Are you living according to your flesh or according to the Holy Spirit?

Now the mind of the flesh is death [both now and forever—because it pursues sin]; but the mind of the Spirit is life and peace [the spiritual well-being that comes from walking with God—both now and forever]; the mind of the flesh [with its sinful pursuits] is actively hostile to God. It does not submit itself to God’s law, since it cannot, and those who are in the flesh [living a life that caters to sinful appetites and impulses] cannot please God.
Romans 8:6‭-‬8 amp

Most believers in Christ Jesus think living according to the flesh is commiting a clear sin like lying, not forgiving or not being loving towards others but it’s much deeper than that.

the mind of the flesh [with its sinful pursuits] is actively hostile to God. It does not submit itself to God’s law, since it cannot, and those who are in the flesh [living a life that caters to sinful appetites and impulses] cannot please God.
Romans 8:7‭-‬8 amp

Living according to our flesh is literally not caring about the will of God for our lives. It’s making our own choices without consulting God first, making our own decisions and doing whatever we think is good for us.

So then, brothers and sisters, we have an obligation, but not to our flesh [our human nature, our worldliness, our sinful capacity], to live according to the [impulses of the] flesh [our nature without the Holy Spirit]— for if you are living according to the [impulses of the] flesh, you are going to die. But if [you are living] by the [power of the Holy] Spirit you are habitually putting to death the sinful deeds of the body, you will [really] live forever.
Romans 8:12‭-‬13 amp

Living according to the flesh is not walking in the Holy Spirit, it’s a refusal to be lead by Him, a refusal to grow in Christ, a refusal to obey the commands of Jesus,a refusal to share His Gospel, a refusal to bear fruit of the Holy Spirit.

Therefore, my fellow believers, you too died to the Law through the [crucified] body of Christ, so that you may belong to another, to Him who was raised from the dead, in order that we may bear fruit for God. When we were living in the flesh [trapped by sin], the sinful passions, which were awakened by [that which] the Law [identifies as sin], were at work in our body to bear fruit for death [since the willingness to sin led to death and separation from God].
Romans 7:4‭-‬5 amp

Living according to the flesh is being selfish. It’s doing whatever pleases us, following our desires instead of God’s will for us.

Among these [unbelievers] we all once lived in the passions of our flesh [our behavior governed by the sinful self], indulging the desires of human nature [without the Holy Spirit] and [the impulses] of the [sinful] mind. We were, by nature, children [under the sentence] of [God’s] wrath, just like the rest [of mankind].
Ephesians 2:3 amp

Living according to the flesh means we are still under the sentence of God’s wrath.

And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature together with its passions and appetites. If we [claim to] live by the [Holy] Spirit, we must also walk by the Spirit [with personal integrity, godly character, and moral courage—our conduct empowered by the Holy Spirit].
Galatians 5:24‭-‬25 amp

If we truly want to be a true born again disciple of Jesus we must crucify our flesh, our desires, our dreams, our wants and our will. We must submit to the sovereignty of God, walk empowered by the Holy Spirit, obeying every commands of Jesus. True disciples of Jesus have been reborn of water and Spirit. We cannot have one foot in the world and one foot in Christ. When we truly want to serve God we want His will to be done and not our will in every single detail of our life; the job He wants for us, the spouse he wants for us, where He wants us to be….we must seek His will above all else. It’s a life a total devotion and sumbmition to God.
This is called not living according to our flesh.

The result of not forgiving, being angry and holding a grudge.

When they came to the place called The Skull, there they crucified Him and the criminals, one on the right and one on the left. And Jesus was saying, “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.” And they cast lots, dividing His clothes among themselves.
Luke 23:33‭-‬34 amp

Jesus Christ is our first example of forgiveness. We are called to be Christ like:

Not that I have already obtained it [this goal of being Christlike] or have already been made perfect, but I actively press on so that I may take hold of that [perfection] for which Christ Jesus took hold of me and made me His own.
Philippians 3:12 amp

They continued stoning Stephen as he called on the Lord and said, “Lord Jesus, receive and accept and welcome my spirit!” Then falling on his knees [in worship], he cried out loudly, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them [do not charge them]!” When he had said this, he fell asleep [in death].
Acts 7:59‭-‬60 amp

Stephen was being stoned to death which is a horribly painful long way to die, yet he chose to ask Jesus to forgive the people who were stoning him; forgiving is not an emotion, it is a decision we must make. We must forgive, not to please the other person but to obey Jesus Christ.

Whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him [drop the issue, let it go], so that your Father who is in heaven will also forgive you your transgressions and wrongdoings [against Him and others]. [But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your transgressions.”]
Mark 11:25‭-‬26 amp

For if you forgive others their trespasses [their reckless and willful sins], your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others [nurturing your hurt and anger with the result that it interferes with your relationship with God], then your Father will not forgive your trespasses.
Matthew 6:14‭-‬15 amp

The results of being angry, resentful, bitter and of holding a grudge are very serious and true. Jesus said if we do not forgive we will not be forgiven by our Father. This literally means from the moment we don’t forgive every single time we fail and ask God for His forgiveness we will not get it.

We are warned in the Scripture below not to be bitter, wrathful, angry, and not to be fault finding with others. Jesus second greatest command is to love others like we love ourselves in one Scripture and in another love others just like He loves us. Again this comes down to a choice of obeying the commands of Jesus Christ.

Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor [perpetual animosity, resentment, strife, fault-finding] and slander be put away from you, along with every kind of malice [all spitefulness, verbal abuse, malevolence].
Ephesians 4:31 amp

Understand this, my beloved brothers and sisters. Let everyone be quick to hear [be a careful, thoughtful listener], slow to speak [a speaker of carefully chosen words and], slow to anger [patient, reflective, forgiving]; for the [resentful, deep-seated] anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God [that standard of behavior which He requires from us].
James 1:19‭-‬20 amp

Another serious and devastating effect of being bitter, angry, not forgiving and holding a grudge; It does not produce in us the behavior God requires of us. The more we stay bitter and unforgiving the more we damage our spiritual life.

Let me say this again, forgiving others is not to please others, it is not a feeling and it is not at all a weakness, it is simply making a decision to obey Jesus Christ. Once we choose to obey, Our Father will start forgiving us again and He will repair the damages our sin created in us.

Blessings!

Why?

Excellent article!

Feeding the Flock

The question of “Why?” is something many, if not all of us ask God. It could pertain to a healing of an illness, disease, pain in the body, mental illness, addiction, handicap, body parts missing, and other things while you watch on as others are healed but others are not. It could be that you pray for a loved one to come to salvation in Christ while you win others for The Lord, but you can not reach your own loved one. You, or someone you know, could lose a child whether young or as an adult to an illness or accident while you or another parent serves The Lord fervently. Today I will share some stories of others that you may find comfort and encouragement in to help you in your struggle and question of “Why?”.

Nabeel Qureshi: Stomach Cancer

Nabeel was a fantastic apologetics teacher. He defended the…

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One duty, one purpose

And He said to them, Go into all the world and preach and publish openly the good news (the Gospel) to every creature [of the whole human race].
Mark 16:15 amp

When you bear (produce) much fruit, My Father is honored and glorified, and you show and prove yourselves to be true followers of Mine. If you keep My commandments [if you continue to obey My instructions], you will abide in My love and live on in it, just as I have obeyed My Father’s commandments and live on in His love.
John 15:8‭, ‬10 amp

For as the human body apart from the spirit is lifeless, so faith apart from [its] works of obedience is also dead.
James 2:26 ampc

Whoever says he abides in Him ought [as a personal debt] to walk and conduct himself in the same way in which He walked and conducted Himself.
1 John 2:6 ampc

As born again followers of Jesus we have one duty; spreading the Gospel and loving others (with all it entails), and one purpose, becoming Christ like.

If our focus is on anything else we are failing at serving God the way He wants to be serve, He wants us to be fully devoted to Him, this is His first commandment

And He replied to him, You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind (intellect). [Deut. 6:5.]
Matthew 22:37 ampc

as we all know, but do we really?

heart:
לֵבָב
[lēbāb] n.
inner man, mind, will, heart, soul, understanding
inner part, midst
midst (of things)
heart (of man)
soul, heart (of man)
mind, knowledge, thinking, reflection, memory
inclination, resolution, determination (of will)
conscience
heart (of moral character)
as seat of appetites
as seat of emotions and passions
as seat of courage

Soul

נֶ֫פֶשׁ
[nepeš] n.
soul, self, life, creature, person, appetite, mind, living being, desire, emotion, passion
that which breathes, the breathing substance or being, soul, the inner being of man
living being
living being (with life in the blood)
the man himself, self, person or individual
seat of the appetites
seat of emotions and passions
activity of mind
dubious
activity of the will
dubious
activity of the character
dubious

Might

מְאֹד
[mǝʾōd] adv.
adv
exceedingly, much
subst
might, force, abundance
n m
muchness, force, abundance, exceedingly
force, might
exceedingly, greatly, very (idioms showing magnitude or degree)
exceedingly
up to abundance, to a great degree, exceedingly
with muchness, muchness

As we can read in the Hebrew definitions, God cannot be just a part of our life. Everything in our life is to be submitted to the will of God.  We have social media platforms on our cell phone; Those are wonderful tools to spread the Gospel. If we use social media to post about anything else it is simply a selfish action which turns the focus on ourselves and not on God.

Idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, anger (ill temper), selfishness, divisions (dissensions), party spirit (factions, sects with peculiar opinions, heresies), Envy, drunkenness, carousing, and the like. I warn you beforehand, just as I did previously, that those who do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.
Galatians 5:20‭-‬21 ampc

Read carefully, the word selfishness is in these verses.

The way we act toward others is also crucially important to our Lord Jesus; it is His second greatest commandment;

i give you a new commandment: that you should love one another. Just as I have loved you, so you too should love one another.
john 13:34 ampc

Loving others as Jesus loves them is no small task, we must always strive to  put others above ourselves;

Love does no wrong to one’s neighbor [it never hurts anybody]. Therefore love meets all the requirements and is the fulfilling of the Law.
Romans 13:10 ampc

Therefore serving God properly is all about putting Him first and submitting ourselves to Him, obeying the commands of Jesus daily and loving others wether it in our personal interactions with people in our life or on social media. God loves when we pray for becoming who He wants us to become, He loves when we pray for loving others more, loving Him more, having a deeper relationship with Him, having more faith, perseverance and asking Him to transform our hearts. Whatever the Bible says about the way ought to behave we ought to pray to behave that way.

This is the way to serve God properly.

I pray this blesses you in the name of Jesus!

The Digital Gossip

Feeding the Flock

The dictionary defines the word gossip as a person who habitually reveals personal or sensational facts about others. The word sensational is defined as the arousing or tending to arouse a quick, intense, and usually superficial interest, curiosity, or emotional reaction.

“Without wood a fire goes out; without a gossip a quarrel dies down. As charcoal to embers and as wood to fire, so is a quarrelsome person for kindling strife. The words of a gossip are like choice morsels; they go down to the inmost parts.” Proverbs 26:20-22

“A perverse man spreads strife,
And a slanderer separates intimate friends.” Proverbs 16:28

“Those who consider themselves religious and yet do not keep a tight rein on their tongues deceive themselves, and their religion is worthless.” James 1:26

“But avoid worldly and empty chatter, for it will lead to further ungodliness” 2 Timothy 2;16

“Let all bitterness and wrath and anger…

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One Will Be Taken and the Other One Left

Feeding the Flock

In my youth I was taught to believe in the pre tribulation rapture, and various scripture passages were used to support it. One passage that was often referred to was, “one will be taken and the other one left”. When we take a closer look at both the passages of scripture from Matthew 24:27-51 and Luke 17:22-37 what we see is not the faithful servants being taken, but rather the unfaithful servants.

“For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and they did not understand until the flood came and took them all away; so will the coming of the Son of Man be.”

In Luke the same dialogue is taking place, but at the end of it the disciples asks Jesus, “Where, Lord?” And He said to them, “Where the…

View original post 1,174 more words

To All Preachers of the Pre tribulation Rapture

Feeding the Flock

Scripture Reading:

The Resurrection of Old Believers and the Gathering of Those that Remain

“But we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve as do the rest who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus. For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the TRUMPET of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet…

View original post 2,140 more words

How to use the Word of God

For the Word that God speaks is alive and full of power [making it active, operative, energizing, and effective]; it is sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating to the dividing line of the breath of life (soul) and [the immortal] spirit, and of joints and marrow [of the deepest parts of our nature], exposing and sifting and analyzing and judging the very thoughts and purposes of the heart.
Hebrews 4:12 ampc

But the Comforter (Counselor, Helper, Intercessor, Advocate, Strengthener, Standby), the Holy Spirit, Whom the Father will send in My name [in My place, to represent Me and act on My behalf], He will teach you all things. And He will cause you to recall (will remind you of, bring to your remembrance) everything I have told you.
John 14:26 amp

The first utility of the Word of God will always be to transform us from the inside out by the intervention of the Holy Spirit and we must let the Holy Spirit teach us the Word because He is the only true Teacher.

There are also other utilities, truly great, allowing us to keep our mind focused on God and His Word which is also a command we must obey

Let the word [spoken by] Christ (the Messiah) have its home [in your hearts and minds] and dwell in you in [all its] richness, as you teach and admonish and train one another in all insight and intelligence and wisdom [in spiritual things, and as you sing] psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, making melody to God with [His] grace in your hearts.
Colossians 3:16 ampc

There are also two commands of our Lord Jesus which we must obey and our obedience is greatly enriched if we use the Word of God to obey them. We are commanded to pray at all times

Pray at all times (on every occasion, in every season) in the Spirit, with all [manner of] prayer and entreaty. To that end keep alert and watch with strong purpose and perseverance, interceding in behalf of all the saints (God’s consecrated people).
Ephesians 6:18 ampc

Be unceasing in prayer [praying perseveringly]; Thank [God] in everything [no matter what the circumstances may be, be thankful and give thanks], for this is the will of God for you [who are] in Christ Jesus [the Revealer and Mediator of that will].
1 Thessalonians 5:17‭-‬18 ampc

The Bible is full of prayers from the Old Testament to the New Testament. Every time we read a verse which can be used as a prayer we can pray it. Imagine you spend one hour in the Word of God every day, in that hour surely there will be at at least one or more Scripture as a prayer. For example the Scriptures say The Lord gives strength to the weak, if you are reading that Scripture you can easily turn it into a prayer when you feel weak “Lord, I feel weak please Your Word says You give strength to the weak, give me Your strength in Jesus’s name”

We are also commanded to praise the Lord at all times

For here we have no permanent city, but we are looking for the one which is to come. Through Him, therefore, let us constantly and at all times offer up to God a sacrifice of praise, which is the fruit of lips that thankfully acknowledge and confess and glorify His name. [Lev. 7:12; Isa. 57:19; Hos. 14:2.]
Hebrews 13:14‭-‬15 amp

Thank [God] in everything [no matter what the circumstances may be, be thankful and give thanks], for this is the will of God for you [who are] in Christ Jesus [the Revealer and Mediator of that will].
1 Thessalonians 5:18 ampc

All through the Word of God there are Scriptures of praises and we must not only read them we must praise Him with the Scriptures in question. For example the Scriptures says The Lord is Gracious and full of compassion and slow to anger; we can easily turn this into “I praise You my Lord for You are gracious and slow to anger towards me”.

Aside from our personal requests to God if we use the Word this way it will greatly help us to obey another command which is as important as the others mentioned in this article

IF THEN you have been raised with Christ [to a new life, thus sharing His resurrection from the dead], aim at and seek the [rich, eternal treasures] that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. [Ps. 110:1.] And set your minds and keep them set on what is above (the higher things), not on the things that are on the earth. For [as far as this world is concerned] you have died, and your [new, real] life is hidden with Christ in God.
Colossians 3:1‭-‬3 ampc

Using the Word of God in this manner will enrich your spiritual life very much in every way! It will allow you to obey the commands of Jesus more and help to keep your focus on God at all times, which is God’s will for us.

Blessings!

What is a False Teacher?

Very good blog article worth reading by my brother in Christ.

Feeding the Flock

“For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths.” 2 Timothy 4:3-4

Many times over we are warned as believers to watch out for false teachers and false prophets so we are not lead astray by their words. So many believers however only focus on those that preach in such places as; churches, mosques, temples, synagogues, and through avenues such as; new age and witchcraft practices, books, blogs, videos, and online. Many however neglect the false teachings of educated people in other fields though.

Many false teachers operate in the fields of science, technology, politics, economics, social and cultural activism, while others are news reporters, Hollywood actors, and historians. These false teachers all…

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Feelings not producing the righteousness of God

Anger, frustration, annoyance, bitterness, rage, jealousy, vindictiveness, are all feeling not producing the righteousness of God and when those feelings are present for a while they can all give a foothold for demons to start playing with our minds as the Word of God says:

When angry, do not sin; do not ever let your wrath (your exasperation, your fury or indignation) last until the sun goes down. Leave no [such] room or foothold for the devil [give no opportunity to him].
Ephesians 4:26‭-‬27 amp

Unfortunately some believers do not take into consideration the severity of their actions led by those feelings, but they are very important to remember:

But I say to you that everyone who continues to be angry with his brother or harbors malice (enmity of heart) against him shall be liable to and unable to escape the punishment imposed by the court; and whoever speaks contemptuously and insultingly to his brother shall be liable to and unable to escape the punishment imposed by the Sanhedrin, and whoever says, You cursed fool! [You empty-headed idiot!] shall be liable to and unable to escape the hell (Gehenna) of fire.
Matthew 5:22 amp

The Word of God gives us many instructions on those kind of feelings

Understand [this], my beloved brethren. Let every man be quick to hear [a ready listener], slow to speak, slow to take offense and to get angry. For man’s anger does not promote the righteousness God [wishes and requires].
James 1:19‭-‬20 amp

Let all bitterness and indignation and wrath (passion, rage, bad temper) and resentment (anger, animosity) and quarreling (brawling, clamor, contention) and slander (evil-speaking, abusive or blasphemous language) be banished from you, with all malice (spite, ill will, or baseness of any kind).
Ephesians 4:31 ampc

But now put away and rid yourselves [completely] of all these things: anger, rage, bad feeling toward others, curses and slander, and foulmouthed abuse and shameful utterances from your lips!
Colossians 3:8 ampc

But the human tongue can be tamed by no man. It is a restless (undisciplined, irreconcilable) evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless the Lord and Father, and with it we curse men who were made in God’s likeness! Out of the same mouth come forth blessing and cursing. These things, my brethren, ought not to be so.
James 3:8‭-‬10 ampc

Judge not [neither pronouncing judgment nor subjecting to censure], and you will not be judged; do not condemn and pronounce guilty, and you will not be condemned and pronounced guilty; acquit and forgive and release (give up resentment, let it drop), and you will be acquitted and forgiven and released.
Luke 6:37 ampc

The Word of God also provides us with wonderful prayers to deal with our shortcomings

Set a guard, O Lord, before my mouth; keep watch at the door of my lips.
Psalm 141:3 ampc

Yet, O Lord, You are our Father; we are the clay, and You our Potter, and we all are the work of Your hand.
Isaiah 64:8 amp

Every day I ask our Lord Jesus to set a guard over upon my mouth and to keep watch at the doctor of my lips because as we are all battling with our flesh and our desire to please God it is so easy to slip in certain circumstances, especially when other people are saying hurtful things to us! The second prayer is the most important prayer for our relationship with God, and it works not only with feelings not producing the righteousness of God but it is for God to transform us into the person He wants us to be. We are all clay into the hands of God, and He is the Potter and He is the only one who can transform us from the inside out. As we pray for Him to transform us we will start reacting the way He wants us to react, situations that would ordinarily create in us negative feelings will stop affecting us badly. If we truly desire to do His will this prayer will be the one prayer we cherish the most. If we claim to love God but never change in any godly way we have a severe problem in our spiritual life. Changing according to His will requires total depandace on Him and and the will to please Him above all things. The change is rarely instantaneous but we all have to start somewhere. Blessings!!!