AGAIN.

Selah.

What’s that? It is perhaps one of the most damaging hurts…

At this writing it is today June 25, 2025. The subject I am now going to address may only get worse because there are people who are in gross darkness; some are even getting worse! I speak, of course, of those who refuse to bow their head to God, humble themselves, and pray…

That’s why it’s good to have a dog.

Selah.

 

2 Timothy 3:13
while evildoers and impostors will go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.

 

Isaiah 60:1-3
Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee. For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the Lord shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee. And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising.

 

2 Timothy 3:1-5
But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days.  People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy,  without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good,  treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God—having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people.

 

SO WHAT AM I TALKING ABOUT?
A very important subject; a subject that can actually have a crippling effect on other people’s relationship with God! That subject is other Christians!

Be wise: be careful: a mouse in the cookie jar is not a cookie…

Selah!

 

1 Timothy 4:1-2
The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons.  Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron.

 

2 Timothy 4:2-4
Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.

 

Mouse? Cookie? What does that mean?! I realize you understand what I am saying here.

This is the hurt I don’t want you to have!

Yet again we’re hearing of people claiming Christ who may or may not be a true Christian.

I’m thinking right now of a famous, talented singer. If the reports are real and he has confessed; he has shocked the Church with his lifestyle. I never know what’s true when I read about, hear about it…  I have no solid proof. I do know that if it is true it is enormously upsetting… Can I enjoy his music now? No…

I’m thinking of a leader of a famous ministry where many of the people involved have walked away from her and her ministry because they do not want to be in partnership with her because they believe the allegations are true. There seems to enough evidence to convince them they need to depart.… Would I? Yes.

I’m also thinking of people who blatantly say:

“He is a Christian.”

“She has repented.”

Just as I don’t know; they can’t know either.

This is the case where we should say we are speculating because the mature believer knows: he doesn’t know! No. We don’t know. These are the cases where it’s not possible for every Christian to have full transparency…  We don’t know enough, nor do we have rock hard evidence, about the situation! But God knows everything! We must (MUST) trust Him!

Yes, just because people are in any type of Christian ministry, this does not make them a Christian. This is what a Christian must believe and act on:

 

Galatians 2:19-21
“For through the law I died to the law so that I might live for God. I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.  I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!”

 

Let me give more basics of the Christian:

 

1 John 3:4-6
Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness. But you know that he appeared so that he might take away our sins. And in him is no sin.  No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him.

 

John 3:36
Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on them.

 

Acts 3:19
Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord,

 

Romans 10:9-11
If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.  For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. As Scripture says, “Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame.”

 

Ephesians 2:1-5
As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins,  in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient.  All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath.  But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy,  made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.

 

Galatians 5:19-26
The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions  and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.  Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.  Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.

 

The Church, Christian people, know we are not saved by what we do: God has rescued us! The works we do for His glory are a natural outcome of our love for God, ourselves, and mankind!

Selah.

About these people who are or are not Christians…

Be wise like Solomon and me: we don’t know if they have repented of their flagrant sins – not sin – sins… These people I speak of have more than just one or two major rebellions against God! And truth be told, always, we don’t know if they are in right standing with God…  Beloved, sometimes you’ll never know because you don’t have direct contact with them: can’t talk personally with them, can’t witness their testimonies. You can’t possibly know what they are doing.

And beside: only God knows their hearts!

 

Jeremiah 17:9-10
The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?  “I the Lord search the heart and examine the mind, to reward each person according to their conduct, according to what their deeds deserve.”

 

Luke 15:14-15
The Pharisees, who loved money, heard all this and were sneering at Jesus.  He said to them, “You are the ones who justify yourselves in the eyes of others, but God knows your hearts. What people value highly is detestable in God’s sight.

 

SO: AGAIN, DON’T LET IT HURT YOU…

Here’s what you do: go to the Bible. Find examples of godly people who have gone through tremendous attacks of the devil and refresh yourself by knowing it can be done. God tells us to go and sin no more. Why would we want to?

Selah.

ONE OF THE GREATEST MEN TO EMULATE from the Bible is Joseph, son of Jacob. He is rightfully considered to be a foreshadowing of Christ Jesus. He is fully man. When a godly man is tempted by a beautiful, yet treacherous woman, yet runs from her and says:

 

Genesis 39:9
… How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?”

 

he is a man to lift our spirits: he is not God; he is godly.

Selah.

 

Joseph is a strong man of God! And the Bible informs us Joseph was a successful man when he was a slave. The Lord was with him. The Bible repeats this more than twice.

When the majority of his brothers wanted him dead, when they sold him into slavery after almost murdering him, when Potiphar’s wife wanted him so badly he ran…

Joseph remained faithful.

It can be done.

One of the greatest points of Joseph, son of Jacob, as he was in prison, innocent of the vile accusation, he asked the cupbearer and the baker why did  they look so sad:

 

Genesis 40:1-7
Some time later, the cupbearer and the baker of the king of Egypt offended their master, the king of Egypt.  Pharaoh was angry with his two officials, the chief cupbearer and the chief baker,  and put them in custody in the house of the captain of the guard, in the same prison where Joseph was confined.  The captain of the guard assigned them to Joseph, and he attended them.

After they had been in custody for some time,  each of the two men—the cupbearer and the baker of the king of Egypt, who were being held in prison—had a dream the same night, and each dream had a meaning of its own.

When Joseph came to them the next morning, he saw that they were dejected. So he asked Pharaoh’s officials who were in custody with him in his master’s house, “Why do you look so sad today?”

 

SO: DON’T LET IT HURT YOU…

 

AGAIN.

 

FOR THE FALSE CHRISTIAN
Pray for the false believer, don’t emulate him! Don’t make excuses for him, that will never help him.

FOR YOURSELF
Rejoice that there are truly godly men and women! Refresh yourself in the Bible! Find your examples there!

NEVER FORGET, BE NOBLE!

 

Acts 17:11
Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.