Showing posts with label mirror. Show all posts
Showing posts with label mirror. Show all posts

Friday, August 7, 2026

Observing Yourself in the Mirror

 

James 1:16 Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren.17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning. 18  Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth, that we might be a kind of first-fruits of His creatures. 19 So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath;  20 for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God. 21 Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. 22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. 23  For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; 24 for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. 25 But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.

We celebrated last month as Americans looking on the July 4th as the birthday of this nation. Yet the parchment copy of the Declaration of Independence that is displayed in the National Archives was not signed that day. On July 4, 1776, Congress approved the final text. The engrossed document we recognize today was prepared afterward, and on August 2, 1776, most of the delegates present officially endorsed it.

What stands out to me is all those who signed it and what they pledged!  We know that John Hancock signed first with his famous large signature. Others followed, formally committing themselves to the closing words of the document: “And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.”

How many would do that today? “And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.”

Protection of the divine Providence who is God that we would mutually pledge to each other our lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.”

Many people today want your image changed to fit their image and not God’s!

God wanted us made in His image, not in man’s image! What parts you are born with, that is who you are. God does not mistakes!

Genesis 1:26-28 NKJV Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, & over the cattle, over all the earth & over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” 27 So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male & female He created them. 28 Then God blessed them and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth & subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, & over every living thing that moves on the earth.”

1.            Let US make man in our Image: God-Logos(Jesus) –Spirit (Holy)

2.            Father, Son Jesus Christ, Holy Spirit

3.            In the image of God he created him (Adam) ------Male and Female, He created them

4.            Not apart, not separate, but together as a couple in marriage, God sees the him He created ---Male and Female, He created them under the name Man

In Every Culture, In Every Nation the devil is still trying to mess with the image God intended for Man. The devil mars the image into a person waking one day to thinking they no longer want to be the man but a woman. Then those with God find themselves being called bigots, those who will not be tolerant with those coming out of closets. When mankind did not continue through Adam, God started with Noah: Genesis 9:1-6 NKJV So God blessed Noah and his sons, & said to them: “Be fruitful and multiply & fill the earth. 2 And the fear of you and the dread of you shall be on every beast of the earth, on every bird of the air, on all that move on the earth, & on all the fish of the sea. They are given into your hand. 3 Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you. I have give you all things, even as the green herbs. 4 But you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood. 5 Surely for your lifeblood I will demand a reckoning; from the  hand of every beast I will required it, & from the hand of man. From the hand of very man’s brother I will required the life of man. 6 “Whoever sheds man’s blood, by man his blood shall be shed; for in the image of God He made man. 7 And as for you, be fruitful & multiply; bring forth abundantly in the earth & multiply in it.”

Amos 6:12 Amplified Bible….12 do horses run on rocks? Does one plow there with oxen?  But you have turned justice into  [ the poison of ] gall, and the fruit of righteousness into[ the bitterness of] wormwood, 13 You who rejoice over Lo Debar, who say, “Have we not taken Karnaim for ourselves by our own strength?”

"Do horses run on [ the face of a cliff]? Does one plow [the sea] with oxen? Yet you have turned justice into gall, and the fruit of righteousness into wormwood" 13 You who rejoice in Lo-debar [ thing of nought], who say, Have we not by our own strength taken Karnaim or horns of [resistance] for ourselves.

1.            Morals in man must be improved dramatically

2.            Though man may do some great technical or even mechanical thing, man in his morals is lacking

3.            God recorded what conditions were like as Noah was building the ark: "Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually" (Genesis 6:5). What a horrifying thought! What danger and oppression must have lurked at every turn!

4.            Corruption and Evil were at every turn!

THE Lord did not forbid us from discerning the character of fools, and the Book of Proverbs commends this assessment as a necessary. We find this in the book of Acts. Acts 19:8-9 And he went into the synagogue and spoke boldly for three months, reasoning & persuading concerning the things of the kingdom of God. 9 But when some were hardened & did not believe, but spoke evil of the Way before the multitude, he departed from them & withdrew the disciples, reasoning daily in the school of Tyrannus.

1.            A time to separate: judgment / wisdom play the lead in this.

2.            We are to impact the world, not have the world impact us by putting ungodliness on us : Proverbs 19: 27 Cease listening to instruction, my son and you will stray from the words of knowledge….. If they have no lips of knowledge then move away from them

The Need to discern between those who are fools and those who are wise is important.  Proverbs 14:7 Go from the presence of a foolish man, when you do not perceive in him the lips of knowledge. 8 The wisdom of the prudent is to understand his way, but the folly of fools is deceit.  9 Fools mock at sin, but among the upright there is favor.

1.            You and I must evaluate who is wise & who is foolish based on God’s word.    Parades are given in today’s society proclaiming sin and promoting it as well…Right Decisions/Wrong Decisions

2.            When looking at the statistics of divorces: there are as many people within the church as outside of the church who condone divorce! Today there are same sex couples divorcing!

3.            There were Christians who celebrated the Supreme Courts passing of the homosexual marriage. It is considered legal in all 50 states. It may be, but is not found in the word of God….These are no longer thinking right thoughts. We must have God’s standards. Fools make a mockery of sin.

4.            Today, when a president is elected, the father figure shining forth, the “orphan” rejects the new President and clamors for the Grandma who will give them welfare for no work, give them their wants like abortion when a baby just does not fit or is not convenient at the moment.

5.            The time-honored work of the early ancestors to this country are joked about & not regarded as those who signed the Declaration of Independence…plantation owners, business men, from all walks of life who loved God …most lost everything, lost their lives, lost love ones by the hate of others,  but they never left God  !

Here in Romans and chapter 1 that men became fools is written about. We have people today hugging trees, long –dead dinosaurs, ancient gods from past centuries and they are gone who have done strange things in the earth.   We are reminded here : Romans 1:21-25NKJV 21 because although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts & their foolish hearts were darkened. …..(hugging trees)instead of touching God’s heart praising Him where He gets the  glory.. 22 Professing to be wise, they became fools 23 & changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man----& birds & four-footed animals & creeping things. 24 Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves 25 who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, & worshiped & served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.

Today so-called leaders say they look into mirrors or their window reflections and choose to make some large city in their image, not in God’s image. They do the corruptible and unclean thing.  They have become covetous and they want your things, they want  from your retirement , they want your spouse, your home, your children and life!

 Romans  3:13-14…  Their throat is an open tomb; with their tongues they have practiced deceit; The poison of asps is under their lips; 14 Whose mouth is full of cursing & bitterness.

Malicious and cutting words kill and bury the reputation of men. They tried to do it to Justice Brett Kavanaugh. They have tried it with the honorable Todd Blanche. The action of not presenting truth is practicing deceit.  THE truth is that the deceit or lie does not lie fully on that "lie" itself, but on the character of the man or woman and with the harmony of each as that character plays out in their speech.

Our ‘yes’ is to be ‘yes’ & our ‘ no’ is to be ‘ no’!   Matt. 5:33-37 Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform your oaths to the Lord. 34 “But I say to you, do not swear at all neither by heaven, for it is God’s throne, 35 nor by the earth, for it is His footstool, nor by Jerusalem; for it is the city of the great King. 36 Nor shall you swear by your head because you cannot make one hair white or black.37 But let our ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes’, & your ‘No’, ‘No’ for whatever is more than these is from the evil one.

Are we just wandering to find a certain crowd like on Facebook or TikTok so that we can catch up to go along with them, that we might go astray…to fulfill an agenda?  Are we going along with the crowd that will build something but be devoid of God’s presence?   When God gets the glory, it is glory to Him in the highest who sent us way out of sin! ………………..The Greatest Altar Builder is God:  His Son went  willingly ….laid down His life for others. John 10: 17-18 NKJV “Therefore My Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it again. 18 No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This command I have received from My Father.”

 May we have the same relationship as Jesus did with the Father. May we delight in forefathers who believed  in a Republic in freed men and not a democratic society. Let us be laying down our lives daily and living for Him where an altar appears, and prayer is heard…where worship is not a 12-member band but a heart on fire for the Lord!  Let us be found where we are connected by our faith in Him. Let’s remember the exceeding riches of His grace that is our inheritance living in Christ belonging to God the Father Who cared for us long before we even thought of Him! In that we should never be going astray, along with the crowd, but staying in the presence of God. Amen!

Observe yourself in His word and you will a new creature indeed who is God minded!

No Image change, please only that which is of God!


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Monday, August 12, 2019

Meeting Mercy

Who Do WE See?
Was reading in scripture today and paused on this verse: Proverbs 12:10 A righteous man regards the life of his animal, but the wicked are cruel.
There are times we have had people over to have a meal with us or to pray for them. We have people over to bar-be-que outside and to have dessert as well and in all these instances I always pay attention to how people regard someone else's pet! We have a small poodle and she loves people sometimes too much and some people do not love having any cats or dogs around. Some say they think the animals are dirty, but I would disagree with them.Not to say they are wrong, but they may likely have an allergy to pet fur and the such. And we certainly pray about those who we invite and how much time we should allow our pet to remain with us while we have visiting friends for their good as well as for our dog's good!

But in regard to Proverbs 12:10, this was written in the time when the concern in that era was rare. But what this verse is revealing is that a wicked man even when sensitive, will still show cruelty to other human beings.
Deuteronomy 25:4 You shall not muzzle an ox while it treads out the grain.

Of course they would not muzzle the ox to keep it from eating the grain it was threshing out! The ox was working for the man and he would be fed for his work while he worked. The apostle Paul even quotes this verse in 1 Timothy 5:18 to illustrate the principle. For the scriptures says, "You shall not muzzle an ox while it treads out the grain, and "the laborer is worthy of his wages."
Now this was given by the apostle in reference to those who study the word and teach that same word of God to others. Within this Paul was speaking about elders who not only governed but also fed the church God's word. They were to be given a double honor of office and that suitable salary.

Was listening to a teaching early this morning, and the pastor said he always reads to show himself approved by rightly dividing the word of Truth. He also said that he relies on the Lord to show him where to study and what points the Lord desires to reveal to those coming for that teaching.
He also said he has seen such people coming that the Lord gives him before hand,  that some, yes the church come with an attitude of coming for a "cold" cheese sandwich at a FEMA quonsite hut rather than expecting that royal feast with several courses to eat and that would be a lasting one for the people with that "meat" through the week.
I certainly agreed with him on that point because God has given us His best, but are you and I willing to receive and expect His best from Him?

A friend of ours who lives in Seattle area had an incident in the last couple months that had caused her back to break and she is in rehab at this moment. Had sent some texts back and forth to her and was wanting her to know we remembered her birthday. But what she sent me spoke volumes. Even though in pain she was getting out her note pad and writing Scriptures down to remind herself daily of God's goodness to her. She was going over scriptures that she knew she should be speaking over herself and the situation.
God causes us to rise out of situations when we put His mercy before our eyes. When we allow mercy in, we can see situations change for our good because in the situation we choose to love God and put Him first!
Yes, we expect her to be on the mend, but we also expect her to be enjoying life to the fullest for years to come!

One word here, she is a dog-person and has had many pets. You can tell the real dog lover, because they care for them as a part of the family not as another 'thing'. 

If we really looked at ourselves in the mirror, would we see Jesus or a growling dog leering back at us? If we really took stock with what is within our heart, would we quickly remove that growling dog from us and replace within our heart the goodness of God by speaking His truths into our hearing so that our faith grows in HIM and not in ourselves.

Father God, I ask You to help us to receive the Word of God not as the word of men but as it actually is, the word of God which is at work in us as one who believes. (1 Thessalonians 2:13) You have warned us in Your word not to believe every spirit but to test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. (1 John 4:1) O, God, as You increase my belief, teach me also what not to believe. Matthew 24:10 tells us that in the last days many will turn away from the faith and will betray one another. Help us to never turn away and turn cold. It is Christ our Lord who said, "I tell you truth, anyone who has faith in Me will do what I have been doing. " In fact, He went on to say " he will do even greater things than these, because Jesus was going back to the Father." (John 14:12)

Today, Father our cry is to meet and know Your mercy that is unending. In spite of Your chastisement, the ancient Israelite's kept sinning. In spite of Your wonders they did not believe, so You ended their days in futility. Psalm 78:32-33 O Lord, I do not want my days to end in futility. I want to participate in what You are doing here, right now in my generation.

I pray that the eyes of my heart may be enlightened in order that I may know the hope to which You have called me, the riches of Your glorious inheritance in the saints and Your incomparable great power for us who believe. Ephesians 1:18-19
Father, thank You for Your unfailing love and how vast it truly is to us! Thank You for the plan and purpose You have for our lives. Jesus, You are the same: yesterday, today and forever. You are the God of might and strength to us, hallowed be Your name. Let Your hand become my help for I have chosen You and Your ways. My lips utter Your praises. I bless Your name forever. Come kingdom of God and be done in me this day in Jesus' name. Amen.


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