Let Change start with Me

 Morning musing: August 20, 2018

It is easy to talk about and see all the wrongs going on in this world. Many make posts about it on Facebook and shake their heads amazed by the evil that people are doing in the world.

But how many take the time, or want to point out or talk about the wrongs that go on in their own heart? How many shake their heads and stand in awe over their own sins?

Perhaps some think too much about their own sins....their needs to be a just balance.

It is easy to see the things wrong in our neighbor, or family member or fellow Believer; but let us not overlook our own short comings, wrongs, etc. Let us feel as grieved over our own injustices & failures as we do the worlds. Let us seek to mend our ways, to overcome our self in the things we fall short in.

How many of us are easily irritated, frustrated, impatient, answer roughly, selfish, ....the seemingly small, sometimes unrecognized wrongs that are in our daily life...let us focus on weeding out these things from our own lives.

The world's wrongs should not be our focus. If everyone in the world spent more time examining and correcting their own wrongs the world would be a better place.

People do the same about the "Church World" also....talking about how messed up the Churches are, talking about the hypocrisy, etc. But have we really sought the Lord to know, "how messed up am I?" "where is the hypocrisy in my life" "open my eyes Lord to where I fail you."

The World, & the "Church World" changes one person at a time. We must purge our self before we expect to see a change in others.

Philippians 2:12-15
"Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out YOUR OWN salvation with fear and trembling.

For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.

Do all things without murmurings and disputing:

That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world;"

Don't Be Offended!

The following is an old Musing of mine from 2010. At that time of my life I never had a computer or cell phone, nor did I have internet, and I was not really interested. I actually thought the World Wide Web as it is so fittingly called to be a snare of the devil. Today in 2020 I obviously use it (with caution) seeing how with God's grace in the heart it can be turned into a tool for His glory. So here's the old musing:

Follow the link to see picture contributor

 6/23 /2010

Today I was helping at Julie's house. She was feeling a need to get some things done via the computer. She was concerned about offending me because she knows we (the fellowship I was a part of) don't agree with using the internet. I told her it didn't offend me.

I started to think about the blessed place of not being offended by things. I thought about how God sees us all doing things He does not agree with; but He doesn't despise us. I was thinking about what He does do--

I thought=He waits patiently, & continues in His love for us. He knows the time & season in which we will hear & understand & turn from the things that displease Him.

I was very comforted by these thoughts & felt encouraged to lay this to heart & apply it to my dealings with people. In the sense that when someone does something that is displeasing to me I can be of the mind to wait patiently for the grace of God to come upon them & meanwhile I should not despise them. Praise Yeshua (Jesus) for being our example & FRIEND!

Backbiting and other useful Definitions

 

I have been going through old notes and writings of mine. I came across this and thought to share it:

 Proverbs 17:27

"He that hath knowledge spareth his words: and a man of understanding is of an excellent spirit."

Backbiting- Reviling another in secret; slander

A fruit of sin

Romans 1:28-30

"And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;
[29] Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers,
[30] Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents,
[31] Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful:
[32] Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them."

Expressed by the mouth--

Psalm 50:19-20

 "Thou givest thy mouth to evil, and thy tongue frameth deceit.
[20] Thou sittest and speakest against thy brother; thou slanderest thine own mother's son.
[21] These things hast thou done, and I kept silence; thou thoughtest that I was altogether such an one as thyself: but I will reprove thee, and set them in order before thine eyes.
[22] Now consider this, ye that forget God, lest I tear you in pieces, and there be none to deliver.
[23] Whoso offereth praise glorifieth me: and to him that ordereth his conversation aright will I shew the salvation of God."

Proverbs 25:23

"The north wind driveth away rain: so doth an angry countenance a backbiting tongue."

Merits punishment--

Psalm 101:5

"Whoso privily slandereth his neighbour, him will I cut off: him that hath an high look and a proud heart will not I suffer."

Keeps from God--

Psalm 15:1-3

"LORD, who shall abide in thy tabernacle? who shall dwell in thy holy hill?

[2] He that walketh uprightly, and worketh righteousness, and speaketh the truth in his heart.

[3] He that backbiteth not with his tongue, nor doeth evil to his neighbour, nor taketh up a reproach against his neighbour."

Reproach= [Strongs # 2778 Hebrew prime root: to pull off, i.e. by implication, to expose] To rebuke, censure, upbraid. (2) To cast reproach upon (one's life, character, repute, etc,.; to bring into discredit.

censure= to find fault with or condemn as wrong; hostile criticism

To be laid aside--

1. Peter 2:1-2

"Wherefore laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings,
[2] As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby:"

Unworthy of Christians--

2. Corinthians 12:20

"For I fear, lest, when I come, I shall not find you such as I would, and that I shall be found unto you such as ye would not: lest there be debates, envyings, wraths, strifes, backbitings, whisperings, swellings, tumults:"

Whisperer-- a gossiper [Strongs #5587 Greek- By implication a slander]

Separates chief friends--

Proverbs 16:28

"A froward man soweth strife: and a whisperer separateth chief friends."

Patience= The ability to bear trials without grumbling.

1.Peter 3:10

"For he that will love life, and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile:"

Guile= Deceitful, cunning; craft & treachery, a trick- to beguile

Guile in the following verse is described in Strongs as: Hebrew word #4820  mirmah 

 in the sense of deceiving; fraud: craft, false, feign and from #7411 prime root; to hurl, to shoot: figuratively to delude or betray (as if causing to fall):-beguile, betray

Psalm 34:13-14

"Keep thy tongue from evil, and thy lips from speaking guile.
[14] Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it."

The above notes are something I wrote many years ago, most likely before I was married. I highly recommend the unmarried to make the time to search the Scriptures and learn the ways of truth. Of course, it's important for the married to make the time as well. There is just such a great opportunity as an unmarried person to redeem the time and get this profitable knowledge in your heart to help direct your future. It's a good way to search our hearts as well as we learn more and more. When I studied these things out I did not use the internet at that time in my life, but I did use a concordance. The internet can have so many distractions, the old ways of reading a hard copy of the Bible and quiet time before the Lord I highly recommend.

Does obedience make you a Pharisee?

 MORNING MUSING May 18, 2018

It stood out to me as we read from Luke last night. . .

I have crossed paths either in the real world or through the internet with people who have strong confidence that Jesus is their Lord. Some of them know they sin willfully but are deceived by false doctrines that apparently teach that their past, present, and future sins are washed away and there is nothing they can do to lose their salvation. This is so far from the reality of what the word of God plainly says....(study it honestly without commentary if you are also believing such a deception you will find many verses and warnings teaching we are to, "go and sin no more." The fear of the Lord along with His grace can keep us from willful sin.)

Many people confidently come before the Lord, singing His praises and think themselves kings and priest, prophets & prophetesses, "kings daughters" , etc;

They do not see themselves honestly. They see some good things in their lives, like:


"I FAST TWICE A WEEK"


"I DO NOT COMMIT ADULTERY"


"I TITHE TO THE CHURCH"


It reminds me of this:


Mark 10:17, 19-23 "And when he was gone forth into the way, there came one running, and kneeled to him, and asked him, Good Master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?
Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Defraud not, Honour thy father and mother.
And he answered and said unto him, Master, all these have I observed from my youth.
Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him,
---------- One thing thou lackest:

go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me.

And he was sad at that saying, and went away grieved: for he had great possessions.

And Jesus looked round about, and saith unto his disciples, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God!"


This man did a lot of good things, but he still lacked something. Something he apparently wasn't wanting to give up.


We must never be overconfident in our walk of faith. Sadly many are boldly proclaiming themselves "SAVED" when Christ & even others can clearly see what they are lacking.


Many today throw around the word "PHARISEES" and have redefined it to mean someone who takes Christ's words sincerely and applies them to their life so much that it causes a drastic change in their character and actions. Such as modest dress, sobriety, shamefacedness, head-covering, meekness, loving neighbor as self, denying self, etc.


When in reality according to this description a Pharisees is one who trusts in themselves that they are righteous, acceptable to God and SCORN others.


Many of the people who quickly and scornfully call the obedient "PHARISEES" fit the description of a Pharisee much more accurately as they scornfully condemn those who take Christ's word to heart, calling out railing accusations, mocking and laughing.


Read this:


Luke 18:9-11, 13-14 "And he spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others:

Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican.

The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself,

God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican.

And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying,

God be merciful to me a sinner.
I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted."


When I first came to know Christ I came to Him as the publican, aware of my sin and need for a Saviour. Just because we have been in the Faith for so long a time doesn't mean we should start acting like the Pharisee that thinks he is acceptable to God. There is always a possibility that there is one thing that we are lacking as the young rich man was. We need to hold on to a broken, contririte & sincere spirit before the Lord and never despise "sinners" We all start out sinners in need of a Saviour. Over time His Word and Spirit washes and cleanses us, we are to be as a bride preparing for the Good man to come take us, washing out spots and ironing wrinkles, hoping we will be found acceptable of Him in that day.


Paul said he had not yet attained, he did not see himself as having "arrived", he had faith and hope and he earnestly served God and labored to keep his flesh under him.


Philippians 3:8-14 "Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ,


And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:


That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death;


If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead.


Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus.


Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended:


but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,


I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus."


(And please don't get confused, obedience to Christ's teachings is not "one's own righteousness", it is simply doing what is expected of you as a student of the Master Christ.)

Anyhow, this musing is longer than I expected..... enjoying the idea of keeping ourselves humble and aware of our own needs and not being overly confident. We walk by faith, we labor to do the good we know to do and hope in His mercy as we earnestly seek Him to perfect that which is lacking in our life. And we never look down on those who are overcome in faults or lost in sin, we pity them, pray for them as the Spirit leads, show compassion and never make them a centerpiece of scornful conversation.

Thanks be to God for His grace that teaches us the better way.

Divisions Among Believers

 Morning Musing June 28, 2017

Something interesting to consider...Today there is much division among believers, even believers dear to us...it can be hard to know what to believe. Some say so and so causes division everywhere he goes....what was said of Christ:

After Christ spoke truth to them it is recorded in John...

John 10:19
There was a division therefore again among the Jews for these sayings. (For Christ's sayings)

John 7:43
So there was a division among the people because of him.

John 9:16
Therefore said some of the Pharisees, This man is not of God, because he keepeth not the sabbath day. Others said, How can a man that is a sinner do such miracles? And there was a division among them.


Now was Christ going about as a man of strife? Certainly not...but some hearing of Him may have gotten such an impression from what they heard of Him.

Notice who we are to mark & why:

Romans 16:17

Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offenses contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them.

Those who spoke doctrine CONTRARY to the truth...we must be sure that someone is truly speaking contrary to sound doctrine before we mark and avoid them...and hearing from everyone, but the person themself is not a way to be sure.

1 Corinthians 3:3

For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men?

1 Corinthians 11:18

For first of all, when ye come together in the church, I hear that there be divisions among you; and I partly believe it.

1 Corinthians 1:10

Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.

Since the early followers of Christ, there have been divisions among believers...

Christ says of Himself:

Luke 12:51

Suppose ye that I am come to give peace on earth? I tell you, Nay; but rather division:

He was not a man of strife, nor was He carnal as Paul referred to some of the early believers...

Here is another verse to consider:

1 Corinthians 11:19 For there must be also heresies among you, that they which are approved may be made manifest among you

I looked up the word heresies here, and the Strongs said, : from 138; properly, a choice, i.e. (especially) a party or (abstractly) disunion:--heresy

So, I get this idea from these verses, that divisions can be a result of carnality, yet divisions are something that comes about from speaking truth as Christ did, and division is necessary to make clear who is approved of God. Divisions can be very draining especially to young believers....we must draw near to God that we are not tossed with every wind of doctrine. And we must not be weary in well doing...we also must prove all things and not be quick to condemn others by what we have heard through the grapevine. These are just some quick thoughts I am musing on...here is another thought I shared recently on the matter:

...if you lived in Christ's time you may have heard a rumor of a carpenter's son who claims to be like unto God and speaks contrary to the wise and aged religious leaders, everywhere he goes divisions arise among the "men of God"...some speak well of him, and some say he has a devil....then you hear the news that this man is but a few hours away, would you forbear on seeing for yourself if the accusations against him are true? If so, holding to the opinions of others would have hindered you from the will & blessing of God.

John 8:48
Then answered the Jews, and said unto him, Say we not well that thou art a Samaritan, and hast a devil?

John 8:52
Then said the Jews unto him, Now we know that thou hast a devil. Abraham is dead, and the prophets; and thou sayest, If a man keep my saying, he shall never taste of death.

How deep is your Prayer/Relationship with God?

Greetings Friends,

As I start to work on the blog more you will notice some changes. I don't exactly like the way my Morning Musing Page is set up. I would like to make it easier for you all to find musings you haven't read before. So I decided to try making the musings regular posts. This way they will be easier to find in the long run as they will automatically be stored under the "Topics" section under "Morning Musings. In order for this to work I will have to turn each musing into a post. So for a time you may notice a daily post being made of old Musings of mine until it's all caught up.

Morning Musing 8/30/2019

Do you pray seeking God's blessing and help in your life? Do you come before God believing He can give you what you want?

Is this as far as your relationship with God goes? You pray when things get tough.

Have you ever thought about going further with God? Have you ever considered that if you had a friend you only went to when you wanted help that you aren't such a good friend yourself? Friendship's shouldn't just be built on "what we gain from the 'friend' "

God is the kind of Friend whose character should greatly impact and influence ours.

Did you ever make friends in school whose personality you somewhat took on yourself? You started to like what they liked, dress like them, talk like them?

When we come to God seeking Him to make our life more bearable or better let's also come to Him with a desire to know more about His Character, His nature. As we would want anyone else to want us as a friend, let's seek to learn more about God: what He likes and doesn't like, the way He talks, the way He dresses, the way He responds to situations.

This may sound silly to some. But God is a real friend if we seek Him and want Him as one. We have so much to gain from learning about His Character and imitating it until it becomes who we are. Not only is He HOLY as we also should be, but He is MEEK, PATIENT, KIND, GENTLE, LONG- SUFFERING, HUMBLE, SWEET, RESPECTFUL, GRACIOUS, MERCIFUL, SINCERE, HONEST, PURE RIGHTEOUS, JUST,...

God is GOOD and all together LOVELY.

DON'T GO THROUGH LIFE SIMPLY ASKING HIM FOR WHAT you want. Ask Him to make you like Him. Who wouldn't want His Character? Hunger and thirst for His righteousness with your whole heart and I am persuaded He will change your life for the better, although it may seem as if someone took your world and shook it upside down. Your character will completely change, you will find out who your real friends are (maybe none), your family may think you have lost your mind. But it's the best thing you will ever do in this life=come to Know and Follow God.

God isn't a Genie we seek our wishes to be granted by.

He is an Awesome, magnificent Creator of Heaven and Earth, He made you and me for a purpose that is beyond, eating, drinking, sleeping, mating, brushing your teeth everyday.

Seek the GOOD GOD TO KNOW HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS AND TO WALK IN IT.

Much love ❤️