Remember Benghazi
A fellow blogger over at “The Healing Arena” has a post entitled, “What’s that voice in your head?” A portion of it follows:
Why are you thinking the way you are thinking now?
Why are you acting like that now?
Why did you just take that strange decision which is very unlike yourself?
You think God’s attitude towards you has changed because of some short-coming in you or a mistake you made.
or you think you are unworthy of love and appreciation because you’re too far down the drain.
Some devil is whispering some nasty stuff into your ear and you’re beginning to believe it.
Some nay-sayer is speaking negativism into your mind and it’s taking its toll on you.
More of it can be found at: https://thehealingarena.wordpress.com/2015/08/02/whats-that-voice-in-your-head/
If you follow that link (hopefully it opens up in a new page so you don’t lose your place here) you will find that Elijah is mentioned. Now she did not go into any detail regarding Elijah, that might have gotten too far off track, but I shall take that risk here.
Elijah was fresh off his world-famous victory and should have been super-empowered to keep fighting the battle and gaining incredible victories as he smashed all his foes left and right. So why is he running away instead of pressing forward and taking advantage of the momentum?
God provides him some food to strengthen him for the journey he is taking but He does not tell Elijah to go back to where he should be. Instead He allows Elijah to continue on in his journey and when Elijah is ready God assures / reminds him “You are not alone.” He then gives Elijah a new assignment.
A few years ago I participated in an activity where I was the victim. A blindfold was securely placed and the folk around me started saying things like: “You’re no good,” You really messed up again,” “You’re such a loser,” and other things of that nature. Have you ever told yourself things like that?
At first I almost laughed because I knew all those people and I knew that they all liked me, excepting for maybe one or two of them, also I was their assistant pastor at the time. However the “voices” started taking a toll on me and memories of some of my own past shortcoming and failures suddenly started coming to mind, some of which I have beaten myself up for, and I remembered the voices of some others in my life who didn’t like me and some negative things they had said. Suddenly I did not feel like laughing for I could feel a wave of dark depression enveloping me, ready to choke me.
The voice of one of those physically present, started to crack. Since I’d had a counseling session or two with her I knew she was starting to hurt and I wanted to stop the experiment but the “key phrase” had not been uttered (I didn’t even know what the “key phrase” was, they all knew what it was but the moderator had purposely kept me uninformed) I was not the one in control and it was not yet time for the exercise to stop. Nevertheless, at that moment, I wasn’t feeling like I could really have given any words of encouragement to anyone.
Then I heard another voice which I could not really quite comprehend, at least not initially. It was saying, “You’re good,” “You are loved,” “You’re a child of The King,” etc. It was like a tiny flicker of light somewhere in the suffocating darkness. I began to focus on that solitary, still, small, voice and the depressing feeling began to recede but only as long as I could focus on that one voice. Then, finally, the key phrase, “Well done,” was uttered, everyone went quiet. The blindfold was removed. The experiment was over.
The person in charge, the moderator, offered a quick apology as she realized my eyes had “sweated a little bit” but I assured them all that it was okay. In the discussion we all had following the experiment I learned that she had actually been speaking for awhile before I ever heard her. It was when I heard the hurt behind the antagonistic voice and had empathy for its owner that I finally heard the positive voice.
Gretiana’s statement, “Just manage to go out there and be good to someone, even if you need it more, even if they don’t deserve it.” triggered my memory and inspired this blog posting. It is not just in that little experiment where that bit of advice worked, I’ve seen it work on several occasions in real life situations. I’ve heard the testimony of others.
Going through a rough time? Cheer up. It’s not over yet.
Breathe in deeply … c’mon humor me … now exhale.
What is the point? God is not finished with you here yet. Your special task probably still lies out there and you’ve got more preparation to go through. Now matter what happens always remember:
You are not alone, He, Jesus, is there.
He is not shouting. His is a still, small, voice. Funny how people flock to the motivational speakers but none of them comes even close to being as good as Jesus. He knows all about you and He is there, nearby. One day He will utter the key phrase “Well done….” My eyes will probably get all sweaty on that day, too.
Facebook has been demonstrating their bias. I know this is not news to many folks unless you are a far left type person, in which case you would be wondering “What bias?”
Facebook has been allowing many Anti-Israel groups to run “Death to Israel” pages and other highly Anti-Semitic content with apparently no problem. When they pulled down Britain First’s anti- ISIS post initial efforts to get content restored were met with refusals and deflection. However, as Breitbart London and others “turned up the heat” facebook relented and has apologized.
We can win…we must no longer be silent.
The old phrases “actions speak louder than words” and “you can tell a tree by its fruit” are not without warrant. This biblical principle comes from Christ Himself:
For a good tree does not bear bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. For every tree is known by its own fruit. For men do not gather figs from thorns, nor do they gather grapes from a bramble bush. (Luke 6:43–44)
Never forget, God won’t…
Which do you choose to be?
There are eternal consequences at play, folks.
Choose wisely.
Sometimes:
Constants aren’t
and
Variables won’t.
The way I see it Barak Hussein Obama is downright demonically delusional but due to the Democrat and associated liberal tendency towards despising God and His people and even often the convincing of themselves that God doesn’t exist then perhaps I should phrase the problem in such a manner as to be more pleasing and persuasive to their ear by explaining that it is obvious that Obama is suffering from a severe malady which may be identified as Narcissistic Personality disorder with Delusions of Grandeur.
Liberals, which may be more accurately termed “global progressives,” tend to consider all those who fail to march in lockstep with them not merely opponents in the arena of ideas but their moral and mortal enemies who are to be destroyed, not merely persuaded but destroyed. Those who are supportive of the Bill of Rights and the U.S. Constitution as well as Capitalists, Conservatives, and Christians are counted as foes because we stand in the way of this demonic wave of evil along with its vile underlings that push for enslavement to the god of this world which is creeping over the globe.
Mark 13:12-13; John 15:20-21
Although God invites everyone to be part of His forever family, those who are hostile to God and His ways will not be allowed to enter in to His heaven. Ladies and gentlemen that includes militant homosexuals and antagonistic atheists as well as many who call themselves Christian.
It is actually somewhat understandable why many people mistrust certain Christians; however, there are other Christians whom it is quite dangerous to despise. Those Christians and their way of living may make you feel a bit uncomfortable regarding life-choices you may have made or may currently be making but if they are actually embarking upon the spirit-walk we are all called to travel in then it is wise to take note and, perhaps, move in the same direction and along the pathway and in the same manner they are.
There is a Christian doctrine which holds that the soul of the fully committed Christian may attain a high degree of virtue and holiness and become Entirely Sanctified with the help of the divine grace of Jesus. That term is not to be confused with the late Dr. Charles Stanley’s erroneous accusations that those who believe Entire Sanctification is a present possibility in this life are actually claiming to have attained “Ultimate Sanctification.” The Reverend Doctor may have merely misunderstood and not been guilty of maliciously maligning that grace of Jesus which he couldn’t quite comprehend. In some of his sermons I heard him come so close to teaching and embracing Entire Sanctification, often while using slightly different terminology that meant the same thing, and then, just as it seemed like he was about to have his “eureka” moment, suddenly he was running back away from it.
I can remember at least a couple of times, sitting in front of the television saying, “C’mon Doc, you’re only a hair’s breadth away from your breakthrough.” Unfortunately, every time I heard Charles Stanley speak of Entire Sanctification correctly and get really close to actually comprehending the command from God for us to be holy in this life I would hear him turn around and run back toward hyper-Calvinism much like Gollum seeking out his “Precious.” Please understand, I do not lump together all those who hold John Calvin in high regard. I tend to see it as something along the line of: Hyper-Calvinist … Calvinist … Wesleyan-Calvinist. An example of the latter might be Charles H. Spurgeon who said, “There is a point of grace as much above the ordinary Christian as the ordinary Christian is above the world.” He also said of them, who are enjoying that grace, “They are rejoicing Christians, holy and devout men doing service for their Master all over the world, and everywhere conquerors through Him that loved them.”
Now the concept of Entire Sanctification may initially come from the Roman Catholic Church’s doctrine of theosis. The critic may pounce at this point and loudly proclaim, “Aha! It’s not a biblical thing!” My response is, “Sorry, charlie; go back and reread the paragraph above which starts with ‘There is a Christian doctrine…Jesus.’ because the foundation of that doctrine is God’s command to be holy.”
Thomas Aquinas defined a perfect thing as one that “possesses that of which, by its nature, it is capable.”
“Perfection is that which it is better to have than not to have.” – Duns Scotus
Christian Perfection is another term used to speak of Entire Sanctification. It is a doctrine that is chiefly associated with the followers and adherents of John Wesley’s theological understanding. Sometimes the concept is referred to as “sinless perfection,” although a better and more accurate phrase would be “blamelessness before God.”
John Wesley, in his book, “A Plain Account of Christian Perfection,” wrote “…sinless perfection is a phrase I never use, lest I should seem to contradict myself.” He also explained that he viewed it as “purity of intention, dedicating all the life to God” with “the mind which was in Christ, enabling us to walk as Christ walked.” This assists in “loving God with all our heart, and our neighbor as ourselves.”
Wesley did not use the term “Christian perfection” to claim sinlessness nor did he advocate it as a state of being unable to sin but rather the being more readily capable of choosing not to sin through finding empowerment from the Spirit of God to abide in holiness of heart and life in accordance with our high calling.
Thereby we may experience a freedom from willful rebellion against God, as well as impure intentions and pride. As we followers of Jesus function at that level of Christian living the world then sees the type of Christian that assures them that God still works in His followers in our day.
Entirely Sanctified Christians remain subject to temptations, and have a continued need to maintain a prayer life that keeps them connected to the One who empowers them to fulfill His command to “Be ye holy, for I am holy.” Charles Stanley correctly understood we cannot attain Entire Sanctification in our own power, and as long as we try to do it that way we’ll never get it; when we understand that the Spirit of God empowers us to live that way then and only then we may be empowered to receive that point of grace.
Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God. — Jesus
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