ignorant

October 28, 2021

“I Was So Foolish and Ignorant…”

22  I was so foolish and ignorant—    I must have seemed like a senseless animal to you. — Psalm 73:22 

Psalm 73:22-28 NLT

Have you ever wondered if God thinks about us in these terms?  I am sure that satan, the old deceiver, would like for us to believe that He does.  If we have ever had these kinds of thoughts, we should be like the Psalmist here. In his very next breath (or verse in this case), he immediately gets his head on straight by remembering what has happened in every instance in the past. The Psalmist realizes that he is speaking from a bitter heart and he has been questioning God’s wisdom.  God never leaves us nor forsakes us nor does He cast us from His presence.  Instead, He reaches down to us and if we reach up to Him, He takes us by the hand and continues to lead us toward our glorious destiny.  The Psalmist remembers that God is our strength, our fortress and our shield.  We allow satan to sneak these silly ideas into our minds when we are focused on the horizontal.   We need to stay focused on the vertical.  That means spending time alone with God, praising and thanking Him for His goodness and His blessings.  If we do this, we can be assured that God will set the rest of the world straight in His own time.

“The Gospel has come to you because it’s on its way to someone else.” – Anonymous

Advertisement
September 12, 2019

“Their Minds Are Full of Darkness”

18 Their minds are full of darkness; they wander far from the life God gives because they have closed their minds and hardened their hearts against him.— Ephesians 4:18 NLT

Ephesians 4:17-24 NLT

Paul is telling us not to live like ignorant and unconverted people do. They have not been regenerated and their minds are full of darkness. They do not walk in the light of the truth of the Gospel. Why? Because they have refused to heed the call of God’s Spirit and have refused to be obedient, so their hearts and minds are closed to any move by the Spirit. Therefore, they live only to satisfy the lusts of the flesh and they participate in all kinds of sinful activity. But we know better. Why? Because we have heard and accepted the Truth. So, we walk according to God’s Spirit. That means that we stop our sinful ways that were corrupted by lust and deception. We are now a new creature and we are guided by the Spirit of God. The real “us” that is carried around in these tents of flesh is being made into God’s image. We look forward to the day when we shall see Jesus. At that time, we will be totally converted into His image. “What a wonderful change in my heart has been wrought’ I’ve been washed by the blood of the Lamb.” Hallelujah and Amen!

Romans 12:1-2 NLT

“The Gospel has come to you because it’s on its way to someone else.” – Anonymous

Post 09-12-2019

August 5, 2016

Keep It Vertical

even-smaller-bug-light1

22  I was so foolish and ignorant—    I must have seemed like a senseless animal to you. — Psalm 73:22
 
Psalm 73:22-28 NLT
 
Have you ever wondered if God thinks about us in these terms?  I am sure that satan, the old deceiver, would like for us to believe that He does.  If we have ever had these kind of thoughts, we should be like the Psalmist here. In his very next breath (or verse in this case), he immediately gets his head on straight by remembering what has happened in every instance in the past. The Psalmist realizes that he is speaking from a bitter heart and he has been questioning God’s wisdom.  God never leaves us nor forsakes us nor does He cast us from His presence.  Instead, He reaches down to us and if we reach up to Him, He takes us by the hand and continues to lead us toward our glorious destiny.  The Psalmist remembers that God is our strength, our fortress and our shield.  We allow satan to sneak these silly ideas into our minds when we are focused on the horizontal.   We need to stay focused on the vertical.  That means spending time alone with God, praising and thanking Him for His goodness and His blessings.  If we do this, we can be assured that God will set the rest of the world straight in His own time.  
Post 08-05-2016
September 18, 2014

Work For The Night is Coming

God is waiting to show you the Way.

God is waiting to show you the Way.

14 Therefore, dear friends, with this to look forward to, make every effort to have him find you at peace, without spiritual stains or blemishes. 15 Think of our Lord’s patience as an opportunity for us to be saved. This is what our dear brother Paul wrote to you about, using the wisdom God gave him. 16 He talks about this subject in all his letters. Some things in his letters are hard to understand. Ignorant people and people who aren’t sure of what they believe distort what Paul says in his letters the same way they distort the rest of the Scriptures. These people will be destroyed. 17 Dear friends, you already know these things. So be on your guard not to be carried away by the deception of people who have no principles. Then you won’t fall from your firm position. 18 But grow in the good will and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Glory belongs to him now and for that eternal day! Amen.—2 Peter 3:14-17 (GW)
​We should​ thank God daily for delaying the return of Jesus. Each day gives us a new opportunity to witness to those in our families, neighborhoods and those that God puts in our path. Each new day is a new opportunity to labor in the fields that “are white with harvest” and bring more sinners to Christ.
19 Brethren, if anyone among you wanders from the truth, and someone turns him back,​ ​20 let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save a soul​ ​from death and cover a multitude of sins.–James 5:19, 20 (NKJV)
​To spread​ the Gospel, we need to know the Gospel. So we need to spend more time each day in the Word. Not just reading, but meditating on the Word and asking God to open our eyes to see more of His truth. Then our words and our deeds will bring more glory to Christ Jesus our Savior and Lord. This will fulfill our purpose here on earth, which is to glorify God in all that we do.
Post 09-18-14

June 24, 2014

Don’t Get Involved in Foolish Arguments

God is waiting to show you the way.

God is waiting to show you the way.

23 Again I say, don’t get involved in foolish, ignorant arguments that only start fights. 24 A servant of the Lord must not quarrel but must be kind to everyone, be able to teach, and be patient with difficult people.25 Gently instruct those who oppose the truth. Perhaps God will change those people’s hearts, and they will learn the truth. 26 Then they will come to their senses and escape from the devil’s trap. For they have been held captive by him to do whatever he wants.
—2 Timothy 2:23-26 (NLT)
​God has given us the Holy Spirit to lead us into all truth. When we are first saved and read the Bible, we get a perception of what God wanted us to glean from His Word. As we mature, those perceptions will change, hopefully for the better. Be careful to remember that God has not yet revealed to us all the truth in His Word.
He has given us His complete, inerrant, immutable, eternal Word. That will not change, but our perception of His Word may very well change as we study. Be careful to remember that God has not given any of us a lock on the deeper meanings of each verse. The verses are clear enough to lead us, but not so transparent that one reading will give you the depth that God has put into His Word. He may open up certain passages to one and other passages to others. The one thing we can be sure is this: If we are allowing the Holy Spirit to lead us in our studies, none of the interpretations will cause conflicts in the body of Christ. Everything we receive from the Holy Spirit is designed to give God glory and eventually bring us all to heaven. Don’t waste your time arguing over Scripture, just ask the Holy Spirit for wisdom and God will give it to you liberally.

April 13, 2014

Renewed by God’s Holy Spirit

God is waiting to show you the way.

God is waiting to show you the way.

17 With the Lord’s authority I say this: Live no longer as the Gentiles do, for they are hopelessly confused. 18 Their minds are full of darkness; they wander far from the life God gives because they have closed their minds and hardened their hearts against him. 19 They have no sense of shame. They live for lustful pleasure and eagerly practice every kind of impurity. 20 But that isn’t what you learned about Christ. 21 Since you have heard about Jesus and have learned the truth that comes from him, 22 throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. 23 Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. 24 Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy.–Eph. 4:17-24 (NLT)
​Paul is telling us not to live like ignorant and unconverted people do. They have not been regenerated and their minds are full of darkness. They do not walk in the light of the truth of the Gospel. ​Why? Because they have refused to heed the call of God’s Spirit and have refused to be obedient, so their hearts and minds are closed to any move by the Spirit. Therefore, they live only to satisfy the lusts of the flesh and they participate in all kinds of sinful activity. But we know better. Why? Because we have heard and accepted the Truth. So, we walk according to God’s Spirit. That means that we stop our sinful ways that were corrupted by lust and deception. We are now a new creature and we are guided by the Spirit of God. The real “us” that is carried around in these tents of flesh is being made into God’s image. We look forward to the day when we shall see Jesus. At that time, we will be totally converted into His image. “What a wonderful change in my heart has been wrought’ I’ve been washed by the blood of the Lamb.” Hallelujah and Amen!
Post 04-13-14