Devotionals from Dad

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I grew up all my life hearing this statement, “Your sin separates you from God!” I have heard this many times, even from people who are speaking to believers. When I hear this statement some questions start to go through my head. First, how long am I separated from God after I sin, a day, a week, a year? Second, what do I need to do to get reconnected to God? Do I need to ask for forgiveness and repent, or do some kind of good deed to counter balance my sin? Third, What happened to Jesus if my sin separates me from God, didn't he pay for my sins and if that is true, why do my sins separate me from God? Maybe you have asked yourself these questions too. Whether we ask them out loud or just in your own minds, doubt and fear may start to creep in. I don't know about you but I am dazed, confused and little fearful just thinking about how far my many sins may have separated me from God!!! Here is the truth from the word of God!

 Ephesians 1:13-14 ESV In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory. 

Unbelievers are separated from God by their sin. That is why they need to put their faith in Jesus Christ. But believers are not separated from God by our sin! Let me say that one more time, believers are not separated from God by their sins!!! Why is it important to know this truth? Thinking you can be separated from God by your sin wreaks havoc on your relationship with God. You may believe that because of your sin, bad choices, or wrong doing, that God is not listening to you anymore, that God is far from you, or that you can't feel the presence of God in your life. Is there any place in the New Testament that says our sin, as believers, separates us from God? Nope!!! The fact is, it says the opposite.

Romans 8: 38-39 NIV For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Nothing created can separate you from the love of God. Your sin cannot separate you either. This is very good news! 

2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! 

If you think of yourself as being a new creation after you accepted Christ, but you still sin, you have to wrestle with the idea that if Jesus made me new, why do I still sin? I shouldn’t sin anymore, so if I do, I need to work on making myself better, or, even worse, maybe I’m not really saved. We are born into a spiritual existence and given the Holy Spirit to help us walk in this dark world. Christ makes our spirit new, He renews our mind, and gives us a new heart. However, we still have our sinful nature. And, those two parts of our being, our flesh and our spirit, fight against each other. But, that does not mean when we sin we are separated from God. Our spirit can never be separated from Him! We can stand firmly grounded in faith that God will not leave us because of our sin. Remember, He died for it!!!

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Did you know that the phrase 70 times 7 was first used in the old testament However, the phrase when used in the old testament had nothing to do with mercy and forgiveness, rather with vengeance. In Genesis 4: 23-24 Lamech said to his wives. “I have slain a young man for striking me. If Cain is avenged seven times, then Lamech seventy times seven.” These verses are in reference to the first murder in world history, Cain’s killing of Abel. Cain feared that he would be killed by his relatives for his crime, but God placed a mark on him protecting him, and declared that if anyone killed Cain, vengeance would be carried out on him seven times. So Lamech in defense of his actions announces to his family if anyone tries to take vengeance on him for killing a man, vengeance should be carried out on them 70 times 7.

Who was this obscure biblical character Lamech? He was a descendant of Cain who had inherited his forefather’s murderous instinct, but in his shocking lust for revenge, outdid even Cain. Anybody who crossed Lamech would have been paid back big time - not just seven times, but seventy times seven! In Scripture, seven is a significant number. It symbolizes completeness. But Lamech lusted for a vengeance that went far beyond completeness.

In the new testament Jesus used the phrase 70 times 7 in the complete opposite manner. Jesus in response to a question from Peter about how many times he should forgive a brother who sinned against him responded “not seven times, but seventy times seven.” 

Matthew 18:21-22 NIV Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?” Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy times seven.

Seven signifies spiritual perfection. So seventy times seven means we need to forgive someone completely, and not let it continue to fester or play over and over again in our minds. Jesus isn't telling us to forgive our brothers 490 times, or 70 times, or 77 times. He's telling us we should always forgive our brothers when they have sinned against us. 

We must use Jesus as our example for forgiveness. We must forgive others as he did. It doesn’t matter if the person that offended us is sorry for what they did or not. I must forgive as He forgives. Jesus washed the feet of all the disciples before the Last Supper. That means He got on his knees, became a servant and hand washed the dirt off the feet of Judas, knowing full well that he would betray him shortly... While Jesus was hanging on the cross he asked God to forgive those who were crucifying him....

Luke 23:34 NIV Father, forgive them for they don’t know what they are doing.

I want that kind of forgiveness!!! Because of Jesus death on the cross God has forgiven me of all my sin's even those I have not yet to committed but will some day! We all struggle with something. The world does not revolve our problems. We need to make an effort to be aware of our faults and forgive others so that when we screw up, we can hope for the same mercy from them. How wrong it would be for us to deny others forgiveness and yet expect it for ourselves!!!

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When I was a young man I had my eye on many different people that I thought were just so cool!!! As a teen boy I thought these people had achieved the pinnacle of life. I used to think that “Evil Knievel was just so awesome!!! My favorite stunt of his took place in 1974, I was just 9 years old. I watched him strap himself into the a homemade rocket he called the “Sky-Cycle X-2” as he attempted to jump the Snake River canyon. Another person that I idolized was my neighbor, Dale Ruff. Dale was a semi professional drag racer. He lived just a block from my home and every Friday night I listened to the sound of his race car, and so did everyone else on the south side of town, as he tuned it up and got ready for the Saturday night drag races. Dale influenced my life with his actions so much, that when I grew up I built and drag raced for several years. Later in life our relationship grew closer and helped Dale work on his race car and I even got to drive it myself a few times. 

You never know how your actions may influence the lives of those around you, your neighbors, friends and especially your children. I have a couple great personal examples of how your life influences those around you. The first example happened several years ago when my daughter, Sophia, was a freshman in college, she called me to tell me that to her dismay she had turned into me!!! When I was raising my children I had many sayings that I repeated frequently one of those was, “Were you born in a barn? Shut the door and turn out the light!” My daughter was living with a roommate that was let's say, maybe not the tidiest person. Sophia told me that she caught herself telling her roommate, “Were you born in a barn? Shut the door and turn out the light!” She immediately realized that to her disgust she had became her father. 

The second example happened just recently. That same daughter called me to tell me that her daughter had become her mini-me. She went on to say that her husband on several occasions had told her that her daughter Sydnee was a carbon copy of her. Sophia told me that she always denied that and said they were nothing alike, however on this occasion she was proven wrong. My daughter said she was in the kitchen and her daughter Sydnee was nearby. Little brother Thatcher came into the kitchen and told mom, I took the clothes from the washer and put them in the dryer like you asked me to mom. She looked at him and said “I didn't ask you to do that?” Then noticed out of the corner of her eye that Sydnee was smiling from ear to ear. Sophia asked her, “What are you smiling about?” Sydnee replied “I stood at the stairway and used my nice mom voice and told my brother to take the clothes out of the washer and move them to the dryer so I wouldn't have to.” “He thought I was you mom.”

As people of the Christian faith, we need to make a difference to our families, to our friends and neighbors, and to our community. You are the only Bible some people will read and, you are the only Jesus some people will see.

Galatians 5:13 NIV You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love. 

How are your actions influencing your family? How are your actions influencing your friends, neighbors, even strangers? You never know who is watching you!!! Are the things that you say and do bringing others into a closer relationship with Jesus Christ or are your actions driving them away. Here is a great statement to live by: “May someone that does not know Jesus, come to know Jesus, because they know you!”

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Have you ever had one of those seasons in life when nothing seems to go your way? Maybe it started small and then grew until you felt like you would be crushed under the weight of all the bad news. All you wanted to do was find a place to hide, but you just couldn't seem to find a way to escape, there was just no place to hide!!!

My wife and I just went through a very difficult, emotionally tumultuous season in life! It was a year that was marked by turbulent news and an overwhelming upheaval of our family. It all started with my wife's father, “Garland” struggling with his blood sugar levels. He was in his mid seventies and pleasantly plump and so we didn't think much about it. We thought a change in diet, medication and all would be well. Little did we know how it would turn out! He did his best to follow the doctors advice, changed his diet and took medication but it just didn't seem to help. More medical test were done and the doctors found a small cancerous tumor on his pancreas. The doctors assured us that they had caught it early and with a little surgery he would be on his way to recovery. Of course all of this took place during the height of the COVID pandemic so only Joyce's mother was allowed in the hospital during the surgery. Myself, my wife Joyce and her sister sat in our vehicle during the surgery which last over 8 hours, which was followed by another 4 hours in recovery. I must say I think it was one of the longest days of my life. After the surgery we were told by the doctors that they had removed the tumor and several other limp nodes, but they felt confident that they had removed all the cancer. As a precaution they were going to proceed with chemotherapy just to be on the safe side. A few rounds of chemotherapy soon revealed that Garland also suffered from congestive heart failure and his heart was not strong enough to continue with the chemotherapy. All the compounding health issues caused him to be place on hospice. This cascade of bad news began in August of 2020 and on May 11, 2021 he passed away. During this time the outpouring deluge of bad news made the entire family feel like we were drowning. Worry filled our everyday! So what does God's word say about worry?

Matthew 6:34 NIV Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

So how do you deal with these seasons in life when you seem to be crushed under the weight of all the bad news? Who do you turn to when everything around you seems to be crumbling down? Where do you turn when there seems to be no place to hide? There is a song by “For King and Country” that really helps lift me up when I seem to be drowning in difficult times. The song is titled “God only knows.” The chorus goes like this: “God only knows what you've been through, God only knows what they say about you, God only knows the real you, There's a kind of love that God only knows. God only knows where to find you, God only knows how to break through, God only knows the real you, There's a kind of love that God only knows!!!

Fear is one of Satan's most popular weapons that he uses against us. The most common lie that Satan uses to instill fear in us is that God is far away or absent from our presence. We've all felt at some point that God is distant. But nothing could be farther from the truth! In the midst of the worst days of your life, in the midst of sickness, war, famine even in the midst of death of a loved one, God will be with you, never leaving you.

Joshua 1:9 NIV Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.” 

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Before I begin this devotion I want to make it clear that this is not politically motivated! It does not, matter which political party is in the White House. God prophesied theses things would happen and no President, King or other worldly ruler can keep it from coming to pass!

Do you remember the days when everyone paid with cash or paper checks? Credit card payments were made with knuckle grinding machines that imprinted your name and account numbers in triplicate. Personal checks were written at the checkout stand. The clerk wrote down your drivers license number and phone number on the check. Research shows that 46% of Americans don't carry cash anymore. 29% of Americans never use cash and 56% of Americans only occasionally make cash payments.

On March 9th, 2022 President Biden signed executive order 14067 instructing the federal reserve to explore uses of and regulations for digital assets and the potential of creating a digital currency for the United States. According to the Biden Administration they are placing the highest urgency on research and development efforts into the potential design and deployment options of a United States CBDC," which stands for central bank digital currency. The order states and I quote, “We must take strong steps to reduce the risks that digital assets could pose to consumers, investors, and business protections; financial stability and financial system integrity; combating and preventing crime and illicit finance; national security; the ability to exercise human rights; financial inclusion and equity; and climate change and pollution. 

So what do the terms, “Exercising Human Rights,” “Financial Inclusion and Equity,” and “Climate Change and Pollution,” Really mean? Let's look at the statement; “The Ability to Exercise Human Rights.” If the federal reserve has a digital currency and the government says I must recognize gay rights, they could freeze my assets if I don't agree with them. For example, if I had a bridal business and I refused to do business with a same sex couple they could freeze my digital assets until I decided to accept their idea of human rights. Next, does “Financial Inclusion and Equity” sound like what I think it is? I am not sure, to me it sounds socialism, where everyone would be given equal wages no matter if they worked or not. Finally, “Climate Change and Pollution.” It is not hard for me to imagine that each person would be assigned a carbon foot print. This could mean that each person would be limited to the amount of gasoline you could burn . Once you have reached your limit your digital currency would simply no longer buy you any more petroleum products for your car or your home heating system.

The U.S. is not the first country with a digital currency. China introduced its own digital currency. More than 140 million people have digital wallets. Many other countries are developing digital currencies. Why is a cashless society important? Scripture say the Anti-Christ will unite the world into a one world government, a one world economy. 

 Revelation 13: 16-17 NIV It also forced all people, great and small, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hands or on their foreheads, so that they could not buy or sell unless they had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of its name.

If the cash is electronic, the government can just erase your money, If you don't comply. Technology is paving the way for the fulfillment of end times prophecy. These advancements are creating the environment the false prophet and the Anti-Christ will need to wire the world together for their evil purpose. Those who are left behind after the rapture of the church will be left with an excruciating choice, accept the mark of the beat or face starvation and horrific persecution. With tribulation prophecy taking shape all around us the Lord's Return can't be far off.

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I must begin by giving credit where credit is due. The content of this devotional is for the most part the creation of Pamela Crim of Big Life Devotional's. I have modified it slightly to fit my life experiences but the idea is hers. Many times bad things happen in 3’s. I’m not superstitious, but I am also fully aware when the Poop Parade shows up in your life, things start to stink. You know, the Poop Parade. The Crap Circus. It’s one thing after another, going wrong, falling apart, and piling up against you. Why can’t things just go right? Why can’t life just calm down and be normal for a minute? Let me tell you why … God uses messes to make his masterpiece. Some things simply grow better in the presence of crap. Some things only reach their full potential when the seemingly bad stuff is piled on. After all, you do realize CRAP IS FERTILIZER, right?

A while back who ever was farming the land just south of town decided to spread chick poop on the field. I saw the spreader trucks making their way back and forth across the field through the manure on the field. Literally truck loads full of chicken poop. One after another, loaded with the stinkiest, crappiest of crap you can imagine. The entire south side of town stunk so bad you could barely breath. It was all the talk on social media. Eventually the smell did pass, and then you know what happened next? Yes, growth. Crazy, abundant, new growth. The fields were transformed, and it was because of the Poop Parade earlier. Could your life be in the process of being transformed right now? Look around. Has the Crap Circus invaded and you’ve been declared Ring Master? Have the manure spreaders arrived and began spreading crap all over your life. If so, it means you’re getting ready to GROW! I know you think you would have made the necessary changes without this crap, but the truth is, you wouldn’t have. Sometimes God has to smack us right on the between the eyes get us to see the effects of what we’ve been doing and how we’ve been living. He has to wake us up, and God in all of his loving wisdom knows that we aren't waking up with a gentle nudge. It’s going to take a dump truck, and more than one!

The story of Joseph is one of my favorites. I love it so much because it perfectly shows the unfolding of God’s good plans in the middle of a Poop Parade that just didn't seem to stop. First his brothers grew jealous of him and sold him off as a slave. He becomes a favored slave to his master, then the master’s crazy wife wants to hook up, and when Joseph refuses she claims rape and has him thrown in prison. He becomes a favored prisoner to the warden, then he is forgotten. Every time he gets a break, the next bad thing happens. When you come to the end of Joseph’s story, you see the growth created by all he has gone through. You see the leader he has become because of the crap he has walked through. Now he’s in a position to save lives. In a position to supply food for people who literally were going to starve without his help. And some of those people were the very people that called in the Poop Parade in the very beginning. They were his brothers. The ones who had sold him into slavery because they were jealous of their father’s love for him. And now, after slavery and imprisonment, after being sold and forgotten, after being accused and abused, Joseph is the masterpiece God created him to be and he stands before his brothers.
Genesis 50:20 NIV You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.
What is God growing you into? Here come the dump trucks with their piles of poop. Remember, it’s not a punishment. This is your fertilizer because God knows the potential within you. Joseph was always being prepared. In a pit, in a palace and in a prison, he was being prepared. And you … well, you are being prepared too. Prepared for a purpose. Don’t grow pitiful! Don’t be bitter! This is where you get b

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There are a lot of things in life that I am comfortable not knowing. I am okay if I cant remember the capital of Vermont. I am perfectly fine if can't remember the address of our church. It doesn't bother me even a little if don't know the weather forecast for the week, because I can look theses things up on my smartphone. On the other hand, there are a lot of things I would really like to know that I can't look up on my cell phone. I would like to know if I am going to be able to save enough money to retire before I die, or if inflation will eat up all my savings. I would like to know if I will live a long and healthy life or if the Lord will rapture me out of this world, before my life ends. There are many things we simply can not know. While we might think it would be nice to know these things,... to know the future, I’m here to tell you that is really not the case. Even if we could know these things, we’re actually better off not knowing them!

Think about it for a moment. If you knew that day you would die how would you live your life? The sad truth is that if we knew the day of our death we would likely procrastinate doing what is right. We would live selfish, self centered lives. Scripture reveals that certain things God has kept back from His creation, purposing instead to reveal those things incrementally and conditionally to His obedient chosen offspring. 

Deuteronomy 29:29 NIV The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may follow all the words of this law.

 When Job was trying to make sense of his devastating trial, he lamented, "And these things You have hidden in Your heart; I know that this was with You" (Job 10:13), and, "Oh, that I knew where I might find Him, that I might come to His seat!" (Job 23:3). He wanted to pry out a few secrets. So why does God keep secrets from us? Here is just a few reasons God keeps secrets from us. To shield us from disappointments, to keep us from danger, because we are not ready and to keep us from temptations. These are just a few reasons why God keeps secrets from us.

One of the greatest secrets God keeps from us is the date of his return. It was been on my mind a lot lately because of all the signs I see taking place in the world today, earthquakes, famines, plagues and war just to name a few. Jesus warned of troubling events as we near the end of the age, including persecution of believers (Mark 13:7-9). Then He added that nothing—not even persecution—should distract us from the one necessary thing: to preach the gospel to all nations. We must live as if today will be the day when Jesus returns. Living in the expectation that He could return today compels us to live every day for what really matters—for eternity!

I have learned to accept the fact that don't know everything, because I know the one who does know everything. God has perfect knowledge of all things. He does not have to learn anything and He has not forgotten anything. God does not have to reason things out, find out things by hearing them from someone else or learn them gradually. He knows everything that has happened and everything that will happen and someday when I am in heaven and I stand face to face with God I will say, “Oh,.. well that makes sense to me now!!!”

1 Corinthians 13:12 NKJV For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known.

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As spring drags its feet and the warmer temperatures I am longing for turn to cold, cloudy, rainy days, I’m tempted to stay in my recliner wrapped up in my blanket, being just plain lazy.... Days like this are often refereed to as SAD days. SAD is an acronym for “Seasonal Affect Disorder. Seasonal affect disorder is a form of depression also known as the winter blues. Our spiritual walk can at times looks suspiciously close to the winter blues. We can become content, casual, unconcerned, even apathetic towards worship and towards the need to witness to the lost. By definition a complacent person is one who has an attitude marked by self-satisfaction especially when accompanied by unawareness of your actual deficiencies.
It is unfortunate that many members of church are complacent Christians. Here at Immanual Baptist we have nearly 400 names on our membership role. The average attendance for Church is between 125 and 150 persons. The average attendance for Sunday school is only 60 to 75 and the attendance for Wednesday evening bible study it is a sparse 20 to 30. Many members of our church attend a Sunday morning service once and month and some are CEO's “Christmas and Easter Only” attenders. They simply do not see the need to worship any more often,,, and likely see no need to witness to the lost at all. They are content that they have their salvation. They have their “Fire Insurance Policy” and are not concerned at all with the eternal destiny of anyone else.
Deuteronomy 8:14 NIV Then your heart will become proud and you will forget the Lord your God who brought you out from the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.
Remember the fable of the Tortoise and the Hare? Comfortable with his enormous lead over the Tortoise, the Hare thought he’d rest for a while. Relaxing peacefully by a tree, he drifted off to sleep. He figured he had nothing to worry about. You know how the story goes. His slow and steady contender, the tortoise, who didn’t initially seem to be a threat, overtook him and won the race. The devil is not the the bright red demon with the forked tail and pitch fork standing on you shoulder telling you to do evil deeds. He is also quite content watching you take a nap, peacefully relaxing in your recliner at home rather than attending church and actively worshiping and witnessing! 

It’s 8:30 on a Sunday morning, as you and your family scramble to get to church on time. Not a hair out of place, your smiles give the illusion that life is near perfect. Before you get to the car, you realize you left your Bible inside and you rush back in to grab it. Searching high and low, you wonder where on earth you left it last week. Is it under the stack of mail? Mumbling a few choice words, you find your Bible, smashed and wrinkled on the coffee table. Its been unopened since you last paraded through the church hallways. It was untouched, unopened, and went unnoticed. Throughout your busy week, you haven’t thought about God, let alone had the desire to open His Holy Word. Content to be present at church once in a while. Christianity has yet to invade your life.
 Revelation 3: 16-17 NIV So, because you are lukewarm, neither hot nor cold, I am about to spit you out of my mouth. You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked.
For most of us it is not difficult to avoid doing the so called evil deeds. You know the ones I am talking about, murder, stealing or cheating on you spouse. But we do have a tendency to just ignore the things would should be doing. We are not doing evil deeds we are simply so busy with our day to day lives that we forget to attend church. We forget God!!! When we live comfortable, complacent, content, casual, apathetic, unconcerned lives, you're no threat to Devil's evil plans and you're exactly the kind of Christian he loves; weak, powerless, and silent!

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Submission and obedience is a topic of vital importance, it affects our relationships in the home, our marriage, it effects us at church, and on the job. Yet it is a topic that generates a lot of dissension, in other words, disagreement that leads to discord. This is because the biblical viewpoint of submission and obedience is completely opposite and opposed to that of the world. 

Ephesians 5: 21-24 NIV Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands as you do to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything.

When Joyce and I were planning our marriage we spoke about what our vows should say. Joyce made it clear to me, that in our relationship she would obey,... buttttt..... she was not going to say it out loud in her vows. The world encourages everyone to stand up for his or her rights. The feminist movement promotes women’s rights. The homosexual movement promotes so-called “gay” rights. Some people advocate children’s rights to be free from parental authority, although they never seem to extend those rights to children who still happen to be in the womb. PETA promotes animal rights, often over and above human rights. If you think that your rights have been violated, you can easily find a lawyer who will take your case to court. You may win a ridiculously huge settlement! 

So the world’s way is, “Assert yourself! Stand up for your rights! You don’t have to take such treatment! Get an attorney to fight for your rights!” God’s way is, “submit to one another in the fear of Christ.” These views are polar opposites!

Husband should not rule like dictators over their wives, rather just the opposite. Husbands should lay aside all selfishness and dominance. Instead, they should obey God by laying down their lives for their wives as they selflessly seek their wife's’ best interests. Even parents are to be subject to their own children, as they serve them in love, when a husband lovingly bears the burdens of his wife, is that not submission? When a father lovingly gives himself for his children, there is submission. When we assist one another, it the same as submitting and obeying. Thus there would seem to be a sense in which we all are to submit and obey each another.

Every spirit-filled Christian is a submissive Christian. You have submitted your life to the control of the of the Holy Spirit. To build a house, someone has to be in charge in order to coordinate the project. The contractor follows a plan. He organizes and brings in various subcontractors at the appropriate times to move the project along. The workers have to submit to and obey the direction of their boss, who submits to and obeys the overall direction of the contractor. When everyone does what they are supposed to do, when everyone submits and obeys the house gets built. 

Are you a submissive person? Most importantly, are you submitting daily to Jesus as Lord of everything in your life? Are you subject to the government in obedience to Christ? Are you submitting to a local church and its leadership? As a wife, are you submitting to your husband? Children, are you subject to your parents? Workers, are you subject to your employer? And, for all of us, are you submitting yourself to others in selfless service for Christ’s sake?

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So I have some bad news I must share with you. I have been diagnosed with IPD stage 4 and it is incurable! What the heck is IPD you ask? IPD stands for Intolerant Personality Disorder and I am incurable. Okay I have to admit that I am joking with you at least a little bit. I am not really sick, but Intolerant Personality Disorder is a real thing, or at least some think so. According to the American Journal of Ortho-psychiatry, Racism, sexism, and homophobia do not fit into any current diagnostic category. The authors propose that those who engage in such behaviors display a form of psychopathology. Now that is a big $5 word that is means the scientific study of mental disorders.

I gotta tell you the possibility of science and the medical industry making, “Intolerant Personality Disorder,” a real thing is super scary to me, because in the world's eyes a conservative Christian, such as myself, is a very intolerant person! Let me give you some examples: First I believe that there is only one God and that He created all things. Next, I believe that there is only one way to heaven and that is to admit to God that I am a sinner, Believe Jesus is God's Son and that God sent Jesus to die on the cross to pay the penalty for my sins and Confess faith in Jesus Christ as my Savior and Lord... I believe that you were born either male or female and there is nothing you can do to change that fact. Finally, I believe that God created marriage as a partnership between one man and one woman. And this is just the beginning of my intolerance.

2 Timothy 4: 1-2 NIV In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. 

Tolerance is a hot topic these days. The world that we live in often seems to cry out for tolerance. There are situations in our Christian lives when we have to deal with very difficult situations and one of these is when to be tolerate or when not to. Where do we draw the line when it comes to religious tolerance? Accepting that there are different beliefs in this world, is an accepted practice of Christianity. However, accepting that these beliefs are right, which is the modern-day world view of religious tolerance, is a totally different thing and this is where we, as Christians, need to draw the line. Accepting the doctrines and beliefs of other religions as truth is something Christians should never do!!!

Romans 16:17 NIV I urge you, brothers and sisters, to watch out for those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you have learned. Keep away from them. 

The Bible says that we need to show love and unity to a lost and hurting world. We must not sacrifice the truth in the name of love, nor should we deliver the truth in a less than loving manner. By “speaking the truth in love”, we are able to encourage people in their relationship with God and not push them away from Him by employing a mean-spirited, judgmental attitude.

Ephesians 4:2 NIV Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.

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