About presumptuous sins

There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death. (Proverbs 14:12 )

Presuming things have caused people lots of harm and heart break. Let me make it real to you;
1) Some people assumed that not wearing the seat belt is harmless, and then got hurt severely in the car that they were in.
2) Some people have assumed that they can speak anything to their spouses and get away from it, and then have been fighting nasty divorce cases instead.
3) I know of people who’ve spoken vile words to their father and that very day their father died later in the same day due to a heart attack. And now these people forever regret their harsh words.
4) Some girls and boys in have tried drugs that are very much illegal just for fun but died on their very first try. And their parents have been in grief ever since that.

The sin of King Saul:

And then we have the case of the first King of Israel Saul who presumed what he felt was right in doing and thereby rejected the whole instruction of the Lord God. And so the Prophet Samuel was sent to him to inform him of God’s punishment for the sin of presumption. You can read the whole of 1 Samuel Chapter 15  to get the details on this.

Because King Saul acted very presumptuously against the commandment of the Lord God he had to hear the following from the Prophet Samuel;

“Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices,
as in obeying the voice of the Lord?
Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice,
and to listen than the fat of rams.
For rebellion is as the sin of divination,
and presumption is as iniquity and idolatry.
Because you have rejected the word of the Lord,
he has also rejected you from being king.”

Saul said to Samuel, “I have sinned, for I have transgressed the commandment of the Lord and your words, because I feared the people and obeyed their voice. Now therefore, please pardon my sin and return with me that I may bow before the Lord.” And Samuel said to Saul, “I will not return with you. For you have rejected the word of the Lord, and the Lord has rejected you from being king over Israel.” As Samuel turned to go away, Saul seized the skirt of his robe, and it tore. And Samuel said to him, “The Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel from you this day and has given it to a neighbor of yours, who is better than you. And also the Glory of Israel will not lie or have regret, for he is not a man, that he should have regret.” (1 Samuel 15:22-29)

If you think by the coming of Jesus Christ and with the preaching of the Gospel, we need not bother about presumptuous sins, are you unfortunately in the wrong.

 

The Sin of Ananias and Sapphira:

You can refer to Acts 5:1-11 about The Sin of Ananias and Sapphira

A man by the name of Ananias and his wife, Sapphira, sold some land. 2 He kept back part of the money for himself. His wife knew it also. The other part he took to the missionaries. 3 Peter said to Ananias, “Why did you let Satan fill your heart? He made you lie to the Holy Spirit. You kept back part of the money you got from your land. 4 Was not the land yours before you sold it? After it was sold, you could have done what you wanted to do with the money. Why did you allow your heart to do this? You have lied to God, not to men.”
5 When Ananias heard these words, he fell down dead. Much fear came on all those who heard what was done. 6 The young men got up and covered his body and carried him out and buried him.
7 About three hours later his wife came in. She did not know what had happened.
8 Peter said to her, “Tell me, did you sell the land for this amount of money?” She said, “Yes.” 9 Then Peter said to her, “How could you two have talked together about lying to the Holy Spirit? See! Those who buried your husband are standing at the door and they will carry you out also.” 10 At once she fell down at his feet and died. When the young men came in, they found that she was dead. They took her out and buried her beside her husband. 11 Much fear came on all the church and on all who heard it.

Ananias and Sapphira presumed that they could lie to the Holy Spirit about withholding their offerings towards the ministry of the Gospel of Jesus Christ!

Why do people presume that the Holy Spirit cannot take action against those who sin against Him?

Maybe they have forgotten that each judgement that the Lord God has ever taken, be it against the Fallen Angels, Adam and Eve, the vile Pharaoh of Egypt, the Holy Spirit has never contradicted the Word of God when it comes to judgement against sin. But you O people of God, do not forget this lest you suffer the same fate as Saul or even like that of Ananias and Sapphira.

 

Verses for reflection:

• Keep back your servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me! Then I shall be blameless, and innocent of great transgression. (Psalm 19:13)
• Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. (Proverbs 3:5-6)
• Who can discern his errors? Declare me innocent from hidden faults. Keep back your servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me! Then I shall be blameless, and innocent of great transgression. (Psalm 19:12-13)
• Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance? (Romans 2:4)
• Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”— yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. (James 4:13-16)

 

Never rashly presume things to be holy especially when making vows in marriage

It is a snare to say rashly, “It is holy,” and to reflect only after making vows. (Proverbs 20:25)

There are people at times who rush into getting married. These rashly say they are doing what is holy since they love their soon-to-be spouse and their soon-to-be spouse loves them. And five years post marriage, there are arguments in their marriage, with the eventual divorce.

These never checked each others temperament nor adaptability before marriage. They just only “saw” love but didn’t both to check the truth. I mean the truth about being long term, even till death do them apart upon getting married. These are the one’s who make their wedding vows first and only few years later reflect if they made the right decision. “A few years later”, yes that’s correct.

Instead of checking things out before marriage they only do their assessment of marriage much later. Now not every divorce happens due to rash decisions going into marriage, there could be other things which might have not been possible to detect earlier, but I do hope you get the idea that faulty plans can get into faulty marriages.

Yet, if these couples who are thinking of divorce get Bible based counsel or just pray with sincerity to the Lord God they can save their marriages from ending into disaster.

Now, the Biblical warning mentioned above in Proverbs 20:25 is not limited to marriage vows. It can be your business decisions, various types of contracts, friendship agreements and anything that involves taking oaths, including taking the oath of speaking the truth in the court of law.

Be wise everywhere for the glory of God!

The Lord set apart the godly for himself

We would worry less if we praised more

Keep away from foolish and ignorant conversations

 

 

Have nothing to do with foolish, ignorant controversies; you know that they breed quarrels. And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth,  and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will. (2 Timothy 2:23-26)

Never go back to something God has rescued you from

A dog that returns to its vomit is like a fool who reverts to his folly (Proverbs 26:11)

Some people just like to keep returning to their sinful habits, no matter much you rescue them. They still think that the effect of their wrong choices will carry lesser or no negative effects. However such thinking is just plain wrong and is never supported by the Bible.

 

²⁶ For if we sin deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, ²⁷ but a fearful prospect of judgment, and a fury of fire which will consume the adversaries. ²⁸ A man who has violated the law of Moses dies without mercy at the testimony of two or three witnesses. ²⁹ How much worse punishment do you think will be deserved by the man who has spurned the Son of God, and profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and outraged the Spirit of grace? ³⁰ For we know him who said, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay.” And again, “The Lord will judge his people.” ³¹ It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. (Hebrews 10: 26-30)

 

If the Lord God has rescued you from any evil, be very thankful to him. This is one life that you have, don’t let it go waste on the same things Jesus saved you from. Don’t keep presuming that God will keep saving you each time. The Bible clearly warns us not to put the Lord your God to the test. So simply don’t stand in a place of danger trusting in miracles, when God does not approve of you going there. What place am I talking about? Its the place of backsliding (into any sin) which is just one stop before the place of Eternal damnation!

 

Never go back to bad friends and bad relations

Do not be deceived: “Bad company ruins good morals.” Come to your right mind, and sin no more. For some have no knowledge of God. I say this to your shame. (1 Corinthians 15:33-34)

He that walketh with wise men shall be wise: but a companion of fools shall be destroyed. (Proverbs 13:20)

When Jesus saves you from bad friends, don’t walk right back with them, because they will 100% try to entice you to sin. Don’t displease the Lord God who has kept you from those who can ruin your soul with vile and sinful thoughts.

When you know that your past relationship, only made you an alcoholic or and immoral person, that relationship is simply going to lead you nowhere but in more evil things. Not worth your time nor effort, seriously!

 

Never go back to bad habits or sins

The backslider in heart will have his fill of his own ways, but a good man will be satisfied with his. (Proverbs 14:14)

“Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” ( Matthew 26:41)

But Jesus said to him, “No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.” (Luke 9:62)

Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. (Colossians 4:2)

What pity will people have for the drug addict who keeps doing back to drugs even after being revived several times due to his or her multiple overdoses? Such a drug addict or let me say recovering drug addicts must take help from those not on drugs to remain off such a lifestyle that can harm the body and mind as well.

In a similar way, going back to alcoholism to ‘forget’ your problems won’t make your problems disappear. These will remain and being drunk will only make it more difficult to fix anything.

Talking about both the above examples and all other sins in general including stealing, idolatry, etc you need to stay clear of them all. The same Lord God who rescued you from these sins and bad habits can give you the grace to never fall back into them. All you need to do is faithfully pray to God to give you the strength to remain true to your calling in Jesus Christ.

“Backsliding, generally first begins with neglect of private prayer.” (J. C. Ryle)

 

Christ be with you!

 

 

 

 

 

Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit

 

 

No wise person would want friends who always are selfish. Do take note that a selfish person can cause harm to anyone especially friends and family, in his or her vain pursuits for self-gratification. This harm can be financial losses, loss of reputation, and even loss of life to name a few.  Would you still want to be friends with such friends who are selfish?

 

If you don’t want a selfish friend, it’s only fair to ask of you to never ever be selfish yourself. If you are not selfish it doesn’t mean that you to be self-harming nor self-deceiving. In fact, you’re better poised to help your friends and family. You can progress in life by being a blessing to others and yes it’s totally possible. So, if you choose to never be selfish and simply follow the Word of God you will be found truly worthy in this life and in the afterlife.

 

Verses for reflection:

1. Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful. (1 Corinthians 13:4-5)

2. Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. (Philippians 2:3)

3. Let no one seek his own good, but the good of his neighbor. (1 Corinthians 10:24)

4. For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice. (James 3:16)

5. Whoever brings blessing will be enriched, and one who waters will himself be watered. (Proverbs 11:25)

6. Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build him up. (Romans 15:2)

7. A fool takes no pleasure in understanding, but only in expressing his opinion. (Proverbs 18:2)

8. The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these. (Mark 12:31)

9. Let no one deceive himself. If anyone among you thinks that he is wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may become wise. (1 Corinthians 3:18)

10. Incline my heart to your testimonies, and not to selfish gain! (Psalm 119:36)

11. But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God. (Acts 20:24)

12. I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. (Galatians 2:20)

13. And calling the crowd to him with his disciples, he said to them, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” (Mark 8:34)

False friends

God’s children are called to be wise,
To have prudent minds and eyes.
That they be on guard against deception,
And be aware against vain perception.

Be on guard from start to end,
Against each wicked and false friend.
Make no friends with any one untrue,
Lest trouble and heart break you accrue.

If friends already with an evil one,
Then from that union away you run.
Its better from a bad friendship to get off,
Before others use that as a chance to scoff.

A clarification about Christian clergy and Covid 19 (Corona virus)

There are some Christians that are using social media to condemn Apostles, Prophets, Pastors, and other sorts of Christian clergy saying, “Why did God not show them the Covid-19 disaster?”

Lord Jesus clearly said, “My sheep hear my voice” (John 10:27)
Clearly the responsibility lies on every sheep of the LORD and not only on those serving in positions.
Why pass the buck?

Today, Doctors and many learned people in the medical field have no clue how to handle the pandemic and many (sadly) are infected themselves.

So does that mean they are fake? Certainly not!
In fact, they are doing a superb job and they deserve our respect and prayers

The secret things belong to the LORD (Deuteronomy 29:29)
Scripture clearly tells us that the LORD does not reveal everything to man. There are secrets that the Lord keeps to Himself!

In Mark 13:32, Lord Jesus spoke of His coming, “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.”
There are certain things that even angels do not know of. Does it mean that angels are to be despised? God have mercy. No!

Prophet Elisha was a man who could tell what the King of Syria spoke in His bedroom. But, one day, when the Shunamite woman came to him in distress, He told his servant Gehazi, “the Lord has hidden it from me, and has not told me.” (2 King 4:27) Does this make Prophet Elisha inferior in any manner? Certainly not!

At such times, rather than pointing a frustrated finger at others, look inside and ask, “What can I do to alleviate the misery around me”

If you can share food with the needy – then do it
If you can share your services – then do it
If you can pray – then, please do (we need it the most)

If all you can do is talk – then kindly KEEP QUIET
Talk is cheap

Note: I received this as a forward and felt like you  might want to take a note of this. The source or origin of the post is unknown but the message is apt for these times. Let the Body of Christ unite in the truest sense of the Word. Please share this post widely.

Edit: I will try find if there are any details about any prophecies about the Corona virus that might been spoken ‘before’ this outbreak could happen.

 

O Christian discern well before you marry

O Christian before you go for your marital union,
Check if you’d then still be in God’s communion.
Do not desire courtship with any unbeliever,
Because that one ain’t God’s grace receiver.

Even if someone claims in Christ to believe,
Make sure its not an attempt to deceive.
For many have tricked and have lied,
To get the unwitting victim to them tied.

Discern well before you marry,
Because faith in God you carry.
Discern well before you marry,
Lest you drift in a direction contrary.

Choose a spouse who is good and just,
And helps to build in Christ your trust.
Desire your beloved to be the one that prays,
That from wisdom and truth no one strays.

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Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness? (2 Corinthians 6:14)