Money Insulates

 Money Insulates

Can Wealth Harm Our Spiritual Walk?

 

 

As we read the Bible, we will gain a certain view of money. We will come to the conclusion that we are not supposed to stock pile money, and that we are not supposed to be tricked by the deceitfulness of riches. We will find that money is transitory and doesn’t satisfy.  We will see that our money is God’s money, and that it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to get into heaven. We see that the love of money is the root of all evil. We see that we cannot serve two masters, it’s profit or God. James says that the wealthy heap treasures against themselves and will be broken in the last days. (1 Tim. 6:10, Matt. 6:19-21, Matt 13:22, Matt 22:21, Matt. 19:24, Matt. 6:24, Jam. 5:1-6)

There are many verses that teach us about the dangers of wealth, and there are just as many justifications, that humans will give for choosing to be wealthy. Such as, we need money to give to God’s kingdom, so my wealth helps God. Or we say the eye of the needle was not a real needle; it was a door in a wall of a fortress. We will tell ourselves, God looks at our heart. He knows I don’t love money. We will also compare ourselves to biblical people who were rich and God used.  “Lydia in the Bible was wealthy. Abraham was wealthy.” And on and on we go. We love money and the things it provides for us. Let’s be honest. 

Look I’m not saying we should live in poverty. Most Americans are barely scraping to get by. One injury or job loss would destroy them. A lot of us are poor within this culture we live in. But, our culture and our beliefs are based in wealthy thoughts. We have a philosophy that leads us to worship and love money because money keeps us from the bread lines. It’s freedom in this world we think.

So, what is so bad about money? Wouldn’t it be better if the whole world had wealth? If there was no poverty, and everyone had their needs met? Of course, and that day is coming. But, in the mean time we are stuck in this broken degenerate world. Depraved sinners, separated from a loving God. We abide in Death, waiting to be cast into eternal fire; because we refuse to turn to Him to be saved, and washed in the blood of Jesus Christ.

And that is what is so bad about money. Sin, Death, and Satan have dominion over this world. It is a fallen place filled with fallen humans. Our only salvation lies in turning to God. So, God placed a curse, upon this world that causes us to struggle. That struggle is supposed to cause us to cry out to Him. Mothers pray for their children, and worry about them. Fathers scrape the earth to provide. Everything around us dies, and works to stop us or fight against us.

Money insulates us from the trials and tribulations of this life. A mother doesn’t need to just place her trust in God; she can take her sick child to the doctor and afford treatment. A man can hire an attorney to get out of trouble, he doesn’t need to weep over his sin and beg God for mercy. A family can go to the store and purchase food, they don’t need to pray and trust God for rain, or for the hunt. They have plenty of clothes; they don’t need to trust God for rags.

Money insulates us from needing to cry out to God for the basic things in life, or to help us when we have need. Our needs are met through our money. I’m not saying that poverty is a guarantee of salvation, or that there is some kind of purity in poverty. But, what I am saying is that money keeps people from really needing God, and it keeps us from seeing His movements in our lives. How can we see God miraculously heal a neighbor, when the neighbor uses money to get medicine? We like to say “But, God provided the money, and the medicine and the knowledge of doctors to heal. There are millions of poor people around the world who die daily from things our over the counter drugs could heal.”

This is true. But, is dying the worst that can happen? This world is a place of death. All of us are dying second by second. We are all going to go meet our maker. It is our wealth, and His mercy that slows that process. But, our wealth that keeps us alive longer, also works to keep us from drawing closer to Him. We horde our wealth and worry about being taken advantage of by the poor around us. What we do to the least of these we do to Him. See how our wealth or our love of our wealth keeps us from Him? I’m guilty too. Our money insulates.

That insulation extends to our entire culture. We have no idea how insulated we are. I’m currently reading a book written by an evangelist from India. He is a native of India, and lived there his whole life. He got saved, and God called him to go to the north of India and preach the Gospel. He has lived in, and experienced extreme poverty his whole life.

In the book, he speaks of a visit to the United States, and he is appalled by the amount of wealth we have, and we do not even know we have it. But, God knows. The evangelist speaks of every church gathering in America having food. How ashamed he was to eat there, while evangelists in India sit under trees and eat a few scoops of cooked rice, once a day, if that. He tells that Americans have closets full of clothes, while people around the world wear rags. That Americans waste enough money and water daily, that it could save the lives and souls of thousands around the world.

Our money insulates us. It keeps us from seeking God when He calls us through our need. It insulates us from suffering with others, and having real compassion on them. It insulates us from needing to draw together with others, and lean on each other. It insulates us from the trials of this world through which we learn and grow in spirit.

Oh sure, our wealth can allow us to do great things for Jesus, but do we do it? Does He want us to use our wealth, or His Spirit and His power? Are the great things we do really what He wants?  Can a rich person serve God? Can a rich person get saved? The fact is that every person in America is richer than the whole rest of the world and God loves us and wants us saved as well. So, yes; God saves rich people and works on them and through them. But, our wealth is a dangerous trap that we need to wake up to. And I think we will be awakened shortly. When He cleanses His temple before His return. He drives out the money changers.

Money is not evil. But, be aware of what wealth can do to you. Fight to resist it. Remember, it not only insulates you, but also your children. What is growing up in wealth doing to them?

We do not need half the things we think we need.

We need more Jesus.

Turn to God, Let Him grow you. Have a relationship with Him.

Live simply. Give with a joyful heart. Look for ways to give and serve.

He is coming soon.

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Bio: Chris Bunton is a writer, poet and blogger from Southern Illinois. He has published in several magazines, and has written a poetry eBook called “Against the Man” and an Addiction Recovery eBook called “Made Free: Overcoming Addiction“ His newest book is called “The Future is Coming” and is a collection of dystopian short stories.

Follow Him on Medium: https://chris-bunton.medium.com/

Follow Him on Free Life Blog: https://myfreelifeblog.com/

Read His Spiritual Writings on Blogger: https://chrisbunton.blogspot.com/

Buy a cup of Coffee

Support the work on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=13514235&fan_landing=true&view_as=public

Photos by the author

Spies In A Promised Land

 Spies In A Promised Land

 Are You Wondering What To Do?

 

This is going to be some deep spiritual stuff.

Things that impact our lives.

Things that impact our walk with God and our future and service.

I want you to recall the story of the Exodus. (Book of Exodus)

The Israelites were in bondage to Pharaoh in Egypt. They did not know God at the time. They had forgotten. But, God had not forgotten them or the promise He made to Abraham.

God made a promise to Moses and the Israelites about a promised land. A home.

God delivered them out of slavery with a mighty hand. He showed himself to them. He proved He was with them and they could trust Him. He proved it.

He brought them through tough times and battles. This was not a love fest. This was war. He loved them, and was with them.

He brought them to the land He had promised them. To the very banks. They sent spies out into the land to see what was there. That’s what a leader does in a military conquest.

God already knew what was there and had already given it to them. It was all done except the dirty work.

Do you think God sat on His throne and said, “Boy I sure hope we can defeat these bad dudes?”

No.

All the spies except for Caleb and Joshua brought back a report filled with fear and doubt that ignored how God had delivered them so many times. They had no faith in God. They did not know him.

The people listened to the faithless report and believed it. They feared. They refused to take the promised land, God had given them because they did not know Him or trust Him.

God could not take them into the Promised land with that lack of faith. They needed to trust Him to get through.

So, He sent them to wander until they learned to have faith. Till the old generation died off and the new was ready. To strip off that old flesh and bring out the spirit full of faith and trust in God.

Then, they went and conquered.

God fought beside them and before them, with His might hand and put them in the promised land.

They did not go there to farm. That was later. They went there for battle.

We find ourselves in situations where we must trust God. We come to places in our lives when it’s a choice of faith in God and His promises, or to run away in fear.

Understand that God is with you, no matter which way you go. You cannot escape God.

But, it’s better to trust God to deliver his promises.

I’m not telling you to let your kid die from some easily curable disease because you’re praying for God to heal. Remember, the Israelites drew swords and went to battle. Yes, God went before them. Yes, God fought among them. He even stopped the sun in the sky.

But, they had to go to battle, and not just on their knees in prayer.

That brings us to the spies. The spies are fear.

We face something, and our mind starts spinning. We start thinking scary thoughts. We lay in our bed agonizing. We struggle with what is happening.

But, God has promised us. He has been with us. He will lead us through. It might not look the way we think. But, He has given us a vision. He has given us a dream. He has promised, and He is with us where ever we go.

Those spies in our head keep beating us. Do we quit? Do we turn away from the promised land? Those spies in our head make a lot of sense.

But, are we listening to the still small voice of God? Are we listening to the Spirit and the love and the peace that defies all understanding? (1 Kings 19:11-14, John 16:13, Phil. 4:6-7)

Then like Job, things start happening around us. Great friends come and give us faithless council full of fear. They give us wise advise that excludes our Lord. (Book of Job)

Problems come. The car breaks down. A family member gets sick. We lose a job.

And the spies in our head, with those “friends” by our side tell us, we can’t trust God. All the troubles scream that we can’t trust God.

But, this is battle.

The chaos rolls around you as you struggle and see God fighting beside you and delivering you through even more of the devil’s attacks.

God has promised you and He is bringing you there with a mighty hand.

Unless you quit. Unless you let fear control you.

Pray to God. Talk to Him. He is not a slave driver. Remember Lot? God told Him to go to the mountain to escape the destruction of Sodom. (Genesis 19:15-30)

But, Lot said, “I’ll never make it! Can’t I just go to this little city Zoar?”

The spies in his mind had calculated all the angles and he was not strong enough, they told him.

And God said “Ok”

It got Lot moving. It got his family moving.

Lot watched the destruction of Sodom from Zoar.

Then the very next scene, we see Lot on the mountain.

The Bible doesn’t say this, but I will bet you that by the time Lot reached Zoar. God had filled him with strength, courage and faith to reach that mountain.

Just pray and get moving. Do what you know to do and trust God. He has promised things to you. He will do it. Whether it looks like what you envisioned or not. He has promised.

I have faced things in my life many times. I have come to the very edge and listened to the spies and turned back. I failed instead of trusting God. And I lost everything. I was sent to wander where God broke me and taught me and showed me who He was and let me know Him. He taught me to trust Him.

Not all situations are as clean and clear cut as this makes it seem. Sometimes there are very hard choices. Things that make us sick. Learn to listen to God. Then do the best we can and stand in the promises of God. ( Eph 6:10-18)

These times of trouble, come into our life. I’m facing one now.

The spies are screaming. The battle is swirling. But, my God is moving and He is with me.

He is with you too.

Do not let fear keep you from what God has promised.

Listen to Him.

Trust Him.

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Bio: Chris Bunton is a writer, poet and blogger from Southern Illinois. He has published in several magazines, and has written a poetry eBook called “Against the Man” and an Addiction Recovery eBook called “Made Free: Overcoming Addiction“ His newest book is called “The Future is Coming” and is a collection of dystopian short stories.

Follow Him on Medium: https://chris-bunton.medium.com/

Follow Him on Free Life Blog: https://myfreelifeblog.com/

Read His Spiritual Writings on Blogger: https://chrisbunton.blogspot.com/

Buy a cup of Coffee

Support the work on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=13514235&fan_landing=true&view_as=public

Hearing From The Spirit

 Hearing From The Spirit

How The Holy Spirit Works in Our Lives

 

 

How The Holy Spirit Works In Our Lives.

After we get saved, the Holy Spirit comes to dwell in us. He then starts to lead us into all truth. He starts to sanctify us and mold us and shape us into the likeness of Jesus. (John 14:16, John 16:13. 1 John 4:4, Romans 12:1-2, Phil. 2:5)

He shows us when we sin, and leads us to confess it to the Lord. Then, we are cleansed of all unrighteousness. This confessing and cleansing and growing is part of the relationship. (1 John 1:9)

But, that’s not all He does. He hears our prayers and He translates them into heaven and we see answers around us. We see our lives changing as He works in us and around us. (Romans 8:26)

He also works through us. The fact is that our works of righteousness are as filthy rags, because we are sinners with a corrupted nature. This doesn’t change. We are just saved. Even as the Holy Spirit works on us we still have things that corrupt us. (Isa. 64:6, Romans 7:14-25)

So, the Holy Spirit works THROUGH us as well, and we get credit for it.

What does that mean?

Well according to the scripture, on judgement day, our works will be judged. It will pass through the fire. Hay, wheat and stubble will burn. All that will remain will be gems and gold. (1 Cor. 3:1-15)

What does that mean?

Well, the works that I do in the flesh, no matter how great are stubble. Because I had wrong motivations, I had fear, I had doubt, I had lust and flesh. Because I’m a sinner with a corrupt nature.

But, if I listen to the Holy Spirit, and follow His guidance, then the works I’m doing are from the Lord, and are pure. It’s not me. It’s Him, and the works that I do under His guidance are gems. See?

You will hear preachers say “Do Do Do”. Their doctrine is all about works. (Eph. 2:1-10)

But the real works, are to wait upon the Lord, and follow the Holy Spirit as he guides. (Isa 40:31, Proverbs 3:5-6, I John 2:27, Romans 8:14, Gal. 5:18)

We are called to abide in Him. (John 15, 1 John 2:28)

Jesus said, “My yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (Matt. 11:30)

Does it feel easy and light?

It is easy and light. It’s a fact. The reason we don’t feel it is because we don’t believe it and we are trying to do the works ourselves. This is not a condemnation. It’s what our flesh does. It’s what the enemy tries to do to us.

But, Jesus has already done it. He has already saved us. Quit trying to save yourself. Quit trying to please God by following rules. You cannot please God. Jesus Christ has already done it. The Holy Spirit in us does it. Our faith does it. When we try to do it in our flesh it cannot please Him. Only by faith, which means following Him. (Heb.11:6)

He wants a relationship. He wants to work through us, while we follow the Spirit.

So, how does this work?

Well, let’s say the preacher asks for a love offering to help a missionary.

Did you feel led to help? Did a number jump into your head? 10 bucks? 20 bucks? God knows what’s in your wallet.

That’s probably the Holy Spirit guiding you.

Then the very next thought was fear, doubt and concern? You wanted to take the kids to McDonalds. You needed to buy a new plant for the garden, or even pay a bill.

The Holy Spirit led you, and then a demonic entity tried to stop you. A spirit of fear. (2 Tim. 1:7)

Have you ever seen the old cartoon image of the angel on one shoulder and the devil on the other? That’s far more accurate than you realize.

Let’s say, you see a homeless person and they have a sign asking for help, and you feel led to help.

But, fear jumps up and says, “He might be a bad guy.” or “I see him here every week. I heard he drives a Lexus.”

So what?

A thought or a friend says “Well, other people who really need it, could be getting help and this guy is taking it”

Are you helping those other people? Why not help both? Why not divide the measly 5 bucks you were going to give and help the whole world?

Listen, just follow the Spirit as He guides. Do not second guess. Do not let the left hand know what the right hand is doing. Do not count the cost. Just follow and do as He leads.(Matt. 6:3)

Paul says, ” When I seek to do good, evil is with me.” We get led by the Spirit to serve, but the enemy pops up to keep us from it. We get distracted, we have fear. We have false thoughts. Our flesh listens to the enemy tempting us and we have doubt. We don’t trust that God can provide or protect.( Romans 7:21)

Here’s the deal. God wants us to do what is right.

Let’s say a man asks for money and you give it to him and he goes and buys booze.

You followed the Holy Spirit and showed love to this person. You followed.

God can use that. When that person is struggling and telling God, ” I’m in this mess because of you! You never helped me!” God can bring you to their remembrance.

God did send help, and kindness. He sent YOU.

If you do the works of God with your flesh, you will do works of the flesh. Your motivations will be flesh, your plans will be flesh. Your fears and your love will be flesh. It will all be filthy rags because it is not God working through you.

Learn to hear His voice and guidance. Learn to follow the Spirit.

It gets easier over time as you hear and follow. When you feed faith it grows, instead of fear.

I have watched God bring a chance to serve to a group of people, and saw them talk themselves totally out of doing anything to help the person in need. Over and over again.

I’m not saying that we should abandon wisdom. But, turn to God in this as well, and He will give you a word of wisdom.

Let’s say a friend pops into your head and you want to call them and say “Hi”.

Do it.

The Lord might be working on them and you could have helped. But, don’t let the enemy distract you. I learned years ago, that when God calls, you drop everything immediately and go do it. If you wait, at all. The enemy will work to distract and bring in fear or other things. Do not give him a chance.

Let’s say you are thinking about going on a mission trip somewhere. The idea just popped into your head. Then, low and behold, a friend says “Hey we are going to Africa for a week to hand out blankets.” That’s the Holy Spirit, leading you. Calling you.

Here’s an example from my own life.

I had a trip planned. I took the time off and was ready to go. But, my plans fell apart. So, I prayed, “Lord, what should I do now.?” Then, I started thinking about maybe doing a mission trip. And I prayed “Lord. I really don’t know anything about that. What would you want me to do?” And it wasn’t a week later when a friend invited me to go on a mission trip. It was during the exact time I had set for my original trip.

God leads us if we listen.

I really had no excuse now. So, I went and it was one of the best things I’ve done. God teaches us and builds the relationship through our listening and following His guidance.

Let’s say you are driving in your car alone, and a Bible verse jumps into your head, and you spend the rest of the morning thinking about the verse. That’s the Holy Spirit teaching you. Then later on that day, something happens that has a direct correlation with the verse you chewed on all morning. The Holy Spirit again.

Like sheep following the Master, we chew the cud of His Word, while standing on the cloven feet of Spirit and Truth. He leads us into all truth. He leads us in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.

We are to be Spirit led. The Spirit brings to life. He is life.

The Breath of Life.

Our entire walk with Christ, is to abide in Him and have a relationship with Him. That comes by hearing His Spirit and following Him.

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Bio: Chris Bunton is a writer, poet and blogger from Southern Illinois. He has published in several magazines, and has written a poetry eBook called “Against the Man” and an Addiction Recovery eBook called “Made Free: Overcoming Addiction“ His newest book is called “The Future is Coming” and is a collection of dystopian short stories.

Follow Him on Medium: https://chris-bunton.medium.com/

Follow Him on Free Life Blog: https://myfreelifeblog.com/

Read His Spiritual Writings on Blogger: https://chrisbunton.blogspot.com/

Buy a cup of Coffee

Support the work on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=13514235&fan_landing=true&view_as=public

How Sanctification Works

 How Sanctification Works

A Word on Sanctification

There has been a debate since the days of the Apostle Paul, regarding salvation by faith versus works.

I'll give you a hint. It's neither. It's Grace. Both Faith and Works rely on human power in some way

But, I want to talk about sanctification, and I'm going to use an analogy to do it.

 

Sanctification comes after salvation. 

 

We get saved by hearing God calling us, and turning to Him (Repent) and confessing Jesus as Lord. 

 

Let me break it down.

 

Everyone who is saved was called. That is grace. We realize that God is real and he is there for us and wants to save us. We believe what He has told us in our heart. That is faith. We turn to Him and ask Him to save us, confessing that Jesus is our Lord. That is faith and works. (Romans 10:9-10, James 2:26)

Salvation and sanctification are kind of like getting a job.

You need a job so you fill out an application. The human owner decides whether he needs you and if you can make him money.

But, God wants you. He made a way for you, before you even knew you needed one. He doesn't care about your background or skills or college or attitude. He just wants you to come.

So if you want Him, you are hired. God trains you and gives you everything you need to serve HIM. He is the boss. Remember this.

So, now comes sanctification. Which is where God works in our lives to change us. A lot of changes occur when we first get saved. But, there are things that we need to work on our whole life.

Let's continue with the analogy.

So, let's say you show up late to work.(sin)

A human boss warns you and threatens to fire you. (Punish you and throw you in hell)

But. God is not like that. He forgives you and looks into your life to see what's up. He might change your mind. Or make some adjustments to your circumstances so you can be on time, without a rush or hurting yourself or others. He works to correct us or solve our problem, or set us free from some bondage. he does not cast us away.

That's how it works. God works in us and with us to fix us.He saved us already, now He continues to work. That is sanctification. The Holy Spirit helps us to grow, if we are willing to listen.

Too many people believe their heavenly father is like the boss or their earthly father.  He is not.

 

God is not a slave driver. He doesn't need to be. When He speaks something, he knows for a fact that it will happen. There is no doubt. 

Sometimes sanctification leads to correction or brokenness. When we get saved we are basically giving ourselves to God, because we need Him and He knows whats best. So, we have given Him permission to work on us as He sees fit. (Prov. 3:11-12)

In our lives we often find that we have gone the wrong way or that we have become entangled with some problem. Perhaps a hurtful lifestyle or addiction.

In order to grow us and help us, God must sometimes take drastic measures to set us free from bondage. We might be at what we call rock bottom and lose everything and everybody. We might become broken. It's terrible and painful, but He is there with us to protect us. 

Like a refiner's fire.He controls the heat to melt the precious metal and remove the dross or crud. All of this works to make us of greater use by Him. (Malachi. 3:1-3)

We often find ourselves broken by this process of correction or setting us free.

This brokenness leads to meekness. 

People think meekness is weakness. It's not. 

Brokenness is like a powerful horse being broken by his master. He does not lose his power, but he becomes usable. This is meekness.

This is sanctification. 

This is why some folks have their lives torn apart after they get saved. God is setting them free. He has saved them, now He is working to remove things that are bad for them. 

The temptation at this point is to fight what is happening, or run away. But, that only makes things worse.

 

Remember Jonah. 

 

God spoke to Jonah and Jonah refused. He ran away. All kinds of bad stuff started happening to Jonah; storms and even getting swallowed by a fish, till he was broken and accepted God's will. 

Prison or a hospital bed could be your fish.

Turn to God. Read His Word. Listen to the Holy Spirit.

When you turned to God and asked Him to save you, He promised He would. Sanctification is a part of that. We never really know how bad we are and how much God must remove from us. We sometimes, need a lot of pruning in order to bear fruit for the Kingdom.

 

Remember, God is with you. You have turned to Him and He is there, no matter what you are facing. 

 

Remember ALL things work together for good to those who love God and are called according to His purpose. (Rom 8:28)

Everything that happens in our life can be used by God to grow us and serve Him. The key is to turn to Him in everything. Suffer in Him. Do not run from Him.

Not everything bad that happens is caused by God. We have an enemy. We live in a fallen world. We also do things to cause problems for ourselves. But, EVERYTHING can work for our good, when we turn to Him and give it to Him.

 

I have had terrible things happen in my life. Most of it was my fault. Most of it was because I listened to the enemy.

 

But, I love those terrible things because God used them to set me free. 

 

Would I change it?

I wish I had not been so foolish. But, it all drew me closer to God, and made my life better. So, I would not change it for the world.

When we know Him, He becomes more valuable than this world, this life, family, or anything we can think of.

 

That is how sanctification works.

It works to build the relationship. If you really know Him.

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Bio:Chris Bunton is a writer, poet and blogger from Southern Illinois. He has published in several magazines, and has written a poetry eBook called “Against the Man” and an Addiction Recovery eBook called “Made Free: Overcoming Addiction“ His newest book is called “The Future is Coming” and is a collection of dystopian short stories.

Follow Him on Medium: https://chris-bunton.medium.com/

Follow Him on Free Life Blog: https://myfreelifeblog.com/

Read His Spiritual Writings on Blogger: https://chrisbunton.blogspot.com/

Buy a cup of Coffee

Support the work on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=13514235&fan_landing=true&view_as=public

Photos by the author

What Is Free Will?

 What Is Free Will?

Why Does It Matter?

 

 

Free Will is about God. Not necessarily humans.

It starts with God. It starts with His character.

We know from the Bible that God is Love. (1 John 4:8)

It’s who He is. We cannot really comprehend that.

We can only say, what we have been allowed to know and what we can glean from the pictures given to us in creation, and what God has revealed to us through His Word and other means. (Romans 1:19-20, Psalm 19:1, Gen. 15:1, John 1:1)

Our reality that we see with our senses, is probably so vastly different from the reality outside of this world and our understanding, that we cannot comprehend it. (1 Cor. 2:9)

The things that exist in Paradise, Heaven, Eternity, or the Spiritual Realm outside of what we see is beyond our ability to imagine.

It’s the same with God. (Isa 55:8-9)

But, we know He is Love, because He tells us in His Word. He is Just, He is Righteous. He is Truth. He is Mercy and Kindness. He is Holy. He is Wise. None of His aspects over rule any other part. He is perfect.

These aspects of His character are part of our understanding of Free Will.

Since, these are aspects of God’s character, these aspects are woven into creation, and into His reasons for creating.

God needed nothing. He’s God. But, He decided to create.

We do not really know why.

So, here we travel into speculation, because we really cannot prove it. But, it’s my belief that He created because of Love and His other attributes.

How can you say, “I Am Love.” If there’s nothing to love? How can you say “I Am Love” if everything is perfect and easily loved. How can you say, “I Am Merciful”. Unless there’s something to give mercy to?

So, I believe God creates because of His attributes. A challenge to Himself. I can’t prove it. But there it is.

The Bible says that God created everything “Good” (Gen. Chapter 1).

That means that everything was good, and without evil. There was nothing bad in His creation. But, we can see that if He said “Good” then evil existed somewhere. But not in His creation at this time. I believe evil is a by product of Good. Like exhaust or bodily waste, and was contained somewhere else at creation.

Ok, so God creates humans. He has already created animals and angels it seems.

He gave everything, Free will. Why? Because of Love. Because of His attributes.

If He created humans, angels and animals. Then forced them to love Him, their love would not be true. It would be fake. Like a robot. They had to be given Free Will in order to choose to love God, or not.

Angels also have free will. That’s why Satan and others were able to Fall. They could not have fallen if they did not have free will. It’s the same with Humans.

So, in order to have free will, there must be a choice. No choice. No free will.

So, God placed the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in the Garden.

Adam and Eve had the free will to choose to eat of it or not. (Genesis Chapters 1 through 3)

The choice to trust God and love Him. Or not.

Adam chose to eat. He was not deceived. He knew what He was doing and made the choice and evil entered the world. He became corrupted and died spiritually. (1 Tim. 2:14)

Since Adam had dominion over the world. Everything under him suffered as well. (Romans 8:22)

Death, Sin and Satan took over this world. Humans gained a corrupted nature, which made us totally depraved. This is why we sin. This is why we cannot get right, without God. We are filled with evil mentally, spiritually, and physically. (Romans Chapter 1, Romans chapter 5, Romans Chapter 7)

We still have free will, even on our fallen state. We can choose to turn to God, for salvation through Jesus Christ or we can choose to reject Him.

It’s the same choice we had in the Garden. Choose God and Good. Or choose evil.

Choose God.

Why do I write this?

Well, because I feel led to. I cannot tolerate the “Because I said so” mentality. I must find out why. I must understand why things are the way they are. Just because some preacher tells me something, doesn’t mean I should just believe it. And I don’t expect you to either. The Bereans didn’t. (Acts 17:10-12)

I don’t believe that God expects it. God is Truth. He is not afraid for us to search out the deep things of God and reality. Because if we know Him. We will find Him everywhere. “If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there.” (Psalm 139:8)

James says that if we ask God for wisdom He will give it. (James 1:5)

The Holy Spirit will teach us, and guide us into all truth. (John 16:13)

We cannot know everything of God. The scriptures teach that. But we can understand enough to have firm faith.

In these last days of deception we need to dig deeper. The false beliefs and doctrines that will come from every quarter will be so difficult to stand against, we will need answers.

If we do not have answers then Satan will be happy to provide them.

Trust God. Trust Jesus Christ.

The Truth can stand up to scrutiny. That doesn’t mean it will be believed. But, it will still stand.

You will not prove God wrong. You will not prove Truth wrong. If you do, then it’s either not true, or your understanding is flawed, or the preacher you’re listening to is wrong.

Seek God. Dig deeper.

Choose Him.

You do not need to understand everything. Let Him show you, and then you will trust Him more.

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Bio: Chris Bunton is a writer, poet and blogger from Southern Illinois. He has published in several magazines, and has written a poetry eBook called “Against the Man” and an Addiction Recovery eBook called “Made Free: Overcoming Addiction“ His newest book is called “The Future is Coming” and is a collection of dystopian short stories.

Follow Him on Medium: https://chris-bunton.medium.com/

Follow Him on Free Life Blog: https://myfreelifeblog.com/

Read His Spiritual Writings on Blogger: https://chrisbunton.blogspot.com/

Buy a cup of Coffee

Support the work on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=13514235&fan_landing=true&view_as=public

Photos by the author

Building Faith

 Building Faith

You can grow your faith

 

The Bible says ".For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.---(Eph.2:8-10)

Now let's rightly divide this verse. (2 Tim. 2:15)

First, we are saved by Grace. Period. It is a gift from God, which we need to turn to Him to accept. We just need to ask. Just call on His name. Just confess Him as Lord. (Acts 2:21, Romans 10:9-10)

We do this through faith, not by works. 

When we get saved God will work in us and through us to do the works he desires.

Now, the focus of this writing is Faith.

We are not saved by faith. We are saved by Grace.

See, faith can fall into a works based category.

People will say, "You don't have enough faith."

Even Jesus said, "Where is your faith?" ( Luke 8:25)

Understand that faith is a medium. It is a bridge. It's like a phone line.

You can put faith in a rock. But that rock can't save you.

You can call 911. But, if the phone line is cut. No one is coming.

Understand?

"Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." (Hebrews 11:1)

We do not see something, but we still believe and trust it because we have evidence. In God's case, that evidence has been given to us.

This is faith, and faith in something.

We have faith the sun will rise. We have faith that our job will be there in the morning. We have faith that the chair we sit in will hold us.

We have no proof. It doesn't have to happen. But we trust and believe anyway.

This is natural faith. 

All humans have a measure of faith. How could we believe if we didn't? (Romans 12:3)

But, not all people have faith in God, or Jesus Christ as Lord. (2 Thess.3:2)

Faith can be grown and strengthened. 

We have faith our phone will work. That faith has grown over years of experiencing its working. If our phone never worked we would not trust it.

It's the same with God.

Our faith grows, because we have seen Him move.

The more we see Him move, the more our faith grows. It grows till we KNOW...He is real and a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. (Hebrews 11:6)

The first thing is that you need to be saved. You need to hear His call, and turn to Him. Asking Him to save you and confessing Jesus as your Lord. (If you're reading this, then this is God calling you.)

You must be saved. You must be born again. That makes you a clean vessel for the Holy Spirit to come and inhabit. Ask Him to fill you. (John 3:1-8, Romans 10:9-10, Luke 11:11-13, Rom, 8::28)

Now once you are saved, the little bit of natural faith you have can be made new and strengthened in the Lord as He sanctifies you, and you walk with Him.

Once you're saved the Holy Spirit can take that little spark and build on it.

See?

You must believe, before anything can happen.

So, let's look at ways faith builds.

The Word of God.

The Bible says, "So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.." (Romans 10:17)

That means that we get saved and grow our faith in God, Jesus and spiritual things by hearing preaching that comes from the Word, and by reading the Word, or getting the Word in other ways.

BUT...

And this is most important. You must believe or be willing to believe. You must desire to know God. This comes by hearing the call and turning to Him. If you refuse to believe, nothing can happen. Unless God just hits you, like He did Paul. (Acts)

Years ago I heard a preacher preaching some things I didn't agree with. 

I set out to prove the him wrong. But, what I found was that I could not PROVE, it wrong.

What the Bible said was just as plausible as anything else. It was not crazy.

So I prayed and talked with God, and said, "I will believe Your Word. I don't care how crazy people think I am. I will believe your Word. Not what the world says."

See?

You must believe it. You must trust IT and the God who speaks it. 

Like James said, "not being hearers only..."(James 1:22) 

 

We put our faith in the Lord and His promises. Our faith grows as we trust His Word, and act on it.

This is why faith itself has an aspect of effort, or works.

We are saved by grace. But, faith is a bridge that connects us to God. This bridge is built by God and maintained by God. But, we also can and need to work and maintain it. 

We are called to abide. (John 15:4)

You cannot abide without faith. (Heb. 11:6)

So we listen to preachers preaching the real Word. We read the Word. But, we can also quote the Word to ourselves.

We quote God's promises to ourselves, and we trust it. Then, we see God move and fulfill His promise and our faith grows stronger.

 

Memorize God's promises. Believe them. Trust them. Say them out loud to yourself, and  your faith will be emboldened.

Let's say you are facing trouble at work. Speak out loud to yourself "No weapon formed against me shall prosper...: (Isa. 54:17) Trust it. Believe it. Stand on it. Then, see God move as you trust Him. It might not be what you think, or want, but watch and see. Speak it in Jesus' name.

Let's say trouble is coming, Speak out loud to yourself "The Word says! The Lord is faithful, He shall establish me, and keep me from evil. I believe it! I stand on it! Begone Satan in Jesus Name!"(2 Thess. 3:3)

Faith comes by hearing. You hear the truth of God's Word, when you quote verses out loud.

See?

"Taste and see that the Lord is good..."(Psalm 34:8)

We put a little faith in Him and His promises, and we see Him move. Then our faith grows, and we draw closer to Him.

You cannot see glorious things if you are not first willing to believe that glorious things are possible. Then, when you see it, your belief in glorious things grows, and your doubts get weaker.

If they won't believe the little things. They cannot see the big things. (Luke 16:10-12)

We trust God's Word. His promises. And God proves it to us. Then our faith grows.

You must also realize that Jesus Christ is the Living Word. So when you trust and believe in the Word. You are in essence trusting Jesus.

But, do not make the Bible an idol. Trust the Lord, He is the Word.

 

 Giving

Giving is a means by which our faith can grow.

God's Word gives us many promises regarding giving. (Luke 6:38, Mal 3:10)

It is almost like an exact exchange. You can literally see these promises being fulfilled.

The Word says to give to The Lord and to help people, and God will give back.

I have trusted this and obeyed, and literally watched as it all came back to me by the end of the day, and the blessings continued beyond that.

 

This is not "Prosperity Gospel" as some claim. These are promises of God. It is not a get rich quick scheme.We obey and see Him move, and our faith grows.

"Give and it shall be given unto you..." is a promise, and when you believe and obey, you will see it return and your faith will grow.

 

Fear Not.

The Lord commands us over and over to "fear not" (Isa 41:10)

His Word is full of promises to protect us.

When we trust Him, we see His protection. We see Him move. We feel encouraged. And our faith grows.

God does not expect us to have blind faith. He proves it over time.

This is abiding. This is the relationship.

 

When we trust Him, and believe Him.

This is how you fill your lamp with the oil of faith.

Because you see Him move and it embolden you to trust Him more. And you let your lamp shine, because you no longer fear. Lamps without oil are useless, and are removed. (Matthew 25:1-13,)

But, what about all those people in the world without Bibles, in China, North Korea and Islamic countries?

Well, if they are saved, then they have the Holy Spirit, the same as any other believer. That Spirit teaches them, the same as any believer. They move in love with faith, and God brings it back and proves it.

They trust God, through the trials of life and persecution, and He proves He is there. They trust His presence.

They pray and He moves.

Just like us.

Everything I am saying here is very important. But even more so as we see that His return grows closer.

We want to make sure we are abiding. We want to make sure we have faith. We want to make sure we have oil in our lamps and are saved, clothed in His righteousness ready for the feast.

(Matt. 25:1-13, Matt. 22:11-14)

There are Christians, who have never known Christ. They have never put their faith in Him. They have no oil. They have no garment washed in the Blood.

When the time comes, they will be led astray and join the Apostate church. They will beat the men servants and maidservants with persecution, helping the Anti-Christ.( Matt.24:48-5, Rev. 13:7-8)

They are not saved. They never were. They are false brethren, false teachers and prophets.

Grace was offered, but they put their faith in themselves, and their works. They never really believed.

Therefore, they never knew Him. (Matthew 7:23)

Trust God. Let Him grow you and fill you. Strengthen your faith.

He will. Just ask.

 

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Bio: Chris Bunton is a writer, poet and blogger from Southern Illinois. He has published in several magazines, and has written a poetry eBook called “Against the Man” and an Addiction Recovery eBook called “Made Free: Overcoming Addiction“ His newest book is called “The Future is Coming” and is a collection of dystopian short stories.

Follow Him on Medium: https://chris-bunton.medium.com/

Read His Spiritual Writings on Blogger: https://chrisbunton.blogspot.com/

Follow Him on Free Life Blog: https://myfreelifeblog.com/

Buy a cup of Coffee

Support the work on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=13514235&fan_landing=true&view_as=public

Photos by the author

Wisdom From God

  Wisdom From God

The Wisdom Of This World Is Foolishness With God

 

 

Something that needs to be understood is the explanation of wisdom.

There's a worldly wisdom and a wisdom that comes from God. ( 1 Cor. 3:18-23)

There's knowledge and there's understanding. (Col. 1:9, 1 John 5:20, Rev. 13:18, Hebrews 5:11-14)

Have you ever met someone who was book smart, but had no common sense?

That's the difference between knowledge and worldly wisdom.

You gain knowledge by studying and learning. You gain wordly wisdom by living. Street smarts so to speak.

Earthly understanding is when you can apply both of these things and know how they connect and can use them properly.

Look at a mechanic. He might learn a lot about cars from books and classes. That's knowledge.

He might be able to repair a car with ease because he has done it over and over. 

 

When he was a kid, he was under the car with his dad getting told to hold the light straight. That's wisdom.

He can manufacture, and build you a functioning engine, because he understands how it works. He knows how the whole thing goes together. That's understanding.

Now, we apply these same concepts to spiritual things. Because earthly knowledge, is not the same as heavenly knowledge. (John 3:9-12)

Worldly wisdom is not spiritual wisdom. God's ways are not our ways. Man's ways are foolishness with God. (1 Cor. 3:18-23)

 

"Give and it shall be given unto you..." This is a spiritual truth from Jesus. (Luke 6:38, Matthew 6:19-20)

 

But this is not earthly truth. Earthly truth says "horde, because tough times are coming."

 

Earthly wisdom says "Don't give money to that person, they might not use it right."
 

I'm not saying we shouldn't save for a rainy day. I'm pointing out the difference between earthly and spiritual wisdom. There are many spiritual truths which contradict the earthly. The world says we should fear things. God says we should trust Him instead. The world says to get revenge. God says "Revenge is mine" (Rom. 12;19)

Humans are fallen. We cannot see or understand the ways of the Spirit. We are born into this world where it makes sense to save up for a rainy day. We know there are lots of rainy days in life. It's a fact.

This is why we must battle in ourselves, and let our faith grow, so we can really trust God. We trust him by doing the crazy things that go against worldly wisdom. This leads us to see that He is there, and we can trust Him even more. But, if we are not faithful in the little things, then how can He trust us with the bigger spiritual truths, or more faith? How can we walk if we won't take our first steps? (Luke 16:10, Gal. 5:17)

Understanding of spiritual things comes through the Holy Spirit, and your willingness to let Him work in your life.

And that's the key.

The beginning, is to hear God's call. Realize you need Him. Believe Him, and turn to Him.

In Proverbs, it says "the beginning of wisdom is to fear God." (Proverbs 9:10)

You cannot "fear" Him, if you don't believe and hear Him. Your "fear" causes you to realize your need for Him and turn to Him. (Or Not)

When you know Him. You will understand what it means to "fear" Him.

It is not a worldly, fleshly, demonic fear. It is higher.

You must realize that you do not know everything. You need Him. You need to learn and grow. You cannot learn till you admit you do not know.

The wise of this world, think they know it all. They think they have it all figured out. They gather with others who think they know it all, and pat each other on the back. (Rom. 1:22, 1 Cor. 1:19-20, 1 Cor. 10:12)

They surround themselves with "Yes, Men" and do not listen to views outside their little circle.  They will never grow or hear or learn.

That's worldly wisdom. They are the ones who doubt spiritual things. They explain away miracles. They destroy beliefs in anything that doesn't match their Godless explanations of reality. Even if they include God, He is distant and able to be controlled by them. They believe He follows the rules they have made for Him.

Satan uses them, like he used the magicians in Pharoah's court and the Wiseman of Babylon, to cause doubt and keep people from knowing God. Those same wizards, magi, and alchemists, exist today. There is nothing new under the sun. (Eccl chapter 1,  Exodus Chapter 7, Daniel)

The Professors, Doctors, Scientists and even Religious leaders all hold each other accountable to the doctrines and learning they have built up. It's called peer review. They will not hardly allow anything new to be discussed. It's pride. They cannot accept that they do not know it all.

We can see this over and over again. Back in the past, a man named Ignaz Philipp Semmelweis said that doctors should wash their hands to help prevent infection. He was attacked by the establishment. They used to practice blood letting of patients, as a cure for disease.

 

How many things have the scientific community thought was true, only to learn they were wrong?  And usually destroyed a lot of careers until it was finally accepted.

 

"Trust the Science"  They say, while destroying you if you question it. Why trust people who are willing to destroy you? If something is good and true, it will become obvious.

Look at religion. Jesus himself was crucified because he taught things that rocked the boat of the establishment. Martin Luther rocked the boat of established beliefs. How many believers have been killed by the Establishment for serving God?

There's a difference between the puffed up knowledge of the learned, and the broken understanding of the prophet.

 

We are heading into a time of great deception. Jesus said, that it will be so bad that "Even the Elect" are in danger of being deceived. (Mark 13:20-23)

When the Establishment controls everything. When the Beast System is complete. Only the doctrine of the Establishment will be allowed to exist. All Professions, All Media, All Corporations, All Laws, Everything; will parrot the same ideologies, and you will not escape.

The brainwashing has been going on for a very long time. From childhood we are filled with the ideology of the New World Order to come. More and more psychological tricks and technologies will come into being to drive it into our brains.

We won't even be able to trust our own eyes, and ears and dreams. The intelligence of AI will be able to make arguments that cannot be refuted. All proof will turn to support the system. Deep Fakes will make us see things we cannot prove true or false. Virtual Reality will invade the reality.

The New World Religion to come, will give spiritual understanding that no one can deny with our fleshly mind.

It will draw away Christians into the Great Falling Away as the Anti-Christ makes war with the saints and overcomes them.(Rev. 13:7)

But, the Elect.

The true Elect who have turned to God and let Him save them and lead them into all truth with see through the deception. (1 John 2:27, John 16:12-15)

The Elect, who listen to the Holy Spirit and let Him grow them, having a relationship with the Lord.

By our testimonies we shall overcome Satan. Because what God has done for us in our lives cannot be taken from us or twisted into a lie. (Rev. 12:10-12)

Our testimony comes from our relationship, trust and faith in Him. It comes from knowing Him.

God is love.

God's wisdom is love.

Our flesh cannot comprehend it.

Only God in us can help us understand.

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Bio: Chris Bunton is a writer, poet and blogger from Southern Illinois. He has published in several magazines, and has written a poetry eBook called “Against the Man” and an Addiction Recovery eBook called “Made Free: Overcoming Addiction“ His newest book is called “The Future is Coming” and is a collection of dystopian short stories.

Follow Him on Medium: https://chris-bunton.medium.com/

Read His Spiritual Writings on Blogger: https://chrisbunton.blogspot.com/

Follow Him on Free Life Blog: https://myfreelifeblog.com/

Buy a cup of Coffee

Support the work on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=13514235&fan_landing=true&view_as=public

Photos by the author