John 8:32, “And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”
“Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know.Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the way?Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” John 14:1-6
Jesus promises us that the truth will set us free. It happens. Freedom comes to those who walk in truth. You cannot serve two masters. Follow the Lord in the land of the living. Serve Him with gladness. Tell the truth & walk with the truth for your very life everlasting depends upon this.
The enemy of God has lied to you making you think it’s okay to tell lies. It is not okay to tell lies. If you follow God wholeheartedly then you will tell the truth and keep telling the truth. The truth is what will set you free from the lies of the enemy.
I sang a little song last night that I clung to months ago. I sang, “O Lord, please set us free from the tricks on the enemy.” One of the major schemes the enemy uses is the spirit of lies. satan lied to Eve in the garden. That lie is what started the fall of man.
The spirit of lies has also moved through prophets of old. In the book of Jeremiah you can read about the false prophets and the true prophets of God. The true prophets were the ones that told the truth even if it didn’t please people when they heard the truth. The false prophets just said things they knew people wanted to hear.
There is a warning against the false prophets in the book of Ezekiel. God does not want people to speak forth wrong things. God wants His people to declare words of truth. Deception does not come from God.
Healing and deliverance will come to those who walk on the straight and narrow path that leads to life. Those who walk on the good path will turn away from evil. When you turn away from evil you will quit lying. I believe there are some people crying out to God for deliverance from evil. I believe there are some that may have to totally be free of the spirit of lies in order to be set free. It may be the only way they will ever know peace. It may be the only way they receive total healing from God.
Liars will not be in the Holy City. Revelation 21:8, “But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.”
The only hope for these sinners is if they grab hold of the truth turning from evil ways so they can live.
If you were engaged to a wonderful person and you know that person would be faithful and true to you you wouldn’t want to do anything to ruin that relationship. You would love them and tell them you loved them. You would do everything possible to keep them. If you then married them and the relationship was destroyed because you stopped showing them love and because you started lying to them all the time you would have no one to blame but yourself for losing them. That is the way it will be for those that don’t turn away from evil before they meet their maker.
The truth will set you free. Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life; no man comes to the Father but by Him. If you want to sincerely walk with God you may follow Jesus. Being a follower of Jesus means you will be a doer of the Word not a hearer only. You will be saved by grace because salvation cannot be earned. You will also walk in truth because you love the truth.
Those who love the Lord hate evil. Those who love God hate injustice. Those who love the Lord hate evil deeds. Those who love the Lord hate lies.
Take the truth and bind it around your neck so it will protect you. Take words of truth and let them flow from your mouth. Determine in your heart that you will abide in God’s Word. Determine in your heart that nothing will separate you from telling the truth thereby abiding in God’s love.
If you want peace that passes understanding to be yours at all times walk in the truth. Speak the truth in love. Speak the truth at all times. Do not turn to the right or to the left. Walk on the straight and narrow path that leads to life.
There are many forms of abuse in relationships. Here are some more things to help a person know if they are involved with someone that is abusive. Remember abuse isn’t always done in the form of hitting although you may be threatened.
A person may threaten to harm you financially if they let you know they want to take things from you.
A person may threaten to harm you if they say they are going to lie to the police declaring you have harmed them when you haven’t done so. I recently read that abusers have started to try to manipulate the system by threatening to tell lies about their partner before or if their partner tells the truth about them.
In most cases you have no choice but to get away from this abusive person. Get away from them because they have proven to you that they cannot be trusted to do or say the right things. If someone can threaten to tell lies about you & they have threatened to harm you in any way doesn’t that tell you they are not a loving person?
God does not want you to be unequally yoked. If you are a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ and you ended up married to someone that abuses you know that you can leave that destructive person. You can leave & you most probably should leave before they get to manipulate you more than they have already.
Don’t blame yourself for their ugly behavior. Don’t take the blame that isn’t yours to take. Be honest (knowing you can’t lie to God or to yourself) and recognize that you were conned. Recognize it for what it is and get away from the abuser.
Remember the vows taken before God were vows that both people made. Your con artist abusive partner failed to remember the vows taken. You would remain faithful but your spouse did not remain faithful. Faithfulness to treat a spouse with love & respect is part of a healthy relationship. When your partner abuses you they are not faithful to God. When they threaten to harm you they are not faithful to you.
Nowadays many Godly Pastors and counselors are aware of how bad these type of people are. People that have been battered have started to open up telling these counselors what they have been going through.
Do not stay in an abusive situation. Get out. Stay out. Do not talk with the abuser any more than you have to.
Pray for ways to be set free from those type of people. Ask God fearing people to pray for you. When the opportunity arrives for you to go GO!
Flee like a bird being let out of it’s cage. Run like a gazelle.
I read that statistically it takes a victim about 7 times of returning to their partner before they finally leave for good. Do the best you can to keep from being victimized as long as that! Pray that you can have the strength to leave knowing that you will be healthier and happier without living with the one who abuses and uses you.
Don’t make excuses for your abuser. Don’t remember the good times with them because those times were all lies, too! They used every ounce of decency they could imagine to pretend to be someone they are not. Recall they do know how to treat you the right way but they didn’t continue to do it! They worked hard to learn about you before they got you in their lair. They are like a nasty animal that seeks prey to devour.
People like that are not good people. Find groups designed to help you recognize abusers tactics and remember what you’ve read.
Do not trust your abuser again. This person has not earned your trust. Let your memory cause you to remember that there are people that cannot be trusted. The person that abused you is not to be trusted. You are better off without the abuser in your life.
One of the first things an abuser does if you try to get away from them is they will start to act nicer. They will do all they can to try to get you to recall the good times you once shared. This is part of the cycle of abuse. They want to pull you back into the trap. It is best to remember exactly how ugly they acted. Do recall the abusive things they said and did. This is no time to forgive and forget! Forgive YES Take Abuse NO!
Do not get confused just because you know God wants you to forgive 70 X 7. God does want you to forgive. God does not want you to remain a victim being abused by a nasty spirited person that thrives on harming other souls.
The ones that pretend to love God are the worst of all enemies. They are like King Saul throwing that weapon full force towards David. They are tormented by whatever evil plagues them. They bounce back and forth seeking someone else to torment. They are moved by jealousy, selfishness, greed, and they definitley have a power struggle. They are not able to completely control themselves at all times. They get very frustrated when they are no longer able to control you! They will do almost anything to keep their victims deluded by them.
They do not love only one person fully. They speak a lot of empty words. Their words do not have life because they do not fulfill their good promises. The person they love the most is themself! They don’t know the power of true Godly love. If they knew about God’s love they would show it.
I am all for marriage and miracles. It may be hard to tell it in this particular writing. It’s just imperative for people to know that God did not intend for His children to be manipulated and conned by abusive liars. These abusive liars are following the devil. People that follow God do not hurt other people with abuse.
Love is not abuse! Abuse is not love! Learn to recognize abuse so you won’t be a party to it. Learn to recognize abuse so you can get away from it. When God opens the door run and don’t look back.
Think of Lot’s wife and how she looked back. She turned into a pillar of salt because she looked back. What was she looking back at? The place she left was being destroyed because the people were evil in that place. Run away from evil.
If this stuff is true I hope other people will view it & be warned.
After I had moments of being sad about this video I thought about two Scriptural things we should ponder when we hear about things like this.
YES, it is good to expose evil. Those who love the Lord hate evil. It is right & good to expose evil things.
NO, we do not want to continually fill our minds with ugly thoughts. Thinking pure, positive, and holy thoughts is good for us.
When you find out about evil I suggest prayer first then do what you can (if you can) to expose the evil.
Do not let your mind continue to focus on the evil tidings/things any longer than you have to. Get your mind on the Lord & on the fine good things as soon as possible. Be filled with Godly thoughts. Turn away from evil. Do good & speak forth good things.
It’s early in the morning & I wanted to write about change.
We sometimes wish we could change things. What if we could change other people & make them all sweet kind happy hearted individuals that loved us the way we love them? Wouldn’t that be great?!
We’d make them & mold them & possibly get them to fulfill good promises they’ve made making them honest caring people.
Do you think they’d want to change us, too? I expect they would. If they weren’t already kind, sweet, caring, & honest people then they’d never really be happy for a long period of time with you if you wanted to be all of those things.
The old saying about how water & oil don’t mix is true.
People are given freedom to choose how they will live. As much as we’d like to see everyone turn their lives completely over to God we have to accept it if they just won’t do it.
Isn’t it true that we keep praying asking God to bring them closer to Him though? IS there a time when you stop praying for other people that have chosen the wrong path?
Those are questions I have this morning.
You could say that GG stands for Good Guy and BG stands for Bad Guy.
When you watched old Western Movies on TV they’d say the GGs wore white hats and the BGs wore black hats.
Don’t you wish it was that easy to tell the good guys from the bad guys? It would be nice.
About a year ago I wrote about being careful for there will be wolves in sheep clothing. I had no idea that I would come face to face with a wolf and I would go through a time of thinking he was a sheep.
What a wild lesson in going through the fire of what you speak? Another interesting fact about what I learned is that there are many wolves in sheep clothing and again I tell you they are in the churches as well as in the workplace. It is not as uncommon as you may think. Beware and be extra cautious and prayerful because these animals are sneaky. If you aren’t sure about someone it is probably best to steer clear of them until you are sure about them.
These people that walk in the churches pretending to love the Lord are masters at disguising their real motives. They can con lots of people for a while. If they are older they have had lots of practice using persuasive words to prey on innocent people. One minute they are seductively kind to everyone they meet and then when they have their victim alone they attack.
Watch out for these bad guys. Be alert and be prayerful asking God for mercy in your life and in the lives of those you care most about.
The words I’m sharing here are not words I found on my own. I’ve discussed this subject with many Christian people. Pastors, Christian counselors, Christian friends, and decent people that don’t like the ugly things bad people do recognize that this world has some very nasty spirited folks in it. Evil doers will lie, cheat, and steal in any way they can to achieve their goal. They are cunning and evil. They do not care about anyone except themselves. The Bible speaks of these self-lovers. Look at 2 Timothy 3:1-5, “1This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. 2For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,3Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good,4Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;5Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.”
They are full of wickedness so much so that they will wear that mask pretending to do good. They will pour out the blame on other people in order to try ever so hard toget the attention off of themselves and the things that they are doing that is wrong.
I’ve pondered and prayed about some of these type of people. I sort of moved past the state of shock at how callous hearted they can be. It seems imperative to keep warning others because it is so prevalent today. Look at Verse 7 of the same Chapter in 2 Timothy: “7Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.” These people are fully capable of searching Scriptures and appearing as though they are actively and ever learning but they never come to the knowledge of the truth just like it says in verse 7!
Read some sentences made from Bible thoughts that will help you spot a true Christian. If a person does not actively show this good behavior on a consistent basis you are probably in the midst of a counterfeit Christian:
You will know them by their fruit -
A person that really follows after God will be one that will be seen fulfilling good promises they have made. That is part of being good. They will tell the truth for that is also a good thing. They will have real love, joy, and peace that does not easily dissipate. They will carry the peace even when they are not getting everything they want. Longsuffering will be theirs for they would not cause another person to suffer for their own selfish reasons. Gentleness, meekness, and self-control will be something they don’t just pretend to have in front of a church congregation or in front of their best friends. The fruit of the Spirit will be something they are well known for having daily & in their own home among the ones that live with them. Yes, the people that live with you will be able to report whether or not a person has the fruit of the Holy Spirit active in their lives. Those that follow after God’s Holy Spirit will not provoke others, will not envy others, will not lie against a brother or a sister, and they won’t desire vain glory. [See Galatians 5]
Be aware of the fact that it is becoming widely known in some churches that many of these wolves in sheep clothing are not showing how ugly spirited they are at church or even in the workplace. It is possible the people at church and the people in the workplace think these people are good hard working, kind, and gentle individuals. This is where the cunning part comes in to play. Take a look at what an online dictionary says about the word cunning:
adj.1. Marked by or given to artful subtlety and deceptiveness.
2. Executed with or exhibiting ingenuity.3. Delicately pleasing; pretty or cute: a cunning pet.
n.1. Skill in deception; guile.
2. Skill or adeptness in execution or performance; dexterity.
cun·ning(knng)
adj.
1. Marked by or given to artful subtlety and deceptiveness.
2. Executed with or exhibiting ingenuity.
3. Delicately pleasing; pretty or cute: a cunning pet.
n.
1. Skill in deception; guile.
2. Skill or adeptness in execution or performance; dexterity.
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These type of people use special skills to disguise the real inner being within them. They have hearts that are bent on evil and destruction. They follow the ways of the devil for he is the father and master of lies.
After coming in close contact with one of the most deceptive and disturbed people I’ve ever met I gave way to many tears for the souls of such people. I cried out to God asking Him to deliver such people from evil. At the same time I begged God to protect others from these evil minded people.
Many Scriptures were given to me to remind me that God will tend to the ones that do evil. Some of them will meet the Lord and they will truly be held accountable for every evil word spoken and evil deeds they have done. They will not deceive the Lord with charming words. Their sins will find them out. Some of them will be held accountable while they reside on earth even though they’ve tried for years in many cases to hide their wickedness. God will not allow them to get away with the horrible things they have done.
I confided in many close Christian people about my feelings. One Pastor gave me a Chapter in the Bible to ponder on and it is the same Chapter God had already given me. Ps. 37 begins with that reminder to not be fretting because of wicked people. Look at verses 34-37: “34Wait on the LORD, and keep his way, and he shall exalt thee to inherit the land: when the wicked are cut off, thou shalt see it.35I have seen the wicked in great power, and spreading himself like a green bay tree.36Yet he passed away, and, lo, he was not: yea, I sought him, but he could not be found.”
God reminds us to KEEP HIS WAY even if there are others that are doing wickedness. The wicked ones will one day be cut off & we will see it. Crazy people think there won’t be a day of accountability. Disturbed people walk away from the truth or they try to hide from it possibly because they really don’t want to know the truth. They will not be able to hide anything from God. They’ve never been able to hide things from God. Their sin will be found out. In many cases they’ve acted like a coward hiding their sins. They did their evil deeds in darkness and they really thought no one knew what they did.
Numbers 32:23b, “. . . behold, ye have sinned against the LORD: and be sure your sin will find you out.”
I’m reminded of King David. David had an innocent man killed for his own selfish reasons. He was hopeful that he’d get away with his sin. He forgot about the omnipresence of God. He forgot Cain killed Abel, too. Cain was a marked man because he killed his own brother. David forgot that you cannot hide things from God. David didn’t even kill Uriah himself. David had it look like an act of war. We know God wasn’t fooled for a minute. Even though David was anointed as King of Israel and even though David was beloved of God he was held accountable for the terrible deed he had done.
It makes me think of another passage I was given several months ago. Proverbs 17 see verses 11-13, “11An evil man seeketh only rebellion: therefore a cruel messenger shall be sent against him.12Let a bear robbed of her whelps meet a man, rather than a fool in his folly.13Whoso rewardeth evil for good, evil shall not depart from his house.”
The sword did not depart from David’s home and his wives were given to others because of the murder of Uriah. David’s life wasn’t taken but his sin was made known to all and it was recorded in the Bible. David tried to hide the evil deed but God knew all about it. What David did in secret God had exposed. God also saw to it that David was disgraced in public.
People should not think for one minute that God likes evil or that he rewards bad deeds. God is a forgiving God. David was forgiven after he repented but he did not go without punishment for the wrong he had done.
We won’t be elated to know wicked people are folding under the pressure of their own sins. It will not be something we want to gloat about although there is a sense of judgment that seems to come upon us when we think about it. Justice, righteousness, and judgment hits us because we desire goodness. We don’t want evil people walking around harming others. It makes me sad to know there are wicked people that won’t turn from their wicked ways yet it makes me happy knowing God won’t allow them to continue harming others forever. There is a time for judgment. There will be justice. It is right and good for this judgment to come even though some people are kind of hoping it won’t hit them.
My best friend was given passages of Scripture one day when we were talking about one who walks an evil walk. We talked about a man we know of who is seriously evil acting. We prayed about him and for him. The more he showed how ugly he could act the more we prayed. He walked among Christian people. He had that form of Godliness but he denied the power of God. He denied the power of God every time he acted like God couldn’t see the evil things he was doing. He did not show the fear of God at any time in my own opinion.
My friend opened up Old Testament Scriptures that talked about a high minded man that tyrannized others. The high minded man of the Bible was brought down by God’s own hand. The same God that brought down the one that terrorized others in the Bible is able to bring down those kind of men today.
I want to encourage others to know that God will not let evil doers live in the Holy City. Those who continue to walk in sin will not be in the Holy City terrorizing other people. They won’t be allowed in. The free gift of God cannot be earned by the deeds of men. If a man walks in church, pays a tithe, and pretends to be nice to the majority of the people he is around that will not earn him a seat in heaven. It won’t even earn him an itty bitty cabin. God’s Word plainly says that salvation is the free gift of God so that no man can boast. It also says that all have sinned and repentance is part of the plan of salvation. If a man repents of his sins he turns away from those sins.
A woman that lived near us one time used to say, “Liars will be fryers.” It was her way of telling children that liars won’t be in heaven. Revelation 21:5-8: “5And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.6And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.7He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.8But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.”
Now tell me who doesn’t believe in a hell that burns with fire and brimstone? If you tell me you don’t believe there is such a place then you are telling me you don’t believe in the Living Bible. If you tell me you think liars, murderers, idolaters, whoremongers, and the list given in verse 8 will be in heaven then you haven’t yet believed in the words of God.
You may ask who will get to heaven then. Just recall that we are saved by grace & no one has lived sinfree except Jesus, the Son of God. Remember that the undeserved & unearned favor of God gives us salvation. If you believe in God and if you have been freed from your sins then you have repented and turned away from the evil & bad things. You will not be found doing bad things. You may have been a bad guy in your past but you definitely are not doing bad things now. A true believer in the Lord Jesus Christ turns away from the wrong. That is what repentance is all about. Repentance means turning away from all forms of sin. You may even think it’s impossible to stop sinning. It is possible to turn away from sinful deeds when you go to God for help. You acknowledge your past sins and you ask forgiveness. You wouldn’t even lie about your past sins. You step up to the plate and you aim for the ball. Your goal should be to hit the ball out of the park. You cannot hit the ball that hard unless you have totally turned your life over to Jesus by being determined that you won’t be a bad guy any longer. You won’t be a liar for you desire the truth instead of lies. You won’t follow the arm of the flesh for you will trust God to help you stop sinning and stop being the self-centered individual of the past. This will be a life long goal you have for yourself. A repentant heart wants to do the right thing and will change with God’s help. ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE WITH GOD!!!
There are wolves in sheep clothing. They are out there and they may be eating the bitter fruit of having their own way. They may have good days and bad days like the rest of us but deep in their spirits they don’t know rest. They won’t have rest until they finally & if they finally turn away from their sins. There won’t be any more fenceline walking. People that are very wicked have troubles with double mindedness. One moment they may think they are doing good and the next thing they know it they are walking with that strange soul-destroying spirit in them that does not revere God.
An evil man can be saved. A murderer, idolater, liar, and a thief can be saved if he will but turn from his sins. He must truly turn from the sin though never looking back. He can not look at his past and long to be there any more. It must be his delight to walk with God all of his days turning away from the past and all the things of the past that held him away from God’s eternal peace.
43Why do ye not understand my speech? even because ye cannot hear my word.
44Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.
45And because I tell you the truth, ye believe me not.
46Which of you convinceth me of sin? And if I say the truth, why do ye not believe me?
47He that is of God heareth God’s words: ye therefore hear them not, because ye are not of God.
If you click on that link you will see an article on lying - What does the Bible say about dishonesty — Examples of Lying are given.
After I scanned that article I thought about these things:
This subject seems like an elementary lesson for Bible believers. How many Christians do you know that will decide to place their hands on the Bible and still tell a lie? Do you believe they are showing the fear of God if they can continuously tell lies?
There is an old phrase that sort of goes like this: “You can fool some of the people some of the time but you can’t fool all the people all the time.” I’m writing to tell everyone that believes in the Living God something they probably already know.
YOU ARE NEVER ABLE TO DECEIVE GOD!
If you believe in God you know without a doubt that He knows all things. You will never be able to trick Him. He cannot be conned. He can’t be manipulated into believing lies in any form. He does not make excuses for people either.
Yesterday we had a guest preacher preaching at our church. He talked about ministry he’s done in prisons. He said that he has been told that some people are offended by the TRUTH he shares when he talks about God’s Word. I think people that follow the devil live in their own little prisons. If they claim to love the Lord while they tell their lies surely they are miserable.
God’s Word is only appreciated by those who sincerely love the truth. Those who walk in darkness do not love the truth.
Everyone has a free choice to choose who they will serve. You may serve God and walk in the light & in the truth or you can serve the devil (the father of lies) and walk in darkness & be deceived & be a deceiver.
The ones who walk in truth will receive the blessings. The ones who walk in darkness will not receive blessings instead they will receive the curse & the bitterness that comes from choosing to have their own way.
Some people would like to believe that there is no punishment for wickedness. This lie from the devil will in essence be the noose that hangs around their necks.
Jesus said He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. Jesus came to set the captives free.
If you walk in darkness & you follow the enemy of God telling lies you are not walking in truth & you have no freedom.
You can be set free from the spirit of lies if you want to be free. You don’t have to follow the devil.
The Preacher that stood in Sunday sharing passages from the Bible talked about how people can be prayed for to be delivered from evil ways.
The choice is yours. You can choose a life of liberty and truth. You can be freed from the power of sin and death. Jesus was bruised for our iniquities. The chatisement of our peace was upon Him.
Isaiah 53:3-6,
“3He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. 4Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.5But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.6All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.”
If you really want freed from the enemy don’t follow the father of lies by doing things the enemy of God does. The enemy loves lying. The enemy tricks and deceives people every chance he gets. The enemy of God is real.
Choose if you want to act like the enemy or if you want to be a Christian.
The really good news is GOD IS REAL, TOO! God is greater than the enemy.
You can’t follow two masters!
Matthew 6:23-25
“23But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness! 24No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. 25Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?”
They used to say if you have a problem with alcoholism then if you want set free from the alcoholic tendencies it’s probably a good idea to stay out of bars. Well…………… if you have a problem with telling lies and you want set free from that then it’s good for you to steer clear from people that have a habit of telling lies.
Talking about bars makes me think of something Norma W. told me years ago. She once had a husband that owned a bar. She was familiar with seeing how people acted in bars. She told me that she read something in the Bible about how the darkness hates the light. She spoke of how those words made her mindful of how it was dark in the bars she’d been in. The drinks were passed around during the dark hours of the night. People got lively and they’d possibly get drunk as the minutes passed them by. She said when closing time would come the lights would be turned on and all of a sudden some people looked like they wanted to hide. The light exposed the reddened eyes and the smeared up mascara or other things about a person that they preferred to have masked by the darkness.
God’s Word is like a light for those who want to see better. The people that walk in darkness don’t like the light and they don’t want anyone to help them see the bad things about themselves.
People can be free from the tricks of the enemy. Don’t let the enemy possess your mind and your heart. Don’t follow him for though the path he wants you to walk on may look wide it leads todestruction. Though many are choosing to walk on that wide path you don’t really want to be on it. It is a dark, dreary, crooked path. There is no promise of life for those who choose to follow the devil.
Please make the right choice. Please turn from evil and do good. Seek help from a preacher like the man who talked at church yesterday. There are good Christian men that know how to help you be set free if you really want freed from satan’s attacks. You don’t have to walk in darkness anymore.
It is interesting to read some things about Judas Iscariot.
Judas was chosen to be one of the 12 disciples
Judas acted zealous about the things of God – he lived, breathed, walked, talked, ate, and ministered with the disciples & with Jesus (by all appearances it was not clear to everyone that Judas was bent towards evil)
Jesus knew who would betray Him
God allowed the betrayal to take place [that also makes me ponder on how God allowed Joseph to be sold as a slave by his own brothers]
Judas thought he was in control and he didn’t realize he was being controlled by the devil – see Luke 22:3, “3Then entered Satan into Judas surnamed Iscariot, being of the number of the twelve.”
Judas valued money more than he valued life even the life of JESUS
Judas gave the money back but it was used to buy the field of blood that he was buried in
A person was chosen to take the place of Judas
There are many things that remind us that there is nothing new under the sun.
Jospeh was betrayed by his own brothers. Jesus was betrayed by one of his disciples. God allowed both of those things to take place. God used all the things that happened to work for good. God had full control of each circumstance. Joseph was not allowed to be harmed even though they really did want to kill him. Jesus was killed but he didn’t stay in the grave. Joseph was used to save his brothers. Jesus died on the cross for our sins to save our souls. In each case what the devil meant for bad God used it all for good.
I believe there must be times when God sort of laughs at the enemy. The enemy places evil thoughts in the hearts of men and some men listen to the enemy instead of listening to God. The enemy deceives the deceivers. The betrayers think they are gaining some form of control when all the while they are just pawns in the hands of the devil.
It’s not humorous if you are on the receiving end of being betrayed by someone. It does give a sense of vindication to know that those who betray are themselves being betrayed. When anyone follows satan they will not know lasting joy or peace.
When Judas listened to the voice of satan he was somehow being tricked into thinking he would find satisfaction from the money he was getting for betraying Jesus. He did not end up enjoying the money at all. Judas must have come face to face with reality shortly after Jesus was taken away. People have speculated on how he must have felt. I even heard some people say that it’s possible Judas thought he’d get the money and Jesus would do some kind of miracle and be set free. All I know is what I’ve read in the Bible. Judas had the spirit of satan enter into him and Judas ran to betray someone that had not done anything to harm him.
Judas was betrayed by satan. Judas didn’t get any lasting joy out of his misconduct. The money he earned got him a graveyard where no one else would dwell.
That’s what people get when they follow satan.
When I heard Scriptures shared from Acts Chapter 1 at church yesterday it gave me a feeling of satisfaction to know that God also said someone else would take the place of Judas. If you’ve been betrayed isn’t it good to know that someone else can be sent to take their place? What a joyful thought to know God is able to raise up others to fill a spot that was emptied due to disloyalty.
Judas was bent on evil. Judas lived a sad life and he was gone. When God fearing people think of Judas Iscariot surely they must feel sad that he couldn’t or wouldn’t live an honorable life after having spent so much time with our Lord Jesus. There must also be an amount of gratification that comes on them when they think about how Judas didn’t get lasting joy due to his own greed.
There are still people like Judas Iscariot on this earth. There are still those who will do just about anything for money and the things it can buy. Heed the warnings about things that are to happen during the last days.
Take a look at 2 Tiimothy 3:1-5,
“1This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. 2For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,3Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good,4Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;5Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.“
Proverbs 17:13 says, “13Whoso rewardeth evil for good, evil shall not depart from his house.”
Judas betrayed our Lord and evil did not depart from him.
It is no wonder that Jesus told us to pray for those that despitefully use us because they need prayer that they can turn from evil and do good. God is the only one that knows how to help people turn away from their selfish evil ways.
James 1:21-27,”21Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls. 22But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.23For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass:24For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was. 25But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.26If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man’s religion is vain.27Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.”
Anyone can listen to the Word of God. It is possible that they will remember portions of what God says in His Word. Listening is not obeying. Hearing is not enough.
Remembering what God requires of you and putting those things into practice are proof that your faith in God is not in vain. If you forget God’s Word when it’s time to act on it then ask yourself why you forgot it? Don’t deceive yourself into thinking it’s okay to forget how God wants you to act.
When you meet people that claim to believe in Jesus but they don’t back up their words with actions know that they may have read or heard the word of God but they are not doers of the word.
Those who Listen to the Word of God, Remember His Word, and Obey what God says will be the ones that find real blessings.
Our God is a loving God. He does not want His people to be abused. Click on the link above & read to help recognize signs of abuse. There are all kinds of abuse including physical, emotional, and financial abuse.
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