Loving Myself?

My Christian friend and I were talking, and she shared how hard it is for her to “love herself.” I thought, “Is that what we’re supposed to do, love ourselves?” “Can we really do that?” “What did Jesus teach us about love?” Then I began to see the deception of the enemy in my friend’s struggle in thinking she needs to learn to love herself.

 

When I asked her those 3 questions that came to mind (which I believe was from the Holy Spirit), she quickly saw the deception, and said, “Well maybe the word is ‘accept’ myself.” Yes, that’s it!

 

So then, what stops us from being able to accept ourselves? Why do we get so down on ourselves, even to the point of taking anti-depressants, or getting drug or high on something, or even wanting to kill ourselves?

 

What came to mind about how we learn to accept ourselves instead of hating ourselves is by learning what God thinks of us. How do we learn that? We learn about God’s love by reading His Word, but with God’s Spirit teaching us! (The devil also knows how to teach God’s Word from his perspective – in order to deceive us.) We learn about God’s love by seeing Him work in our lives as we call on Him by faith and hope in His promises.

 

Sure, you can listen to what other people tell you about how wonderful you are, or what you mean to them, but it’s not as powerful as when GOD TELLS YOU. God’s words in the Holy Bible are those ‘seeds’ of truth we need to have sown in us when we are struggling with serious matters about ourselves, or any matter about life. God is the creator of life and the sustainer of life, and our Judge in the end of our lives. Wouldn’t it be wise to go to His Word to learn about LOVE?

 

The Bible is jam-packed with ‘truths’ about God’s love for us. Even throughout eternity with the LORD we will be ever-learning about the love of God. For the Bible says, “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind can conceive or imagine what God has prepared and planned for those who LOVE Him.” 1 Corinthians 2:9

 

The Bible also tells us that we are unable to love like we should until we fully understand this truth: “We love him, because he first loved us.” 1 John 4:19

 

God hates sin, but God loves every sinner. Bottom line: We need to get over ourselves and get going with the Lord who literally showed us God’s love and acceptance – on the Cross.

 

I remember way back when my dear mother used to go to church with me and Mike and our kids. I thought it was odd that every time she came – she would go forward for salvation at the end of the pastor’s message. Finally I asked her why she keeps going forward to be saved, and she said, “Because I don’t feel saved, I feel guilty.” Wow, who do you think is doing his best to speak THAT into my dear mother? So I told her, “Mom, you don’t need to keep going forward to be forgiven and saved; once is enough. You simply need to start reading God’s Word (Holy Bible) to know how much God loves you, what His purpose is for your life, all that He has given you and that He will never leave you on your own.”

 

Why are we not expected to “love ourselves?” I believe it’s because “love” is not self-centered, nor self-serving, nor self-exalting. Let me ask this question: What do we see in our American culture today about the ‘love of self?’ In how many ways today – are children learning that to love themselves is most important before you can love others? What is wrong about loving myself? What is the danger in loving myself?

 

Well where does love come from? Did it originate in man, or from our Creator? If you go in search of answers to all this, and you neglect God’s Word, you will miss the truth altogether. You will be deceived!

 

“This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters.” 1 John 3:16

 

So I would assume therefore, that I am NOT to love myself because “love” is not selfish, not self-absorbed, not full of oneself. Like John the Baptist said: “Jesus Christ must become more important while I become less important.” (John 3:3) In other words, I must think far less of myself and think more of and upon Him. I need to die to myself – so that I can live in Christ Jesus. AND, the Holy Spirit is in us to help us do that step by step!

 

My friend told me that she felt that God was leading her to get into a personal study of the Scriptures about love starting with Romans 8. I’ll bet she comes away healed and whole after her study!

 

There’s no greater power on earth or in heaven – than the ‘truth’ about the love of God! And we know what Jesus said, “The TRUTH will set you free.”

 

The Lord’s apostle, James, wrote that we should love our neighbor as our self. But this is telling us to love ourselves; we already have that problem.

 

It’s not about me! It’s all about Jesus Christ!

 

The Proverbs 31 Woman – Chapter 40 – Orderly Life

I’ve heard so many people say that they feel “peace” in our home. A peaceful home has God’s order in it.

 

If we reject God’s laws of order then we become part of the increasing chaos and hostility in society. God’s family on the earth is God’s pillars in society. When the ‘family’ is out of order – so goes the nation and so goes the world. And, as we’re seeing today with the reprogramming of natural life in the way God created – the “orderly life” is nowhere to be found except in the life and home of “the godly.” No matter how bad it gets in this sin-sick world God’s family will keep to the truth and love of God, trusting Him at His word and for His promises to them.

 

“….for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.” Philippians 2:13

 

As a parent it excites me when I hear of my children’s and now my grandchildren’s discoveries in God’s Word. Then with the ‘results’ showing up, as they apply God’s words to their everyday life and to their relationships, OH WHAT JOY FILLS MY HEART! If it fills my heart, can you imagine how God’s heart feels?

 

I believe God is more excited than we are when we grasp His truth, and come to understand the wisdom and love behind all His commands and laws for relationships, health, and justice; and when we begin to long for the eternal life of His glorious Kingdom.

 

The Bible tells us that the former things of how man existed on earth with all his unfaithful works throughout time, will not be remembered. The earth with its curse has been man’s testing ground for what each man and woman will do with God’s Word and His Son as their Savior. Jesus Christ will return to renew all things that God once called “good,” even the earth because of all the blood and death in it. And, even the heavens where Satan has been with his armies of demons planning to overtake the world. All evil and rebellion, and even God’s original curse of death on mankind are thrown into the eternal lake of fire – to make way for the LIFE that is truly life. (Job 1:6-7, Isaiah 42:3-4 and 65:17-25, Revelation 20-22)

 

I thank my heavenly Father for who He is and that He does NOT change. We change, but He can not change; for HE IS the GREAT I AM. This is why we can trust and depend on the Lord God who is not like any man.

 

I find peace, hope and joy in the fact that our Father God never changes, and His perfect order will be restored on earth with mankind living according to God’s design. We will be changed (in death or rapture) so that we can live forever with God, with a new body for our eternal spirit and soul. God’s will, as it is in Heaven will be on earth just like Jesus prayed. Whatever Jesus said and prayed – you can count on happening. Whatever God told His servants the prophets – it will happen. God has never changed His mind or His plan for the good of mankind.

 

“Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away. I am making everything new! Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” Revelation 21:3-5

 

When the true sons and daughters of God are in control – all things work together for good. When the wicked are in control – nothing good happens for anyone. People go into hiding when the wicked are in control. But when the righteous ‘in Christ’ take control – well, let’s just say that mankind has NEVER seen, nor heard, what God has prepared for those who love Him!

 

If we, God’s people, disobey God and His laws then we can only expect the Father’s righteous judgment at some point. God will have His way for the good of mankind’s future. Father God gives each human being plenty of time to come to the knowledge of the truth and make a decision for or against His Son. No one will have an excuse for ‘not knowing’ when we all stand before God on Judgment Day. (Romans 1:18-32)

 

It is God’s will and great pleasure to see His faithful children shining examples of how to live out their orderly lives on earth enjoying God’s favor and grace on them. This is how we become His witnesses sharing with others what the Lord Jesus has done in our life.

 

Because the godly woman brings godly love and godly order into her home – her husband and children praise her. She regards them as royalty and is careful and generous with each one.

 

An orderly life comes before any spiritual outreach. You can’t have a credible ministry outside your home if your husband, children and household are being denied your duties as God designed for a wife and mother. God has not given men the responsibilities He has given to wives and mothers. When Christian wives and mothers expect or hire others to do what is theirs only to do so that they can step out into a so-called “ministry” the family falls apart, the marriage falls apart, God’s Word is maligned and God is mocked.

 

At the end of our life on earth, if God’s praise and reward does not await us then all we’ve worked for has all been in vain and even what we believed we had earned, will be forever lost.

 

Woman of God, do not let anyone judge you for living according to the standard of God, because God has said that without holiness no one will see God and enjoy His Kingdom. (Hebrews 12:14) Do not let anyone or anything disqualify you for the crown of faithfulness that awaits you when you appear with Christ in glory.

Series on Fallacies – Fallacy #1 – Words

We live in a world of great deception. It is a world where we find fallacies operating in our debates, TV ads, daily conversations and especially in the political realm. It is important for us to understand these fallacies in order that we too are not deceived. These 14 fallacies are the ones most usually used.

 

Fallacy #1 – WORDS

 

Proverbs 18:21 “The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit.”

 

In his essay called “Politics and the English Language,” George Orwell shared a crucial insight about the decline of language: “A man may take to drink because he feels himself to be a failure, and then fail all the more completely because he drinks. It is rather the same thing that is happening to the English language. It becomes ugly and inaccurate because our thoughts are foolish, but the slovenliness of our language makes it easier for us to have foolish thoughts.”

 

Mike Bauman says, “Sloppy language makes sloppy thought possible.” In Orwell’s “1984,” the masses are fed redefining slogans like “War Is Peace,” “Freedom Is Slavery,” and “Ignorance Is Strength.” We are in a cultural war and in this battle is often on the use of words. How do we define and redefine words? Language is very important and like Proverbs says: “The tongue has the power of life and death.”

 

In the next few weeklies for this I want to write about some of the fallacies that are out there influencing us whether we know it or not. These fallacies have to do with how we use words and how we frame our arguments.

 

The ‘opinion makers’ of this world (those who use words to make a living) are framing their arguments in such a way that they are moving society down a slippery slope. We are told in the Word: “For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness: All these evil things come from within, and defile the man.” Mark 7:21-23 (KJV)

 

Also the Word says: “The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks.” Luke 6:45

 

In this New Year there are two resolutions that the Lord has laid upon my heart.

 

First, we need to get the Gospel out to all mankind. What the above verses are telling me is the need to see the heart of man changed and only the Gospel can do that. Wealth, government legislation, education, better standard of living, or like we say here in USA pursuing the American dream (whatever that is), will not change the heart of man. Only the Gospel can do that and we, the church, have a tremendous obligation to do just that using the gifts, abilities that the Lord has given us.

 

Secondly, we must learn to frame our arguments wisely. Ideas have consequences and some of the ideas that are being bandied about will have a dastardly affect upon us and our children and grandchildren. One of these deadly ideas that is being brought forth is that ‘matter is all that exists.’ In this idea there is no spiritual realm. This is why when the tragedy strikes most of our ‘opinion makers’ had no answers let alone solutions.

 

We need to understand and be able to explain it wisely that in this modern age God is still on the throne and He is sovereign over the nations and human history. “All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the Lord, and all the families of the nations will bow down before him, for dominion belongs to the Lord and he rules over the nations.” (Psalms 22:27-28)

 

To do this we need to learn to think biblically and understand the fallacies that are circulating in our media, entertainment, government, family, market place and yes, even the church.

 

 

Because – Therefore

We know that with every action – there is a reaction. In other words, we have a ‘because – therefore’ situation.

 

We see this coming out constantly in the prophetic writings in the Old Testament. For example: Ezekiel 26:2-3 “’Son of man, because that Tyrus hath said against Jerusalem, Aha, she is broken that was the gates of the people: she is turned unto me: I shall be replenished, now she is laid waste: Therefore,’ thus saith the Lord God; ‘Behold, I am against thee, O Tyrus, and will cause many nations to come up against thee, as the sea causeth his waves to come up.’”

 

Because of the action of the people of Tyrus speaking against Jerusalem, therefore we see the reaction that follows in the rest of the chapter of Ezekiel 26.

 

One of the most powerful things that God has given to us is a free-will and the ability to choose. What do we choose? We need to keep in mind that there will be a reaction to what we choose, whether it is positive or negative.

 

Do we consider the advice of Deuteronomy 30:19: “I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live.”

 

Here we have a because (life and blessing) and therefore (death and cursing) set before. Which one do we choose? Whatever we think about the most will grow and this refers both to the positive and negative ends of the spectrum.

 

We cannot control all our circumstances, but we can control our reaction to them. It is important when we come into trauma (and we will come into one) our thinking needs to be in harmony with Scripture, like Colossians 3:15 “And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful.”

 

October 7, 2017 was a turning point in my life. My wife of 51 years came to me with a terrific headache like she never had before and when we went to the emergency, we found out that she had a brain aneurysm. The next day the aneurysm was secured with coils, but one slipped and brought about further damage to the brain that affected the left side of her body: arm, leg, short term memory, as well as left peripheral vision gone.

 

There was nothing we could do about our circumstance, but what about our reaction to it? We chose life. Every morning I would ask my wife: “What day is this?” She now responds saying: “This is the day that the Lord has made and we will be happy and rejoice in it.”

 

By reacting this way we are now finding that our ‘therefore’ is becoming a positive action. My wife is improving with her left arm. She walks a mile with me holding hands (to help keep her stable) in the near-by park. I see signs (small at this time) of short-term memory responding. By choosing the right course (scripturally) we are finding that the brain which is malleable is being altered in the right way.

 

What is positive for my wife and I because of the choice we made, can also become negative by the choice we make, and wire the brain in a self-defeating attitude.

 

Colossians 3:15 says, “Let the ‘peace of God’ rule in your hearts.” I often wandered just exactly what did that mean. Dr. Caroline Leaf shed some light on this in her book SWITCH ON YOUR BRAIN when she said: “Your heart is not just a pump; it helps with decision-making and choices, acting like a checking station for all the emotions generated by the flow of chemicals from thoughts.”

 

WE have found that when we made a decision, we sensed a peace within and then there have been other times when we did not have that sense of peace within. Could it be, Like Dr. Caroline Leaf brings out, that our heart is “acting like a checking station for all the emotions generated by the flow of chemicals from thoughts.”

 

One lesson that stands out for me in this time of trauma with my wife is the importance of the Scripture. Why? Because our mind needs to be set on that which is right and true, and the only thing in this world that gives the truth for the right thinking, and the right direction to go – is the Holy Scriptures.

 

Let Philippians 4:8 be our thought: “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable — if anything is excellent or praiseworthy — think about such things.”

 

Remember what Paul said in 2 Corinthians 10:5: “We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.

 

We gain by bringing our thoughts into obedience to Christ!

 

 

The Proverbs 31 Woman – Chapter 39 – Character Building

The godly character that you have helps your husband become the man of God he was intended to be. The ungodly character that a wife holds on to can hinder her husband from becoming the man of God he is to become. This does not mean that your husband has no responsibility of his own, or that God is impotent in any way. It only means that you as his wife have the responsibility from God to build up the right spirit, outlook and disposition in yourself so that you can be all you need to be as your husband’s helpmate, and the mother of his children. God will be generous with a helpmate like this.

 

God favors the wife who helps her husband with his responsibility as the provider of his family. She is determined to do her best to live within her husband’s means so she can be at home with her children. She protects her husband’s masculinity by being content with what they can afford and making their home-life happy and peaceful.

 

If her husband doesn’t make enough to provide for his family – she goes to God believing He will help her to see how they can live on less, and to find bargains, or to see a way she can still be at home with the children while bringing in a little more income. When there are no more children at home she is free to work outside the home, but she never expects her husband to come home from work to an empty house and to fix his own dinner. If she must be absent she has prepared a meal for him before she leaves. She has left a note for him showing her loving thought of him.

 

Pampering herself with massages and facials is not the thinking of a virtuous woman. Spending money on physical improvements so she can feel better about herself is not her way. She is convinced that true beauty comes from godly character, and that relaxing is about her peace with God. Her early morning time with the Lord does for her what worldly women believe body treatments do for them.

 

A wife is not capable of knowing her husband’s full worth and potential. God is the only one with this knowledge and vision. God has not allowed women to fully understand men, nor men to fully understand women. We just need to respectfully enjoy and benefit from our distinct differences by working together for our Father’s glory and pleasure. It’s about “completion not competition.” God puts two people together who will do amazing things with Him. So don’t try to completely understand your husband or you will ruin your marriage. Some things are best left as mysteries. I finally gave up and I’m a happier woman because of it and my husband is happier too.

 

Wife, God forms your character through your faithfulness and honest prayers. Your good character is built as you love and serve your husband and take all your concerns to the Lord. You don’t need to be worried about the “what ifs” if your faith is in God and His promises. Your faith in what God has said in His Word is stronger than all your doubts and fears.

 

The quiet and gentle spirit of a humble praying wife can win the meanest man over to kindness and faith in God. This is one of the wonderful things done by a wife’s “humble submission.” (1 Peter 3:1-6) Submission is not to be done out of fear, but out of faith in what God can do that He claims in His Word.

 

God does not expect any woman to keep taking the “mean” behavior of her husband as though it was her lot in life. Your heavenly Father releases you from your marriage contract if your husband continues to abuse you because you are His daughter living under HIS ROOF. (Numbers 30:3-5)

 

Your heavenly Father can break your word/vow/promise if He did not agree with it. He can break it at any time He sees fit. While you are living under your earthly father’s roof (authority and protection) your father also has the right to break your word/vow/promise that you make to someone – if your father sees that there is something not right with the man you have given your word to. This of course is talking about a good father with common sense.

 

Abuse and adultery are two legitimate reasons for separation and/or divorce. In the case of adultery you have the option to forgive him so that the two of you can work out the problem with help. In the case of adultery – most the time a wife is just as much to fault as the husband is. What leads up to the act of adultery should be taken seriously and personally. Most the time the reason a husband starts noticing other women is because his wife is not paying attention to him; not concerned for his physical and emotional needs, or for his job and challenges in life.

 

In the case of physical abuse you will need to separate and go to God for what you need to see about your husband and understand about yourself. Most times, an abusive man has come from being abused himself. (Most times, a woman will chose a man based on how she was treated by her father.) Keep a spirit of forgiveness and keep praying for God to heal him and set him free from his deep wounds. Temporary separation is good; it gives you both the time to think, get close to the Lord in His Word and prayer, and get the help you need – so you can truly heal and be free to come back together and live the life God intends.

 

“He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.” Psalms 147:3

 

“I will heal their waywardness and love them freely, for my anger has turned away from them….Who is wise? He will realize these things. Who is discerning? He will understand them. The ways of the Lord are right; the righteous walk in them, but the rebellious stumble in them.” Hosea 14:4-9

 

In many cases an abusive person remains that way because no one loves him enough to pray for him, or because he refuses the extended hand of the Lord; the help and deliverance he truly needs. If one is unwilling to change, then a divorce is inevitable unless the willing one commits to putting up with it in order to pray and trust God to work. If both are unwilling to change then a divorce is inevitable, but a divorce won’t help either of you, it will only ruin the next relationship you enter into.

 

God works meanness out of a man when someone begins to pray for God’s good to come. Sometimes He works it out by removing him off the face of the earth. Sometimes He works it out through personal hardships and losses. But in any case, God works it out with His loving kindnesses. God’s loving kindness will be revealed through pain and suffering. The same is true for a “mean wife.”

 

When you see hardship, loss or death happen to your husband – do not give way to fear. Entrust yourself, and your children, to the Lord. Remain steadfast in prayer with the hope of God’s promises. This hope, the hope that is anchored to God’s love and principles, will never disappoint you. God makes every one of His promises good to the promise clinger. Don’t be afraid of what is happening to your husband, how it will affect you and the children. Believe me; God knows exactly how to touch your husband without it hurting you and the children.

 

Many times your husband will amaze you with how foolish he can be, but be careful not to judge him for it. Remember that God isn’t finished with him, or you yet. (God has an appointed time when all will be judged.) Most adult men still think and act like boys who haven’t learned how to control themselves and aren’t taking their manly responsibilities seriously enough. But, they don’t need ‘mommies’ anymore and they don’t need their wives to ‘criticize’ them either. They need a wife with godly character and a God-appointed man to lead them on in what men are all about. Pray for one!

 

Above all, don’t forget what you first saw in your husband that you liked so much to marry him. Only God can change your husband. God sees us finished, but we don’t have this same privilege or advantage point.

 

Women don’t fully understand what makes a man into a godly man and because of that blissful ignorance we are only responsible for how well we live up to God’s standard of a woman so that WE grow up in the character that pleases our Father God.

 

Women have believed (the lie) that to be just a wife, mother and home-maker is not impressive or praiseworthy. That’s because worldly women are not impressed with the life of the woman God honors.  The so-called women’s movements with their protests and marches are nothing more than women showing their resentment of true womanhood and their extreme anger with God. Yet, their Creator Father says His design of womanhood is the highest honor and calling a woman can have.

Wisdom without Knowledge is Destructive

Daniel 12:4 says that “in the end times knowledge will increase.” I thought this was interesting that it just says knowledge and not wisdom.

 

Wisdom is knowing what to do with knowledge. Could it be that in the last days we will have whole societies that know a lot of things but cannot figure out how to use it in their lives properly?

 

Every generation prior to mine have said that they wanted to make life better for the next generation. I have to say that my grandchildren will not have as good a life as I have. This brings up the question, why? Could it be that the times they live in with so much accessible knowledge, there is the great lack of wisdom? A good example of this is to listen to the foolish talk today about  the sanctity of life for endangered animals but refuse to protect the life of a child in the womb, now even killing the living breathing child after birth. What a SERIOUS lack of wisdom! 

 

Is There Anything New Under the Sun?

Genesis 1:26-28 “Then God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.’  So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. God blessed them and said to them, ‘Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground.'”

 

When it comes to the environment, we as God’s people, need to take an active role in what is taking place. When this mandate was given to us it was before the fall of man. We see through out Scripture how the Lord worked to bring about redemption for those who wanted it, although redemption is free, it does come with responsibilities and one is this mandate that God gave man before he fell.

 

One issue that is constantly popping up is what is called the “green movement.” To fully understand this movement, we need to go back to Karl Marx and Lenin and their teaching.

 

The buzz word for this green movement is the word ‘pollution.’ It is interesting to see as well that the Marxist seized upon pollution, real or imagined, as their weapon and their war on freedom.

 

It’s not that there is no pollution, because there is. However, it can be cleaned up and, in the USA, a remarkable job is being done to achieve that. However, the environmentalists following a Marx philosophy believe that the use of fossil fuels and subsequent carbon dioxide emissions plays havoc with what we’re faced with today.

 

Thomas Jefferson said: “A reformation in government follows revolution of public opinion.” How true a statement that is. Who are the opinion makers today in our society? They are the ones that use words to make a living. They are the ones shaping the opinions in our culture. What about God’s opinion? Should we, who are called the “body of Christ,” His bride to be using His Words (the Bible) to shape public opinion?

 

We are going to live by someone’s morals. Who should it be? Public opinion? Powers to be? Or God’s morality? It should be the latter. This is why we cannot be silent when it comes to some of the ‘hot issues’ we are faced with today.

 

To me pollution is not the problem that we face today, but rather ideas that are being advanced contrary to God’s Word. The ideas of Karl Marx brought about the Russian Revolution in 1917 that resulted eventually leaving a nation in chaos and around the world with over 110 million people dead and with millions  forced into oppressed societies.

 

Ecclesiastes tells us that there is nothing new under the sun and yet our politicians, government bureaucracies, university professors are telling us that the greatest problem that we face is pollution, not seeing that the ideas being put forward will have dangerous consequences.

 

One of the main goals of Karl Marx was to get rid of Christianity. Why? Because he was convinced, like many materialists today that Christianity is based on a system of beliefs and not facts. They believe only science has facts and that is the way to go.

 

Federick Engels steps into the picture and along with Marx comes up with three laws of matter to bring order to their belief system. The law of opposites, the law of negation and the law of transformation. We also see that this provided the rationale for today’s green movement.

 

The law of opposites is how opposites work in unity. For example, electricity has positive and negative, or atoms with protons and neutrons, and even with human beings we have opposites with altruism and selfishness, humility and pride or masculinity and femininity.

 

Marx’s philosophy brings out that in the animal kingdom the law of opposites is kept in check, but in the human race this is not the case and so this is where government comes in and is why in many countries where you have Marx’s philosophy you have a tyrannical government.

 

We find that the law of negation is a key pillar for the environmentalists today. This law states that all of nature is expanding in death. For this philosophy all species have the tendency to proliferate. They see that within the animal kingdom this is kept in check, but for the human race this is not the case.

 

So for the Marxists they look upon the human race as becoming a population bomb that places the entire planet at risk and so systems must be put in place. Look at what is happening with abortion, now being advocated to the third trimester and even when the baby is born the mother can decide to end the baby’s life. The buzzword for the environmentalists today is the word “sustainable.”

 

The law of transformation is the thought that a particular species can leap forward through continuous development into a new form. For the Marxists this is particular true with human beings producing an elite that can rule, govern the rest of society, and even decide who should die. The elitist then would be able to decide what morality to follow, rules and laws that should be in place.

 

Marx also believed that the earth possessed natural wealth, but it did not belong to man and could only be used if necessary, but not to take a profit from it.

 

Yet when we look at the Cultural Mandate that God gave us we see that God provided all of this to be used, not hoarded, but used for betterment of mankind.

 

When Vladimir Lenin continued on pushing the “Green Giant” it brought about the Russian revolution in 1917 where a million people died and country left in a terrible mess. One of his first decrees was to make all land, forests, water, minerals, etc. to be the property of the State and eventually develop natural preserves that would be totally left alone and no human would be allowed in. Some of these areas were rich in oil, minerals and gold.

 

When I think of the recent fires in California that left many dead, houses and business burned – the one thing that gave fuel to the fires were debri-dead trees, bushes, etc. that were not cleaned up. Does this sound familiar today coming from our so-called socialists? Take for example AOC and what she is preaching about to take away our energy because it’s causing pollution, take away our guns, get rid of private property and let it come under the control of the State, have less children, no children, and when it comes to the abortion law about aborting at baby at birth or even in their third term, we find these socialists silent and even giving a wink to infanticide. What evil!

 

Ecclesiastes 1:9-10 “That which has been is what will be, that which is done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun. Is there anything of which it may be said, ‘See, this is new?’ It has already been in ancient times before us.”

 

Spiral of Silence – Part 2

2 Corinthians 4:13 “It is written: ‘I believed; therefore I have spoken.’ With that same spirit of faith we also believe and therefore speak.”

 

I was watching the debates of the presidential candidates. If we mean that each side can come and present their views then that is a debate. But often what happens with Christians who do not ‘toe the political correctness line’ that they are not listened to as far as their views are concerned, but are actually maligned because of their Christian stand.

 

Therefore, many of these debates are not real debates at all. The reason for this maligning of Christians is to silence them. We must learn to speak the truth with boldness, not in an argumentative way, but speaking like Paul in the synagogues where Paul reasoned, explained, proving and persuading. Or like Apollos, who “vigorously refuted the Jews in public debate, proving from the Scriptures that Jesus was the Christ.” Acts 18:28

 

There are two things that come to mind regarding the spiral of silence. First, we have the need for acceptance, and secondly is, what we believe is a conviction or only a preference. I have written about this previously and I think it is important for us to re-examine our belief.

 

I wrote about acceptance and rejection that keep people locked in their ‘little kingdoms.’ Human need is to be accepted and the last thing that we want is rejection. We need to come to the realization in a far greater way that this need of acceptance has already been met through Christ. He has accepted us. Unless we come to the place where we recognize that we have been accepted in Christ I doubt that we will be able to stand and speak the truth.

 

But another reason why we do not speak out is this: Do we really believe in what we say we believe in? Is it a conviction within us or is it something we prefer? There is a big difference. Paul said: “I believed; therefore I have spoken.” What Paul seems to be saying is that what he believes in is real and he realizes that, and because of that – he speaks. Could it be that what we say we believe in is not real to us, not a conviction, but a preference instead, and so we do not speak? I used the example of the three men thrown into the fiery furnace in the book of Daniel. These men boldly spoke out and in so doing show us what conviction really is.

 

First, we see that what they believed was unchangeable. They were given the chance to change their minds, but it was useless. If what we say we believe in can be changed through pressure or whatever then it is not a conviction.

 

Secondly, they were willing to stand alone. There must have been hundreds of other Jews living in the capital at the time. What were they doing? They must have been bowing down, because the only Jewish people brought to the king were these three men. Now we do not want to stand alone and would like others to stand with us, but even if not, then we are willing to stand alone upon what we believe, because we know that what we believe is right.

 

Thirdly, what they believed in was non-negotiable. Nebuchadnezzar was willing to give them a second chance to change their mind, to reconsider, to be able to sit down and negotiate and trying to get them to think of the consequences, etc. What was their response? “Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to the king, ‘O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king. But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.’” Daniel 3:16-18

 

Fourthly, they did not need the assurance of success before they took a stand. This is what we have with the spiral of silence. If we know that we might be successful, then we will stand, or if we know that others are standing on what I believe, we stand; but all this shows that our faith is only a preference and not a conviction.

 

There is a need for us to be convinced that the Biblical worldview is the only worldview that answers the questions that plague mankind today, like, where did we get this universe and why is man different from the rest of creation; why is the world in such a mess and what is the solution? The only worldview that answers these questions and makes sense is the biblical worldview.

 

I am concerned like the late Chuck Colson who said: “By rejecting Christianity and its moral framework, Western liberal democracies are in grave peril of collapsing upon themselves. They will no longer be able to preserve human rights and liberties. What comes next is tyranny.”

 

We cannot allow the ‘spiral of silence’ to keep us silent any longer.

 

Might we do what Paul admonished Timothy to do: “Give diligence to present thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, handling aright the word of truth.” 2 Timothy 2:15

The Proverbs 31 Woman – Chapter 38 – Real and Respectable

Real men are offended when women compete with them, especially their wives. They don’t like being shown up by a woman who thinks she is better than a man. Real men don’t like being bossed, told what to do, when and how to do it. This does not make a man less a man because this offends him or simply makes him angry; rather it reveals that he’s a ‘real’ man because of how it goes against God’s design of a man.

 

Real women are offended when men, especially their husbands, expect them to behave in ways that are improper and shameful, or to expect their wives to walk behind them and be quiet. A real woman knows her worth from her Father God. She knows how to conduct and present herself so that she does not feel ashamed before her heavenly Father. She raises her daughters respectfully as well – ignoring the opinions of worldly women.

 

“The righteous hate what is false, but the wicked bring shame and disgrace. Righteousness guards the man (and woman) of integrity, but wickedness overthrows the sinner.” Proverbs 13:5-6

 

A woman cannot teach a man how to be a man and neither does it work the other way around. Should either attempt to teach the other in this way – they will see where it takes them that neither of them will appreciate.  When a husband and a wife don’t respect each other’s God-given design and boundaries – their marriage will be a disaster and their children will suffer as well. In turn, this affects society (as we’ve seen in America) and the whole world. It’s wise to get the right understanding from God’s blueprint of the male and female genders with their roles on the earth; saves you a lot of battles, heartaches and shame.

 

“Has not the one God made you? You belong to him in body and spirit. And what does the one God seek? Godly offspring.” Malachi 2:15

 

Children today are being trained to think evil is good and good is evil; they are being forced through public education to think and behave in ways that go against the way God established the male and female roles in life. What we need are godly parents raising godly children.

 

Today, women know how to play sports, but they don’t know how to cook and clean a house. In fact, they feel it below them to do so. Women know how to raise their voices, but they don’t know how to raise children. Women hold management positions in the world, but they fail to manage their own households. Women know how to use their charms to get a man, but they don’t know how to be their husband’s helpmate.

 

What a shameful thing it is that women get together and share tactics in how they stand up to their husbands, and how they get their husbands to serve them. Women today praise each other for getting in the face of their husbands to tell them off. They boast of their beguiling ways as if it makes them more a woman. So very evil!

 

Woman came from the rib of man to be his helper; to be the wife at his side and on his side; the mother of his children; the one he can trust with his weakness and fears; the one who looks to her Creator Father for her husband’s good, and who entrusts herself to her Father God for all His good in her life.

 

An honorable wife can cause her husband to be respected in the gates of their society. The woman who faithfully prays and depends on the Lord with her thoughts, desires, fears and concerns for her family – is a wife no man should live without; it’ll be hard for a man to fail with a wife like this.

Spiral of Silence

2 Corinthians 4:13 “I believed; therefore I have spoken.”

 

Over the past few weeks I have been hearing a lot about the “spiral of silence” and decided that I would do some research and see what it is all about and how it pertains to us.

 

Elisabeth Noelle-Neumann was a German political scientist who came up with the ‘spiral of silence’ that gave an explanation of how public opinion can influence individual opinions or actions. For example, in 1991 support was measured for the Gulf War. The researchers wanted to know if the support was a consensus view or did media coverage contribute to a spiral of silence that dampened opposition to the war? They concluded that those who watched television and sensed that the public supported the war were more likely to support the war as well. They found that this study supports the ‘spiral of silence,’ that people can be swayed by public opinion rather than face social isolation.

 

Wikipedia says: “The phrase “spiral of silence” actually refers to how people tend to remain silent when they feel that their views are in the minority. The model is based on three premises: 1) people have a “quasi-statistical organ,” a sixth-sense if you will, which allows them to know the prevailing public opinion, even without access to polls, 2) people have a fear of isolation and know what behaviors will increase their likelihood of being socially isolated, and 3) people are reticent to express their minority views, primarily out of fear of being isolated.”

 

This brings out several things that we need to consider.

 

First, even if we are in the minority (or think that we are) we must speak the truth and not what is “politically correct.” I am afraid God’s people have been too silent when it comes to expressing God’s truth. Instead of allowing people who are opposed to God’s truth shaping public opinion we, the church, should be the shakers and shapers of society.

 

Secondly, we know that Satan has divided this world into little kingdoms (or one could call them prisons) and the bars that hold people in are not made out of steel, but acceptance and rejection. These are the needs that every human being has – to be accepted and not face rejection or isolation. We want people to be released from these prisons and be able to enter the Kingdom of God. This is what the Gospel is all about. We read in Ephesians 1:6 (KJV) “To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.”

 

All our needs have been met in Christ.

 

Thirdly, we need to do what Paul told the Corinthian church to do and that is to examine their faith. “Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?” 2 Corinthians 3:5 (KJV) Is our faith a preference or a conviction? There is a difference between the two. We see this coming out in Daniel 3 with Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego when they were confronted with the fiery furnace.

 

Public opinion was to bow down and give allegiance to Nebuchadnezzar by falling down and worshipping the statue that he built. This was a classic example of the ‘spiral of silence.’ We see that these three men were willing to speak out, face the consequences and give God the glory. At the end, we see the results: “Then Nebuchadnezzar spake, and said, ‘Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who hath sent his angel, and delivered his servants that trusted in him, and have changed the king’s word, and yielded their bodies, that they might not serve nor worship any god, except their own God.’”

 

We might not be faced with a fiery furnace, but on many issues, we will be faced with public opinion. The question is: Will the ‘spiral of silence’ kick in or will we speak out. We do not need to speak out in an argumentative way, but we should speak from our conviction and from our study to show ourselves approved unto God like we read in 2 Timothy 2:15 “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.”

 

Paul wrote to the Corinthians: “It is written: ‘I believed; therefore I have spoken.’ With that same spirit of faith we also believe and therefore speak.” (2 Corinthians 4:13) Paul was saying, he knows that what he believes is real and because it is real – he speaks. So, it should be with us.

 

Someone said: “Christians today are in danger of being sucked into such a ‘spiral of silence.’ But this is not inevitable. We can break the ‘spiral of silence’ (1) if we are really persuaded of the truth of the Gospel and the Christian worldview, and (2) if we will simply begin to speak up when opportunities arise, trusting the Lord to use our words as He will.” (Luke 12:8-12)

 

May God give us the boldness and courage to stand, and to be accountable.

 

Remember the words of Thomas Jefferson: “Reformation in government follows reformation in opinions.” Let us speak up and get God’s truth and opinions out in the public square!