Category: New Life

Walking as a follower of Christ

What does the Bible say about Toxic people?

Yes, I started to write that article, the one in the title. I was going to look up what God says about toxic people, but it’s pretty much summed up in the following verses found in the Amplified version of Proverbs 6, verses 16-19.

These six things the Lord hates; Indeed, seven are repulsive to Him: A proud look [the attitude that makes one overestimate oneself and discount others], a lying tongue, And hands that shed innocent blood, A heart that creates wicked plans, Feet that run swiftly to evil, A false witness who breathes out lies [even half-truths], And one who spreads discord (rumors) among brothers.

toxic

But the more I thought about it, I didn’t want to focus on the negative, because that’s what toxic people do. They focus on every negative bit of news they can find on someone, discounting the good; they gossip, they tell white lies (which are lies), they run to spread bad news and plan evil, no matter the consequences. 

So I looked at the flip side. There are far more verses on what the righteous mean to God, which to me says… if the Bible focuses on righteous living, then it is far more important than what those who are living in sin are doing. Do you know why? Because, through Jesus death, burial, and resurrection he wiped out sin. Those who come to repentance and turn from their wicked ways and truly repent, will have a change of heart. That is the sign of a true believer, one who worships him in spirit and in truth. 

And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart. – Ezekiel 36:26
No, a true Jew is one whose heart is right with God. And true circumcision is not merely obeying the letter of the law; rather, it is a change of heart produced by the Spirit. And a person with a changed heart seeks praise from God, not from people. Romans 2:29
Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect. Romans 12:2

True repentance and acceptance as Christ as our Savior changes our hearts and minds. We have no desire to harm others. We only have a desire to please God and to live a life that pleases him, not other people. We also don’t worry, because we know he will take care of our needs.

And if God cares so wonderfully for wildflowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you. Why do you have so little faith? “So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need. Matthew 6:30-33

I love this verse in Isaiah because it is an example of realization, when we understand God’s great love for us.

I delight greatly in the Lord; my soul rejoices in my God. For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of his righteousness, as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. Isaiah 61:10

What love he bestows on those who live a righteous life and treat others as they would like to be treated. I end this by encouraging you to read Proverbs 16.

 

Did Jesus Die for Those Without Sin?

Did Jesus only have compassion on saints and ‘good’ Christians? Or was his compassion on sinners? Was his ministry only to those who had never been saved? Did he only minister to those who lived “right?” Did the people in the Bible live a life committed fully to God, always? Rahab, Tamar, David, Bathsheba, Solomon, Saul-Paul, Zaccheus, the Kings, tax collectors, prostitutes, harlots, thiefs, murderers, (to name a few}? Who are the ones who need Jesus, the sinners and the ones not living for him, or the ones fully committed to Him? That’s a trick question, because the answer is all. We all need Jesus. 

But I’ve noticed many times that “churches & Christians” only accept a few sinners and other “Christians” based on conditions or legalities. Many times, these same churches hold their ministers up to a different standard than that of other Christians, but Matthew 23 has a good teaching on this, in that we only have one Father – God and one teacher – the Messiah. It is when we put ministers on pedestals and they accept that worship instead of turning it over to God, that they face the greatest danger of falling off the pedestal or throne. 
  

There are times that we, as Christians, have certain expectations for those who attend church, our fellow members, whether they are grounded in faith or not, we think that those who are converted are suddenly supposed to be without sin. Although in some cases, God does work in a very quick way to rid a person of most of the sins in their lives, it is usually a slow progression that the Holy Spirit convicts each individual of things in their lives that are not amenable to the life of a Christian. We are not instantly ‘set apart’ but it is a progressive salvation. We are gently and constantly reproved by the HOLY SPIRIT, NOT BY MAN. Sure there are times that a minister must point out repeated blatant sins that might be offensive or lead others astray; instead of allowing someone to live in a state of sin, but it isn’t a list that can be handed to someone or a church’s bylaws or legalities that can set someone on the ‘straight and narrow’ path. It is gentle reproof and love. But it is usually the churches whose doctrine is steeped in legalism, traditions, rules, and regulations, that drive away the newly converted tender hearts of  Christians, back into a life of sin. If only, these churches allowed God to be God, the Father, who is able to nurture, love, give comfort and compassion, to gently reprove, through the Holy Spirit, without a litany of laws. Bedsides, Jesus REDEEMED us FROM the law. Man has reintroduced new laws, traditions, and religion over the years and has termed them the ‘correct way to live or THE religion to follow.’ Yet the correct way to live is guided by the Holy Spirit alone. 

Galatians 5:16 So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves.

1 Corinthians 2:15-16 Those who are spiritual can evaluate all things, but they themselves cannot be evaluated by others. For, “Who can know the LORD’s thoughts? Who knows enough to teach him?” But we understand these things, for we have the mind of Christ.

When we are saved, we are given the Holy Spirit to guide us into all truth. We are given the mind of Christ. We must renew our minds by reading the Bible and allowing the Holy Spirit to reveal truth to us and through those who are put in Spiritual authority in our lives, but we must choose them wisely. God is our ultimate authority and if the person we are following is not following God or the Word, we need to find someone who is. Jesus is our teacher through the Holy Spirit. May we all grow in the Word through Grace and fellowship, preferring others before ourselves. May we submit to God and allow the Holy Spirit to convict us of sin and when we are convicted; may we have the strength and desire to turn from it. May we love and accept each other in our individual walks where we are. When the Spirit leads, let those who are mature, help those who are not, in love, not condemnation, but by example. 

Prayer: I ask for you Father to touch all who read this to allow the Holy Spirit to be their ultimate inspiration and convictor. In Jesus name. Amen!

The Ripple Effect of Love

I have found through the years, that any research can lead from one subject to another. This morning I was researching a phrase that led me to a mathematical theory, called ‘chaos theory,’ which then led me to the phrase ‘butterfly effect.’ I was thinking of examples of the theory and the effect. If I understand them correctly, an example would be skipping stones over water. As a young child, skipping rocks was one of my favorite things to do on one of the farms I grew up on. I would wander down the creek away from where my grandparents were fishing. We had an area on the creek, that has a ledge of shale. Those pieces of dark gray, thin, shale rock that flaked off the ledge, made for awesome rock skipping! I always looked for the ones with the least variation in thickness, so the aerodynamics would yield the best results. But I didn’t know at that age what aerodynamics even were, I just knew the rocks needed to be thin and smooth to skip the most number of times. Now I know that there are variables which can change the way the rocks react to skipping and sinking. Those variables include the type of spin the rock is thrown with, the force of the spin, the shape of the rock, the degree of angle that the rock has when it hits the water, the calmness of the water, etc. All of these occurrences can change how many times a rock spins and skips. Skipping stones is a past time that is known and practiced around the world. It is probably one of the few things that can cross barriers of language and understanding.

skipping-stone2
But I’ve also learned something that cannot be explained by a mathematical theory or change with effect, which also crosses all boundaries, language barriers and does not involve chaos. It is the Love of Jesus. It doesn’t matter how hard a person’s heart is, Jesus’ Love is penetrating, constant, sincere, and His redemption is for everyone. We cannot win others by condemnation, but we can reach them with love and allow the Holy Spirit to soften their heart. It is the way that God provided to bring man back into his original purpose, which is to have fellowship with all mankind. This morning during my prayer time, I was thinking of the death chants by the radicals in the Middle East and I prayed, “NO! I do not agree with this mindset! I call death to any spirit that calls people to desire the destruction of others, not death to those people personally. I call death to the evil they engage in and I speak LIFE to them! I speak that the Spirit of God will arrest their hearts into true understanding. I speak LOVE & PEACE!

I pray that Jesus will be revealed to them and that the corruption of their hearts will cease. I speak a Healing to their land. I claim a righteousness to invade their land like nothing they’ve ever experienced before. I call for a stirring in their souls to be awakened to God’s original purpose, to know and love each other and the world around them. It can start with one man, and then another, and another, like a skipping stone causes a ripple effect, and it will continue forever. When we start seeing with the eyes of spiritual understanding we will see Jesus all around us, we will see others with the potential to return to God’s original purpose. Many today are aborting the Spirit because they are holding onto the law of religion and the traditions of man. God put his spirit within us to be birthed over and over again, but many use spiritual birth control by hanging onto the law and false religions, which Christ already redeemed us from. (See Colossians 1:1-14) When we recognize his seed, his original purpose, which came to fruition by Christ’s resurrection, we will start watering it and see it spring forth Life!

I pray for the mouths of all the governmental, religious, and system leaders around the world who speak or contribute to the destruction of any man to be softened to hear and to know PERFECT LOVE. I pray that their misguided leadership, anger, fear, and hatred is replaced with love and acceptance. How will they know HIS LOVE if they do not hear? I pray for ministers to be called into their midst and into their personal lives, who can reach their hearts by your Word. I pray for a mighty outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon the people and the land that all their barbaric customs cease. I pray for an encounter with God who is the only one who can change hearts.

I claim these things through the redemptive power of Jesus. I pray for doubt and unbelief to stop in their land and ours. I pray that we quit calling others barbarians and perverts, but that we call them redeemed. Father I thank you that your will is being performed throughout earth to transform the hearts and minds of people towards each other. I call the scattered to come into one accord as you desire and that we will seek to live in peace and trust, with our fellow man, both in America and abroad.

I pray for awakening in our own land in our leaders and our citizens to seek you and your will. I pray for Heaven to come to earth by your people who are called and I pray you would give them understanding that condemnation cannot heal, hate cannot heal, despising cannot heal, corruption cannot heal, but only your Love can heal our land and the world. I praise you that we will see the manifestation of your will on earth as you have instructed us to pray in

Matthew 6:9-10 “Pray like this: Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy. May your Kingdom come soon. May your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven.”

Give us the courage and realization to point to the answer and not to the problem. Give us Peace where there is chaos. The answer is Jesus Christ. How can we say we believe in a Living God if we do not share His love and His answer to a lost and dying world? Help us to share His answer. We have the answer!

Luke 5:31-32 Jesus answered them, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor-sick people do. I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners and need to repent.”