Hello anyone who takes the time to read my blog. I am back! I have been busy with stuff. Today, I will start by confessing this: We may be fellow believers in Jesus Christ, all members of the body of Christ, but our politics has divided us. It is too late to reconcile. The lines have been drawn. The right has never been right and today the left sounds more right than the right ever did. Today, some on the left are still members of the right, and disagree with the politics of the right. Why? Because the right has always been about the traditions of men. And there is no place for such things in the kingdom of God. As believers we accept that traditions of men are biblical. And they are not.
TEXAS
That should scare everyone. Now, Texas. This is the place where hypocrisy meets faith. This is the entrance to hell, itself. It is hot as hell here too. The fake fruit is on display everywhere. The wolves rule, and the sheep are scatter brain. They believe whatever the wolves say. The sheep are not able to believe they are God’s sheep. Religious rhetoric spews out of the mouths of “men of God” dressed in their cowboy boots and Stetson hats and their pretty garments. If it wasn’t so heretical it would be amusing. Ok. Everything in Texas is big. I exaggerate a bit. Maybe. Texas is home. Ya have to love it here. I love the wide open skies.
Once upon a time
When I first became a Christian, political speak was not “a thing” in church. Politics had its place and it was not in church. The goal of any church was to reach the lost, preach the message of the gospel of Jesus Christ, offer salvation, explain repentance and the need for it. Today, there is still a need for all this. Am I wrong? Has capitalism truly transformed the church into one big golden calf?
What is the purpose of the church of Jesus Christ? To dictate policy, and worldly laws that will not change the heart of any man? To create laws that will not end crime, or hate, or any evil thing? Today, the wolves continue to feed on the weak, but every one involved is ok with it. A compromised ethic here and there is not a big deal. The letter of the law is not written in stone. The religious traditions of men have adapted to the times – not for the furtherance of the gospel of Jesus Christ, but for the religious traditions of men to keep the blind sheep under the control of the wolves, whose boss happens to be the father of lies. What is that guys name?
This is prophesy unraveling. The church is compelled to take back the country, restoring its moral decency, and the country’s moral compass. All the while rationalizing away compromised character. A desire for something, really bad, that is starting to take form, does not mean that it is a blessing from God, or even of God, especially if it swims in murky water. Someone holding a carrot in front of a golden calve should raise a lot of red flags. But…
Am I my brother’s keeper?
“Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.” Philippians 2:3-4
Looking out for fellow brothers and sisters in Christ is not always pleasant. Keeping your own integrity and ethics in check becomes a bit difficult.
What the heck is happening to the church? It is a rhetorical question.
“Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.” Matthew 7:13-14
“Do not give what is holy to the dogs; nor cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you in pieces..” Matthew 7:6
The Scriptures confirm that the road to life is narrow, and the gate to enter through is small. Jesus warned his followers about the dangers of false teachers. He said they were already in the church. Knowing this truth, the chances of the average Christian being a convert based on a false gospel is highly likely. And if a self-identified Christian is biblically illiterate they are more likely to be on the wide path. I believe that was me. But the Lord was gracious. He is the One who knows the heart of every man. And he knows the heart of every man is continually evil. Conservative Christians keep whining about corruption and moral decline in America. They and Christian leaders and many Christian groups have accepted American idealism and Christianity as one ideology. This belief is wrong. These folks wait for revival, they feel the need for Christian values to be restored, that Christianity needs to be restored in America. The problem is not with Christianity. The problem is in the heart of man. These Christian conservatives, evangelicals, and other Christian faiths can ignore one man’s immorality, his corrupt nature, his pompous attitude, lack of humility and call him savior, sing his praises and bow to his every whim. Although these men of god know God’s judgment against such things, they’re not just guilty of similar behaviors they approve of others who do the same. It makes sense that the scripture would say only the narrow road leads to life.
I wrote some of what is written in this post several years ago. I was writing about false teachers even back then. Most of these thoughts were first penned in 2014. As I sit her watching the 50th season of Survivor, listening to contestants share experiences, lessons learned, some admitting to finding themselves on some distant island, learning lessons they did not know they needed to learn. Telling themselves, “I can do this.” Some learned what they were made off, and finding themselves, whatever that looked like. The Scriptures encourage God’s children to check our faith to make sure we believe in the real gospel.
Years back, before I had watched my first reality show, I was not interested in soul searching, my desire was to seek the Lord, His truth. I had no means to travel, or no where to seek solace. I had been a Christian for many years, but my walk had been stagnating for many years. I felt like something was missing. I had done all the ritualistic (Martha) works required and I was no closer to God, and I had doubts. I trusted Him with all my heart, still something was not right. But – the Lord was going to provide great revelation. I did not have to go on a reality show or travel thousands of miles to some remote island to learn who I was, or learn those valuable lessons the Spirit of God was ready to teach me. The Lord had a journey mapped out for me and it was not going to be easy, but His grace was abundant. He taught me who I was, in Him.
My journey was not about solidifying my walk in Christ, but that’s what happened. It was not about leaving a legacy in this world, or even to be remembered for being a good Christian. My journey was to develop a relationship with the living God, something He had wanted to do, something He wanted for me since the beginning. My lack of scriptural knowledge hindered that process. Not to mention I had to be fully convinced of His reality. God did not hold against me the lack of scripture knowledge. He had prepared all the lessons I had to learn. The ultimate purpose of my journey was for God to tell me, to show me His unconditional love. He desired a relationship with me. When He called, He knew me by name. He is deserving of all the glory due His name, in all things. He is serious when He says He will not give His glory to any man. He is serious. He will not be mocked.
It took a great deal of trial and tribulation to be fully persuaded of his sovereignty and omnipotence. It took deconstructing years of teaching based on half truths. It took a total emptying out all the muck and mire I had accumulated from false teachings.
Once I learned the truth of the gospel, only more truth could be revealed. I added, modified and subtracted some thoughts here and there, adding what I have learned through the subsequent years. But I am just as confident today as I was sixteen years ago that much of today’s preaching is steeped in heresy. The overwhelming surge of hostility online by many who identify as Christian is remarkable. It would be a lie to say this is limited to social media—sadly, it hits close to home. The Lord reveals all truth. I cannot deny that truth. There is one question we all need to ask ourselves.
In 2014 I captured this image of beautiful flowers growing in December. We have not had rain here in months. But in 2014, trees were bare but beautiful flowers were still blooming. In December, among bare trees, these flowers were alive. It is like people alive in Christ who live among those dead in their sin. The scripture tells us, we are in the world, but we are not of this world.
There is no greater gift to give people than the real Jesus rather than some commercialized, homogenized, version, or a Jesus on steroids packing AR15’s. He alone offers salvation and knows all our needs before we do. God knows the heart of every man, and He says it is continually evil. All those things people desire…love, forgiveness, wisdom, compassion, the Lord gives to those who seek Him with a whole heart.
1Cor. 4 “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.” that’s all Jesus. But this Jesus has been pushed out by conservatives holding to an Americanized Christianity, a Jesus made in their image.
What a shame that Christianity has been so watered down we can’t recognize the real Jesus…it’s a nicely wrapped package of goods we accept as gospel…it is far from the true gospel of Jesus Christ….and of we follow like sheep to slaughter. His grace is sufficient…1Cor.12:9.
It is difficult to understand the believer who sees the traditions of men as from God. “He answered and said to them, “Well did Isaiah prophesy of youhypocrites, as it is written: ‘This people honors Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me. And in vain they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’” Mark 7:6-7
The Word tells us that there are false teachers, preachers, prophets in this world of ours, and that we should be on the alert. These days, however, it is becoming ever so difficult to tell the difference, but the Word said that many would come and try to deceive even the elect. Of one thing, I can be certain, God’s children hear His voice.
In 2014, it had been only a couple of years earlier that the Lord had revealed the problem and popularity of false teachings. “There is a widespread acceptance of deceptive teaching among today’s evangelicals. In 2026- I do not question this truth.
They (false teachers) seek each other out. They praise the works of one another. Speak out against one, and you face the wrath of all. Criticize their hero’s and evangelicals and Christians launch their hate campaigns, and attack your integrity (they attack your faith. So true today.). All the while, they mingle with the world and all its worldly lusts. And all is played out in plain sight.
Ephesians 6:11 instructs us to “Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.” The wiles of Satan are many. Do not dare comment or question the beliefs or attitudes of a disciple under the spell of false teachings. Do not make negative comments about their spiritual heroes. Their first instinct is to attack your character and your faith. The enemy hates to be confronted by scripture, always accusing you of taking it out of context or misinterpretation. Satan is the accuser of the brethren. Hate exudes through every comment. Your enemies will laugh or use the laughing emoji to ridicule anyone who disagrees with their beliefs. In person, they may keep you at arm’s length. Remember Jim Jones when he was in Guyana? Several men from the Peoples Temple ambushed and killed a congressman, Leo Ryan; three newsmen; and a church defector, on a jungle airstrip. Those followers were deceived, and their beliefs led them to mass suicide. I don’t think we should ever downplay the negative effects of false teachings. If you wonder who “they” are. They are people like you and me, only some use alternate profiles, some haven’t posted anything to their profile in years. They hide behind social media anonymous profiles. I am like wow! The devil has mastered social media.
Don’t believe me, test the spirits. The religious folks forget that Peter was addressing the church leaders, the Pharisees, who wanted to remind him that he was forbidden to preach in the public square. That’s when he said it is better for us to obey God rather than man. It the religious folks who wanted to silence the apostles. Today’s religious folks use that scripture to justify attacks on people who do not believe as they do. The people that Jesus died for. Jesus died for the sin of all men. He did not come to judge but to save. The religious leaders are still trying to keep the true gospel from going out. They probably do not even know the true gospel. Satan’s only goal is to deceive as many people as possible.
Have you noticed very few pastors are addressing the elephant in the room. Where are the celebrity pastors? They hang out with the elites. But to confront anyone who places himself in place of God, they ignore, they wait it out. Why? Because like Gamaliel they do not want to be fighting against God.
The Word also tells us that in the last days itching ears will desire the word that fits their lifestyle.” Eventually, God will reveal to all His children all they need to know and will expose every false teacher, preacher, etc… However, because Christians are at different levels of maturity not all will readily receive, or accept truth when presented, especially that which is contrary to their first spiritual foundation, regardless of its scriptural soundness. And the thing is if church goers do not know the scriptures they do not know what teaching is scripturally sound. “Danger, Will Robinson!” Meaning, “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel land and sea to win one proselyte, and when he is won, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves” (Matthew 23:15). This truth is evident.
If any convert accepted a false gospel as truth, they are more dead than they were before they heard. That’s how I interpret Matthew 23:15. Most Christians will look to their favorite pastor, or favorite teacher for guidance before sifting through their believe system. Let’s face it, there are too many Christians who do not, and perhaps have never read a Bible. As our world grows increasingly violent, divided, and filled with hatred, Christians continue to follow and elevate a man who has a clear problem with “I.” Fellow Christians elevate men and women as saviors relying on human wisdom to revive Christian values and traditions of men. In such an environment, there is no space left for the presence of a living God. Light and darkness have nothing in common. These Christians quench or grieve the Spirit hindering any work the Lord desires to do through them and in them.
Will believers seek God’s wisdom, or follow a man? To seek the wisdom of men is to reject God. As the Word says, “no man seeks after Him.” And while a few Christians will search the scriptures for answers, many will not and few will ask God to search their hearts. That is what God wants, your heart. He will not give His glory to another.
In His perfect time and perfect will, God will bring everyone’s deeds to the light. Meanwhile, fear is what is being served up, daily. And fear we are ingesting. He said not to worry because when it comes time for the harvest, He will order the separating.
As humans, we have an innate desire to identify with someone, or something, hence, why some individuals, with particular talents, abilities and such can quickly attract people by the hordes. And as humans, we quickly follow those who speak words we want to hear, even to our demise. It becomes a bittersweet relationship. Someone says, I will restore Christianity and we chase after him. But there is no restoring Christianity. THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH CHRISTIANITY. Jesus saw to that, when He said, “It is finished.”
The one thing that needs to be restored is the heart of man, back to God. Say it over and over…
We must remember that truth. That is the message for today. The Lord wants our heart. He does not want our sacrifices, or burnt offerings. “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and a contrite heart— these, O God, You will not despise (Psalm 51:16-17).” That truth will not change. Praise God.
Mat. 13:24-30 “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field; but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way. But when the grain had sprouted and produced a crop, then the tares also appeared. So the servants of the owner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?’ He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ The servants said to him, ‘Do you want us then to go and gather them up?’ But he said, ‘No, lest while you gather up the tares you also uproot the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn.”
Mat.:7:15 “Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves.”
2 Tim. 4:1-4 (NKJV) “I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom: Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching.For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables.
There’s a wideness in God’s mercy I cannot find in my own And He keeps his fire burning To melt this heart of stone Keeps me aching with a yearning Keeps me glad to have been caught In the wreckless raging fury That they call the love of God
Oh the love of God! The love of God makes me wonder why. Why does God care so much about man? Why does He go after some with such fury and not others? Why did He choose to pursue me? I was already a believer. He did not have to convince me. As it turned out, yes He did.
When I first heard the song, The Love of God, I cried, because that’s how I felt. A few years back, I was facing so much adversity. What had I done that would make God turn on me? I asked the Lord to show me, but He was silent. Divorce was not my call. Single parenting was not my call. My ex was abusive, adulterous, and manipulative. He wanted everything, even the children. It was going to be his way, or no way. He refused to pay a penny in child support. He has all the resources. Yet, he was ready to quit the Army so he would not be forced to pay child support. He took joy in telling me that his sergeant was in the same boat so he was not about to order him to comply. I did not want my circumstances to make me turn bitter, resentful or hateful, so I prayed.
That first year separated from my ex, he had no restraints. He dated so many women. When my daughters returned from a weekend visit they would tell me their dad had a different girlfriend. After years of dealing with his infidelities, my self-esteem still took a hit every time I heard of another woman. Once, (I think this girl was his first girlfriend after we separated.) this girl calls me at work (I don’t know how she found out where I worked.) to tell me that my ex had broken up with her. She couldn’t understand why he would suddenly end their relationship. She loved him. Silly woman expected me to give her some explanation for his behavior. She told me she had grown close to my daughters. Then, she had the audacity to asked if she could continue to have a relationship with my daughters. Eventually, my ex estranged himself from his daughters. Our divorce had the SPO, but he rarely followed it. If his daughters wanted to see him, I had to take them to him. He lived over 200 miles away. He was not going to be inconvenienced. As it turned out when he remarried, I was told the new wife gave him an ultimatum, her or his children. Can you guess who he chose? He had more children and he denied them to his new children and to new family members.
We tend to overlook sinful behaviors in those close to us
My ex had support for his behavior from friends and family. Unknowingly? I don’t know, but his sisters did help cover up his indiscretions. He told me that one of his sister’s told him he had to do whatever made him happy. Those close to me who knew my domestic violence plight never intervened. This was the hand that was dealt to me – raising children alone – because their dad wanted total control, or he wanted nothing. Uneducated, unskilled, and raising children alone, only the mercy and grace of a loving God could take a recipe made in hell and make something good of it. I highly doubt that my ex’s second marriage was free of conflict. My daughters would say as much. Nevertheless, he prospered and I struggled. He saw his children, when it was to his benefit. And I would cry out to the Lord.
The lessons from the cross are many
You may wonder what I learned through so much adversity. Well, first, the fallout of divorce affects children into adulthood. Second, a man who is only concerned with control, wants only to control. He spends his life trying to control those refusing to give up their autonomy. A man who does not hold himself accountable to anyone will do whatever he pleases. A parent justifies divorce, adulterous and abusive behaviors by blaming the partner, the one person they promised to love and honor. Husband or wife, either is capable of atrocities, but the data, no matter how you look at it, fathers/males have a higher percentage of committing child abuse and partner violence. My 66 years of life has yet to observe otherwise. Do you think that God’s people are immune from these social ills? No. God’s people can be cruel, deceptive, manipulative, etc., etc., etc.. And understanding and compassion is not found in the church. Fellow believers could see that I was afflicted, by God. Like Job, most thought I had unconfessed sin. I would pray and asked God to search me. “Show me Lord, where have I gone wrong?” I thought my life was never going to be any more than what it was. But that was not the case.
Writing is cathartic – it was my direct line to God when the spoken word failed to express my feelings
I wrote about my experiences in several books.
The Diary of a Christian Woman, Imagine God in the Clouds, A Father takes all, The Journey Endured – The Path to Meet God, I Will Not Be Afraid: Living in the last Hour – Reflections of a Christian Woman, Where are my Sheep?
I am on year 44 of my journey with God. I have lived through several chaotic times in this nation, but never like what we are experiencing today. The Scriptures teach that judgment starts with the house of God. As a new Christian 44 years ago, I can say that the hand dealt to me was not what I expected. It was not what scripture promised. Still, I believed in God. I was not a woman of obvious vices. After years of struggling with min wage jobs, I decided to get a college education. I had worked long enough to gain work experience, but I lacked a college degree. After I graduated with my BA, twenty-two years ago, I left my job of nine years for a job that had greater possibilities. Sadly, that too led no where. Then the unthinkable happened. I hit rock bottom. Fourteen years after my divorce, I still struggled but somehow, I knew that even in the abyss the Lord was still working in me. And the lessons intensified. I felt abandoned by God, but there was a stillness in me that refused to reject God, that still believed, He had a plan. And He did. Well, seven years later, His plan was such that in my wildest dreams I would never have imagined what He did for me.
Remember G I G O? garbage in – garbage out
God’s plan for my life required a total reconstruction of my thought life, my faith and a re-socialization into the gospel. Then I went on a diet of Rich Mullins music. I was already so turned off to CCM. The wishy washy lyrics did nothing more but remind me of how badly I felt about myself and my situation. Like I have said before, my friend would pray for me and try to encourage me. But she too would say that instead of things getting better, they only got worse. Listening to Rich Mullins, I felt, a kinship with a man that had passed fourteen years earlier. I found myself grieving for him as if he was a brother. His song lyrics made me feel as if I had been caught up in a world wind of God’s love since being abandoned by my ex. Even as I recall now my tears want to well up. The only thing holding them back is all the messy distractions right now. Literally, I have been giving my home a good scrubbing. But I needed a break.
I was remembering my prayers last night. As I prayed, I was like, “Lord, You know my heart. You know that I am fully persuaded of who You are. You alone know what You had to do to get me there. You are more real than anyone could possibly imagine. I know You can heal every sickness, broken hearts, distraught minds – You created man. Who knows His creations better than its Creator? No one. Yet, You don’t heal, sickness, the brokenhearted, or the tired soul. And I realize that’s it’s because we believe, but we don’t really believe. More on this next post. You are so long-suffering with man’s wretchedness. How much longer must we wait for you to move?
As long as we have our own resolve, use our own bootstraps to pull us up, there is no room for God to do what only He can do and what He wants to do in us and through us. And He will just let us try and fix our own messes. And the futility of man’s efforts get’s us into the messes we find ourselves in today.
Trial-tribulation and transformation – God directed – God led – God completed
For the Lord to even begin to transform my heart, I had to be fully persuaded that God is who He says He is. For many years, I was convinced otherwise. I kept repeating scripture, “I believe, Lord. But help me with my unbelief” I was far from being convinced of the reality of a living God. Transformation began when He made Himself real to me. It wasn’t my faith but His faithfulness that begin a good work in me. He started to dig deep into the recesses of my mind to show me who I was, and how I became the woman I was. As He was doing that He was slowing revealing more and more of Himself. Trial and tribulations have a purpose. When the Lord transforms the heart and mind of a believer, it is no longer the believer acting, but the Spirit of God living in that heart and mind, doing the Lord’s business and whose desire is to glorify God in the flesh, in this world. Then, Galatians 2:20 can ring true. “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.”
Positive affirmations, building up self-esteem, reinventing oneself, being more assertive, all these practices do nothing but build up the flesh.
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