Love God freely instead of out of compulsion

Love God freely instead of out of compulsion. Don’t be in delusion that any claiming to love God but acting the opposite is going to please the Lord God.

 

 

So, in this regard read and reflect on what Jesus said about loving God and following the Lord’s commandments:

• And he answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” (Luke 10:27)
• Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.” (John 14:21)

Love God freely instead of out of compulsion, because God is worthy of your love. For some it might be hard to grasp this but let wisdom vindicate itself.

Don’t be after the vain praises by others by making yourself look like a great lover of God. But instead love God because you want to love Him, without any desire for attention towards yourself by others.

 

Are you prudent enough to avoid danger?

Are you always falling in danger? Or is someone you know always falling in trouble? Then this write up is surely for you.

The Bible says:-

The prudent sees danger and hides himself, but the simple go on and suffer for it. (Proverbs 22:3)

A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself; but the simple pass on, and are punished. (Proverbs 27:12, KJV)

The the key words are ‘see danger’ and ‘foreseeth the evil’ (or ‘foreseeing the evil’ in modern English).

Let’s also understand the meaning of the word prudent.

Prudent – careful and avoiding risks: as per dictionary.cambridge.org

It’s a good thing to be prudent. Because by being careful you avoid risks.

If you know a certain exercise has harmed people, you can always avoid it or ask your physical trainer for an alternative.

Before you put your money for investment into a financial institution or corporation, its better to check the viability of long term positive returns. Otherwise you’d end up lamenting about your losses.

If you’re going to have surgery for yourself or friends and family, its always good to research and have a second opinion from another doctor, if that is the best thing to do. You don’t want to end up even more sick post surgery due to an ill informed decision.

Don’t get fooled by what you see on the TV or online about taking risks head on. You need to understand the risk and know why you need to take it or you can skip a worthless risk. It will save you a lot of time and effort.

It is not enough to see or foresee danger but also you must act accordingly on this. Most importantly follow the words of Jesus Christ as given below in Matthew 7:24-27:

Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. ²⁵ And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. ²⁶ And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. ²⁷ And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.

May you be truly prudent and avoid danger!

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!

God gave us material things to bless others

“God gave us material things to bless others. Earthly things have their maximum value only when they are used to bless and help others and not when they are used merely for ourselves and our families.”
― Zac Poonen, The Day of Small Beginnings’

 

 

If you keep asking for God’s blessings for yourself but are only interested to use it for yourself and your families then don’t even call yourself a believer of Jesus Christ. Such a behavior is not fitting the attributes of a true Christian.

Some people are so vile or maybe ignorant that they say ‘God bless me with ‘just’ enough for me and my family’. Because somehow they feel that they can then excuse themselves when others are in need saying that they don’t have anything to spare.

Perhaps they have never heard about Jesus speaking about the Good Samaritan who helped the man who was robbed and left for half dead. Or perhaps they they know but don’t feel it applies to them. I have news for you – being generous to others who are in need is not optional for those who claim to profess the Christ faith! And this is confirmed by the Holy Scriptures as given in Matthew 25:31-46 below:

³¹ “But when the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit upon his glorious throne. ³² All the nations will be gathered in his presence, and he will separate the people as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. ³³ He will place the sheep at his right hand and the goats at his left.

³⁴ “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world. ³⁵ For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. ³⁶ I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.’
³⁷ “Then these righteous ones will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something to drink? ³⁸ Or a stranger and show you hospitality? Or naked and give you clothing? ³⁹ When did we ever see you sick or in prison and visit you?’
⁴⁰ “And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!’
⁴¹ “Then the King will turn to those on the left and say, ‘Away with you, you cursed ones, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his demons. ⁴² For I was hungry, and you didn’t feed me. I was thirsty, and you didn’t give me a drink. ⁴³ I was a stranger, and you didn’t invite me into your home. I was naked, and you didn’t give me clothing. I was sick and in prison, and you didn’t visit me.’
⁴⁴ “Then they will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and not help you?’
⁴⁵ “And he will answer, ‘I tell you the truth, when you refused to help the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were refusing to help me.’
⁴⁶ “And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous will go into eternal life.”

Casting down imaginations and all that exalts itself against the knowledge of God

O dear believers in Jesus Christ the Son of the Living God, O take heed to the warnings of old. These are the warnings given to us by those who lived with Jesus in his earthly ministry. Learn from it, because you will profit. Observe them, so that your steps are on sold ground.

¹Now I Paul myself beseech you by the meekness and gentleness of Christ, who in presence am base among you, but being absent am bold toward you: ² But I beseech you, that I may not be bold when I am present with that confidence, wherewith I think to be bold against some, which think of us as if we walked according to the flesh. ³ For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: ⁴ (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) ⁵ Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ (2 Corinthians 10:1-5)

These vain ideas were present in the times of the early church and even more now. Heresy and blasphemy has increased even more now. In the name of equality and freedom, the very things that enslave the minds of men and women are now being promoted.

Let me make it real to you:

Some people think its okay to keep on sinning continually, till their time of dying arrives and only then repent. However I’d say ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test’ to such people. Do remember ; Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; sin is lawlessness. (1 John 3:4)

Then there are those that think that worshiping false gods while claiming to be Christian is fine because the Lord God is too loving to judge them. There are in for a nasty surprise in the afterlife for those who cling to false gods won’t enter heaven. Only in Jesus Christ there is salvation. Remember this ; And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12)

Certain people think of the Lord God as a ever permissive father who will support their evil and selfish deeds, just he loves  them unconditionally, are completely in the wrong. By doing their bad deeds and not repenting for them they themselves have chosen to fall away from the grace of God. Memorize this ; “For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame.” (Heb. 6:4-6)

Then then are people who want to practice witchcraft while staying in communion with the Lord God. You can either serve the Lord God or witchcraft. You cannot serve both. Do remember this well ; Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

O dear beloved believer in Jesus Christ, these things mentioned above involve discernment and having an active trust in the Word of God. For the doubting its very difficult, therefore do no live in doubt but in faith and prayer in these times.

¹⁷ But you must remember, beloved, the predictions of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ. ¹⁸ They said to you, “In the last time there will be scoffers, following their own ungodly passions.” ¹⁹ It is these who cause divisions, worldly people, devoid of the Spirit. ²⁰ But you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, ²¹ keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life. ²² And have mercy on those who doubt; ²³ save others by snatching them out of the fire; to others show mercy with fear, hating even the garment stained by the flesh. (Jude 1:17-23)

 

 

A prayer for wisdom

O Lord God, I come before you in humble surrender.
I repent of all my sins including that of following worldly wisdom.
Guide me O good Jesus that I do what is wise and prudent.
By the Holy Spirit lead me in the path that is good.
And warn me whenever there is danger, so that I may escape.
Keep me away from selfishness, hate and malice so I remain sin free.
Give me knowledge, so that I can help those in poverty and need.
Remove from me all folly of heart and mind as you gently lead me.
Teach me to be generous and not be greedy so that I truly live in faith.
I desire that the wisdom you give me is used only for good and not evil.
Bless me with the insight to be just and true to all whom interact with.
And cause me to live a life worthy of the Gospel.
I ask this in your Holy Name. Amen.

Bad Counsel And It’s Evil Effects

There are people who seek good advice. But then there are people who instead use bad counsel. One must totally avoid all usage of bad counsel because its evil.

 

What is bad counsel?

Bad counsel includes all the things, all the thoughts and all the philosophies that are based on falsehood, greed, immorality, hate and deception. There are the very things that go against the counsel of the Holy Spirit of God.

For example; listening to thieves and then stealing from others is following bad counsel. Reading books that teach you to use deceptive methods to get money illegally is acting on bad counsel.

For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. To set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, indeed it cannot;  and those who are in the flesh cannot please God. (Romans 8:5-8)

What makes bad counsel so evil?

 

Bad counsel is against the will of God

Following the counsel which involves sin and darkness, is completely against the will of God. Do note that the Lord God won’t bless anyone who walks in the counsel of the wicked.

Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers (Psalm 1:1)

 

Bad counsel leads to eternal damnation

There are some who follow bad counsel who speak about the short team benefits they get, such as cheap fame and quick money. However what they totally miss out is that the counsel of the wicked leads to eternal damnation.

Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world.  And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever. (1 John 2:15-17)

But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death (Revelation 21:8)

 

Bad counsel may even lead to punishment on earth

Some people think they can wait until the end of their lives, and then face the consequences. The truth is, following bad counsel may even lead to punishment when one is still alive. And this punishment can be painful too.

For example; If caught stealing from a house, many a times the people of the household and the neighbors are known to beat up the thief mercilessly. And if the police arrive, then won’t charge those people with anything but instead arrest the thief.

People do not despise a thief if he steals to satisfy his appetite when he is hungry, but if he is caught, he will pay sevenfold; he will give all the goods of his house. (Proverbs 6:30-31)

If a man steals an ox or a sheep, and kills it or sells it, he shall repay five oxen for an ox, and four sheep for a sheep. If a thief is found breaking in and is struck so that he dies, there shall be no bloodguilt for him (Exodus 22:1-2)

 

Conclusion:

Follow only good counsel because that is will of God for you. That way you won’t be liable for eternal damnation nor fear any punishment on earth for your bad actions.

Do not be deceived: “Bad company ruins good morals.” (1 Corinthians 15:33)

But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere. (James 3:17)

Quick Reminder : Wait patiently for the Lord

Surely none who wait for You will be put to shame; but those who are faithless without cause will be disgraced. (Psalm 25:3)

I remain confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord. (Psalm 27:13-14)

Wait for the LORD and keep His way, and He will raise you up to inherit the land. When the wicked are cut off, you will see it. (Psalm 37:34)

I waited patiently for the LORD; He inclined to me and heard my cry. (Psalm 40:1)

Rest in God alone, O my soul, for my hope comes from Him. (Psalm 62:5)

I wait for the LORD; my soul does wait, and in His word I put my hope. (Psalm 130:5)

Do not say, “I will avenge this evil!” Wait on the LORD, and He will deliver you. (Proverbs 20:22)

And in that day it will be said, “Surely this is our God; we have waited for Him, and He has saved us. This is the LORD for whom we have waited. Let us rejoice and be glad in His salvation.” (Isaiah 25:9)

For the vision awaits an appointed time; it testifies of the end, and will not lie. Though it lingers, wait for it, since it will surely come and not delay. (Habakkuk 2:3)

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Don’t worry about peace because Jesus is the Prince of Peace!

Why worry about peace? Don’t worry about peace because Jesus is the Prince of Peace.

The world needs peace. The world doesn’t have peace, because it’s not doing the will of God. But you O believer in Christ have received the keys of the Kingdom. Why not use these keys to unlock peace for yourself? Why not ask Jesus the Prince of Peace for peace in your mind and spirit?

“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” (Isaiah 9:6)

[Jesus said:] Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. (John 14:27) 

If you need peace ask of the Lord God in prayer. Ask with faith. But most importantly ask it the right way or it won’t work for you. Many don’t receive this peace because they are not willing to do God’s will. Because they want to remain in sin and still expect a miracle out of the blue. God’s will doesn’t work that way.

You do not have, because you do not ask. ³ You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions. (James 4:2-3)

The peace of Christ is neither for vain pursuits nor selfishness. The peace of Christ is not for those who refuse to live a holy life. Sin is a big problem, so give it up all to Jesus for the sake of your own soul. Remember this; “There is no peace,” says the Lord, “for the wicked.” (Isaiah 48:22)

So let me summarize this to you:

Jesus is the Prince of Peace. So ask him for peace in your life as you pray to Jesus.  To receive the peace of God, repent of all sins including unforgiveness and idolatry and selfishness. This way be sure that the grace of God will shine on you!