Live Godly Lives!

“Dear friends, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from sinful desires, which wage war against your soul. Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.” (1 Peter 2:11-12 NIV).

Though there are many unbelievers and naysayers about the foundational beliefs of this country, those of us who know God’s Word, know the Constitution of the United States paraphrases the very Word of God with the intent to provide order and justice so all can live in peace and harmony.

And though founding fathers supported the practice of slavery [as used by the sinners to influence how Black Americans think], they did so out of ignorance of the inhumanities that would be employed by other human beings and to support an economy of free labor. I do not support the practice of slavery of any kind, but I do understand that people are enslaved–and not just by other people–but carnal desires–sex, drugs, and greed.

Although America is supposedly the “land of the free” where liberty and justice can be found for all, that does not appear to be the case for Believers--who understand our foundational beginnings and uphold the Word of God as a blueprint for living–establishing order and peace for all. Believers everywhere are now–the “foreigners” in the land even though it was because of a desire to worship God–separate from government control–that led to the establishment of this country.

But we should not think our beliefs are as foreign as those who were responsible for “taking over” the land from the Native (those born here originally) Americans. We changed their names and stripped them of their dignity, forcing them to comply with our traditions because we were afraid of theirs--and restricted where they could live–all so we could make ourselves look better than them.

That same spirit–that “take over mentality” now exists in the mindsets of gay-advocate groups all over the land. They are determined to take-over and vilify every Believer who dares to speak out against sin. It is a plot of the enemy to destroy mankind and they who have been influenced, don’t even see it.

So, in the sense that Believers “appear” to be losing ground in the face of enemy’s agenda, we are admonished in the Word, to live Godly lives in the presence of the unbelieving, so that our good deeds are seen. In other words, we are to live as God wants us to live–in spite of the turmoil and chaos that has infected the land–from those who have been bitten with the venom of sin to those in the Supreme Court who have allowed the poison to infect their judgment–creating confusion in the masses and we know–God is not the author of confusion so that leaves only one spiritual force who is–Satan.

We know that the chaos, confusion, and turmoil in the earth is caused by Satan because those who are influenced by him, deny the existence of any spiritual forces. If people deny Satan’s existence, they can easily convince themselves that God–who is Spirit and must be worshipped in spirit and in truth–doesn’t exist either.

But we who know–that spiritual forces do exist in the atmosphere, should be mindful that we are submitted to Holy Spirit and will give the demonic spirits no place in our lives. As ambassadors for Jesus Christ, we must say what He says and represent all that He is in our own conduct. We do not have to resort to name-calling, using profanity, or any other method of ridicule as those who follow Satan do, to live the life that God wants us to live.

Indeed, our response to the negativity shown towards us should simply be to promote the Gospel, share God’s love and keep it moving. And while we are promoting the Gospel for the sake of those who have not acknowledged Jesus Christ as their personal Savior, we should also support those who are willing to stand firm in their beliefs and faith in God. There are many more Kim Davises in the world–and they should all have our prayers and support in their endeavor to live Godly lives, no matter how many fiery darts the enemy launches against them. Live to please God and not man and receive God’s reward of eternal life with Him.

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Exercising Wisdom in The Spirit!

“This is what we speak, not in words taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual realities with Spirit-taught words. The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit. The person with the Spirit makes judgments about all things, but such a person is not subject to merely human judgments, for, “who has known the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ.” (1 Corinthians 2:13-16 NIV)

For all the critics of Believers–the atheists, the unbelieving, the judgmental Christian-haters–know this: There is no way anyone who does not have the Spirit of God living within them can ever understand those who do! Therefore, criticisms of those operating in the Spirit and exercising wisdom that only comes from the Spirit are vain and have no value at all.

However, those who exercise spiritual wisdom, based upon what the Spirit of God speaks to them can and do judge all matters–with spiritual criteria–not understood by those who deliberately reject the work on the Cross. And this is why, there are those who continually ridicule and denigrate those of us who understand spiritual matters–they feel left out.

When people don’t understand things–they make fun of it and are derisive–because they hate not knowing. Though many claim that Christians are judgmental, they are far more judgmental and hypocritical since many attempt to use “scripted” rebuttals from the Bible when they have no knowledge of the intent of the Bible.

I alluded this a few days ago regarding a comment I made about Kim Davis. Here’s the comment to a news article: “When one person’s beliefs are not honored, none should be. She should not be in jail for standing up for her beliefs.”

What followed was a torrent of venom from those who don’t have a clue, but these are some of the responses:

Samantha Swol YOU DO NOT GET TO PICK AND CHOOSE WHICH PARTS TO FOLLOW AND JESUS WOULD BE APPALLED WITH YOUR SORRY A** FOR PREACHING HATE WHICH HE NEVER WOULD

Jeska Taylor Mary do you have children, and if so did you murder them after they disobeyed?

Jeska Taylor Mary do you ever speak in church??

Jeska Taylor Speaking in church is a sin for you. “Let your women keep silence in the churches: for it is not permitted unto them to speak; but they are commanded to be under obedience as also saith the law.”

Mary Hall-Rayford Jeska Taylor, I’ve heard this argument before and I would encourage people to seek God and if you’re going to say any part of the Bible is right–then all of it is right. The difference is–I understand who was talking to whom and when and why Jesus had to come to get us reconciled to God. Have you accepted Jesus as your personal Savior? If so, you should understand that if those of us who have are ambassadors for Christ, we can say or do nothing that He didn’t say or do. And before you try to convince anyone He didn’t say anything about homosexuality, I’d encourage you to understand all of the Gospel of John, pray for reading and seeking His Wisdom. He only taught what His Father–God taught. “Go and sin no more” not go and commit no more sins. There is a difference–all is included in what He said, not just adultery. No speaking in a church is not sin for me since Paul was referencing those women who were interrupting services to ask their husbands question. If you’re going to do Bible with me, you might want to get an understanding about what was going on at the time things were said. Another verse of scripture proclaims in Galatians 5–there is no male or female In Christ; underscoring we all have the same rights and privileges. Check it out or get someone you respect to explain it to you.

And this went on and on for over an hour with over 179 comments. The best one was from Crystal Williams:

Crystal Williams Mary, MEN wrote the Bible. GOD wrote the Ten Commandments. Do you know what would happen TODAY if a person (man or woman) said they spoke to God and He actually told them things? They would have a one way ticket to the asylum. The “Christians” would be calling them false prophets, and the rational people would be calling them crazy. How do you KNOW the men that claimed to have Gods ear weren’t a bubble off dead center and just trying to push their wants onto their fellow men?

It is clear that most of the commenters–and some of whom were really nasty, resorting to using profanity, do not understand the Spirit of God and cannot understand those of us who do. Therefore, their only recourse is to attack.

This is how I determined that the only thing I can say to them is to let them know–God loves them and so do I–and pray for them to receive the finished work of the Cross.

The Time Has Come!

“In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage–with great patience and careful instruction. For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.” (2 Timothy 4:1-3 NIV)

Careful observation and introspection of current events and a society that willfully turns its back on God and His ways to accommodate sin, lets us know--the time has come–when people will not hear sound doctrine, but prefer to seek and support those who cosign perversion in our daily lives.

How do we know? We’ve given people carte blanche  to use illegal drugs (mind-altering drugs that inhibit rational thinking) under the guise of medical use. And in some places–the medical use facade is not even in question and a church in Illinois has been established where they worship–marijuana. Since that’s all they will be doing is getting high–I wonder what the consequences will be when they’re involved in situations where others are injured or killed.

Standing up for beliefs based upon the bible has become the foundation others use to ridicule and persecute–on all fronts. There are those who obviously do not understand history and the fact that this country was established on the foundation of civil disobedience against what they felt was the tyranny of England. Civil disobedience–a willingness to take a stand against injustice has always been a factor in how this country does business. However, when a county clerk in Kentucky stands firm in her beliefs–the venom spews like the winds blowing dust–covering everything in hatred of followers of Christ.

What continually amazes me is the lack of tolerance for Believers and what they believe by those who claim we are intolerant against their lifestyles that are in opposition to God’s Word. We don’t hate and spew obscenities at those who disagree with us. Most of us (Believers) understand that people may not agree with our view and accept it–without argument or denigration of a person’s stance. Personally, I’m not interested in debating anyone about God’s Word, but I do love a discussion in which all can be enlightened.

Yesterday, because I dared to comment on a news article (and trust me, I knew what would happen), haters came out of cyberspace almost before I finished typing. Now, remember–I commented on the article–not to a person who had already commented, but suddenly, I was the villain because I dared to commend Kim Davis on her stand. I had a number of people who tried to use the Bible to deflect from their hatred–from women speaking in a church being sin, to gay rights supporters using the race card (how dare I support Kim Davis since I had only been allowed to vote for the last 60 years), to assuming what my background is without any knowledge of who I am.

What did I do? I preached The Word, providing scripture references to support what I said and reminded all who hated, that God loved them and so do I. The devil couldn’t stand it when I told people I loved to love them and they eventually stopped commenting.

Instead of engaging on the level of ignorance of God’s Word shown by unbelievers, all we should do is to proclaim and explain God’s Word–no matter how foolish someone else might be. One person–even told me (I have it copied into a document) that MEN wrote the bible, but GOD wrote the ten commandments. When I questioned how they could believe God wrote the ten commandments but could not inspire men to write the bible, I received no reply. I realized that this person was merely referencing what they had seen in a movie–since they did not realize that the ten commandments are located in the bible–the same bible they refuted since “fallible, fickle men” wrote it.

Let’s endeavor to do what God said for us to do–preach The Word, be prepared in all situations to say what God said, and know why He said it so we can explain it to others. The time has come for us–who Believe in the totality of God’s Word and its contextual meaning to stand firm and proclaim it with confidence in Him, strengthened and empowered by Holy Spirit.