular) mankind “would not” come to Christ as He called for them.

The simple and Scriptural anser is this:  It is not God’s will that all men come to His Son for eternal security in Salvation.  I know this is a hard saying, but there are many hard sayings in Scripture. There are instances where Scripture puts forth a paradox. An example of a pardox is, “When I am weak, I am strong.”  Another paradox is God commands every man everywhere to repent but them we learn no man can repent lest God grants them that grace.  Another, Lest a man puts his faith in Christ, he cannot be saved but again we learn faith is the gift of God and not all men receive it. Another? Lest a man believes he is condemned already…and then we read, the ability to believe is given to man from heaven!!!
Again in bullet point form we will provide Scripture references to “prove all things.”  These passages will not be taken out of their contexts as that is a damnable offense.

*(2 Corinthians 4:4) The devil blinds the minds of the unbelieving, “lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, should shine unto them.”   Two (2) questions  1. Why does the devil or god of this world blind the minds of those that already believe not?  Read carefully, it does NOT say he blinds them so they will NOT believe.  2. Who controls (s)atan or Who is it that (s)atan serves?

*(John 12) “Therefore they could not believe, because that  Esaias (Isaiah) said again, He hath blinded their eyes, and hardened their heart; that they should not see with their eyes, nor understand with their hearts, and be converted, and I should heal them.”

*(Proverbs 16:4) The LORD hath made all things for [H]imself: yea, even the wicked for the day of evil.” (16:9) A man’s heart deviseth his way: but the LORD directeth his steps [into the narrow way or the broad way]. (16:9) A divine sentence is in the lips of the king: his mouth transgresseth not in judgement.”  These Proverbs are clear, are they not?  In v.4 we read, The Godhead or Trinity creates wicked man for the day of evil.  This could mean, God uses wicked men to do wicked things as He would use the wickedness of foreign powers to reconcile the Jews to Himself. It also has a greater meaning, The day of evil speaks to the day, they will view as evil…their final judgement before Holy God. The next two (2) Proverbs, show plainly that God directs the steps of man and this direction is in accordance to God’s purpose and pleasure. I incerted the narrow way and broadway, they are not present in the verse.  Before a person says, “That’s not fair of God.” Let us read the last Proverbs in 16:10, all of the king’s judgements are fait, right, and just.

 

These reasons or excuses, my readers, are why others will not believe. Our answers come from this side of the veil and the other side of the veil.  This side of the veil reveals man to be depraved and rebellious toward authority and man sees himself to be too big and too great for there to be something or someone greater Residing, Ruling, and Reigning over man.  For man has become a Man-king rather than Man-kind. From the side of the divine, we see God is pleased to be glorified by those He saves, and to be glorified by those He does not. One will glorify God’s grace, mercy, and great love. The other shall glorify God’s great wrath, anger, fury, hatred, severity, and desolation….IN any event, Prepare to meet thy Maker and Behold the [God-]Man !!!

Godspeed and God’s mercy be with you.

“…[P]ray not…”  (A part of Jeremiah 7:16 and taken out of context)

 

In the above passage God tells Jeremiah not to pray for the enemies of God for God would not listen as He had already decided to judge this people. I took the two (2) words from the passage to demonstrate and to teach how one can experience a disappointing Christ-ian life as this seems to be the goal for some believers.  We will use a bullet point form to show how one may have a “Saved soul but a lost life.”  The quoted portion of the previous sentence is a title to a message I heard years ago.

Many believers have a saved soul but their life is lost or in other words, their life is identical to the unsaved..  They are not living the abundant life Christ spoke of.  The fault is not the Lord’s, it is their’s.

In honour of the recent “National Opposite Day”, we will now teach how a saved soul can experience a lost life:

• Never ever pray.  If you refrain from a healthy prayer life you can be certain of a blah Christ-ian experience.  If you can keep your self faithful to a prayer-less life, you can be sure that things will remain the same and you will not experience the Presence of God and all the excitement and soul satisfaction that comes with the Presence of God.
• Never ever tell anyone about Christ, about His sinless life, His death, or His resurrection.  It’s too scary and too bold to tell others of Christ.  To tell others of Christ can be exciting and pleasing to God and may even bring someone to the Cross and the Empty Tomb!!!  Therefore, do not ever share Christ with another.  Another benefit of sharing Christ is the Gospel becomes your Gospel and the Gospel will become experiential and will add so much to your life. Like I said, Don’t ever share Christ……ever…..not ever..dough… dough…. dough… don’t doooo iTT….ever.
• Never ever forgive another who seeks forgiveness.  Also, don’t ever go to another person if they have offended you and get things right. Instead and in order to live a lost life, get really, really bitter inside.  Be angry all the time and look for all the bad in others. But always remember…you are perfect.
• Never ever go out of your way for another person and always do unto others BEFORE they do it unto you.  Be very judgemental of others and “giant-size” their faults and weaknesses and thank the ceiling that you are so much better than everyone else, you know, like the Pharisee in Christ’s parable….Christ really thought a lot of the Pharisee and their blindness.  He called them vipers and serpents are always portrayed as good in Scripture. He also congratulated the Pharisee on their acting skills by calling them hypocrites.
• Never ever love your enemies or bless them or pray for them.  Instead prop yourself up on a high horse so you can look down upon them in anger, judgement, and condescending disappointment.
• Never ever overcome evil with good. One should always take revenge and lower one’s self.  Never ever “get even” with someone, always out do them in doing wrong.
• Never ever extend a helping hand to another. Instead simply look sad and tell them to be “Warmed and filled.”
• Never ever and I mean never ever…ever…evereverever read and study the Bible.  All the action, adventure, wickedness, justice, love…..blah blah blah, etc. etc. etc. is too preachy, too educational, too inspiring, and you aren’t smart enough to figure out what thee and thou means.  The Bible, that is written at a sixth (6th) grade level, is far too complicated for you to understand and benefit from.
• Never ever go to church or fellowship with others.  But if you were to “do church” you might find out you aren’t alone and that Christ-ians are fun and beneficial to be around. If you ever find yourself in a church, do not pay attention, instead judge everyone around you or continue to look down at your god, err, I mean phone, and get out as soon as the service ends…..by saying, as soon as the service ends, I mean as soon as the praying person begins to annunciate N in Amen, GO! Go! Go! Get out of there!!! Get out of there before someone says, Hi or hello or it’s nice to see you. After all you are doing the preacher and the church ” a solid” by even being there.
• Never ever fall for the “Trust God in all things” spiel. Instead, you should worry, fret, sweat, and whine because that’s what people do.
• Never ever express thankfulness or gratitude to God for all that He has done, is doing, and will do. Ignore Proverbs 3 and never acknowledge God in all of your ways. If you ignore God long enough, like bills and responsibilities, He will just “Go away.”
• Never ever listen to Christ-ian music or proper preaching on the radio when you are in the car. Never listen to CDs that will educate, inspire, help you grow, or draw you closer to God. Instead dwell upon all the disappointing persons in your life. Focus on all the negatives and ignore all that is good and right.
• Never ever put yourself in someone else’s shoes as Hebrews 13 teaches. You might see things differently, you might understand things better, you might even become aware of how you might pray for another…eck!
• Always, always, always and in every way, be like everyone else. Engage the world and it’s wicked and evil ways. Do not be an individual thinker or do-er.
• Above all else, Never ever, “Seek ye first the Kingdom of God” because when you do that, all the good stuff will come. Never ever put Christ or anyone ahead of yourself. Never ever sacrifice or deny thyself anything, do not take up your cross and do not follow Christ.

 

So there it is…. There you have it…Now you know how to live a lost life, a perpetually disappointing life and a life filled….overflowing with discouragement. One (1) last thing, never ever praise God.

Godspeed….err, Good Luck, enough with the Godspeed, let us rely upon the ambiguousness of chance.

“See, I have filled [Bezaleel] with the spirit of God, in wisdom, and in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship, to devise cunning works, to work in gold and in silver, and in brass, And in cutting of stones, to set them, and in carving of timber, to work in all manner of workmanship.”  (Exodus 31)

“And this is the fashion which thou shalt make [the ark]…”  (Genesis 6)

 

By the two (2) Scripture passages above, God is shown to be very exacting. Bezallel was chosen by God to be the artificer of the Ark of the Covenant (not as in Noah’s ark, but a kind of chest or box container).  The Ark represents God and is a type of Christ. The Ark would also act as the Mercy Seat.  The Ark is the place where God, in the form of Fire dwelt among the people. The Ark was to serve a great purpose and to represent and typify Christ Jesus, therefore it must be produced correctly, properly, and with zero (0) mistakes. For this to be possible God “downloaded” the blue print and the ability into Bezaleel….think Matrix movie.  The Tabernacle, where the Ark would reside also had exacting, intricate, and very specific measurements and God was the designer.

We see from the second (2nd) text from above, that God, in giving Noah the instructions for the building of the Ark (ship; different from the Ark reference in the last paragraph), was very specific as He would be with the Tabernacle and Ark much later. The Holy Spirit, when inspiring the author of Hebrews, was very specific as he describes and explains the meaning of the Cross.  If one reads Isaiah 53 and many of the prophetic Psalms one would again see God’s preciseness.

If we, as God’s people, and as God’s people are predestined to become Christ-like, we too should be precise and exact in our dealings with others. Precision and the proper words in our communications must be clear and supportable if we are to be taken seriously and considered credible. Whenever I see an article about or by one of the members of the Graham family as in Billy, I know I can expect the comments to mean spirited, hateful, wildly exagerrated, biased, and filled with unsupportable and unproveable hyperbole. I exercise my tact on these comment threads as we point out the illogical fallacies of the logic and fair-mindedness abusers. I also try to teach myself how to spot these fallacies and to disarticulate the arguements of others.  I also learn how not to argue, in the sense of making a point.

I have observed that the use of the suffix, est as in bigg-est and words like: ever, everyone, everybody, always, all, and people without the qualifiers, some, a few, certain, etc. The use of the words in the last sentence is a fallacy that appeals to the majority and the majority must be right…..right? The use of ninety-nine point nine percent (99.9%) is also dis-crediting as the common commenter has not actually measured anything. This makes other comments by the user sketchy.

Let us be persons of precision and exactness in our dealings with others and let us be aware of others using misleading words or illogical fallacies.  God-willing, in the future, we should write an article on the illogical fallacy.  To recognize the illogical fallacy is a blessing and a curse.  A blessing because you will spot deception and exagerration and a curse because you will spot deception and exagerration……”Always” and “Everywhere” and with “Everybody.”

Godspeed.

“And the midwives said unto Pharoah…the Hebrew women…are delivered [of child before] the midwives come in unto them. Therefore God dealt well with the midwives…”  (Exodus 1)

“…the men went out: whither the men went I wot not: pursue after them quickly; for ye shall overtake them. But [Rahab] had brought them up to the roof of the house and hid them…”  (Joshua 2)

“…[A]ll liars shall have their place in the lake of fire.”  (Rev. 21)

 

As a general rule, Christ-ians are a truthful and honest people.  The Christ-ian does not lie, not because it is the best policy, but because it is wrong…most of the time. [Sidenote: Honesty is not the best policy as it will get one into trouble more often than not.]  The Scriptures state that one should be honest even to their own hurt. I’m not seeking to wrest Scripture, I would like to point out that the Scripture teaches to be honest to our own hurt, but what about anothers hurt?  I know the super saint will say, “Nope…lying is wrong always…deceit is hated by God.  To bear false witness is one of the top ten (10) commandments.”

We would ask then about the midwives, Rahab, God, and Christ, Himself.  Before someone charges me with implying there is deceit in the heart of God or His Son, I am not.  Do you, Reader, remember what God said to Moses after the children of Israel created and worshipped the golden calf?  God said He would destroy all of them and begin over with Moses’ offspring.  Do you think God meant this?  Do you suppose God forgot His promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob?  Do you think He would simply negate a covenant made with the patriarchs?  We think not and if you believe He would, then you charge Him with dishonesty and immutability!!!

Reader, do you remember our Lord’s post-resurrection walk with His two (2) disciples on the road to Damascus?  As the two (2) men and the newly Risen Christ closed in on their destination our Lord, “made as though” He would continue on His way.  Do you think He really intended to continue on His way?  (Luke 24)
What about the time His brother’s were preparing to go up to the feast of tabernacles?  They, teasing Him, said He should also go up to the feast and show off His abilities, “For neither did [H]is brethren believe in [H]im.”  Our Lord’s response was that He would not go “yet.” The Scriptures reveal to us, “But when [H]is brethren went up, then went [H]e also up unto the feast, not openly, but as it were in secret.”  As there is no deceptive spirit in our Lord, this cannot be considered deception, yet it clearly was misleading as the words, “but,”  “then,” and “also” indicate  (John 7).

From our Scripture texts above we clearly see the midwives lying and Rahab lying and purposely and purposefully misleading the guards!!!  God’s response?  “Therefore [because of what the midwives did] God dealt well with the midwives…”  As for Rahab the harlot, who was disloyal to her people, God installed her into the “Hall of Faith” in Hebrews chapter eleven along with other greats from the Old Testament.  We must infer from the context of this chapter, that Rahab lied “in faith” !!!

Please do not misunderstand me, I am not suggesting it is okay to lie…all the time.  One should not lie to cover one’s self or to get ahead of another.  One should not bear false witness against another to benefit or cause harm to another…see for an example the illegal trials of Christ and the events that surround His post-resurrection.  Lies were flying like sparrows…and God’s Eyes and ears are open to them.

During the holocaust, some brave persons and families would hide Jews.  Do you think these persons, when being questioned by the S.S., should have said, “Yep!!! the Jews are in the basement…right over there are the stairs.?” or do you think these persons should say, “Jews? what Jews?  By the example of the midwives and Rahab, methinks one is justified in lying one’s head off.

Some principles regarding lying:

• One should not put a person in the position where one may be tempted to lie, lest it really matters and is important.
• One should not lie to benefit one’s self.
• One should not lie to hurt someone or to save someone that has done wrong.
• If one is to lie, it should only be for the sake of someone else and if that someone else is in the right …morally and in accordance to God’s law.
• When Scripture speaks to the lying lips or lying tongue or that all liars shall have their place in the lake of fire, Scripture is speaking about the person who is a pro-liar or one who is intrinsically deceptive.  Lying, like believing or believeth means continuosly.  When we are told that “whosoever believeth” or believes on Christ it is a belief that is constant, continual, and continuous without a break. Lying is the same, lying denotes continual or continuous or as a way of life.  (s)atan, we are told was a liar “from the beginning” this is implying he began in the beginning and he continues.  To be a “liar” is to be the antithesis or opposite of the Truth, Who is Christ.
• I have heard others set the principle that states an unjust question does not deserve the truth.
• Sometimes one can word something in the way that they are not lying.  In the case of the person(s) hiding Jews or Christ-ians and this person(s) has a real conviction to being truthful at all costs or has trouble determining whether a Jewish families lives are more important than his conviction, one might say to the S.S. or whatever entity it is, “As you can see, there are no Jews here.”  In fact, the Jewish family is under the house, in the attic, or in someother hidden place that the hunters cannot “see.”
• It is wise to keep one’s self out of any situation that might tempt one’s self to lie…barring it being life or death.
• God knows the heart, the intent, and the motivation of all that we do, this includes our subject in this article.
• If one does lie and it is self serving, one should confess this sin to God and seek grace to be stronger in the future.  One cannot, however, think, “I will lie and repent later.”  Reader, that attitude does not pass and God will not forgive your lie as there is a much deeper rooted problem that must be addressed and dealt with first.

In summary: Again, We want to be perfectly clear, we are not suggesting, implying, or hinting to the acceptability of lying to help one’s self, from avoiding trouble or lying to harm someone or to get ahead.  Lying is wrong all the time if it is self serving and is due to a weakness of character. Also, we in no way are charging Godhead with lying, or deception, as it is impossible for our Holy, righteous and immutable God to lie (Titus 1).

Godspeed.

 

 

“…[W]ithout [M]e ye can do nothing.”  (John 15)

“…I am the [L]ight of the world…”   (John 8)

“I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am [H]e, ye shall die in your sins.”  (John 8)

“…Before Abraham was, I Am.”  (John 8)

 

My Mom has said that I say the craziest things.  Persons I worked with thought I could say some pretty outlandish things also.  However, truth be told, We are correct far more times than we are not. We may say some “crazy” things and things “outlandish,” but they are usually on spot.  This is not because I am smarter than any one else….that’s not true. I am smarter than some others just as some others are smarter than me. Logic dictates that we be precise and not falsely modest.  Reader, if you are good at something, own it because we all know when we do something wrong we are made to own that. The only requirement to owning an ability or a high intelligence is acknowledging God as the Giver AND the Maintainer of said abilities and intellect.

As I said in the previous paragraph, I have been charged with saying things thought to be “out their.”  Reader, What I’m about to say, I say in and with all reverence.  If persons think I say surprising things…crazy things…..outlandish things…..they must not have ever read the Words of Jesus Christ!!!  This Man said and still says (His Word is Alive and He communes with His people) THE …think, THEE, wildest things ever spoken.

You can see from our Scripture quotes above.  This Man claimed to be the One Who allows mankind to do what they do, He claimed to be the Light of the world, He condemned the religious crowd to Hell and told them they are the children of (s)atan!!!  If those claims are not wild enough, He claimed to be the great I AM!!!  He made claim to being the God that called both Abraham and Moses….in saying this, He is taking credit for the ten (10) plagues of Eqypt and the founding of the nation of Israel!!!

After making claim to the Name I AM, the religious crowd that he called children of (s)atan, and condemned to Hell, went “Righteous” and attempted to stone Him for His claims. [Sidenote: If you ever have a run in with a Jehovah’s (w)itness, know two (2) things. 1. They are not witnessing to the True and Living God, but a man-made conceptualized idol.  2. Use John 8:58-59 and Exodus 3:13 & 14.  Do not allow them to go to other passages in their Unholy New World Translation (b)ible.  Stay on John 8 and make them explain that.  The crux of the matter is why did they want to stone Him, if He was not claiming Deity? and then ask them if He is lying.]

We will share other wild statements made by this Man:

* “…If a man keep [M]y saying, he shall never see death.”
* “…If a man keep my saying, he shall never taste of death.”
* “…Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of [M]an, and drink [H]is [B]lood, ye have no life in you.”
* “For [M]y [F]lesh is meat indeed, and my [B]lood is drink indeed.”
* “Ye call [M]e Master and Lord: and ye say well; for so I am.”
* “I am the [W]ay, the [T]ruth, and the [L]ife: no man cometh unto the Father, but by [M]e.”
* “I am the [D]oor…”
* “I am the [G]ood [S]hepherd…”  of Psalm 23.  He is claiming Pre-existence!!!

Reader,
We will use C.S. Lewis’ “Weaponized Logic” as we consider the Man, Jesus Christ Who made the statements above. Lewis called it the “Trilemma.”  Lewis said Jesus Christ is either a lunatic, a liar, or the Lord. His use of the trilemma was due to unsaved persons calling Christ, “a good man,”  or “a good teacher.”  Lewis’ point was Jesus Christ could not be a good man or good teacher if [H]e were a liar or a lunatic. These three options appear to be the only options we have, Reader.

This Man Who claimed pre-existentence, this Man Who claimed Godhood, this Man Who claimed to be the Light of the world, and said if a man is to live he will eat His [F]lesh and drink His [B]lood and keep His Words is either a liar, a lunatic, or the Lord of Glory. Let us not forget His claim to being the One and Only Way…the One and Only Truth, and the One and Only Life and the Doorway to God, again, this Man is either a liar, a lunatic, or……..or,….. He is Who He says He is.

As His Word was always being tested and tried, His Word was always proven true, therefore liar is eliminated. This Man did not demonstrate anything close to lunacy.  This Man was sound in judgement, He was composed and demonstrated great poise in the illegal trials,  that He submitted Himself to.  One must dismiss any thought of issues of mental or emotional weakness in this Man.

Once liar and lunatic are disqualified…..”whatever is left, no matter how improbable it may be, it must be the truth.” (Sherlock Holmes).  Reader, what option is left?  Christ is, in fact, Lord. The Lord Jesus is Lord of the living and the dead, He is King over angels AND demons, Christ Jesus is Exactly Who He said He is!!!  He is the great I AM, He is the Light of your world, there is no life lest one receives Christ within himself or herself.

One could say, in terms of Christ’s pre-existence and deity,  “In the beginning,” Christ Jesus, Creator, UpHolder, Maintainer, Master and Lord over all.

Godspeed.

“Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God?  Be not deceived: neither…effeminates, not abusers of themselves with mankind…”                                                                                                                   (Part of 1 Corinthians 6:9)

 

On face Book today I read a comment by a Christ-ian man that gave a litany of things happening in the world and all the wickedness that is everyday life.  It was interesting to me that one of the persons that replied was a lesbian who said, “I’m a lesbian and I don’t think I’m %^##*&^ up the world.”  By her statement, she must believe that others do believe she is, well….harming the world.  The truth is she is correct!!!….Heretical Preacher say, what????  This is one of those articles that can get me in trouble with both sides.

Scripture does not teach that the homosexual is going to destroy the world.  In fact, if one takes a close look at Romans chapter one (1) one will realize that homosexuality is a judgement upon a nation for it’s turning against God and His laws. In other words homosexuality is the result not the cause.  In Romans 1:27, at the end of the passage we read, “…and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet.”  Most ill-read preachers say this passage teaches that AIDS, HIV, and STDs is the recompence…which was meet or in other words, these sexual diseases is the homosexuals just due.

The fact is the recompence is for their error of all that Paul lists previous to this verse. The homosexual plaque that is encroaching upon everyday life is the result of God turning this nation over to a reprobate mind!!!  However, one could argue that the 2008 financial crisis was a recompence as well as are wars and rumours of wars, etc.  Another argument can be made that the natural affections of fathers or lack thereof is a recompence upon a nation.  God allowing abortion on demand is a recompence upon a nation that chooses to wipe God out of thought.  Reader, the above are not the results of our nation forsaking God but the results.  There is a pattern in the O.T.. God’s people would turn from Him unto other things and He would send them into captivity….America is being held captive by atheists, evolutionists, (s)atan controlled politicians (Not talking about Trump), and the militant homosexuals.

As for popping the bubble of the homosexuals…The sin of the effeminate (submissive position) and the abuser of himself with mankind (dominant position) is just another sin. Like greed, lying, stealing, backbiting, gossiping, judging, etc.  In fact, if we look at the rest of our Scripture from 1 Corinthians 6, we would find that heterosexual fornicators, idolaters, heterosexual adulterers, thieves, covetousness, drunkards, and extortioners (remember 2008) are listed with the homosexual.

As to our third (3rd) title from above, “Homosexuality v. Homophilia,” there is a great difference between the two (2).  We wrote on this not to long ago but as we know not all our readers read us “religiously,”  we will (DV) make a few remarks upon the differences. The homophile is a person who was BORN with inclinations to same sex attraction, but refuse those inclinations for whatever reason.  The homesexual is one who is BORN with inclinations to same sex attractions and act upon those inclinations and live their lives in that way.

In Isaiah (56) fifty-six, God promises the eunuch a great place in His kingdom. A eunuch was a man that was castrated in order to serve royalty.  It seems to me that a person that seeks to remain chaste, especially the homophile, would be included if the homophile remains chaste and a “eunuch” of sorts in order to please and honour God and God’s laws.  I cannot be dogmatic on this but it makes sense.

A few words on a Christ-ian that sets homosexuality above all other sins is not sound.  I am familiar with homosexuality being an abomination.  Here is a short list of other abominations:
*A false balance
*The scarifice of the wicked
*Evil Plans
*He would justifies the wicked and condemns the just
*Lying lips
*The heart that devises wickedness
*The devious
*Everyone who is proud in heart
*The proud look, lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, feet swift to mischief, and he that soweth discord between brothers.

Brethren, If you consider the militant homosexual movement to be an enemy, you are correct, but if you consider the individual to be an enemy…love is the command.

To the homosexual, Please do not take this article to be a defense of your life style for it is not anything close to a defense.  It is simply a Scriptural overview on the topic.
I would be remiss in my call if I did not tell you that God holds forth the offer of forgiveness to you just as he holds forth this offer to those that are greedy, hateful, thieves, murderers, gossipers, back biters, those with a contentious spirit, etc.  A sinner is a sinner in the Eyes of God. You, homosexual are a sinner just like any heterosexual.

Christ Jesus lived a sinless life and died the sinner’s death and rose again.  Christ did His work so that anyone and everyone that would believe in Him and His work as their own, could be saved from sin…it’s penalty, it’s pleasure, it’s power, and someday, it’s very presence.  In other words, if anyone will repent of their sin and trust Christ as their Lord, and Saviour, they can be saved.  It sounds simple but their are myriads of persons that will testify to it’s veracity and power.

Homophile, I encourage you to continue your self denial as you have taken up your cross and are following Him….one will never regret not looking back for Christ is a Rewarder of those that love Him and live for Him.

“For his letters, say they, are weighty and powerful; but his bodily presence is weak…”                                                                                                                       (2 Corinthians 10:19a.)

 

The above titles and the above Scripture is something a writer, probably all writers hear if they write in a, “weighty and powerful” style.  This is something Paul certainly hear often as did our Lord Jesus. When our Lord’s Authority was questioned it was the same challenge that Paul faced and endured.  A person that was probably a person of a slight build that might surprise you is Samson.  Think about it for a minute.  Is it a surprise when a person of a tremendously muscular build does something impressive? Probably not, this muscular person, male or female trains long and hard to do what they are able to do.
With this being the twenty-fifth (25th) Anniversary of WWE”s Monday Night Raw, let me use some examples from the WWE.  Is it ever a surprise when a well established name defeats a much smaller, no name, opponent with ease?  Was it really a surprise when Hulk Hogan bodyslammed Andre the Giant thirty-one (31) years ago? The answer to all these questions is no, of course not.
Keeping the above in mind, would anyone be surprised by Samson if he were a large and well trained fighter?  Again, the answer is no.  However, what if it was a man of average size and strength or even less than average size and strength or appeared to be?  To see a man of average size or smaller carry a city’s gates over his head or to snap bindings, to slay a lion…like another small…boy, who would become King.

You see, for God to be glorified in the eyes of His people and His enemies, He would choose the WEAK, the BASE, and the FOOLISH out of the world.  Samson, with respect, was all three (3) of the above at different times of his life, as have we all and may still be at times. Therefore, it is this writer’s position that Samson was no man of great size as most consider him….remember….To God be the Glory and He will not share this Glory with another.

Others who were, nothing to speak of, in their own persons include: Moses, Gideon, Jeremiah, Jael, and the disciples of Christ.
* Moses, when he was Called by God, from the Burning Bush, and directed to confront Pharoah, responded with his weakness and poor speaking skills.  Yet, empowered and enabled, and accompanied by God’s Strong Presence, was more than the King of Egypt could stand or his fallen kingdom.
* Gideon, was a boy, who God called, “A Mighty Man of Valour,”  Gideon asked confirmation from God more than once and God provided that confirmation.  Gideon was told, by God, to take upon himself the role of Iconoclast…a destroyer of idols and false gods.  A word about Gideon’s request for confirmation…Gideon was not doubting God, but demonstrating a doubt in himself.
* Jeremiah, when we was called, thought himself to be a child and therefore unable to act on God’s behalf. God disproved this as Jeremiah was the “Last man standing.”
*Jael, was “just” a woman and she was only mentioned once in Scripture.  Jael was a woman, who was forced to hide the enemy general, Cisera, in her tent.  Cisera knew no one would enter a woman’s tent without permission of that woman.  Jael was being held hostage in her own tent by a deadly man of war.
Cisera demanded water from his captive and instead of water the wise Jael provided the general with milk. This caused the unwise Cisera to let his guard down and took to a nap. Jael, the considerate captive…..took a tent spike and a hammer and fastened her enemy and captor’s head to the ground.  As Sherlock Holmes would say, “Never trust a woman.”  I’m kidding about the trusting a woman comment…or am I?……………..Dun Dun.
*Paul and the other disciples of Christ were discounted at every turn.  Among Christ’s original disciples were, “ignorant and unlearned fisherman,” and a tax collector, who was considered a traitor to his own people. A racist…”can anything good come out of Nazareth?” and other “low rent” persons.  Yet, it was these…stupid fisherman, this traitor, this racist, and these other “low rent” persons…..even a prostitute that turned the “whole world upside down.”  Praise God for the weak, the base, and the foolish and praise Him because we are counted among them.
Today and throughout history, post resurrection, kings, queens, princes, princesses, presidents, and other honourable politicians take their place along side landscapers (me), fast-food workers (me), Custodians…(without the custodian, we would shop, learn, worship…live short lives and die early among germs, viruses and disease. Next time you see a janitor or custodian, thank that person; I’ve been hospitalized almost thirty (30) times in the last decade. and I have learned so much. I have learned that the custodian and the doctors do the same job. The doctor fights disease on the person and the person’s insides, whereas the custodian wars againt disease on the outside before it get to the inside).  Today, persons in proverty and persons among the one (1%) percent name the Name of Christ as their Lord and Saviour.

Back to Paul, The apostle was a man that bore constant ridicule by those that differed with him. One needs only read chapter eleven (11) of his second (2nd) epistle to the Corinthians to see all that he endured and suffered from.  You will find a litany of beatings and dangers he faced on a constant basis.  Paul was small or bent over, hook nosed, and bow-legged according to early descriptions of him.  His appearance was probably due to his, “enduring all things for the elects sake.”  The description you read is a description that would fit a career pugilist or Roman/Greek grappler….or a car accident survivor. Yet within this man was a soul encased spirit that was larger than Goliath, and mightier than Samson.

How do you think paul responded to his backbiters?  Read what they said again in out Scripture text above……………………………………  This was Paul’s response, “Let such an one think this, that, such as we are in word by letters when we are absent, such will we be also in deed when we are present.  Paul then continues in weighty and powerful words.

Reader, Bible student, Church attender, enemy of God and His chosen servants,
The man of God is no wall flower, he is no door matt and if he appears to be look very closely at that door matt…..do you see them?  Those are not plastic bristles…..No, they are metal spikes.  If the minister appears to be that wall flower, I mentioned, look closely…that soft to the touch wall paper is laced with itching powder.
My point reader, is this, the Same Spirit that allowed the greats of the Old Testament like, Samson, Jael, Gideon, Joshua, Moses, is the Same Mighty Spirit that inhabited the greats of the New Testament, like the disciples, the Apostle Paul, and the Son of God, Himself. It is the Same Spirit that strengthened the saints of the Old and New Testaments that inhabit the mind, the heart, and the instincts of God’s ministers today in a greater measure than most born again saints. To the enemies of God and His chosen army, “Greater is He that is in [us] than he that is in [and of] the world.”

Please note the above metaphors (itching powder laced wall-paper and steel spiked door matts, and jael’s spike and hammer), were just that, metaphors.  This writer is not inciting, suggesting, or directing any one to violence.

Summary: It matters not what others think or whisper about you, child of God.  If you are in the will of God, you should accept the whispers, the jokes, the exclusions as a token of your standing in the kingdom of God and a token of the whisperers, jokers, and excluders standing outside of the kingdom.  On the other hand, if someone, even an unsaved person, criticizes you for something and they be right and proper, do not ignore it but rush to the throne of grace and address it quickly.  Another point that was posited; we can do great things for God, regardless of our age, our “place” in society, our financial standing, etc.  There is an old hymn that says, “There is nothing small if God is in.”

“The fool despises wisdom amd instruction.”  (Proverbs 1)

“For he that is not against us is on our part.”  (Mark 9)

 

Now we are into part three (3) of our look at the foolish and closed minded believer.  We have in the previous articles wrote upon the men that are repudiated by many because they are not the right flavour of Christ-ian. We have called these closed minded persons fools, rebels, and stupid.  However, after thinking about our harsh words we would like to………….ADD the word, Ignorant!!!  Many close minded, group=thinking, prejudiced, and presupposing fools loose out on so much light because fools beget fools.  Many of our brethren and they are our brethren, are told certain things that keep them form reading persons from other perspectives.

Notice our second passage from above. John and James came and told the Lord Jesus that they came a cross a man casting out demons in his Name, the Name of the Lord Jesus. John and james, probably with their chests pufed up and their King James Bibles under their arms, told the Lord Jesus, “We forbade him, because he folllow us not.”  To which our Lord replied with the passgae up above.  Reader, this tells us that our Lord has other disciple that are not part of our camp, group, circle, denomination, etc.  This also tells us that our Lord spent time with others that were not known to the twelve (12) for this stranger could not have any power over demons lest it be given him by Christ.

Readers, I will make a very bold statement….This will annoy some and possibly even disqualify me from fellowship with others.  If a person believes Christ is the Son of God, IE. God Incarnate, and looks upon Him as the One and Only way to Salvation, I care not whay Bible he uses, I care not what type of baptism he prefers, I care not about his view upon the :Lord’s supper, I will fellowship with him.  I will certainly be openabout our differences but I will love him as a brother in Christ.  Lloyd Jones said he could forgive a man anything, if that man could give him a sence of Christ. I will present you with a paradox.  It is due to my willingness to preach and teach in any church, that most churches will not have me.

Am I an Ecumentalist?  Those who know me would laugh at that.  I am as staunch as one will get on my theological beliefs.  I consider the catholic church as  an enemy as well as the j. Witnesses, and Mormons.  But I would preach in their theatres if given the opportunity…I would remain staunch in my beliefs, I would not give an inch as my Lord would not give an inch.  But this liberty would disqualify me from many a church.  Billy graham once said, in answer to his critics, “I would preach in Hell.” if God would allow him.

Onto our list of men and women that are repudiated.

8. I think we’re up to eight (8)
Arthur W. Pink,  This man is my “patron saint.”  Luther advises Bible students to limit their instructors to a few.  Pink has been a faithful friend and teacher. Next to Scripture, Pink, Lewis, and Bro. Lawrence have been my great advisors and teachers.  Many avoid Pink because, “Pink teaches babies go to Hell” if they die.  This is untrue and it is slander. This was started by the “lying tongue” and “false witness” of one H.I. Ironside.  Pink and Ironside had meetings in the same area and Ironside sent his acolites or group thinkers to Pink’s tent to tell those attending that Pink teaches babies go to Hell if they are not amoung the elect.  I have read Pink for years and this is NOT his position. Pink is an “Unwanted Man” according to biographer, Richard Belcher.  The Calvinists didn’t want him because he taught man’s responsibility to repent and believe. the Arminians didn’t want him because he taught election.  This man died in 1952 and few attended his funeral. After his death, his works became very popular. While alive, he produced, for thirty (30) thirty years, a magazine and he never had more than one thousand (1,000) readers. The man was blessed with an photographic memory.  His writing are unassailable. If you walk away disagreeing with his sound teachings on the fundamentals of the faith, they are intellectualy dishonest.
9. Athanasius, This man…without this man we would be Jehovah’s Witnesses, humanly speaking.  He was one of the only men, in his day, that stood for the deity of Christ.  Athanasius was exiled, four (4) times because of his faithfulness the the Godhead.  Again, this man is “considered” Catholic but he is a church father that should be honoured (Hebrews 13).  His, “The Incarnation” is second to none.  He was born in 296 A.D. and his writing are still in existence.
10. Madame Guyon, She is ignored because she is far in our Christ-ian history, because she is “considered” Catholic, she is a mystic, and she is a woman.  This woman is a forgotten hero of our faith. She was inprisoned by the Catholic church over her faithful to Christ. She speaks to prayer and the life of prayer that transforms lives, but because of her gender, her “Catholocism” and being callled a mystic, she is overlooked.  The person that ignores her writings is truly, a loser of great wisdom and sound counsel.  If you are a women, please look into this great saint. If you are a man, you will benefit greatly, as well.
11. Joyce Meyer,  This woman, while not being sound on some topics, is so helpful to women and men. She is not expositional, but she is very good with counsel, in terms, of the Christ-ian life.  When it come to those that may not be sound on all things, one must exercise their discernment, in other words, take the meat and throw away the bones.  The Christ-ian can trust the Spirit to help you discern that which is good, right, and truthful.
12. Jimmy Swaggert, while I will not necessarily recommend this prteacher, I will say, that much of his teaching is sound.  I will use Swaggert to make a point and to ask a question. Is a man disqualified after a fall like Swaggert?  If you say, “Yes!!!”  Let me posit one point.  David wrote many Psalms after his affair and murder.  Yet we continue to turn to his Psalms that are written after his fall.  Hypocrite, say, “what.”  Again, I do not recommend Swaggert, but I do question the spirit of judgment that clouds the mind of many believers.
13. A Catechism, A Catechism is a book of questions and answers with Biblical references supplied.  This is not a Catholic “[invention] of evil things.”  The reformers used catechisms, the puritans used a catechism. Charles Spurgeon wrote his own catechism.  There is the Westminster Catachism, and the Baptist Catechism!!!  This is a work that teaches sound doctrine so that when/if a child/adult is saved, they already have much knowledge. A catechism is a sign of wisdom and prudence.

We will end here in part three (3).  In the fourth (4th) and last article of this topic (DV), we will look at some secular entities that have been the subject of much prejudice.

Godspeed.

“[F]ools despise wisdom and instruction.”  (Proverbs 1)

“For he that is not against us is on our part.”  (Mark 9)

 

Continuing with our look at the closed minded Christ-ian, IE. “Fool.”  Don’t get angry with me, Solomon said it and the Spirit inspired it. We didn’t make you a fool, God didn’t make you a fool, but as “Iron sharpeneth iron” and Kind begets kind, Fools beget fools.”  The word fool can be translated as, “rebel.”  Therefore, the fool is not a stupid fool, necessarily, but he is a person who rebels against truth, wisdon, knowledge, and understanding. Well, now that I think about it, it is stupidity that causes a person to despise instruction and wisdom.  In other words, the closed minded, the prejudiced, the presupposers, the Pharisaical are rebelling against betterment through stupidity, and worse, PRIDE. Again, do not be angry with this writer. I’m not Prince Charming putting the shoe on your foot, but if the shoe does fit…..either wear it and remain rebellious and stupid or change the shoe.

Let us continue with our list of persons that some might be closed to.

5. John Wesley, Wesley was an “Arminian”, Arminian being on the side of free will salvation and in some points, but not all, the antithesis to “Calvinism.”  One who spends time with Wesley will spend their time wisely.  Wesley is the father of the Methodist Church. Wesley was focused upon the holiness of the Christ-ian.  Wesley was a prolific writer. Written by Wesley is literature on the Christ-ian home, raising children, Logic, and he is sound on Christ and the foundations of the Christ-ian faith.  Wesley, however, was not a friend to Calvinism.  This does not make him an agent of “Easy-Believism,”  or  “Cheap Grace.”
Wesley was a great friend to Geo. Whitefield, who was a flaming Calvinist and Whitefield was a great firend to Wesley.  They had their differences, of course, but they were friends and brothers united by Blood…Holy and Precious Blood.  There is in existence a letter that Whitefield wrote to Wesly on the soundness of the doctrines of grace.  It’s worth your time to read it.
I believe Whitefield preached Wesley’s funeral. Martyn LLoyd Jones and G. Cambell Morgan ministered together in the Church, Lloyd Jones, a staunch Calvinist and Morgan an Arminian, but it worked and after Morgan was translated to his Christ-made mansion, Lloyd Jones took the reign, under Christ, of the Church”  Calvinism and Arminianism are not deal breakers.  Both think they’re right but both cannot be but they “walk together” on other vital doctrines.  I can remember preaching all five (5) points of Calvinism to Arminians, and they were giving me Amens!!! Why and how could they do that?   I didn’t call it Calvinism.
6. Billy Graham, Another one that many speak against or in Biblical terminology, Backbite. I was a former backbiter or detractor of Graham.  Remember fools beget fools. I was told Graham was a puppet for Rome, that Graham watered down the Gospel, the he was seeker sensitive, etc.  I even “forwarded” that information via messages and teachings.  Well……………..God forgive me.
A man I respect, surprised me one day by speaking highly of Graham. The man had tears in his eyes as he spoke about the abuse Graham has withstood….abuse from the Church. After hearing what he said about Graham I decided to investigate and research Graham and his teaching, and his preaching.
I found soundness in all that I read.  Graham had been a stalwart saint for the Christ and the faith. Graham preached repentance, Christ as Lord without calling it Lordship salvation, he stressed that conversion is an act of God and it cannot be faked and a simple prayer is not the key to salvation.  Graham was sound.  His son, today, having taken up the “mantle,” is the most outspoken, faithful, despised and hated men in the world.  The Graham family is a family to look to as an example of life long Christ-ian leadership and Loyalty to Christ.
7. Bro. Lawrence, Lawrence was a Carmelite monk and for that reason alone many persons miss out on his small but profound and spirit edifying book on prayer, “The Practice of the Presence of God”  Without using hypebole or superfulous language, I can say, this small book changed my prayer life and therefore my entire life.  Lawrence’s book is made up of four (4) converstaions with another man, fifteen (15) short letters, and then, a section on his maxims.”  Since reading this book and God “opening [my] understanding” I have not had to “cold call” upon God in prayer.  This book teaches how to be, “Ceaseless in prayer,”  how to be, ” Instant in prayer,”  how to, “Pray everywhere,”  and how to prayer without other thoughts encroaching upon you.  But readers, the second some persons hear, “Carmelite monk,” there is no way you will convince them to read or at least research this book.  With this book, all devotional books, formal calls to prayer, etc. are not needed.  This man taught me as did King David to be, not a man of prayer, but to be prayer, itself (Psalm 109:4, read this Psalm without the italicized words).
8. C.S. Lewis, Lewis was a writer among scribblers.  This man, a former athiest, taught and trained by an athiest (who was a former sunday school teacher in the Presbyterian church), rejected Christ-ianity in a rather, St. Paul kind of way, without the physical violence. In the stead of physical violence, Lewis would use, verbal jiu jitsu in his atheism. However, God did as God does, and coverted Lewis to Christ-ianity.  Lewis was mocked among the elitist college professors that we dealt with everyday.  Lewis wrote the great series of “Narnia” books and he was mocked for writing children’s books when he knew no children or though the mockers thought, Lewis took into his home children of London during WW11.

Lewis has so many great insights, “Mere Christianity,”  “The ScrewTape Letters,”  “The Four Loves,”  “Letters to Malcolm (on prayer), ” The Weight of Glory,” and other books that are comprised of articles, he wrote in defense of Christ-ianity, logic, and sanity.  The Closed minded, foolish believer misses out on great reading by ignoring Lewis. Lewis, during World War two (2) would read his wriotings over the BBC radio network and they inspired many, many Europeans to remain faithful and strong. I remember years ago coming a cross a website that was dedicated to the destruction of Lewis.  They had articles on why Lewis is in Hell, and they resented him calling his book. “Mere Christianity.”  To demonstrate the foolishness and stupidity of their mission to denounce the book, allow me to tell you where Lewis found his title.  Lewis took the name, “Mere Christianity,” from Richard Hooker’s (Who was one of the detractor’s own, IE. Sharing many of their views!!!) book,  “Mere Orthodoxy.”  Mere does not mean base or unimportant, but basic, the basics of Christ-ianity. Many closed minded, group-thinkers are MERE caricatures of the faithful.  These are the types that are against “worldliness,” yet the world permeates and saturates their hearts.

Reader, Let us end here and continue in a third (3rd) article.

Godspeed.