Post by Les Brewer on Sept 26, 2020 21:56:08 GMT
EVERYBODY’S NOT ME!
I dreamed in the depths of sleep about a plan of revenge toward me in the guise of reconciliation; it was a plan for my death and not our healing. There are many wolves that come to us in the guise of a dove holding an olive branch yet their intentions are for our destruction. I see two faced people with double minds all the time; and it is hard not to get tangled up in the hypocrisy. Once we allow ourselves to conceive even the smallest of lies; unrighteousness has been watered to grow the seeds of sin. Deception is rampant today everywhere and many are filled with hatred and contempt calling it righteous indignation.
A leopard is stealthy his fur is coated for his purpose and he blends into the environment with the intent to wait on his prey. He is a carnivore endowed with the ability to run at speeds upwards of 60 miles per hour. Yet it is his patience; the ability to endure to wait to precisely aggress and attack with deadly accuracy. His nature is carnal and he is bound by that nature just as the soul and will of man is diseased by sin; he cannot change without divine intervention. Why have so many forgotten the Lord and trust in falsehoods. A leopard cannot change his spots; just as the Ethiopian cannot change his skin; he may wash himself or even paint his skin; but his nature will remain the same. We are unable to wash away our nature with empty rituals of religiosity. Only the blood of Jesus is able to cleanse the sinful soul.
When we start building from a strange foundation we build upon the winds of this world’s wisdom; we are in fact beginning the start to our departure from the faith. The pop Christian culture of today has integrated so much of the philosophies and psychology of the world into itself that it is hard to distinguish the difference between the two. Yes; I dreamed a dream about a plan of revenge which was presented in the guise of reconciliation! Wolves declaring themselves to be prophets and preachers who present the skin of the truth stuffed with deception. Beware my brethren for there are many today who have their own self-interest at heart and are like leeches who come to suck out your life. They build for themselves and not the cause of Christ. God sees the heart and knows its ulterior motives.
I recall the words of the bible “a little leaven leavens the whole lump”. It’s is a fact that a little yeast puffs up the whole loaf of bread. So it stands to reason a little sin infiltrates and fills the whole soul with its attributes! Hypocrisy is a plague that destroys our relationships; first with God and then with others. We cannot afford to toy with sin; then expect no repercussions! Sin is deceptive; it gathers intensity as we indulge it and are ultimately captivated by it. Brethren we are instructed to “take into captivity every thought that wars against the knowledge of God”. When we are born of the Spirit we are endowed with power that enables us to overpower those thoughts that lead us into captivity. Just like there is death in the barrel of a gun; the bullets of sin are just as deadly to the soul. When Adam partook of the forbidden fruit; the act of disobedience was the sin that condemned him. There are those whom come to beguile us with the ulterior motive of destroying our lives in one way or another.
Brethren I believe we are living in times of real conspiracies of destruction. I believe there are people gathering to plot, plan, and deploy against all that is true and holy in this world. We cannot afford to live flippantly in view of world events and the cancel Christian culture activists who are defiantly opposing our God and our Christian Values. Yet we must remember to live the life of Christ as examples of how Jesus would stand in truth or oppose the obsolete mentalities of dead letter religion. It is our responsibility to get grounded in the truth that is supremely divine and demonstrate it regardless of those who hate us for it. What did Jesus say upon the cross “Father forgive them for they know not what they do”. We cannot always know what has cause those who oppose Christ; how they came to that place and then we must remember that we once were lost and blind and defiant to Christ in our own sins and even in our own hypocrisies.
Yes, sometimes we endure hardships because of the actions of others but think about the hardship that Jesus endured for us to be saved from our sins. I am forgiven; shouldn’t I have the same mercy which was allotted to me for others? I was blind but now I see; I was lost but now I am found; I was dead in trespass and sin but now I am alive in him. The mission is to declare Christ and his salvation to the lost souls of this world. It isn’t a request it’s a commission! The bible says “have no ill toward your neighbor”, unforgiveness is one of the greatest sins! Why? It leads to treachery of the soul and causes one to want revenge and vindication! Let us give up that unforgiving spirit and pour out the compassion of Christ. Then we can fulfill the mandate of Christ which says “owe no one anything but love”. Selah
Shalom, Agape, & Amen!
Bishop D. Ray Ritchie
I dreamed in the depths of sleep about a plan of revenge toward me in the guise of reconciliation; it was a plan for my death and not our healing. There are many wolves that come to us in the guise of a dove holding an olive branch yet their intentions are for our destruction. I see two faced people with double minds all the time; and it is hard not to get tangled up in the hypocrisy. Once we allow ourselves to conceive even the smallest of lies; unrighteousness has been watered to grow the seeds of sin. Deception is rampant today everywhere and many are filled with hatred and contempt calling it righteous indignation.
A leopard is stealthy his fur is coated for his purpose and he blends into the environment with the intent to wait on his prey. He is a carnivore endowed with the ability to run at speeds upwards of 60 miles per hour. Yet it is his patience; the ability to endure to wait to precisely aggress and attack with deadly accuracy. His nature is carnal and he is bound by that nature just as the soul and will of man is diseased by sin; he cannot change without divine intervention. Why have so many forgotten the Lord and trust in falsehoods. A leopard cannot change his spots; just as the Ethiopian cannot change his skin; he may wash himself or even paint his skin; but his nature will remain the same. We are unable to wash away our nature with empty rituals of religiosity. Only the blood of Jesus is able to cleanse the sinful soul.
When we start building from a strange foundation we build upon the winds of this world’s wisdom; we are in fact beginning the start to our departure from the faith. The pop Christian culture of today has integrated so much of the philosophies and psychology of the world into itself that it is hard to distinguish the difference between the two. Yes; I dreamed a dream about a plan of revenge which was presented in the guise of reconciliation! Wolves declaring themselves to be prophets and preachers who present the skin of the truth stuffed with deception. Beware my brethren for there are many today who have their own self-interest at heart and are like leeches who come to suck out your life. They build for themselves and not the cause of Christ. God sees the heart and knows its ulterior motives.
I recall the words of the bible “a little leaven leavens the whole lump”. It’s is a fact that a little yeast puffs up the whole loaf of bread. So it stands to reason a little sin infiltrates and fills the whole soul with its attributes! Hypocrisy is a plague that destroys our relationships; first with God and then with others. We cannot afford to toy with sin; then expect no repercussions! Sin is deceptive; it gathers intensity as we indulge it and are ultimately captivated by it. Brethren we are instructed to “take into captivity every thought that wars against the knowledge of God”. When we are born of the Spirit we are endowed with power that enables us to overpower those thoughts that lead us into captivity. Just like there is death in the barrel of a gun; the bullets of sin are just as deadly to the soul. When Adam partook of the forbidden fruit; the act of disobedience was the sin that condemned him. There are those whom come to beguile us with the ulterior motive of destroying our lives in one way or another.
Brethren I believe we are living in times of real conspiracies of destruction. I believe there are people gathering to plot, plan, and deploy against all that is true and holy in this world. We cannot afford to live flippantly in view of world events and the cancel Christian culture activists who are defiantly opposing our God and our Christian Values. Yet we must remember to live the life of Christ as examples of how Jesus would stand in truth or oppose the obsolete mentalities of dead letter religion. It is our responsibility to get grounded in the truth that is supremely divine and demonstrate it regardless of those who hate us for it. What did Jesus say upon the cross “Father forgive them for they know not what they do”. We cannot always know what has cause those who oppose Christ; how they came to that place and then we must remember that we once were lost and blind and defiant to Christ in our own sins and even in our own hypocrisies.
Yes, sometimes we endure hardships because of the actions of others but think about the hardship that Jesus endured for us to be saved from our sins. I am forgiven; shouldn’t I have the same mercy which was allotted to me for others? I was blind but now I see; I was lost but now I am found; I was dead in trespass and sin but now I am alive in him. The mission is to declare Christ and his salvation to the lost souls of this world. It isn’t a request it’s a commission! The bible says “have no ill toward your neighbor”, unforgiveness is one of the greatest sins! Why? It leads to treachery of the soul and causes one to want revenge and vindication! Let us give up that unforgiving spirit and pour out the compassion of Christ. Then we can fulfill the mandate of Christ which says “owe no one anything but love”. Selah
Shalom, Agape, & Amen!
Bishop D. Ray Ritchie
