Who defines morality? Me? You? Government? Pastors? Philosophy? Theosophy?
A lady stated she was uncomfortable coming to God or being in a church while she had so much anger and hurt in her heart. She was reaching out for help.
How many of us have or have had anger and are hurt? Some of us have done a whole lot worse. I would like to share my findings on this matter. I pray it edifies and helps someone. All praise to The Most High!
So the lady that was uncomfortable coming to God while she actively has an angry and hurt heart....What does Jesus say about her? Jesus said He came for the sick because those that are well are in no need of a physician.
He made this statement when the Pharisees and scribes were inquiring why He was eating with tax collectors and sinners.
You can read the whole account on what Jesus means by this in the gospels (these are the first four books of the New Testament, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John). You will also see that He hangs out with sinners, but doesn't sin with them nor tell them it's good to remain in their sin. Never in the whole bible.
Let's be clear. There is NONE so well they do not need the Physician; that isn't what Jesus was insinuating.
It sort of sounded like sarcasm from Jesus - because He was speaking to the Pharisees that were SELF-righteous. I can imagine the look on Jesus' face when the Pharisees were trying to trip Him up.
They believed they were righteous enough in their own works and obedience to the law to stand before a Holy God. If you are depending on just your works, your morality, or your obedience, you best make sure you haven't broken not one of God's laws in your entire life.
We can't be presentable to stand before a Holy, Perfect, Creator God on our own with only our good works. Can you imagine standing there holding them up to Him like filthy rags? God forbid!
Logically it's not possible and He gives us the Solution to that. Our Creator didn't leave us hanging. He knew we'd sin. Would you rather He made us robots?
𝐃𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐥𝐞𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐬𝐮𝐠𝐚𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐚𝐭 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐬𝐢𝐧 and the effects it has on our lives. Our lives are evidence that God's ways are higher. Look at the world. Let's look in the mirror. There are physical and spiritual consequences to sin.
Jesus taught repentance. Do not be deceived by these liars that only seek man's approval and to tickle your ears. Either they are very deceived themselves or they love not the Truth. Merely performers using God's name in vain.
𝐀 𝐟𝐫𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐥𝐲 𝐚𝐬𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: 𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬𝐧'𝐭 𝐆𝐨𝐝 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐫𝐢𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐥?
If He did, we'd be first on the list to go because we ALL have done evil. It's spiritual logic. Instead, we should be grateful for His grace, mercy, and giving us another day to be here. God allows evil because it's the only way we can exist. It's called freedom. Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap.
(Galatians 6:7)
All of creation is groaning; reaping the effects of sin. The biblical worldview accurately reflects reality. Creation testifies of The Most High.
The good news for the lady that said she felt she couldn't come to God with the anger and hurt that was in her heart:
Come to God as you are with a repentant heart; don't wait for this reason or that reason.
He will deal with your issues as you pray, read His Word, and fellowship with Him and other believers....but you have to come to Him. He will give you a new heart and mind. He stands at the door and knocks, He isn't banging it down. You have a choice. This is not my wisdom, it's God's wisdom.
I've had many conversations with people about coming to Christ and dealing with sin. The thing I come across most is people wanting to justify their sin and remain in it citing grace. I hope to clarify some things here that were made very clear to me. Freely I received, now freely I give, not hiding the Light under a basket but putting it on a lampstand for all! Praise God.
Finally, the topic: Who defines morality?
A while back, I watched a beautiful video by Peter Santenello. The title caught my eye: "The Man With No Legal Identity - Off the Grid in Appalachia". I had no idea I was about to "meet" one of the most beautiful and humble souls on God's earth. The video featured a man named Titus. I highly recommend watching it! It wasn't what I was expecting in a good way!
If you take the time to watch it, pay close attention to what Peter (an indifferent, non-religious man) is saying to Titus at the 52:00 mark. What he says here - let's reallllly think on that.
Peter's moral compass is internally based on his own experiences and perceptions. That's great - until it's not when you think about the billions of different experiences and perceptions there are in the world and varying moral compasses.
Let's really think on why our own moral compass can be and is faulty.
Peter is a great dude that loves all people. But what about the moral compass of people that are not so great and do not love people?
It's spiritual logic.
The bible holds us ALL to the same standard. A foundational standard that convicts us all - there are none righteous. The word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart (Hebrews 4:12).
If convictions come from ourselves/man (secular), those convictions will be different for each individual. How does that work out for everyone? It's chaos. Again, it's spiritual logic! Awaken O Sleeper! The world offers chaos and division.
𝐃𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐧 𝐰𝐞 𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐥𝐚𝐰𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐜𝐞 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐯𝐞 𝐆𝐨𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐟𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰 𝐇𝐢𝐬 𝐥𝐚𝐰? 𝑨 𝑩𝑰𝑮 𝑵𝑶!
No....we share the truth and pray for heart transplants to be had and the results will be self evident of the Holy Spirit at work. We keep working on our own walk. We keeping loving God and others.
More on that here:
God defines morality for mankind. The One that created us.
We give much grace as we are given much grace every single day. But I won't compromise on what God says. I will always tell you the truth and I expect anyone who loves me to do the same to me.
If you love someone, you tell them the truth. I wouldn't want anyone glossing over the sin in my life. Anyone that does, is no friend of mine.
Man is truly without excuse; rejecting the groundwork He laid to live our lives, choosing ourselves and our own knowledge, lusts, and desires...our way results in spiritual and physical death.
The results of us trying to do this thing apart from the wisdom and instruction of God is evident throughout history and in our own lives.
That's your 𝒆𝒗𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆 that 𝐇𝐢𝐬 𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐡𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐞𝐫.
History merely repeats itself. It has all been done before. Nothing under the sun is truly new. We just don't learn! Grateful for The Most High's grace and mercy and for every single additional day and breath He gives us.
Ecclesiastes 1:9
Repent and believe 🖤
Have you been thinking all along that we have been defending ourselves to you? It is in the sight of God that we have been speaking in Christ, and all for your upbuilding, beloved.
I speak the truth in Christ; I am not lying, as confirmed by my conscience in the Holy Spirit.
For we are not like so many others, who peddle the word of God for profit. On the contrary, in Christ we speak before God with sincerity, as men sent from God.
2 Corinthians 12, Romans 9, Romans 15, 2 Corinthians 2
For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?
Matthew 16:26
The promise in the old covenant is for and fulfilled in the new. Christ is the promise fulfilled, it has always been by faith, and in the new covenant, its no different. Christ only has one body and its made up of those who have faith in Him.
𝐉𝐞𝐬𝐮𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐞𝐧𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡! 𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐢𝐟 𝐇𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐞.
Grace in the Old Testament? Yes. There's TONS of it.
What happened in the 'OT' was the direct result of man being disobedient and being wise in their own eyes.
𝐇𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐘𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐝𝐚𝐲, 𝐓𝐨𝐝𝐚𝐲, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐅𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫.
There is no “God of the Old Testament” or “Jesus of the New Testament”. He is the same.
There is a new covenant through Christ Jesus, praise God. But that is a whole other topic. We must be able to defend our faith and the Word of God; so here I go. Lord help me.
Jesus left us with the Holy Spirit because man has been polluting the Gospel since forever. I believe if Jesus were here today, He'd be flipping some tables over all the 𝐝𝐢𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐞, 𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐝, 𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐝, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐨𝐭𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐬 (𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐧'𝐭 𝐒𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐩𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞) that have caused mass confusion. One bible, but so many prophets with different interpretations.
Strong delusion if you will. It won't get any better as time goes on, either, sad to say. So YES. I am well aware of these deceptions.
𝐉𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐢𝐭'𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐞, 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐧 𝐆𝐨𝐝 "𝐬𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐭, 𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐨𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐭, 𝐨𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐧". 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧...
The bible is not whitewashed history.
Again, God did not make us robots; he gave us free will. So...yeah. We have been messing up and we will continue to mess up. Don't blame God when that happens. His will will be done. People always ask why God doesn't punish evil. He has and he will. And it isn't pretty. I praise God for His grace and mercy on ME!
In the Old Testament, many things happened to preserve the genealogy for our Messiah to come and for prophecy to be fulfilled. Sometimes that meant God had to clean up some of our huge messes we made in the past - and sometimes the clean up was brutal. He is still doing it today because HIS PLAN will go forth. There is no "mean God of the Old Testament". Only man attempting be wise in their own eyes.
There are so many times in biblical history where The Most High fought literal battles for His people when they were living in His will.
All they had to do was be obedient to His instruction and He took care of the battle 100%.
He's still doing it.
He is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. He's always been the God of grace searching the hearts of His people, knowing who is truly His.
𝐒𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐮𝐬 𝐦𝐚𝐲 𝐛𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧 𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐝, 𝐛𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐝𝐲 𝐛𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐝𝐮𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐢𝐜𝐞𝐬, our own "morality". 𝐁𝐲 𝐛𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐢𝐬𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐞𝐲𝐞𝐬. 𝐈𝐭'𝐬 𝐚 𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐞 𝐚𝐬 𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞.
In closing, if you desire to come to God, we have direct access through Jesus.
Test all things; hold fast what is good. Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. Some are always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the Truth.
That includes posts and comments on my page, other groups, or anywhere else you hear and see opinions on the Word of God. Test all people, "prophets", groups, conferences, movements, etc. You are not paranoid, beloved. You are testing as instructed by God! The strong delusion is strong.
Don't get caught up in signs and wonders leading to a false light and a false Jesus! Bible Reading: 1 Thessalonians 5, 2 Timothy 2, 2 Timothy 3
Also, a way to test the spirits:
Do they teach what Christ taught? Do they cherry pick scripture? I repeat: Don't let any flesh bag sugar coat yours and my sin. Jesus taught repentance. Do not be deceived by these liars that only seek man's approval and to tickle your ears. Either they are very deceived themselves or they love not the Truth.
If you are like me, you have further questions after reading this.
Like who defined morality before the written word? I love asking questions and digging for the answers. Logic tells me after reviewing everything presented here that God made us in His image. He gave us a heart, mind, and conscience.
This is where genealogy is important because all Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, reproof, correction, and instruction, to document the genealogy of the prophesied Christ, and to document God's redemptive plan for all mankind...the One that would crush/bruise the serpent's head (Genesis 3:15). Our introduction to the Gospel is in Genesis.
From Adam to Noah, there was someone alive that walked with God (this is where their age and genealogy mattered...Adam, Noah, and Enoch). It's safe to assume they shared with their families their faith in God and in His instruction and they shared to their families. I can imagine Adam telling people, “Do NOT sin against God. There is a price to pay!”
Even in Genesis 4 it says men began calling on the name of the Lord.
What I'm getting at is faith and walking in His instruction has always been the way to the Father's heart from the beginning no matter How God presented Himself to people in the past (whether a burning bush or in the flesh). Dare I say, even in the present at the risk of sounding gnostic, God presents Himself to people in different ways. Men have complicated the simplicity of Christ (God) for far too long.
"....I am the LORD, I do not change...."
Malachi 3:6
I remind myself it's ok to ask God questions.
But....I know it's not ok to question the word of God or to change it. There's a difference between questioning what God said and asking God a question. That was what happened in the beginning; the enemy caused woman to question God and then add to what He said, ultimately leading to them eating of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. (Genesis 3)
God in His mercy took them out of the Garden before they could get their hands on the tree of Life - God forbid they become as the gods, living eternally in their fallen state separated from God. That is mercy and grace even in the beginning.
Praying about much, these days. We are in a time of great revelation and a time of strong delusion. Seems we are in some kind of transition period and I'd like to find myself on the right side of it. God's side. Praying He leads us all as we seek His face and His will.
𝐈 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐨𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐟𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐠𝐨𝐨𝐝.
𝐏𝐬𝐚𝐥𝐦 𝟑𝟒:𝟖, 𝐉𝐨𝐡𝐧 𝟏𝟒:𝟔 (Truth has a name)
𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐲 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐛𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐭? https://www.openbible.info/topics/being_led_by_the_spirit
𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐲 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭?
https://www.openbible.info/topics/following_your_heart
𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐲 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟?
https://www.openbible.info/topics/loving_yourself
𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐁𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐅𝐨𝐫 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐢𝐧𝐝:
https://www.wiseandgentle.com/post/the-battle-for-the-mind
If you seek Him, you will find Him, when you search for Him with your whole heart.
Jeremiah 29:13
The Reliability of the Bible & Did Jesus Exist?