"I urge you, brothers and sisters, to watch out for those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you have learned. Keep away from them." 
Romans 16:17 (NIV)

"Warn a divisive person once, and then warn them a second time. After that, have nothing to do with them."
Titus 3:10 (NIV)

Have you ever encountered a divisive person? They are everywhere. They are found in the workplace, and anywhere where there are a group of people who have authority over them. They, unfortunately, are in the local churches. Individuals who are divisive don't see themselves as that. So, what does that word, 'Divisive' mean?

A divisive person causes disunity and dissention among others. This individual is often disgruntled, angry, and upset with someone or a decision that was made that rub them the wrong way. They not only refuse to comply with what they're told; they get others to go along with what they think and feel. They sometimes rise up against those in authority. This is a sin. This dishonors the Lord. They are rebellious and so are the ones who follow them.

Rebellious persons almost always seem to have followers. Followers come in two categories:
1. Those who are in agreement with the rebellion
2. Those who quietly look the other way

The sin of commission and the sin of omission is one in the same. To wrongly instigate a situation or to ignore that instigation makes both parties guilty. The sin of omission is committed when someone fails to do what they know is right where God is concerned.
It is seen in:
1. The failure to speak up about another's known sin (not addressing it with them) as well as failing to speak against the gossip (or evil speaking) being brought to them.
2. The failure to rebuke their fellow believer when they are in the wrong.
3. The failure to say anything by just being a bystander to wrong behavior, and ill speaking when done in their presence.

Let us not forget Korah, Dathan and Abiram in Numbers 16. Korah initiated the rebellion, and 250 men agreed with him and followed as well as Dathan and Abiram. Long story short, they were judged by God and killed. The earth opened up and swallowed them. They rebelled against the leadership God chose and influenced others to go against that leadership.

Rebelliousness has far reaching consequences.  Korah's sin impacted others, their households, and the people of God. Korah's attitude and conversation caused 250 men to rise up against the Moses and Aaron. 

God will judge these individuals by allowing sad and terrible events to happen in their lifetime as well as in the judgement to come (the judgement seat of Christ). As Christians, we will all be judged for how we've lived out our Christian life.

What category do you fall in? The Word of God is clear. We are to know who's causing division among us and to separate ourselves from them.  God is for unity among His people and anyone causing disunity must be shunned. Don't be a part of anyone or anything that goes against the authority God has placed over you in your local church.

Leaders are certainly not perfect, but we are not to disrespect them, neither gather others to speak against them. You may not always agree with their choices or decisions, and if that is the case, go to God first with your complaint and prayerfully and humbly approach them privately with your concerns. Korah had a leg to stand on with his complaint, but he was dead wrong in how he went about it. 

We live in a society where many feel that they're entitled to receive what they want. People wake up every day with no thought as to what keeps their heart beating, their eyes seeing, and their physical being functioning. 

There used to be a time in history where only the older folk took ill or died. It was expected that the young would live longer than they're living today. Mankind hasn't taken stock of their life. 

The Gospel message of Salvation continues to go out in many churches and the call for sinners to repent is still being made. 

If you have stumbled upon my website, please stop and listen to this simple message of 'Love' written by Jesus Christ, Himself, for you!

John 3:16 says, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only son (Jesus) that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." Have you ever heard that before? What do you think about that? You have been placed on the planet not by happenstance. There's no big bang theory that formed your intricately woven body. 

I need you to know that life is very unpredictable. People are dying all around you and some suddenly without warning. Where will your soul go should you die today, tomorrow or in the near future? What plans have you made for eternity? Your soul is eternal. One's body may die due to sickness, or car accident or simply one's heart may just stop beating. The soul of every human lives on beyond the grave. The question becomes, "Where will your soul end up."

There is life after death. There really is a hell. That's the place souls go when they have rejected the Lord Jeus Christ's offer of salvation. Life is unpredictable at best. All that's needed for you to do is to confess your sins by simply recognizing that you have been a sinner and ask God to forgive you of your sins. But don't make that confession if you don't feel a need to change how you've been living. You should be sincere in your confession to God. He will forgive you and show you the way to live that He intended. A life full of blessing, and comfort with all the provision and help you need to navigate your way here on the earth. 

There's another thing God wants you to know. His son, Jesus Christ, has promised to return for all who have placed their faith and trust in Him. One day He's coming back to take His people to Heaven and there we will spend all eternity with Him.

This offer of 'Salvation' will not be on the table forever. I don't want you to miss out on a life of bliss. We've pretty much come to the end of another year. Don't you think it's time to think seriously about where you will spend eternity? Think about it. Tomorrow isn't promised to you.

                                  "Iron sharpens iron, so a man sharpens the countenance of his friend."    
                                                                               Proverbs 27:17

Recently, I had the opportunity to spend time with a few fellow believers. This was outside of the church building. It was on our own time. We came together to discuss a portion of scripture as we are used to doing monthly in our bible study.  We had a blessed time of it. 

Socializing and fellowship are two different things. True fellowship always involves spiritual things being shared. It brings the Lord front and center in our midst, and He speaks through the individuals who are present. The results are blessed indeed because each person can walk away encouraged with a word from the Lord.

Who have you been spiritually keeping company with?  Are the bulk of the conversations all about shop talk, where you're planning your next trip, or what your kids have accomplished? While those things bear some importance, they do nothing for one's spiritual life. It's important to bring more to the table when we're with other Christians.

We have the responsibility to make generous deposits in each other's spiritual bank. In order to do this effectively, we have to daily sit at the feet of the Lord (reading His Word) while allowing Him to minister and speak to us and we to Him via prayer. This will allow us to walk in the Spirit. When another believer comes across our path it affords us an opportunity to share some aspect of the Lord as the conversation permits. This type of encounter can be so sweet, so vital and so uplifting.

Let us be mindful of who we're keeping company with. Not every Christian is spiritually fit to make spiritual deposits. If all we're doing is socializing every time we come in company with fellow Christians, we're missing out on the benefit and blessing of 'fellowship'.  It also means that our spiritual bank accounts are without funds.

"Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the LORD, our maker!"
Psalm 95:6)
"But then I recall all you have done, O LORD; I remember your wonderful deeds of long ago."
Psalm 77:11-12

We are used to being so busy running here and there that we forget what it is to make time for reflection. Taking the time to reflect and remember important things. 

There are always things to do, places to go and people to see, but we must make time in our busy schedules to stop and reflect on the goodness and graciousness of God.  It's something that should be done weekly, yes weekly because we soon forget to count our blessings by naming them one by one.

How often do you go down memory lane recalling the many times the Lord God has answered your prayers, delivered you and opened doors that led to your success? What about all of the times He sent unexpected blessings; did you stop to thank Him for that?  

If we stop to consider where we would be had the Lord not saved us by His grace, we'd see the long list of things that require praise and thanksgiving.

God desires that we be a thankful people. A people who are grateful and appreciative for everything He has done for us. We may even forget things like:

​>Waking up each day clothed and in our right minds
>Having our six senses functional
>Being fortunate in having a roof over our heads with food to eat each day
>24/7 protection
>Access to God through prayer and the reading of His Word

There are tons of things to give thanks for on the daily, but something deeper takes place within us when we start from the beginning of our lives tracing the hand of God throughout every turn in the road to where we are today. This is important to do lest we forget how far we've come by His grace.

As we near the end of another year that sped by quicker than the last one, may we stop long enough to ponder what great things God has done for us. May we think deeply on each event and praise God for all He's done in our lives.

Pruning forks are used for pruning vines and branches. Vines and branches, from what I was made to understand, need to be cut back in order for the tree to produce more fruit and much fruit.

God uses this process with His children. He insists that they grow spiritually and mature with every trial and triumph. Yes, I mentioned 'Triumph' because it's in those times of blessing and joy that are hearts grow fonder and closer to God or should. This too adds to our growth.

It's in times of trial and sorrow that are the hardest for us, at least for me anyway. Sometimes the Lord hurts us in order to heal us, He allows painful circumstances so that we may come full circle with whatever the issue is in our lives. The very thing that we prayed to not happen, sometimes is the very thing God allows. He is pruning us at this time. He feels that we need that situation for chastening purposes. It isn't necessarily that we did anything wrong or even sinned. He uses His chastening hand to perfect us spiritually, making us to be more like Him.

John 15:2 says, "He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit, he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful." It's an ongoing process for the believers who are obedient and faithfully following Him. I know this doesn't sound inviting, but you and I will only measure up to what God wants us to be when we allow Him to prune us.

May the Lord God help us to gain a right perspective on trials and may we come to agree with His process of maturing us and making us more like Christ. May we produce fruit, more fruit and much fruit for His glory. Amen!

When Life Is Unfair, what do we do? 

To my recollection, life has never not been unfair. Trials, and tribulations come to all. Troubles come to the weak and to the strong. Life's events do not discriminate.

There are tons of Bible passages that speak to problems and disappointments in life. We can recount the stories of Bible characters who certainly had their share of life being unfair.

Joseph, in Genesis 37, had some horrific crimes stacked against him. He was the victim of a kidnapping by his brothers (held against his will by being thrown into a pit), and then trafficked to some Ishmaelites.  If that wasn't bad enough, he was accused of sexual misconduct by his boss's wife who sexually harassed him regularly, imagine that. Joseph was thrown into prison and when he helped others, he, himself was forgotten. His story has a sweet end because God's providential face was in it all. There was a purpose in all God allowed. Joseph's obedience to God as a young man, opened him up to these horrific trials. There is a price to pay for obedience to God, but it's never without a tremendous blessing. Joseph became Governor of Egypt and saved many including his own family during seven years of a fierce famine.

David was hunted down by King Saul for many years because he was a young man of courage and character. Saul failed to have the guts as king to stand up against Goliath. It took a 17-year-old boy to verbally challenge this Philistine giant. David had had previous, powerful experiences that proved to him that he was never to be afraid of anyone or anything. Saul, on the other hand, ran and hid with his men behind a rock in fear of Goliath. Everyone's attention is now turned to this young teenage boy who took out a giant with a sling shot and a few smooth stones. Saul can't deal with the attention David is getting and seeks every opportunity to kill him (1 Samuel 19). He put David through hell. We read in the Psalms, from chapters 51 to 72, some of the heart felt agony David went through at the hands of his enemies. Having someone hunt you down for years threatening to kill you is traumatic, yet God allowed it because David was to be Israel's second king. God was through with Saul and his disobedient heart.

Lastly, we have a woman by the name of Hannah who couldn't have children. She was the second wife of Elkanah in 1 Samuel 1. His first wife, Peninnah, had several children, and she made it her business to attack Hannah every chance she got. She made Hannah's life miserable. This went on for quite some time. Hannah's husband said the wrong thing by ranking himself to be more fulfilling than having a baby. It got to the point, one day, where it all came crashing in on Hannah. She couldn't take it any longer. She stopped eating due to depression and she went into the temple to cry out to God and to add insult to injury, the priest misunderstood the situation and accused her of drinking. Oh, my goodness! The priest, I tell you, the priest! He should have had more spiritual perception to know that this was a burdened heart. He was spiritually dull and lacking. Long story short, God answers her prayer, and she becomes pregnant with a son who would become a judge and a prophet in Israel. God gave her Samuel. What a sweet end to a bitter and unfair experience.

Life is and will continue to be unfair, but when God is in the mix, you can expect great things to happen. What God allows, He allows on purpose for purposes of His own so hang in there and keep trusting and believing. God has a blessed end to it all!

Fellowship - A shared common interest.

"Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing."
1 Thessalonians 5:11

"Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another."
Proverbs 27:17

As Christians we should jump for the opportunity to fellowship with each other. We should look forward to those occasions when we get together to talk and share spiritual things. This occurs in simple conversations of any topic and somewhere in the exchange one or more persons brings up the Lord in relation and in context to what is being spoken about. These can be the sweetest of times with believers because we are sharing a common interest which is the Lord God.

Gone are the days when we use to flank the homes of believers just because. I can remember stopping by the homes of fellow Christians and having a snack. During those times important things would be shared with me as a younger believer. The opportunity for learning was had and oh the gems of wisdom and encouragement I received then, and those words has continued to carry me today.

We can clearly see the need for such gatherings. We need to go back to opening our homes for such interaction to occur. We need to value it at all costs. Life and its concerns, over the years, have kept us running from one thing to another week after week, month after month, and year after year. We've had little time between family, the job, school and church activities. We pass one another and have short segments of chit chat of sorts, but often nothing valuable is shared. 

I am seeing that we may be forced to go back to meeting in one another's home to conduct church services. We could easily lose our church buildings where for decades we have met freely without fear. Something is coming that will challenge each and every Christian where this is concerned.

Let us seriously consider gathering together informally in our homes. You don't need a reason except for the encouragement and strengthening of fellow believers. Let us make the time in our schedules for such an opportunity. It can be done once a month and for those who are retired, it can be a commitment to a weekly Bible study. Home Bible studies are the best. So much can be shared and learned, and it also fosters closeness.

May the Lord help us to value what He values and to appreciate the body of Christ.

"And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all."
1 Thessalonians 5:14

As Christians it is expected that we gain knowledge and understanding of the Word of God, the Bible. We need to know what pleases God, how we're to live and how we should worship Him. 

Is there such a thing as too much knowledge? Can knowledge keep us, as believers, from living out the truth of God's Word? Yes, I say Yes, too much knowledge can leave us empty in other places. Too much knowledge can be a hindrance to living out what we know in a godly way.

I've been blessed and fortunate enough to start out my Christian life among believers who were quite knowledgeable when it came to the Bible. I learned many things, even the deeper things of scripture. For that I'll forever be grateful because it kept me from a watered-down Christianity, and it kept me from following wrong doctrine. But I've also seen how some who bore this knowledge seemed to be more in-love with it, (the knowledge) than the Lord's people. I saw the insensitivity towards others and the pride that put others beneath them. I've observed how others were looked upon and how they were treated. 

From time to time, many years later, I still see this type of behavior whenever I rub shoulders with the Lord's people. I'm not referring to one particular church or gathering. I see it on the whole in places I've fellowshipped. This is unfortunate. Failure to live out what we say we know is a handicap, in my opinion. It's just information that we've stored up and pull out when we want to challenge someone or prove a point.

Knowledge without understanding with the love of God can be injurious. This type of thing turns people off. One can tell when they are loved by a fellow believer. It comes across lovingly with compassion with empathy. Even if that believer has sinned and have fell from grace, when spoken to by another Christian who exhibits humility and love, he or she will be open to hear the correction, or the rebuke which can lead to restoration. Knowledge alone cannot accomplish reaching a person's heart. 

The Bible tells us that "Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up" (1 Corinthians 8:1). Knowledge in itself inflates one's ego. It yields arrogance and pride. 

If we say that we have knowledge of the Word of God, we should also have the love of God to accompany what we know. Here's a couple of basic examples. When we've heard that a fellow believer is grieving due to a loss, we ought to reach out to them with the love of God, whether it is shown by sending a card, a phone call, or visiting them in their home. If it is a material loss, it may require giving to help them. In this they can see for a truth that the things you've previously preached, or shared operates in truth by your deeds. In situations where a believer is going through trials and you get wind of it, again, depending on your previous relationship with them, you can reach out to them to encourage them, to support them, or to hold out that umbrella over them as the rain falls hard upon them. Don't just tell them you're praying for them. Yes, they need your prayers, but if you are in a position to do more than that, do it. It is hypocritical to say we are knowledgeable of God's Word and ignore fellow believers in their hour of need. This in itself is sin.

God is not interested in the amount of knowledge we possess. He is interested in how we are living out what we know. There's an adage that says, "I don't care how much you know; I only want to know how much you care."

We are not responsible for the negative things that have happened to us in this life. More than likely, you and I were born into situations that we had nothing to do with. We were the innocent babies and children at the mercy of our parent's decisions and actions.

Many have had unfortunate circumstances in their childhood that shaped their personalities and altered their thinking. Their view on life has been skewed. As they grew into young adulthood, the view through the lens of a problematic upbringing has changed the path their lives would have taken had it not been for the dysfunction.

When an individual, who has come from a dysfunctional family situation becomes a Christian, that in itself is a miracle. God performs miracles like this every day. He is to be praised. Salvation is needed for all no matter what you were born into. But when you come from bad stock, or a bad family environment, the challenges you now face can be difficult. There is so much to unlearn and there is so much to heal from.

God can heal you emotionally, but you must do the work necessary for that to take place. I will use myself as the example. I came from a dysfunctional family situation that left scars upon my heart and life that were horrific. When I surrendered my life to God, I thought that would be the end of my sorrows. It was only the beginning. There was a lot of healing that needed to take place in order to get free of the chains that had wrapped itself around my heart and life.

There are conscious decisions that have to be made in order for change to take place. I had to admit to myself that I had been injured emotionally, physically and mentally. I had to admit that I had pain that was interfering with my ability to function healthily as a believer. I had to admit that I needed help to unpack my baggage. Those are not easy things to admit to oneself. Often people justify their deficits. When you get to the point where you look yourself in the face and face what's in the mirror, you are now ready for God to step in and bring healing.

There are things that become engrained in us from childhood, that the longer we live with the negative behavior, the harder it will be to overcome them. I started following Christ in my early 20's and that is when I started to lay that heavy burden down. I began dealing with the pain of my childhood. The more I read the scriptures and learned about other dysfunctional families in the Bible, I knew there was hope for me.

Prayer is a powerful tool, so use it! I began to spend more and more time talking with God and pouring my heart out to Him. I asked the hard questions and sought Him for the answers. The more I opened up those secret places to the Lord, the more comfort and help I received from Him. It took time, as all relationships do, but in time, slowly but surely, God touched me in those places that needed healing and closed up those wounds. I had to also make some hard decisions concerning my family. I had to choose separation for the sake of myself. We can heal, but if we continue to go around an infectious environment, we will re-wound ourselves and create new pain.

God wants us to be healthy and whole. We have to be willing to do the work on ourselves and trust God's Word in the process. Some Christians hide behind all sorts of things and lie to themselves and to others as they live out one life publicly, while suffering in silence privately. I've known some who have been so wounded and scarred by their upbringing that they used other things to compensate for their childhood losses. This led them into sinful lifestyles by choice. The truth of it was that all their lives they were looking for acceptance and love. Why did they not find it with Christ? They failed to do the work and what would be required of them for complete healing. Instead, they kept their scars a secret and nursed their pain year after year in behavior patterns that were ungodly.

I want you, my dear reader, to be mindful of one thing; Jesus knows your sorrows and your pain. He is well aware of your past and your childhood. He knows what you were born into. He saw what happened to you. He wants to heal you and use you and your story for His honor and glory. Please don't hide behind church activity, ministry, your talent or your gifting thinking that you will be alright. You want to get FREE of the past hurt and pain. Open up to God fully and seek His healing by praying constantly and sitting at His feet. Let Him enter into those dark spaces of your heart, those secret places, those hurtful experiences and all its pain. May God grant you the peace you need and the healing so you can be a healthy Christian.

Verses:
"Come unto me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." {Matt. 11:28}

"The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. {Prov. 17:22

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."  {Jeremiah 29:11}

When we think of the two words, 'Use Me', we tend to lean toward service involving church, don't we? There's another perspective on those words, and yet it still is service.

God most definitely wants to use you and I to serve not only Him, but to serve others. Most of the time we are all for it. Let's take a look at what I mean by this. 

We jump at the opportunity to do something for the Lord God especially when it is something right up our alley. If we are skilled in a thing and do it well, we look for opportunity to exercise it. But what happens if you become ill? Are you still able to serve God? 

A person who took ill and had to be hospitalized cannot attend church. They are laid aside perhaps in the hospital or at home. The tendency is to think that they are not serving a purpose and therefore not useful to God during this time. Not true! There are many persons who come across the path of a sick believer from nurses, doctors, hospital aids who bring them food to social workers and surgeons. That adds up to quite a few people who regularly tend to the sick.

God is in complete control over the things His children experience. He can use us anywhere at any time and in whatever condition we may find ourselves in. That sick saint who has been out of church can continue to serve God's purposes right there in their hospital bed. How is that possible, you may ask? Well, they belong to God, and they have a testimony. They can now share Him with all who come across their path while on a sick bed. God can use their spirit and attitude to get the attention of those who are nursing them back to health and provide opportunity for a much-needed conversation to be had. God can use their words to have an impact on others in that sick room. All who handle and deal with this sick saint, have an opportunity to get a glimpse of God. That's powerful. Perhaps that is part and parcel as to why God allowed their illness because of the people who would cross their path.

When we take a look at that perspective on service, it doesn't rank up there with how we see opportunity to serve the Lord. As a matter of fact, we want to shy away from any situation that places us in the hospital or functioning at a deficit. 

Sometimes God calls some of us away from 'Church' to serve in a different capacity for a certain length of time. He has purposes unknown to us. He gets to choose. We are simply in His hands. He desires that we get a glimpse into what He's trying to do with us at that point in time.

So, the next time you are not well and have to stay home from church, think of how you could take advantage of that opportunity for God. It could be as simple as using that time to pray for others who aren't well and who need healing. Perhaps there are those who could use a phone call from you and receive much needed encouragement. You can send a card or small gift to lift the heart of someone who is going through an affliction. There's no excuse since Amazon makes it possible and easy without having to leave your home.

This is just one perspective on serving God that I want you to consider.