Building Blocks Of Life Part 4

We drew on a piece of paper Knowledge/Information in the upper left corner and Understanding/Comprehension  in the upper right corner. And Wisdom in the Center half way down the paper. We looked at Knowledge and learned how Knowledge is Information. Information from God and information from the world.

There is all kinds of information out there in life. We have to discern truth from error.

Understanding is defined as the capacity of the mind to comprehend, to grasp or seize information. Understanding is not just of the mind,  but also of the heart.  Understanding is a faculty of the mind and the mind is a part of the soul and the soul is made up of our mind, will and emotions.  Understanding takes information and processes it through our mind and our heart. Understanding is comprehending information.

A lot of people get information. Fewer people understand the information. But many people lack how to apply the information and that is wisdom.

Why would Solomon ask God for wisdom? Solomon wanted to discern truth from error and apply truth. Back then, kings and today our leaders get information and they understand the information but properly applying that information is wisdom.

In 1 Kings 3:7-10 KJV,  “And now, O LORD my God, thou hast made thy servant king instead of David my father: and I am but a little child: I know not how to go out or come in.
8. And thy servant is in the midst of thy people which thou hast chosen, a great people, that cannot be numbered nor counted for multitude.
9. Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad: for who is able to judge this thy so great a people?
10. And the speech pleased the Lord, that Solomon had asked this thing. ”

Then these two women come before Solomon. One woman’s child died so she stole the second women’s child and put her dead child in place of the other’s. See 1 Kings 3:16-28 KJV and Solomon hears the matter. Here is the account –

” Then came there two women, that were harlots, unto the king, and stood before him.
17. And the one woman said, O my lord, I and this woman dwell in one house; and I was delivered of a child with her in the house.
18. And it came to pass the third day after that I was delivered, that this woman was delivered also: and we were together; there was no stranger with us in the house, save we two in the house.
19. And this woman’s child died in the night; because she overlaid it.
20. And she arose at midnight, and took my son from beside me, while thine handmaid slept, and laid it in her bosom, and laid her dead child in my bosom.
21. And when I rose in the morning to give my child suck, behold, it was dead: but when I had considered it in the morning, behold, it was not my son, which I did bear.
22. And the other woman said, Nay; but the living is my son, and the dead is thy son. And this said, No; but the dead is thy son, and the living is my son. Thus they spake before the king.
23. Then said the king, The one saith, This is my son that liveth, and thy son is the dead: and the other saith, Nay; but thy son is the dead, and my son is the living.
24. And the king said, Bring me a sword. And they brought a sword before the king.
25. And the king said, Divide the living child in two, and give half to the one, and half to the other.
26. Then spake the woman whose the living child was unto the king, for her bowels yearned upon her son, and she said, O my lord, give her the living child, and in no wise slay it. But the other said, Let it be neither mine nor thine, but divide it.
27. Then the king answered and said, Give her the living child, and in no wise slay it: she is the mother thereof.
28. And all Israel heard of the judgment which the king had judged; and they feared the king: for they saw that the wisdom of God was in him, to do judgment. ”

Put yourself in Solomon’s shoes. How would you decide?  Solomon applied information he knew, a mother’s love for her child. A mother would give her child up if that was the only way to protect her child. Solomon understood / comprehended the issue. Two women were claiming one child was their child.

So Solomon refers to the information and knowledge he knows about mothers and their children. Solomon knows God and he knows God would not want him to kill this child. Solomon has information and understanding of the matter. Now it is time to judge the matter. How would you judge this matter?

Look at verse 24 through verse 28. Solomon applied the information and understanding of the information he had. Plus God showed Solomon how to apply the information.

We hear preachers and teachers of God’s word give out information all the time. These preachers and teachers of God’s word try to help us understand God’s word. But God’s word does not come to life inside us until we believe and receive God’s word and then apply God’s word. Application is wisdom.

Remember when we looked at the definition of the fear of the Lord is to hate evil? Wisdom in this case is to hate evil and apply that by removing yourself from all appearances of evil and we battle evil forces as Paul explains in Ephesians 6.

When believers do not know how to apply God’s word, they lack wisdom. And scripture tells us, in James 1: 5 – 8 KJV

” 5.  If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.
6. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.
7. For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord.
8. A double minded man is unstable in all his ways. ”

Knowledge = Information
Understanding = Comprehension
Wisdom = Application

Until next time.

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Building Blocks Of Life Part 2

Our focus is how do we build a spiritual life and live in this flesh on earth? How do we obtain wisdom and understanding in matters of life? How do we acquire health, wealth  and joy in this world and the world to come?

Because God Almighty is our Creator, we go to God’s word to learn truth. If you believe God’s word or not, God will still make his word come to pass. Just because people don’t believe God is real does not mean God is not real. And just because people do not believe Jesus Christ will one day judge them for what they did on earth, does not mean Jesus will not judge them. That is where wisdom comes in.

God tells us in Proverbs 24:3 – Through wisdom, not by wisdom but through wisdom, a house is built. You have to go through wisdom – through things. And when you go through things, what do you acquire? Experience.

You see, you can tell someone what it is like to loose a job or get your dream job. You can tell someone what it is like to have a baby or loose a baby. You can tell someone what it is like to grow up with two parents or grow up without parents but all you tell the person is information. The person only has your  information.

Another words, the person you share information with only has information aka knowledge of these things. Their knowledge is based on what you speak or say. But they can not fully understand these things or comprehend what it is like until they go through it. And after they go through it, they acquire wisdom of the thing. So when God says through wisdom is a house built, he is telling us not only our body/fleshly house but our house we live in on earth with our family, will go through “things”.

Acquiring wisdom means you will have to go through “things”.  So let’s try to simplify rhis. If you take out a piece of paper and at the top left write KNOWLEDGE then move to the top right and write UNDERSTANDING then move down to the center of your paper and in the middle of the page write WISDOM.

God tells us how to acquire all of these knowledge, understanding and wisdom. And these are not only spiritually, but in this world. In our fleshly body. When we go through scripture we find both spiritual applications and earthly applications for just about any topic you could ask God about.

So let us set this up. There is a three step process to implement. On your paper you wrote KNOWLEDGE. What is knowledge? Knowledge is information. You acquire knowledge by getting information. So next to the word KNOWLEDGE write INFORMATION. It should look something like this – KNOWLEDGE / INFORMATION.

Why do people acquire information? People acquire information because they are seeking knowledge about a specific topic of interest to them. So what does KNOWLEDGE give them? Instructions.

People seek knowledge to obtain information about a specific topic they have an interest in. That information instructs people about all facets of that particular topic. Just like driving a vehicle. People seek knowledge / information on what they need to do to drive a vehicle.

Knowledge / Information is available to everyone. All of mankind. Man selects the information or knowledge he seeks then learns about that specific topic. So the person who chooses to spend their whole life on learning how to succeed in this world and obtain wealth and power and nothing about God or his spirit man, God calls a fool.

Luke 12:17 – 21 KJV  ” And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits?
18. And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods.
19. And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry.
20. But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided?
21. So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God. ”

Matthew 16 :26 KJV   ” For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? ”

James 4: 13, 14 KJV ” Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain:
14. Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.”

When people seek knowledge/information they must always look at the source of the information and ask, what is the motive and message of this information. Recently we have experienced fake news or information with a spin added to sway readers. So ask yourself, what is the theme of this information. Is it knocking or pulling people down? Is it humiliating to some one? Is it trying to get me angry and upset? Then ask if the information is promoting strife and devision? Is the information grounded in truth, honesty, righteousness and godliness? If not, you know you have to throw it out.

So let us build our life on the foundation of God’s word so we have a good life filled with wisdom. Next time, we will look at Step 2 Lord willing.

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Building Blocks Of Life

For years I tried to understand how to apply God’s word. People today mock believers for following scripture sometimes. Believers know the scriptures are a living book because the scriptures change the lives of mankind.

So when I looked at God telling us to get “wisdom” I searched and searched God’s word for HIS definition of wisdom.

Proverbs 4:7 KJV  ” Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding.”

How would you define wisdom? If wisdom is the principal thing, what is wisdom? God tells us, wisdom is key. And keys unlock things. So if we can understand what wisdom is, then we can have things in God’s word unlock.

When I saw wisdom is defined by God in Job 28:28 – ” And unto man he said, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding. ”

I thought, well what is the fear of the Lord? Are we suppose to fear and be afraid of God? Then I found where God defined what the fear of the Lord is in his word. Proverbs 8:13 KJV says,

“The fear of the LORD is to hate evil: pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the froward mouth, do I hate.”

So when I looked at wisdom, I found God defines wisdom as the fear of the Lord. And the fear of the Lord is to hate evil. Okay. But then I found Proverbs 1:7 KJV  ” The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.”

The “fear of the Lord” ( hating evil ) is only the beginning of wisdom and the beginning of knowledge. That means there is more to this thing called wisdom and understanding and knowledge plus there is instruction available in all three keys.

The Building Blocks Of Life posts will show you, from scripture, how so many people miss the real understanding of wisdom, understanding and knowledge. I hope your ears and eyes are opened to a marvelous teaching from God’s word and this series explains many questions for you. This is definitely “meat” and not “milk” from the word of God. We will delve into The Building Blocks Of Life more, next time. Until next time.

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Revelation Overview Intro

What is the purpose of the book of Revelation? God wants to show his servants, not the world, not unbelievers, but his people, things coming to pass in the future. Revelation 1:1 tells us this. So why don’t believers study this book and teach this book more?

The usual excuses include:
I don’t understand the book.
The book scares me.
What do the symbols mean?
If I teach the book my congregation will leave.
I don’t want to scare people about hell or the lake of fire.
Satan is not real.

There are other excuses. It is not that knowledge is everything but it is a key. Once you have the key, you have to use the key to unlock “things” of God. Unlock God’s word. You can have a lot of knowledge but if it sits dormant it is, you are, nothing more than a library, a storage container.

You can have a car and you have knowledge that you must put oil in the car. But if you never put the oil in the car, you can not use the car. The same with baking a cake. You can have all the ingredients to make the cake but if you have knowledge of what ingredients you need and let them sit on the counter, the cake will not be baked. Whose fault is it then, for not being able to have the car work? Whose fault is it for not having the cake baked? Do you blame God? No. The fault lands on you for not putting the information to work.

God tells us his people, not unbelievers, but his people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.

Hosea 4:6 KJV  ” My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children.”

Granted, in context God is speaking about Israel. But when believers do not understand God or what God says or we lack knowledge, we destroy ourselves. How? We don’t know or understand how God works in and through us. We don’t understand how to change our life. It is kind of like the Disney movie, It’s A Bug’s Life. Once Flick and the others realized they had the power over the enemy grasshoppers, the ants seized their power and changed their life with knowledge.

Religious teachers and organizations often want to lead you in to their doctrine. They impose their doctrine on people and sometimes twist scripture to say what they believe.  Some religions even make their own Bible. When you read a Catholic bible, it does not read anything like the Geneva or King James bibles. Jesus addressed this in Luke.

Luke 11:49-52 KJV  ” Therefore also said the wisdom of God, I will send them prophets and apostles, and some of them they shall slay and persecute:
[50] That the blood of all the prophets, which was shed from the foundation of the world, may be required of this generation;
[51] From the blood of Abel unto the blood of Zacharias, which perished between the altar and the temple: verily I say unto you, It shall be required of this generation.
[52] Woe unto you, lawyers! for ye have taken away the key of knowledge: ye entered not in yourselves, and them that were entering in ye hindered.”

Instead of believers investigating the truth to get knowledge from God, they stay in their denomination’s teaching. Which means they never look for true knowledge from God.

I admit, there are some things that are hard to understand in God’s word. But if we deligently seek God, not man, to understand him and what he says, he will answer.

We just completed a study through the book of Revelation. We provided a quiz after each chapter. The quiz is based on information within the chapter. We purposely did not explain everything in each chapter and we did not impose our views. Why? God the Holy Spirit’s job is to guide us into all truth.

Now we will do a Revelation Overview. Not to impose our view but to point out specific “things” within the book. Why? Because God clearly gives us a time line in Revelation. Why does that matter? The time line creates a truth detector with knowledge. Why is this important? Because when you see or hear of an event, through your knowledge of Revelation and God’s timeline, you can determine if someone is leading you down the wrong road. Then you must act on that knowledge or you can be led to the slaughter, so to say.

We will start our overview and timeline next time. Until next time.

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Knowledge Or Revelation Changes Your Life?

Is it knowledge or revelation that changes lives?  What is knowledge? What is revelation? Looking at the root word from each of those words, we could say, knowledge is knowing something and revelation is a revealing of something. So which of the two changes lives more? Knowing? Or revealing?

Scripture says, Hosea 4:6 KJV  “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children.”

God says, his people, not strangers, but his people are destroyed for a lack of knowledge. Knowledge is available to people from books and from teachers or people. Knowledge is also available from God and his book, the scriptures.

Jesus said the religious people, Pharisees, lawyers – they knew the laws of God, they took away the key of knowledge in Luke 11:49-52. Why did Jesus say that to the Pharisees? Remember,  in Malachi 2:7 God tells us the priests are messengers of God.

Malachi 2:7 KJV  “For the priest’s lips should keep knowledge, and they should seek the law at his mouth: for he is the messenger of the Lord of hosts.”

Who ordered Jesus to be crucified? Pharisees. So the Pharisees took away the key of knowledge just as scripture says they would. We know Jesus is the key of knowledge because Isaiah told us in Isaiah 11:1-2 KJV  “And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots:
[2] And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord ;”

Look at Colossians 2:1-3 KJV  “For I would that ye knew what great conflict I have for you, and for them at Laodicea, and for as many as have not seen my face in the flesh;
[2] That their hearts might be comforted, being knit together in love, and unto all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the acknowledgement of the mystery of God, and of the Father, and of Christ;
[3] In whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.”

And – Colossians 2:8-9 KJV  ” Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.
[9] For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.”

So why did the Pharisees take away the key to knowledge? John’s gospel tells us in John 9:28 KJV  “Then they reviled him, and said, Thou art his disciple; but we are Moses’ disciples.”

If you read the whole context here John 9:13-31 the Pharisees were upset with Jesus because he healed a man on the Sabbath. The Pharisees went by Moses’ law and claimed to be disciples of Moses. But Moses came after Abraham. The Pharisees were not following God and God’s word, they were following Moses. Moses was a man in the flesh and they turned Moses into a type of god and cared more about Moses and the law than about God and his word.

Knowledge is a head thing, a soul attribute. We obtain knowledge in our mind. Our mind is part of our soul.

So again I ask, is it knowledge or revelation that changes lives? To reveal in our context is to make known. You can reveal what is behind a curtain or in a package but that is not revelation. Revelation is a spirit matter. Need an example?

Let’s say you met a person you really liked a lot. After dating the person for a year or so, everything in your mind says this is the right person. You weigh the pros and cons of marrying them. You look at all the evidence they have given you. So you get married. Then 6 months into the marriage it is revealed to you, that person is a wife beater or she is not faithful to you or he wants you to support him or she nags all the time now.

During dating you obtain knowledge but after marriage you have revelation. What changes your life more? The knowledge or the revelation?

Revelation is to make known from God. Revelation is given to us by the Holy Spirit. Revelation is a spirit matter. God reveals things to us by the Holy Spirit who is our teacher.

Ephesians 3:3-9 KJV ” How that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery; (as I wrote afore in few words,
[4] Whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ)
[5] Which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit;
[6] That the Gentiles should be fellowheirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel:
[7] Whereof I was made a minister, according to the gift of the grace of God given unto me by the effectual working of his power.
[8] Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ;
[9] And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ:”

2 Corinthians 12:1 KJV  ” It is not expedient for me doubtless to glory. I will come to visions and revelations of the Lord.”

Knowledge is information but revelation is understanding the application of that knowledge. And if the information or knowledge is based on the flesh or things in this world, of the flesh you will reap. Why? Because knowledge is a mind thing, a soul attribute. Where revelation is a spirit matter. So revelation changes your life more than knowledge.

When it comes to God and his word, can you think of 3 or 5 things God has given you revelation on? Things God has revealed to you about him that has really changed your life?

I was not raised in a believing family. None of us knew much about God. So for me – the revelation of knowing I could know 100% for sure I would go to heaven was the first revelation. So I got saved.

Two would be God revealing,  through revelation the spirit, soul and body principles. That really changed my life as a believer.

Three would be the renewing of our mind and how we can control our thoughts.

Four would be there is power in God’s word. By speaking out loud God’s word. I will never forget the day I asked God how do we fight things we can not see. I was referring to Ephesians 6:12 KJV
  ” For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.”

I heard the Lord say, Do what Jesus did. I knew to look at Matthew 4 when Satan tempted Jesus in the wilderness. How did Jesus handle the attacks? Quoting scripture. So speaking God’s word, out loud, has power.

Can you list revelations God has given you that changed your life? Until next time.

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Mind – The Connection To Knowledge

Daniel 12:4 KJV  “But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.”

Knowledge will increase at the time of the end. We say last days or end times, knowledge will increase. Many shall run to and fro. Shall means it will happen but it hasn’t happened yet. Put yourself in Daniel’s shoes. God tells you, many shall run to and fro, what would you think? People running around on their feet?

I believe God was referring to transportation. If you sit back and look at the movement of the people in the world today, 2017, it looks like people are running to and fro, catching flights, trains, buses, traveling in cars, boats, airplanes. Daniel knew only foot transportation and horse or camel as a means of transportation.

Sure people experimented and invented means of transportation, but it was at the turn of the 20th century when knowledge increased. Knowledge exploded. For thousands of years man walked or rode a horse or camel. Could you image some of the snowflakes today using a horse for their transportation?

We have seen the steam engine for trains, to automobiles, speed boats, airplanes, rockets, hovercrafts and now, flying cars. And all within a short 110 years. Compared to the last 6000 years, one can not deny, knowledge has increased just as God said it would. But where did that boom in knowledge come from? And why now? Were the people of the 20th century smarter than their predecessors? Were the 20th century people more imaginative? More creative? I think not. Then look at robots, computers, smart cars, smart appliances, the Internet. Today it is called IoT,  Internet of Things.

You see, God teaches man knowledge.
Psalm 94:9-10 KJV  “He that planted the ear, shall he not hear? he that formed the eye, shall he not see?
[10] He that chastiseth the heathen, shall not he correct? he that teacheth man knowledge, shall not he know?”

Scripture also says there is a spirit of knowledge. Remember,  there is the physical world and the spiritual world. And in Isaiah 11:1-5 KJV  “And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots:
[2] And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord ;”

Knowledge is a head thing. Another words, a soul attribute. Knowledge is information you decipher in your mind. Then you decide if you believe the information and then act on the information. 

So why does knowledge increase in the last days? Why didn’t God give knowledge before? He did but in the last days, God gave a lot of knowledge and not just for matters of life in this world, but also in understanding of passages in the scripture. Spiritual knowledge.

But, knowledge can have a problem. Just like in the days of Babel. 1 Corinthians 8:1-3 KJV  “Now as touching things offered unto idols, we know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge puffeth up, but charity edifieth.
[2] And if any man think that he knoweth any thing, he knoweth nothing yet as he ought to know.
[3] But if any man love God, the same is known of him.”

People begin to trust knowledge over God not realizing, it was God who gave them the knowledge. People start thinking they are smarter than God or they can work the matter out themselves. Then they start turning away from God in pursuit of knowledge. Remember,  Solomon was the wisest man who ever lived. Solomon had wisdom and knowledge, 2 Chronicles 1. And in the end, he turned away from God.

Paul says, knowledge puffeth up in 1 Corinthians 8:1. He also says, knowledge will vanish away in the same book chapter 13:8.

I saw an example of God giving a believer knowledge. Towards the end of Paul Crouch’s life, he explained how TBN (Trinity Broadcasting Network) got into satellite tv. Paul said he was talking to God about the small tv station he started and Paul explained he heard one word from God, satellite.

When you think of the transmitters and receivers and some of the first electronics having tubes and then look at the integrated circuits of today, aka IC chips, and satellite technology,  I could only imagine what Daniel or John must have thought. Trying to describe something years in the future (the 20th & 21st century) in 70AD terminology. Before those things were ever invented.

And how God gives believers today, understanding of the terms Daniel and John used is amazing. Knowledge can be a good thing but when people start believing the knowledge more than the Creator who gave that knowledge, they are treading on dangerous ground.

Knowledge is a “mind thing”. A soul attribute. Knowledge will show you good and evil, death and life and it all starts in your mind first. Until next time.

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Good vs Evil – Paul Explains Deception

Did you ever ask yourself, what is deception? Have you ever been deceived? Deception does not need to be extreme to be deception. Deception is the act of misleading or cheating. Even “little white lies” are considered deception. Deception has a purpose, to mislead, cheat or trick someone into believing something or part of something to be true when it is not true. And deception is a willful, deliberate action by someone with the intention to mislead another person, to promote a lie.

If deception is deliberate, and it is, how are people deceived? What methods are used to deceive people? And how do people determine if there is deception?

Deception is determined in the mind. You can see things or hear things and even touch things you believe to be one thing just to find out you were wrong. But the decision to determine if you are being deceived happens in your mind, your soul. I could blindfold you and play sounds asking you to identify the sound. You process the sound in your mind, your thoughts and reasoning.

You could even see things that you perceive and understand to be one thing just to find out later, what you saw was a deception. Transgenders come to mind. Someone may look like a man or woman but they are not. Check their pants. And even now some are trying to change their body parts but they will still be the gender God created them, only now they have altered their parts.

Deception has to do with the mind and it is not so much a wrong thought, even though it is a wrong thought, but it is a camouflaged thought. Another words, you can not see clearly the thought. So deception is based in ignorance, a lack of knowledge.

Hosea 4:6 KJV  “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children.”

So people, believers and unbelievers, are not deceived up to the knowledge they have, and whatever they have no knowledge of, makes them ignorant in those areas and open to deception. Examples: The law – if you have no knowledge of the law and how the law works you are ignorant in areas of the law and are therefore open to deception in legal matters.

Politics – if you do not know and understand the political realm and how politics work, you are ignorant in politics and open to deception in politics. So is it in the spiritual realm.

If you do not have knowledge and understand how Satan works, you do not know his tricks, then you are ignorant in how Satan works and you are susceptible to being deceived, tricked. 2 Corinthians 2:11 KJV  “Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices.”

Because we process information in our mind using our thoughts and reasoning and the information provided, we use a guide, the scriprures. And God warns us about deception many times in scripture.

Ephesians 5:6 KJV  “Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience.”

1 Corinthians 6:9 KJV  “Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind,”

1 Corinthians 15:33 KJV  “Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners.”

2 Thessalonians 2:3 KJV  “Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come , except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;”

When Paul was explaining the things of God to believers at Corinth Paul told them the following –

1 Corinthians 1:4-8 KJV  “I thank my God always on your behalf, for the grace of God which is given you by Jesus Christ;
[5] That in every thing ye are enriched by him, in all utterance, and in all knowledge;
[6] Even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you:
[7] So that ye come behind in no gift; waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ:
[8] Who shall also confirm you unto the end, that ye may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

The word enriched means made rich or wealthy; fertilized; supplied with that which is desirable. Paul was telling believers we are made rich and wealthy in everything by God. How? In utterance – words you speak in knowledge. Why? That we come behind in no gift.

Paul explains right away to the believers, it is about the words we speak. And our words are based on scripture. So one single contradiction in what we hear is sufficient to reveal a lying spirit is at work. And if you miss the contradiction, or have no knowledge of the subject matter, or you ignore the contradiction, you are open to deception.

There is an old saying that says you can have a perfectly good cup of coffee and that will not hurt you. But add a drop or two of poison into that coffee and it will kill you. You can hear 90% truth from someone and 10% lies. If you ignore the 10% lies, you open yourself to deception. And we will pick this up again next time. Until next time.

This Is It

As a child, I was afraid of the dark. When I was a teenager, I would have a night light. Then when I would travel in the music industry, I would sleep with the bathroom light on at motels. My home had lights on in every room and still does. It is not that I thought a boogy man would get me, I just do not like the dark. There is always a contrast of darkness and light. But I never understood what darkness is before.

Darkness in scripture is tied to a lack of knowledge, ignorance or wrong thinking. By definition darkness is defined as the adsence of light. The state of intellectually clouded, can’t think straight. The state which renders anything difficult to be understood. And darkness is Satan’s Empire Colossians 1:13 KJV  “Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:”

When someone says the word darkness we often think night time or no lights but by definition the word means a lack of knowledge, ignorance, wrong thinking. And Satan lives in and dwells in that realm. So how does this work in our life?

Think back to what you were taught about life, about God and about heaven when you were a child. These first teachings are like first truths to you. Another words, these teachings were first taught to you as a child and you believed them as truths. So if you grow up in a family that teaches certain religious teachings, these teachings are your first truths. And these first truths are the most difficult to get rid of if they are not based in scripture.

If the religious teaching is not in scripture, but you believe the religious teaching, you are in darkness according to God’s word, on that issue. Another words, for that issue you lack knowledge, or you are ignorant, or you have the wrong information. Remember when Paul said 1 Timothy 1:13 KJV
” Who was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious: but I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief.” Paul was saying he was in darkness when he was persecuting believers. So yes, ignorance is darkness. That means if ignorant about something your understanding is clouded and you don’t see the matter or issue God’s way. And when you are in darkness on a matter, you are in Satan’s empire on that matter because you lack the knowledge of God on that matter. Scripture says, Hosea 4:6 KJV
  “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children.”

So when God is trying to tell you something and you turn God off or don’t listen, you are rejecting a clear understanding and knowledge about the matter. And when you do not listen, you start to deteriorate in that area. Need an example? You listen to God about faith, about prayer, about good business practices but when the pastor teaches on finances, you turn him off. You do not look up the scriptures on money and you dismiss the teaching of God. You later find your life okay, you are a great person, you are a forgiving person, you have faith and a prayer life but you are broke.

Whatever area you refuse to listen to God in will start to die because of your lack of knowledge in God’s word and God’s teachings. And God’s people are destroyed because of a lack of knowledge.

Darkness don’t forget is defined as a lack of knowledge. It is not understanding or being able to understand a matter. And remember, Satan rebelled against God and one third of the angels went with Satan. That means Satan was able to get one third of the angels in heaven to think like Satan thinks. So Jude 1:6 KJV
  “And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day.” Notice they are under darkness?

And notice where believers battles are in Ephesians? Ephesians 6:12 KJV
  “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places .”

These powers and rulers are over the darkness of this world. What is darkness again? Intellectually clouded state, they can not think straight. The state which renders anything hard to be understood. Plainly, the rulers of wickedness, including Satan, deliberately cloud your thinking. They make things difficult to understand and their kingdom is darkness, confusion, lack of understanding, lack of true knowledge.

So Satan trafficks in what you do not know and what you do not understand. And he tries to confuse you. Remember,  1 Corinthians 14:33 KJV  “For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints.”

So if Satan trafficks in what you do not know, what you do not understand or what you have wrongly learned, then as a man thinketh in his heart, so is he. Proverbs 23:7 KJV  “For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he: Eat and drink, saith he to thee; but his heart is not with thee.”

The enemy can not overcome you, he can not hurt you and he can not have dominion over you if you are a truly saved believer. All the enemy can do is try to convince you to agree with the way he thinks, keeping you in darkness on that issue.

You overcome the enemy with the truth, with light. You see Jesus is Light.
John 1:4-9 KJV  “In him was life; and the life was the light of men.
[5] And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.
[6] There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.
[7] The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe.
[8] He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light.
[9] That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.”

And God tells us, John 1:1 KJV
  “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”

And what lights our path and gives us light so we are not in ignorance, in darkness? Psalm 119:105 KJV
  “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.”

When you have a question about something in life or about death, you have to go to God’s word and speak God’s word because that is truth. Satan will try to confuse you and keep you in darkness over the matter but fight back with God’s word and faith and you will see God deliver you from the darkness on that issue into his marvellous light. It may take a day, a week, a year but keep fighting back with God’s word. What do you think “battle” means? It is a fight.  And friends, we have to hide the word of God in our heart.

Proverbs 2:1-6 KJV  “My son, if thou wilt receive my words, and hide my commandments with thee;
[2] So that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom, and apply thine heart to understanding;
[3] Yea, if thou criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding;
[4] If thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures;
[5] Then shalt thou understand the fear of the Lord , and find the knowledge of God.
[6] For the Lord giveth wisdom: out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding.”

This is it, your answer to all your problems in life. Look the matter up in God’s word using a concordance. Write the verses down on paper. Pray over the matter and start quoting out loud God’s word, every day, believing deep in your heart what God says. And watch God help you. It may take a day, a week, a year but fight the good fight of faith.

Until next time.

Hiding Secrets?

Do you enjoy daytime and night time? Each has their own beauty and we can’t have the one without the other, here on earth. Just because we don’t understand why God does things the way he does, does not mean God does not have a purpose for things.

When we see God mentions two specific trees he put in the Garden of Eden, the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, we have to believe God had a reason to put those trees in the garden.

We also know God does not tempt us with evil which tells us God did not put the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in the garden to tempt Adam and Eve with evil. So God had a reason why he put that tree there. Just because we do not know his reason does not mean he did not have a reason.

The tree looked nice, had good looking fruit and it looked desireable. But the tree had something hidden that could not be seen. Sure, there are a lot of messages that could be taught from this. How when we are considering a new job, or a mate, or moving or a career change, we see what others want to show us but the hidden things they hide.

Then you move, or take that new job or marry that person just to later find out they lied to you or they finally revealed the things they were hiding. And then you realize, it is too late. Too late to stop or change your mind.

But the interesting thing about the tree of the knowledge of good and evil is the secret of the tree. What was the secret?

Genesis 2:16-17 KJV “And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat:
[17] But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.”

Genesis 3:6 KJV  “And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.”

Clearly, the tree would give them knowledge. Eve thought the tree would make her wise. So she took of the tree and gave some to Adam. Sure the tree looked good but the desire to know something they did not know appears to be their motive.

Today, people are on the same quest. They want to know about the unknown. They try to explain away creation. They spend billions of dollars trying to figure things out. When it comes to life in this world, learning and creating “gadgets” to simplify life is one thing. Or building houses or buildings is one thing. But when man tries to explain things God has hid from man, then man looks like an idiot.

Man tries to genetically modify plants and food supplies. Man tries to clone only to realize they can not make “the breath of life” so they take living cells from living animals to make their clones. Now man is trying to blend machines with man (think of the Borg from Star Trek) and they call it transhumanism.

Sometimes I think God looks down from heaven and laughs at how man tries to explain away things or replace God. If God wanted Adam and Eve to know about good and evil, he would have made them with that knowledge. But God didn’t.

And there are some things God’s word makes very clear, he does not want us involved in evil or wickedness. He does not want us involved in astrology or the spirit world. He has us in the physical world.

So we learn from God’s word there is a spirit world and God explains some things to us in his word. But God chose to hide the knowledge of the spirit realm from us. And frankly, I believe it is because God wants to protect us.

Does it mean the spirit realm does not exist? Oh no. But it does mean God chose to protect us by not revealing everything about that realm.

There are some however,  who will be like Adam and Eve and seek the knowledge but just like eating of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil brought death, eating of the knowledge of the spirit realm brings consequences. I do not need to see or hear spirits physically in this realm to know they are there. But I choose to let God protect me and keep me. I choose for the Lord to reveal things to me when he knows I am ready and can handle it.

As we seek God for guidance and direction in this world and to manifest lies from people, companies and even governments let us trust God to reveal things to us in his time, not ours. Until next time.

Tree Of The _________ Of

People often picture the tree Eve took from as an apple tree. But scripture explains it was not an apple tree. It was a tree of knowledge.  Is knowledge an attribute of the body? No. Is knowledge an attribute of the spirit?  No. Knowledge is an attribute of the soul. Knowledge has to do with the mind.

When Adam and Eve took of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, it would affect their mind, their soul. So in essence, Adam and Eve lost the mind God gave them. And ever since, all mankind has lost their mind. That is why we are told when we get saved to start renewing our mind.

Colossians 3:10 KJV  “And have put on the new man , which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him:”
Notice the new man is renewed in what? Knowledge.  And in Ephesians 4:23 KJV “And be renewed in the spirit of your mind;”

Look at Romans 12:2 KJV  “And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”

How does transformation come to us as believers? By renewing our mind. And when we renew our mind we are able to prove what God’s good, acceptable and perfect will is. How do we renew our mind? By the word of God.

You see Adam, through his disobedience to God and disobedience to God’s word (do not touch this tree) by taking of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil subjected everything to chaos, disorder and disfunction, even all of creation. So with this chaos and disorder came pain. Pain for mankind and creation. That is what Paul explains in Romans 8. Now we have “natural disasters”, things that God never intended.

Romans 8:14-23 KJV  “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.
[15] For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.
[16] The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:
[17] And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him , that we may be also glorified together.
[18] For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.
[19] For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God.
[20] For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope,
[21] Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.
[22] For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now.
[23] And not only they , but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit , the redemption of our body.”

The above text is loaded with meat of God’s word. We see the “sons of God” is not an angel “thing” as some teach, but it is a position, those led by the Spirit of God. We see the distinction in verses 14 and 19 of Romans 8 but then we see “children of God” in verses 16 and 21. Children are male and female. That is a study in itself, what is the “sons of God“.

But the text also tells us creation groans in pain. And notice the word creature. Creature is what God created, the earth. Paul addresses the “creature” in Romans 1:25 where he says people worship the “creature” and they serve the creature more than the Creator. Those that worship and serve the environment or what they call “mother earth” and even celebrate a day worshipping the earth with earth day in April.

So knowledge is a mind attribute which is part of the soul. Remember,  it is the soul that goes to heaven or hell.

But notice Romans 8:19? The earth has expectation waiting for the manifestation of the sons of God.

Romans 8:19-21 KJV  “For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God.
[20] For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope,
[21] Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.”

Remember back in Genesis 3:17 – 19 God cursed on the ground.

So when Adam and Eve took of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, they messed up their mind. That messing up of their mind also affected their soul, their mind, will and emotions. Now the earth groans and the people don’t think straight unless they are “born again” and renew their mind.

It is no secret, Satan attacked the mind and thoughts in the garden of Eden and he was successful and he still attacks the minds and thoughts of the lost and the saved today. Renew your mind daily with the word of God.

Until next time.