I am puzzled, yet, now I can see where things going on in our country in the area of the sexual revolution makes sense.
This link leads to a very helpful website that tells how people who are abused, many times, turn out with sexual difficulties. The people, of course, would not call their sexual difficulties 'difficulties' because they want to feel normal. They would like you to believe that their revolutionary beliefs on sex are totally normal and acceptable.
A couple of things stood out to me when I read this article. One of them is the prevalence of sexual abuse. The other is that there always does seem to be a profound affect on the person who is sexually abused, especially as a child.
We know that people are buying into the 'lie' that the Bible talks about. Romans 1 talks about people who have turned their backs on God, and as a result, they become sexually perverted. Their sexual desires become twisted. But are there other reasons for their perversions possibly?
It is hard for a child to grow up and understand sexuality correctly if he or she has been abused. When someone has been sexually abused, they will by default, do something to protect themselves. Their dignity has been stolen. Their boundaries have been ripped away. Some become mentally ill because of what has happened to them. Not only that, but they end up with a distorted view of God.
A person who sexually abuses a child or another person does not realize the seriousness of what he is doing. There are a lot of ramifications to being sexually abused and many things are lost in a person who has been abused.
Here is the link to the article. I am sure there are perverted people out there who are in places of authority who would not like this article. Remember, those who are perverted and are in leadership have money, and money buys control. But we have the word of God which is more powerful than money, and we can use it to bring deliverance and healing to a lost and broken world.
sex-and-the-singularly-abused-girl
I guess what I am puzzled at is how many people, mostly males, can get away with doing these acts of crime and not feeling guilt or shame but just continuing on in doing these activities without blinking an eye. On top of what they have done, which is horribly wrong, almost always, they will threaten the person they have abused by telling them there will be a punishment or penalty if the abused person tells on him. Does this person not realize that this kind of measure of cruelty will be dealt back to him or her one day? God will not have mercy unless this person responds to the Gospel and receives a new heart.
One more thing to keep in mind: I was listening to an authority on this subject speak on homosexuality in men (Laura Hendrickson). She had brought out the fact that she believes, men who are homosexuals, were sexually abused as children. I thought that was interesting. Again, I know homosexuals and have a hard time imagining what happened in their homes while they were growing up. Of course, it may not have been with a parent. It could have been with an older friend or relative who did the sexual abusing.
Remember, our hope is always with the Gospel. Our hope is in the Cross of Jesus Christ. If you are a victim of sexual abuse, God can heal you. God will take the baggage off if you allow Him to. God will restore your dignity and you can be placed in His safe boundaries.
If you are a sexual abuser, you need to be honest with yourself. God can save you. He can grant you full repentance. He can change your heart and set you free from your enslavement to perversion. You don't have to live this way. You too, can be free. You cannot continue to live like you are living and expect anything good to come out of this. God will deal most heavily with those who abuse their authority.
For more information on the Gospel message, please go to http://thegospelconversation.blogspot.com
Friday, October 16, 2015
Monday, May 18, 2015
And I Was The Bully
All throughout my life, I was bullied around. I didn't talk very much and other children assumed I was 'dumb' and took advantage by bullying me around in a variety of ways.
I used to feel sorry for myself and thought that I was the only one experiencing this type of problem. Whenever I would think of giving my testimony, I always included this experience as part of it.
But the missing part that I forgot about was, I became the bully. By the time I was 13 or 14, I was tired of people bullying me around. I would actually pick fights with people and even beat people up. At 15 years of age, I was bullying others around.
Why am I sharing this? For the past 4 years, I have been studying Biblical counseling and have learned much about anthropology and the human nature which is a nature created in God's image, but also carries Satan's image. I think it is very confusing for us to figure us out!
People who are abused as children, many times, end up being a child abuser themselves. It is like a cycle, and unless it is broken, it usually continues. Of course, only the power of the blood of Jesus Christ is what can break the cycle.
We look at people and we ask ourselves, 'why are they doing that?'. I think of people who were once Godly men serving God, empowered by Him, and loving God and people, who are now hating and slandering other Christians and leaving their marriages to marry someone else. How can this happen? What went wrong? Were these people not saved to begin with? Or is there a better explanation?
After spending a year and a half with a person who came from a family who practiced Satanic Ritual Abuse on her, I learned a lot. Where do I begin?
First of all, when a person is Satanically Ritually abused, there is so much trauma they experience that they will be mentally affected. When they have their own children (if they survive to adulthood), they, in turn, will be abusing their own children (I know this doesn't always happen, but this cycle does seem to continue on for generations). A parent who practices Satanic Ritual Abuse is one who has experienced that kind of abuse from their own parents. No one in their right mind would just decide to start practicing Satanic Ritual Abuse.
Secondly, those who have been abused like this have dramatic stories to tell, and the average person has a hard time believing those stories are true. But ask yourselves this question; 'Why would someone make up those kinds of stories? If it is for attention, there are a lot of easier ways to get attention than by coming up with made up stories like their experiences tell. We tend to turn them away, because we can't believe that people can be that cruel to their children.
We might think to ourselves, 'who, in their right mind, would do such things to their children?' The answer is 'no one in their right mind would do such things.' The key is the word, 'right mind'. When a child has been traumatized, and not only by Satanic Ritual Abuse, but there are other means of trauma that children experience (for example, being abandoned by parents), that child will never really have a right mind. He or she will grow up with mental difficulties that are very perplexing to understand. We tend to look at people who are not in their right mind, with disdain.
Creating trauma for children is one of Satan's favorite weapons of destruction. If he can destroy the child's mind, he will destroy the minds of children for many generations.
Why am I writing all this? Simply because we deal with people and try to work with them, and we try to understand them, but our understanding is limited because of our lack of knowledge of the person's background and why he or she does the things that they do.
We think everything is in black or white. We tell a person to repent of their sins and they will be saved if they believe in Jesus Christ as their Savior. While that fact is true, trying to explain that to a traumatized person can be difficult. Let me explain further with an example.
This is based on a true story. A young woman got raped. She suffered because of the rape. Perhaps this is where the difference is in those who just expect people to repent and trust in the Lord, and others who want to help the lost by removing the baggage Satan has put on them, then helping them understand the Gospel and the freedom that only comes through Jesus Christ. The woman was traumatized and went for counseling. The counseling she received was simply to forgive and forget. Do you think a woman who went through the experience of being raped can just 'forgive and forget'? How is that helpful to her at this point?
People need to know that God is aware of what happened to them, and God cares. God promises to take vengeance on the offender. God also can bring a person peace in the midst of a terrible storm, when we introduce him or her to Jesus Christ.
I am amazed at how many people we know who were traumatized as children. I know a person who doubts God's love because of some painful situations that have come into this person's life. I also recently found out that this person's mother was a Satanic witch. This person is going to have a harder time understanding the truth of God being 'love'. When we meet people like this, we must be patient and not just give up on them or turn our backs on them by writing them off as false converts. A person who has gone through that kind of upbringing will need to be carried in prayer and also that person needs someone to stick with him or her, especially during difficult times. This person needs to see God's love displayed. That is what will change his or her heart.
The next time you see someone bullying someone else around, or a friend who was caught abusing his child, remember, the person's background does have an affect on how they respond to life. They might be totally blind to it, but we need to hold them up in prayer. Unless the cycle is broken, it will just continue for generation after generation. The blood of Jesus Christ is powerful enough to break every cycle and every addiction, and to heal the broken-hearted as well as heal those who are mentally unstable. Let's stop looking down on the mentally disturbed and let's bring the love of God to them, and minister the Gospel of Jesus Christ to them.
I used to feel sorry for myself and thought that I was the only one experiencing this type of problem. Whenever I would think of giving my testimony, I always included this experience as part of it.
But the missing part that I forgot about was, I became the bully. By the time I was 13 or 14, I was tired of people bullying me around. I would actually pick fights with people and even beat people up. At 15 years of age, I was bullying others around.
Why am I sharing this? For the past 4 years, I have been studying Biblical counseling and have learned much about anthropology and the human nature which is a nature created in God's image, but also carries Satan's image. I think it is very confusing for us to figure us out!
People who are abused as children, many times, end up being a child abuser themselves. It is like a cycle, and unless it is broken, it usually continues. Of course, only the power of the blood of Jesus Christ is what can break the cycle.
We look at people and we ask ourselves, 'why are they doing that?'. I think of people who were once Godly men serving God, empowered by Him, and loving God and people, who are now hating and slandering other Christians and leaving their marriages to marry someone else. How can this happen? What went wrong? Were these people not saved to begin with? Or is there a better explanation?
After spending a year and a half with a person who came from a family who practiced Satanic Ritual Abuse on her, I learned a lot. Where do I begin?
First of all, when a person is Satanically Ritually abused, there is so much trauma they experience that they will be mentally affected. When they have their own children (if they survive to adulthood), they, in turn, will be abusing their own children (I know this doesn't always happen, but this cycle does seem to continue on for generations). A parent who practices Satanic Ritual Abuse is one who has experienced that kind of abuse from their own parents. No one in their right mind would just decide to start practicing Satanic Ritual Abuse.
Secondly, those who have been abused like this have dramatic stories to tell, and the average person has a hard time believing those stories are true. But ask yourselves this question; 'Why would someone make up those kinds of stories? If it is for attention, there are a lot of easier ways to get attention than by coming up with made up stories like their experiences tell. We tend to turn them away, because we can't believe that people can be that cruel to their children.
We might think to ourselves, 'who, in their right mind, would do such things to their children?' The answer is 'no one in their right mind would do such things.' The key is the word, 'right mind'. When a child has been traumatized, and not only by Satanic Ritual Abuse, but there are other means of trauma that children experience (for example, being abandoned by parents), that child will never really have a right mind. He or she will grow up with mental difficulties that are very perplexing to understand. We tend to look at people who are not in their right mind, with disdain.
Creating trauma for children is one of Satan's favorite weapons of destruction. If he can destroy the child's mind, he will destroy the minds of children for many generations.
Why am I writing all this? Simply because we deal with people and try to work with them, and we try to understand them, but our understanding is limited because of our lack of knowledge of the person's background and why he or she does the things that they do.
We think everything is in black or white. We tell a person to repent of their sins and they will be saved if they believe in Jesus Christ as their Savior. While that fact is true, trying to explain that to a traumatized person can be difficult. Let me explain further with an example.
This is based on a true story. A young woman got raped. She suffered because of the rape. Perhaps this is where the difference is in those who just expect people to repent and trust in the Lord, and others who want to help the lost by removing the baggage Satan has put on them, then helping them understand the Gospel and the freedom that only comes through Jesus Christ. The woman was traumatized and went for counseling. The counseling she received was simply to forgive and forget. Do you think a woman who went through the experience of being raped can just 'forgive and forget'? How is that helpful to her at this point?
People need to know that God is aware of what happened to them, and God cares. God promises to take vengeance on the offender. God also can bring a person peace in the midst of a terrible storm, when we introduce him or her to Jesus Christ.
I am amazed at how many people we know who were traumatized as children. I know a person who doubts God's love because of some painful situations that have come into this person's life. I also recently found out that this person's mother was a Satanic witch. This person is going to have a harder time understanding the truth of God being 'love'. When we meet people like this, we must be patient and not just give up on them or turn our backs on them by writing them off as false converts. A person who has gone through that kind of upbringing will need to be carried in prayer and also that person needs someone to stick with him or her, especially during difficult times. This person needs to see God's love displayed. That is what will change his or her heart.
The next time you see someone bullying someone else around, or a friend who was caught abusing his child, remember, the person's background does have an affect on how they respond to life. They might be totally blind to it, but we need to hold them up in prayer. Unless the cycle is broken, it will just continue for generation after generation. The blood of Jesus Christ is powerful enough to break every cycle and every addiction, and to heal the broken-hearted as well as heal those who are mentally unstable. Let's stop looking down on the mentally disturbed and let's bring the love of God to them, and minister the Gospel of Jesus Christ to them.
Monday, March 2, 2015
Two Quick Thoughts
I have two quick thoughts I need to share before I forget what they are. I can expound upon them later.
1. I believe the reason women think that staying at home with children or just managing a home and serving her husband is so meaningless, is simply because we do not value relationships. We do not see the importance of building relationships with our husbands or children and therefore staying at home with them seems to be a waste. Most people do not have an eternal perspective and cannot look for what the projected results will be if relationships are valued. Women at home do not receive a paycheck for taking care of their children or serving their husbands. The results of that kind of work are intangible.
"The hand that rocks the cradle, rules the world". If we could grasp this and realize what an impact we could make in society and ultimately in the kingdom of God, we would gladly develop relationships with out children and husbands. Our nurturing of children and support of husband does have an impact whether we see it or not. If that is missing, husbands and children will be missing a serious component in their lives.
2. When we look at others and see their faults or their temptations to sin, and we don't see those in our own lives because we have already overcome them, or we don't face the kinds of temptations that others face, we need to be careful not to judge. I have been guilty of doing this, so I will watch my heart as well. Perhaps the person has received God's grace in an abundant way in a particular area of his or her life, but in another area, the grace just doesn't seem to be there. We could be like Job's friends and conclude that there must be some kind of sin that they committed that they aren't willing to part with, or that God is punishing them. I am not talking here about people who are unrepentant and want to stay in their sins. I know sometimes both types of situations can look very much alike, and that even makes it more confusing.
Human beings are very complex. It is not black and white like we think it is. Take for example, a well known comedian who has a wonderful reputation for being a family guy. He promotes family values wherever he goes. He probably really does believe in family values, yet, in a recent news report, this same man has been accused by two different women who say they were raped by him. What gives? I don't know that this man is a Christian or not, but we have to wonder how someone can be so family minded, yet be accused of raping women. Another story that I found interesting was one of a group of men who were prisoners guilty of rape. They were on a television show answering questions from a television host. These prisoners were actually telling women how to defend themselves against potential rapists. They honestly do not want women to be raped, yet, the temptation for them to rape another woman, should they get out of prison, is going to be very strong for them.
We need to be grateful for the areas in our lives where God has given us grace to work through or overcome areas of sin, but we need to remember that the devil is not going to tempt us with something that is obviously wrong in our eyes. He leads us little by little, with a lot of reasoning as to why we should have an affair, or rape someone, or whatever the sin is. We need to be checking our own hearts and keeping our guard up so when temptations come our way, we will be ready for them. And let's be careful in dealing with others who are struggling. Draw them out. Find out what they are really struggling with. Pray for them and teach them the word of God so they can become strong too. God will work in their hearts on His timetable with them, not our timetables. We need to be patient and minister to them in the areas where God is leading. We need to make them ready to let go of their sin, and receive God's grace. We do not want to get into the way of anything God will do.
1. I believe the reason women think that staying at home with children or just managing a home and serving her husband is so meaningless, is simply because we do not value relationships. We do not see the importance of building relationships with our husbands or children and therefore staying at home with them seems to be a waste. Most people do not have an eternal perspective and cannot look for what the projected results will be if relationships are valued. Women at home do not receive a paycheck for taking care of their children or serving their husbands. The results of that kind of work are intangible.
"The hand that rocks the cradle, rules the world". If we could grasp this and realize what an impact we could make in society and ultimately in the kingdom of God, we would gladly develop relationships with out children and husbands. Our nurturing of children and support of husband does have an impact whether we see it or not. If that is missing, husbands and children will be missing a serious component in their lives.
2. When we look at others and see their faults or their temptations to sin, and we don't see those in our own lives because we have already overcome them, or we don't face the kinds of temptations that others face, we need to be careful not to judge. I have been guilty of doing this, so I will watch my heart as well. Perhaps the person has received God's grace in an abundant way in a particular area of his or her life, but in another area, the grace just doesn't seem to be there. We could be like Job's friends and conclude that there must be some kind of sin that they committed that they aren't willing to part with, or that God is punishing them. I am not talking here about people who are unrepentant and want to stay in their sins. I know sometimes both types of situations can look very much alike, and that even makes it more confusing.
Human beings are very complex. It is not black and white like we think it is. Take for example, a well known comedian who has a wonderful reputation for being a family guy. He promotes family values wherever he goes. He probably really does believe in family values, yet, in a recent news report, this same man has been accused by two different women who say they were raped by him. What gives? I don't know that this man is a Christian or not, but we have to wonder how someone can be so family minded, yet be accused of raping women. Another story that I found interesting was one of a group of men who were prisoners guilty of rape. They were on a television show answering questions from a television host. These prisoners were actually telling women how to defend themselves against potential rapists. They honestly do not want women to be raped, yet, the temptation for them to rape another woman, should they get out of prison, is going to be very strong for them.
We need to be grateful for the areas in our lives where God has given us grace to work through or overcome areas of sin, but we need to remember that the devil is not going to tempt us with something that is obviously wrong in our eyes. He leads us little by little, with a lot of reasoning as to why we should have an affair, or rape someone, or whatever the sin is. We need to be checking our own hearts and keeping our guard up so when temptations come our way, we will be ready for them. And let's be careful in dealing with others who are struggling. Draw them out. Find out what they are really struggling with. Pray for them and teach them the word of God so they can become strong too. God will work in their hearts on His timetable with them, not our timetables. We need to be patient and minister to them in the areas where God is leading. We need to make them ready to let go of their sin, and receive God's grace. We do not want to get into the way of anything God will do.
Saturday, February 14, 2015
Perfect Love Casts Out Fear
I know for some people, this would be a 'duh' statement. Perfect love casts out fear. But do we really know what that means? How has this verse affected us individually, or has it?
Where do I begin? All through my life I would hear bits and pieces of the Gospel, but I never put the pieces together until I was about 17. I had heard about God's love for me, but I didn't really know what it meant. One of the songs I learned when I was little was, 'Jesus loves me'. But it was confusing for me to understand, for God was dealing with my heart and helping me to understand that not everything was o.k. in my life. I was under God's wrath because of my selfishness and sin. But doesn't the song say that 'little ones to Him belong'? If God really loves me as much as people say, then why should I have to worry about going to hell after I die? God doesn't send people He loves so much to hell, does He? That didn't make any sense to me.
And then there are people you have to contend with every day. Everything was fine until I got into second grade. Kids in my class made fun of me and some would do things to get me into trouble. It only got worse when I was older. There were the bullies and there were the betrayers. By the time I was 14, I stopped trusting people. If someone said something nice about me, I had my doubts. I could not accept a person's friendship unless they passed a rigid test I would put out for them.
Other children picked on me and bullied me around. But at age 14, the tables turned. Now I was the bully. I was the one starting fights with people. No one was going to bully me around or betray me anymore. I was the one to call the shots in any relationships I had.
But there were some serious affects in my life because of this. You see, I built walls around me to protect myself from rejection. I protected my emotions from being destroyed. But when a person comes to Christ and is regenerated, they are a new creation. They experience God's love, but if they don't understand what love is, they will not be made perfect in God's love (they will not mature in God's love).
The walls stayed up for many years. Of course, I didn't understand about these walls or what they meant, or even what to do about them. The walls became obvious to me when I found myself in church settings where people would hug one another. I can smile at people, and I can talk nice to them and probably even love them, but I could not hug people. What was my hang up? Why didn't I trust anyone? But even more than that, what is the cure for my aloofness?
After years of being in the same church, I did begin to trust people again. It took a long time, but I recovered from my lack of ability to hug people. Certainly, I am going to be careful about how much to entrust to each individual I encounter, for I know there are those who will betray, even if they think they have good intentions. But, in spite of the walls of hostility, God's love began to make the walls crumble.
But here is the real cure: 1 John 4:18 says "There is no fear in love. But perfect love casts out fear: because fear has torment and has to do with punishment. He who fears is not made perfect in love."
Experiencing God's love for me is very healing. It will help the walls to crumble. It will demolish the devil's lies, which are continually before me. Knowing God's word and letting the word of God be activated in our hearts by the Holy Spirit, will cause us to be set free from the prisons we built around ourselves when others rejected us and bullied us around.
The second thing we need to have is the power of the Holy Spirit in us. You could see the difference in the lives of the Apostles after the Holy Spirit came down upon them and filled them. We can have the same thing today. Ephesians 5:18 tells us to be filled with the Holy Spirit. We can know all about God, we can know tons of Scripture, but unless the Holy Spirit activates the word of God in our hearts, unless the word of God is applied to our lives, nothing will happen. We need a dynamic encounter with the true and living God.
A word of caution and clarification: A lot of people use God's love as an excuse to not repent. Many will be thinking, just like I did, that if God really loves me as much as everyone says He does, He's not going to send me to hell, for God doesn't send people He loves to hell. Here's the deal: God is holy. We are sinful. Because God is holy and just, He must punish sin. The white lie you told yesterday. The baby you aborted last year. The woman you were secretly having a relationship with. The porn magazines you have been reading. The list could go on and on. We continually sin and are storing up wrath for us on the Day of Judgment. In order for us to be cleared on the Day of Judgment, we would have to live a life where we never sinned. Not even once. We would have to have loved God with all our hearts, souls, minds, and strength, 24/7. No one has ever done that, except One person.
So, why would a loving God send us to hell? Does this seem fair? Let's look at this issue a little deeper. God loves His creation so much, that He did something very spectacular, but very costly to Himself, so that human beings could now be cleared on Judgment Day. Around 2,000 years ago, God sent His Son, His only Son, to live on earth, the planet we ruined. But His Son never sinned or did anything wrong. He lived for about 33 years, and some mean people arrested Him and gave Him and unfair trial. Now, He could easily have gotten out of the trial because He didn't do anything wrong. But He went through the trial, and died an awful death, the death of crucifixion, which was one of the worst forms of execution in the entire course of History. He did this out of love for us. He chose to do this. It was voluntary on His part.
When He died, God the Father put all of our sins on His Son, whom He loved, and He willingly took the punishment that He didn't deserve, and died. While He was dying, many things happened. For 3 hours, there was darkness over the whole land (this was during the day). One of the last sayings of Jesus was 'It is finished'. He was telling us that His death on the Cross had accomplished what we needed to have to be saved from God's wrath. Another thing that happened was that the heavy curtain that separated the people from the 'Holy of Holies'* was torn in two. Now the people could enter a place that was formerly forbidden, for God's presence was in the 'Holy of holies' and no one could go in there unless they were completely purified according to God's instructions.
Jesus made the way open between God and man. Now, mankind can have access to God, but, it is only through the shed blood of God's Son. Anything else we try to do or bring to God will be an offense to Him.
But Jesus did not only die for us. He rose from the grave, and He ascended back into Heaven. Today, He is praying for those who are His.
So, now do you see how God's love works? His love does not keep us in our sins and say it is o.k. His love provided a way for us to be forgiven of our sins, cleansed from our sins, restoration brought to us, and reconciliation between us and God. Now we can not only be cleansed, but we can know God personally and He dwells with His people by His Holy Spirit.
When we realize God's love and nearness, the walls of hostility that we built will come down, brick by brick. If we dwell in God's love, the walls will continue to come down. We will experience healing and those things which blocked us from seeing God will also fall down. Plus, we will be able to discern the difference between God's voice and the devil's. The devil puts thoughts and ideas in our minds that sound plausible to our thinking, and without realizing it, we believe the lies, then we start acting upon them as if they are real. These lies end up affecting everything we do. They also affect what we believe about ourselves and about God, and they can keep us from trusting God. They can also keep us in fear.
Faith is the opposite of fear. Faith comes about when we hear the word of God, and when God's word is activated in our hearts by the Holy Spirit. The Bible has a lot to say about God's love for us. God wants to have a relationship with us. God promises to work all things together for our good and for His glory. But these promises only apply to people who know God. Only those who have Jesus Christ as their Lord/Savior can have this type of relationship with God the Father.
Some Christians actually think and teach that God is after us to punish us the second we fall. It is like God is just waiting for that moment when we sin, and bam, we become toast. But this is not true. God knows when each one of us is going to sin. God also provides a way for us to escape having to sin. He also gives us a new heart that hates sin. He gives us His Holy Spirit to have the power for us to say 'no' to sin. All of these things are available to us because of God's great love for His people.
If you are a person who has trusted in Jesus Christ to save you from your sins, and have turned from sin and turned to God, then I would encourage you to spend time in the word. Take your time and don't read the Bible just because it is the 'Christian' thing to do. The Bible is like spiritual food, and we need to have it to grow with. Wait upon God and let Him speak to your heart. Anything God tells us is always based upon Scriptures.
If you are a person who has not yet come to Jesus Christ for salvation, I would encourage you to go to http://thegospelconversation.blogspot.com or http://test4gp.wordpress.com Both of these pages will help you understand the Gospel better, and will help you understand why you need to be saved from your sins (from God's wrath and from the slavery of sin). Don't be afraid to go here. God wants you to understand the Gospel and what He has done for you. The devil will put all kinds of lies in your head as to why it isn't important, or, that you really don't need it. But the key part of life is listening to God and rejecting the devil and separating the two opposing voices that can so easily sound the same to us.
* Holy of Holies is a specific room in the Temple where the priest would go in once a year to bring the atonement offering. If there were any impurities in the priest, he would die in the Holy of Holies. I have heard that they would tie a rope around him and attach bells to him and if they didn't hear the bells, and if they assumed he died, they would have been able to pull him out with the attached rope. I do not know the accuracy of this, but, the seriousness of the Holy of Holies is just like that. God is unapproachable. But now we can have access directly to God, because of the finished work of Jesus Christ on the Cross.
Where do I begin? All through my life I would hear bits and pieces of the Gospel, but I never put the pieces together until I was about 17. I had heard about God's love for me, but I didn't really know what it meant. One of the songs I learned when I was little was, 'Jesus loves me'. But it was confusing for me to understand, for God was dealing with my heart and helping me to understand that not everything was o.k. in my life. I was under God's wrath because of my selfishness and sin. But doesn't the song say that 'little ones to Him belong'? If God really loves me as much as people say, then why should I have to worry about going to hell after I die? God doesn't send people He loves so much to hell, does He? That didn't make any sense to me.
And then there are people you have to contend with every day. Everything was fine until I got into second grade. Kids in my class made fun of me and some would do things to get me into trouble. It only got worse when I was older. There were the bullies and there were the betrayers. By the time I was 14, I stopped trusting people. If someone said something nice about me, I had my doubts. I could not accept a person's friendship unless they passed a rigid test I would put out for them.
Other children picked on me and bullied me around. But at age 14, the tables turned. Now I was the bully. I was the one starting fights with people. No one was going to bully me around or betray me anymore. I was the one to call the shots in any relationships I had.
But there were some serious affects in my life because of this. You see, I built walls around me to protect myself from rejection. I protected my emotions from being destroyed. But when a person comes to Christ and is regenerated, they are a new creation. They experience God's love, but if they don't understand what love is, they will not be made perfect in God's love (they will not mature in God's love).
The walls stayed up for many years. Of course, I didn't understand about these walls or what they meant, or even what to do about them. The walls became obvious to me when I found myself in church settings where people would hug one another. I can smile at people, and I can talk nice to them and probably even love them, but I could not hug people. What was my hang up? Why didn't I trust anyone? But even more than that, what is the cure for my aloofness?
After years of being in the same church, I did begin to trust people again. It took a long time, but I recovered from my lack of ability to hug people. Certainly, I am going to be careful about how much to entrust to each individual I encounter, for I know there are those who will betray, even if they think they have good intentions. But, in spite of the walls of hostility, God's love began to make the walls crumble.
But here is the real cure: 1 John 4:18 says "There is no fear in love. But perfect love casts out fear: because fear has torment and has to do with punishment. He who fears is not made perfect in love."
Experiencing God's love for me is very healing. It will help the walls to crumble. It will demolish the devil's lies, which are continually before me. Knowing God's word and letting the word of God be activated in our hearts by the Holy Spirit, will cause us to be set free from the prisons we built around ourselves when others rejected us and bullied us around.
The second thing we need to have is the power of the Holy Spirit in us. You could see the difference in the lives of the Apostles after the Holy Spirit came down upon them and filled them. We can have the same thing today. Ephesians 5:18 tells us to be filled with the Holy Spirit. We can know all about God, we can know tons of Scripture, but unless the Holy Spirit activates the word of God in our hearts, unless the word of God is applied to our lives, nothing will happen. We need a dynamic encounter with the true and living God.
A word of caution and clarification: A lot of people use God's love as an excuse to not repent. Many will be thinking, just like I did, that if God really loves me as much as everyone says He does, He's not going to send me to hell, for God doesn't send people He loves to hell. Here's the deal: God is holy. We are sinful. Because God is holy and just, He must punish sin. The white lie you told yesterday. The baby you aborted last year. The woman you were secretly having a relationship with. The porn magazines you have been reading. The list could go on and on. We continually sin and are storing up wrath for us on the Day of Judgment. In order for us to be cleared on the Day of Judgment, we would have to live a life where we never sinned. Not even once. We would have to have loved God with all our hearts, souls, minds, and strength, 24/7. No one has ever done that, except One person.
So, why would a loving God send us to hell? Does this seem fair? Let's look at this issue a little deeper. God loves His creation so much, that He did something very spectacular, but very costly to Himself, so that human beings could now be cleared on Judgment Day. Around 2,000 years ago, God sent His Son, His only Son, to live on earth, the planet we ruined. But His Son never sinned or did anything wrong. He lived for about 33 years, and some mean people arrested Him and gave Him and unfair trial. Now, He could easily have gotten out of the trial because He didn't do anything wrong. But He went through the trial, and died an awful death, the death of crucifixion, which was one of the worst forms of execution in the entire course of History. He did this out of love for us. He chose to do this. It was voluntary on His part.
When He died, God the Father put all of our sins on His Son, whom He loved, and He willingly took the punishment that He didn't deserve, and died. While He was dying, many things happened. For 3 hours, there was darkness over the whole land (this was during the day). One of the last sayings of Jesus was 'It is finished'. He was telling us that His death on the Cross had accomplished what we needed to have to be saved from God's wrath. Another thing that happened was that the heavy curtain that separated the people from the 'Holy of Holies'* was torn in two. Now the people could enter a place that was formerly forbidden, for God's presence was in the 'Holy of holies' and no one could go in there unless they were completely purified according to God's instructions.
Jesus made the way open between God and man. Now, mankind can have access to God, but, it is only through the shed blood of God's Son. Anything else we try to do or bring to God will be an offense to Him.
But Jesus did not only die for us. He rose from the grave, and He ascended back into Heaven. Today, He is praying for those who are His.
So, now do you see how God's love works? His love does not keep us in our sins and say it is o.k. His love provided a way for us to be forgiven of our sins, cleansed from our sins, restoration brought to us, and reconciliation between us and God. Now we can not only be cleansed, but we can know God personally and He dwells with His people by His Holy Spirit.
When we realize God's love and nearness, the walls of hostility that we built will come down, brick by brick. If we dwell in God's love, the walls will continue to come down. We will experience healing and those things which blocked us from seeing God will also fall down. Plus, we will be able to discern the difference between God's voice and the devil's. The devil puts thoughts and ideas in our minds that sound plausible to our thinking, and without realizing it, we believe the lies, then we start acting upon them as if they are real. These lies end up affecting everything we do. They also affect what we believe about ourselves and about God, and they can keep us from trusting God. They can also keep us in fear.
Faith is the opposite of fear. Faith comes about when we hear the word of God, and when God's word is activated in our hearts by the Holy Spirit. The Bible has a lot to say about God's love for us. God wants to have a relationship with us. God promises to work all things together for our good and for His glory. But these promises only apply to people who know God. Only those who have Jesus Christ as their Lord/Savior can have this type of relationship with God the Father.
Some Christians actually think and teach that God is after us to punish us the second we fall. It is like God is just waiting for that moment when we sin, and bam, we become toast. But this is not true. God knows when each one of us is going to sin. God also provides a way for us to escape having to sin. He also gives us a new heart that hates sin. He gives us His Holy Spirit to have the power for us to say 'no' to sin. All of these things are available to us because of God's great love for His people.
If you are a person who has trusted in Jesus Christ to save you from your sins, and have turned from sin and turned to God, then I would encourage you to spend time in the word. Take your time and don't read the Bible just because it is the 'Christian' thing to do. The Bible is like spiritual food, and we need to have it to grow with. Wait upon God and let Him speak to your heart. Anything God tells us is always based upon Scriptures.
If you are a person who has not yet come to Jesus Christ for salvation, I would encourage you to go to http://thegospelconversation.blogspot.com or http://test4gp.wordpress.com Both of these pages will help you understand the Gospel better, and will help you understand why you need to be saved from your sins (from God's wrath and from the slavery of sin). Don't be afraid to go here. God wants you to understand the Gospel and what He has done for you. The devil will put all kinds of lies in your head as to why it isn't important, or, that you really don't need it. But the key part of life is listening to God and rejecting the devil and separating the two opposing voices that can so easily sound the same to us.
* Holy of Holies is a specific room in the Temple where the priest would go in once a year to bring the atonement offering. If there were any impurities in the priest, he would die in the Holy of Holies. I have heard that they would tie a rope around him and attach bells to him and if they didn't hear the bells, and if they assumed he died, they would have been able to pull him out with the attached rope. I do not know the accuracy of this, but, the seriousness of the Holy of Holies is just like that. God is unapproachable. But now we can have access directly to God, because of the finished work of Jesus Christ on the Cross.
Friday, January 23, 2015
Women Are Being Degraded Today
Back in the days when I was young, there was a difference between right and wrong, good and evil. Not everyone chose to do right, but there were consequences for wrongdoing, and many suffered because of a person's wrong decisions or lifestyle.
Today though, anything goes. Women do not want to be keepers at home. Some women really want to be men. And some men want to be women. People are not content to be what God made them and they have a discontent on how they were designed.
But even back in my day, there was temptation for young people to give into sexual practices that were forbidden by God. This is nothing new though, even though people believe that in this day, we have more freedom to be sexually expressive.
First of all, God's word never changes, and He has a lot to say about sexual relationships outside of marriage. My concern is for young women who are looking to date men. Looking for a man to marry one day, is not a bad thing, but it could lead to trouble if it is not handled properly.
Let's take something that is common to all generations; the pressure from a guy to have sex. I think every generation has had this occur in it. It starts like this; "I love you. If you really love me, you will have sex with me." If any guy says this to you, and you are a woman dating this man, please don't believe him. He does not love you and he wants to use you to satisfy his sexual drive. He may promise marriage to you, or that he will take care of you if you get pregnant. That is a lie. He has no intention of doing that, and you need to put up boundaries to protect yourself from men who would manipulate like that.
But let's go a little further. Some would think it is ok to have sexual relationships outside of marriage. If 99% of the people are having sexual relationships outside of marriage, does that make it right? What if God says that it is wrong? Is God's word more powerful than the percentage of people who are opposed to what God says?
God's word says that He will judge the immoral (see Hebrews 5). People can make it ok to have sex outside of marriage, but in God's eyes, it is never ok, and it never will be.
So, if you wander outside of God's boundaries, and you end up pregnant, what will you do then? Many would say that having an abortion is the answer. But is it really? What does God's word say about that? Psalm 139 talks about God forming a person when they are inside the womb. It doesn't matter how the person got there. He or she may be the product of rape. He or she may be the product of two children who had sexual relations. Whatever the reason is, the forming embryo is not just a piece of tissue. It is a full fledged, undeveloped human being, who will continue to live even after the body is killed or dies. Also, babies who are being formed inside the womb can feel pain. They feel the pain of rejection from the mother, but even worse, they feel sharply the pain that comes from a knife that stabs him or her that is in the 'doctor's' hands. They have nerves that work. They have blood going throughout their bodies. They have heartbeats and brainwaves. A mom who chooses to have an abortion either doesn't understand what takes place during an abortion, or, she has lost her conscience, possibly due to the hardening of her heart against God as she tries to make her man love her, whom she can never seem to please. Frustration and anger set in, and God is blamed for her man not loving her. But she continues to do whatever he wants so she can hang onto him and not lose him, even if it means murdering their baby.
Years ago, women loved having babies born to them. They spent much of their time taking care of the babies they had. It was considered an honor to have children. The Bible says that children are a gift from God. What has happened though today? We have been duped by people, especially self-centered, self-serving men, who think they can do whatever they want and that it doesn't matter to anyone else. They can rape women, even their own daughters (this actually is very common in America). Pornography is rampant in America today. Men are not willing to pay the price to have a sacrificial relationship with a woman, and they are unwilling to support and live for a woman who will take care of the needs of the man. Men want the easy way out, and the most gratifying way they can find, even if others are hurt by their actions.
So we have men who lead women into sexual relationships and then they send the woman off to an abortion clinic to have his baby murdered. The woman probably wants to hang onto her man and will do whatever he wants to please him so she doesn't lose him. The woman who does this though has already lost her man. He doesn't love her. He hates her. He loves only himself. Plus, this is very degrading to women.
So my recommendation to women is a warning to never get involved with a man who is selfish in this way. Even those who profess to be Christians can be deceivers. Sometimes they will take their authority and use it to take advantage of a woman. Make sure the man is learning to love God, and is growing in grace and humility. You will never find a perfect man, but you can find a man who fears God and is hungry for knowing God more. That is what you need to look for in a man. Never let any man degrade you like this. Never let any man take away your dignity. Never let any man remove your boundaries. They are given to you from God and are there to protect you and to keep your dignity in place.
Today though, anything goes. Women do not want to be keepers at home. Some women really want to be men. And some men want to be women. People are not content to be what God made them and they have a discontent on how they were designed.
But even back in my day, there was temptation for young people to give into sexual practices that were forbidden by God. This is nothing new though, even though people believe that in this day, we have more freedom to be sexually expressive.
First of all, God's word never changes, and He has a lot to say about sexual relationships outside of marriage. My concern is for young women who are looking to date men. Looking for a man to marry one day, is not a bad thing, but it could lead to trouble if it is not handled properly.
Let's take something that is common to all generations; the pressure from a guy to have sex. I think every generation has had this occur in it. It starts like this; "I love you. If you really love me, you will have sex with me." If any guy says this to you, and you are a woman dating this man, please don't believe him. He does not love you and he wants to use you to satisfy his sexual drive. He may promise marriage to you, or that he will take care of you if you get pregnant. That is a lie. He has no intention of doing that, and you need to put up boundaries to protect yourself from men who would manipulate like that.
But let's go a little further. Some would think it is ok to have sexual relationships outside of marriage. If 99% of the people are having sexual relationships outside of marriage, does that make it right? What if God says that it is wrong? Is God's word more powerful than the percentage of people who are opposed to what God says?
God's word says that He will judge the immoral (see Hebrews 5). People can make it ok to have sex outside of marriage, but in God's eyes, it is never ok, and it never will be.
So, if you wander outside of God's boundaries, and you end up pregnant, what will you do then? Many would say that having an abortion is the answer. But is it really? What does God's word say about that? Psalm 139 talks about God forming a person when they are inside the womb. It doesn't matter how the person got there. He or she may be the product of rape. He or she may be the product of two children who had sexual relations. Whatever the reason is, the forming embryo is not just a piece of tissue. It is a full fledged, undeveloped human being, who will continue to live even after the body is killed or dies. Also, babies who are being formed inside the womb can feel pain. They feel the pain of rejection from the mother, but even worse, they feel sharply the pain that comes from a knife that stabs him or her that is in the 'doctor's' hands. They have nerves that work. They have blood going throughout their bodies. They have heartbeats and brainwaves. A mom who chooses to have an abortion either doesn't understand what takes place during an abortion, or, she has lost her conscience, possibly due to the hardening of her heart against God as she tries to make her man love her, whom she can never seem to please. Frustration and anger set in, and God is blamed for her man not loving her. But she continues to do whatever he wants so she can hang onto him and not lose him, even if it means murdering their baby.
Years ago, women loved having babies born to them. They spent much of their time taking care of the babies they had. It was considered an honor to have children. The Bible says that children are a gift from God. What has happened though today? We have been duped by people, especially self-centered, self-serving men, who think they can do whatever they want and that it doesn't matter to anyone else. They can rape women, even their own daughters (this actually is very common in America). Pornography is rampant in America today. Men are not willing to pay the price to have a sacrificial relationship with a woman, and they are unwilling to support and live for a woman who will take care of the needs of the man. Men want the easy way out, and the most gratifying way they can find, even if others are hurt by their actions.
So we have men who lead women into sexual relationships and then they send the woman off to an abortion clinic to have his baby murdered. The woman probably wants to hang onto her man and will do whatever he wants to please him so she doesn't lose him. The woman who does this though has already lost her man. He doesn't love her. He hates her. He loves only himself. Plus, this is very degrading to women.
So my recommendation to women is a warning to never get involved with a man who is selfish in this way. Even those who profess to be Christians can be deceivers. Sometimes they will take their authority and use it to take advantage of a woman. Make sure the man is learning to love God, and is growing in grace and humility. You will never find a perfect man, but you can find a man who fears God and is hungry for knowing God more. That is what you need to look for in a man. Never let any man degrade you like this. Never let any man take away your dignity. Never let any man remove your boundaries. They are given to you from God and are there to protect you and to keep your dignity in place.
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