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This begins the well known parable about the "persistent widow" and is as all Christ's sayings deep and profound with meanings.
Nonetheless; our Father in heaven isn't bored with any prayers that are truly seeking His will; and the petitioner shouldn't pray in vain repetitions as Matthew 6:7 warns us. The question; of course comes what IS a viable request and what isn't?
What should be clear in regard to this issue is not praying for something CLEARLY outside of scriptural bounds; to put it more simply NOT to ask for something the Word makes CLEAR is for sinful purposes ( James 4:3 to "consume on your own lusts.")
That could be explained with several points
1) Asking God for something we intend to use for sinful purposes. This could be for a woman we can sleep with before marriage; drugs; alcohol; a gun to kill someone etc. This sort of prayer would; it seem be made by someone who is a cult leader; who would have to be under enough delusion to believe what is clearly demonic doctrine that they are some sort of Messianic figure. I would assume Jim Jones would be a good representative of such insanity; between the insane relationships he had with minors; and the final mass suicidal genocide inflicted on hundreds including himself.
2) Asking God for something with an insincere intention to please our own desires thinly veiled in a feigned humility or piety.
This is much more common; no doubt. This could also involve asking for a partner and or grooming someone with an intention to later take advantage of the situation; or fooling ourselves thinking we can compromise and continue to refrain from sin in any area of our lives which we in particular have demonstrated a pattern of weakness before in such matters. Such is alcohol to an alcoholic which of course would elicit money for actual needs but funnel it later for what we really desire.
15 Some indeed preach Christ even of envy and strife; and some also of good will: 16 The one preach Christ of contention, not sincerely, supposing to add affliction to my bonds: 17 But the other of love, knowing that I am set for the defence of the gospel. 18What then? notwithstanding, every way, whether in pretence, or in truth, Christ is preached; and I therein do rejoice, yea, and will rejoice.
This verse is somewhat baffling; and altogether foreign from my vantage point. When have we seen anyone praching Christ in order to make a jailed believer suffer more? Even in countries with high persecution; it would seem odd to do this as it would bring persecution to those preaching it; making the cost seemingly too high for preaching in "pretence" as verse 17 states.
The only way I could envision this is if someone mocks Christianity by glibly quoting scripture; or preaches then deliberately incites a riot so that those who preach peaceably will be falsely accused of causing insurrections as a result. In any case until we see believers who are detained for a lengthy period of time in our country with a real threat of death it is something we have to understand with wisdom for the day things do head in that direction. For now most who are arrested are only for a short period of time; and if longer it is not usually clear that it is only for defence of the Gospel that they are in jail. There certainly may be cases like this which the media isn't mentioning; it certainly seems this has begun in Canada in the last year or so.
Boldness because of Paul's chains as seen with Philippians 1:14 shows several things. Through Paul's confidence and ongoing ministry it shows the Gospel can't be bound. It also gives sympathy from Paul's beloved members of the churches he founded as an Apostle who want to continue in his stead. How we need these type of believers today! Finally; it sets an example as a true shephard who lays his life down.
Just in the last few weeks someone in my church had two neighbors die; one after a rather brief time span after a massive heart attack; another suddenly and unexpectedly who was much younger. This has brought an openness to one relative to visit church who previously was closeminded; and in the other case it appears the estranged husband of this woman is likely a believer and never divorced but remained separated after leaving due to her bipolar condition causing much contention and strife previously.
These opportunities were paved by this woman and her husband who is a deacon in our church who have tirelessly been witnessing both with example (visiting in the hospital and practical needs) as well as with the Word of God for a number of years.
This doesn't make the grief any less real; but evidence of the Lord at work in the situation is an encouragement to everyone.
Last night I watched a murder mystery related to "Kathy's Law" which basically a family whose daugher was raped and murdured pushed hard after her death for a law to get DNA on anyone arrested and not wait for a conviction for the law to allow this; and it was finally passed in New Mexico. The end of the show was encouraging when they finally caught the man who did it and after he asked for forgiveness the family accepted it as they ultimately wanted to see him saved. He is to spend the rest of his life in jail as should happen to have any stability in society in rendering due justice. This situation shows how no matter what happens we should want to see people saved.
Ultimately; of course scripture says for the believer we read 1 Thessalonians 4:13 But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. Those who die in the Lord are in His presence and we shall see them in eternity after we are raptured or resurrected. I believe we would envy their state and they pity us
Your responses/commentary are very good for me.. they lead me to go where I haven't been yet as I only started reading the Bible about four years ago. I have not read much of Revelation yet for some reason I put it off, but your comments here do bring to mind a verse that I do have familiarity with
Revelation 22:13
I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.
GOD MYSTERY - I woke this morning around my usual time (early 3:30-4:00) asking God to reveal more MYSTERY for me today and for more righteousness today... HE said then wake up now to go read/hear more. So I did.
I had to look up word Unction as I never heard it before which leads me to read again one of my many favorite verses from Psalms 23:5 Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
How comforting
Praise GOD for restoring my soul!"
God"s Word says: "Walk in the Spirit and you'll not fulfill the lusts of the flesh," ( Galatians 5;16) Romans 14:23 says that everything that is not of faith is sin", so it is not possible to walk in the Spirit without being in the word of God. Only you know if you've ever really repented of your sins, which is the only way of entering God's eternal Kingdom. Asking Jesus into the heart is not repentance, which is done so often today, by a person speaking words for someone else to repeat, which might sound like some kind of confession, but is nothing other than empty words, not coming from the heart of the one repeating them, as required for real repentance, as called for in scripture! God's Word says:"For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation! Such asking of Jesus is directly against a very clear commandment of Jesus, in John 16:23, as to him telling his disciples that they were not to ask anything of him, after his death, burial, and resurrection, but rather to ask of the Father in his name, the name of Jesus.
"And in that day ye shall ask me nothing. Verily, verily, i say unto you, Whatsoever you shall ask the Father in my name He will give it you." John 16:23
Dear One. The precious name of Jesus, is your access to the Father's Throne of Grace, to ask forgivness, if you've never done so, If you have so repented, it is still the Father to whom you are to direct all prayer, as Jesus early on gave his disciples the LORD's prayer as to how they were to pray to the Father! Prayers for you, here, unto the Father.
he will give it you.God's Word says:"For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation
Greetings
It is of your knowledge that the Word of GOD is from everlasting to everlasting.
You know the Word is GOD, GOD Himself, great mystery( Matthew 11:27). No man hath seen GOD at any time (invisible GOD)- John 1:18- , the only begotten Son, which was in the bosom of the Father, He hath declared Him. Because in the beginning -i.e. in JESUS- , was the Word-GOD Himself-, the Word was made flesh- John 1:14 combined with the Word given to the prophet Isaiah 9:6, among other prophetic references- , great mystery. The Word was GOD - and is GOD, GOD Himself, - from everlasting to everlasting.
1 Cor. 2:9-10
9 But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which GOD hath prepared for them that love Him.
10 But GOD hath revealed them unto us by His Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of GOD.
Revelation 10:7
But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the MYSTERY of GOD should be finished, as He hath declared to His servants the prophets.
But ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things. I have not written unto you because ye know not the Truth, but because ye know it, and that no lie is of the Truth. 1John 2:20-21.
Hallelujah!
GOD bless
Ps. 19:14_Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in thy sight O Lord, my strength and
"My Redeemer."
He saved me and I am grateful.
Ps. 107:2
"Let the Redeemed of the Lord say so. " Amen!
He saved me and I am glad. Amen !!!
grateful. Amen!!!
1 John 3:1-2 reads "Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.
Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is."
"we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is."
James I believe we will be able to know and see one another the same way Christ does.
Perhaps from another dimension that we can't comprehend in these bodies.
God bless.
We will be praying for you.
God bless you.
There is no single Bible verse that talks about trusting and obeying; the song however is very scriptural and sums things up nicely for a proper attitude in our Christian walk. John H. Sammis was said to have written the lyrics in 1887 after a D.W. Moody outreach; someone else wrote the music a year before. Original lyrics:
)
When we walk with the Lord in the light of His Word,
What a glory He sheds on our way!
While we do His good will, He abides with us still,
And with all who will trust and obey.
Refrain:
Trust and obey, for there's no other way
To be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.
Not a shadow can rise, not a cloud in the skies,
But His smile quickly drives it away;
Not a doubt or a fear, not a sigh or a tear,
Can abide while we trust and obey.
Not a burden we bear, not a sorrow we share,
But our toil He doth richly repay;
Not a grief or a loss, not a frown or a cross,
But is blessed if we trust and obey.
But we never can prove the delights of His love
Until all on the altar we lay;.
For the favor He shows, for the joy He bestows,
Are for them who will trust and obey.
Then in fellowship sweet we will sit at His feet,
Or we'll walk by His side in the way;
What He says we will do, where He sends we will go;
Never fear, only trust and obey.
Easier said than done; of course. The ultimate test was given with Christ in submitting as part of the Divine Godhead to the Father's will that He take on the punishment on the cross for what we deserved as the sinless Lamb of God. I just saw a murder mystery where like in the case with a few others forgiveness was offered to a murderer that confessed and who showed remorse himself for his actions. How much like we were like those killers because; as another well known hymn stated it was our sin that held Him there (How Deep the Father's Love by Stuart Townend). This was written in 1995 and shows; thankfully that decent Christian music still exists in our time.
Agape.
Barring fruit.
Part 2.
Staying intimately connected to the True Vine is the only way to "bear fruit in old age" ( Psalm 92:14), to "run and not grow weary" ( Isaiah 40:31), and to not "grow weary in well-doing" ( Galatians 6:9).
One counterfeit to bearing good fruit is pretense. We can become experts at the routines, the lingo, and "acting Christian," while experiencing no real power and bearing no eternal fruit. Our hearts remain self-centered, angry, and joyless even while we go through the motions of serving God. We can easily slip into the sin of the Pharisees of Jesus' day in judging ourselves by how we think we appear to others and neglecting that secret place of the heart where all good fruit germinates. When we love, desire, pursue, and fear the same things that the rest of the world does, we are not abiding in Christ, even though our lives may be filled with church-related activity.
And, often, we don't realize that we are living fruitless lives ( 1 John 2:15-17).
Our works will be tested by fire. Using a different metaphor than fruit,
1 Corinthians 3:12-15 says, "If anyone builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, their work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each person's work. If what has been built survives, the builder will receive a reward. If it is burned up, the builder will suffer loss but yet will be saved-even though only as one escaping through the flames."
God is the judge of even our thoughts and motivations. All will be brought to the light when we stand before Him ( Hebrews 4:12-13).
God knows what He has entrusted to each of us and what He expects us to do with it ( Luke 12:48). Our responsibility before God is to be "faithful with little" so that He can trust us with much ( Matthew 25:21).
God bless.
An article on fruit barring.
Part 1.
In the natural world, fruit is the result of a healthy plant producing what it was designed to produce ( Genesis 1:11-12). In the Bible, the word fruit is often used to describe a person's outward actions that result from the condition of the heart.
Good fruit is that which is produced by the Holy Spirit. Galatians 5:22-23 gives us a starting place: the fruit of His Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. The more we allow the Holy Spirit free rein in our lives, the more this fruit is evident ( Galatians 5:16, 25). Jesus told His followers, "I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit-fruit that will last" ( John 15:16). Righteous fruit has eternal benefit.
Jesus told us clearly what we must do to bear good fruit. He said, "Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing" ( John 15:4-5). A branch must stay firmly attached to the trunk to stay alive. As disciples of Christ, we must stay firmly connected to Him to remain spiritually productive. A branch draws strength, nourishment, protection, and energy from the vine. If it is broken off, it quickly dies and becomes unfruitful. When we neglect our spiritual life, ignore the Word of God, skimp on prayer, and withhold areas of our lives from the scrutiny of the Holy Spirit, we are like a branch broken off the vine. Our lives become fruitless. We need daily surrender, daily communication, and daily-sometimes hourly-repentance and connection with the Holy Spirit in order to "walk in the Spirit and not fulfill the lusts of the flesh" ( Galatians 5:16).
See Part 2.
Fruit barring.
Part 2.
Sanctification and fruit barring.
Having Christ's righteousness imputed to us does not mean we automatically do what is right-that will come through the process of sanctification. What it does mean is that we are positionally righteous; even though we still sin, we are legally righteous. God has credited the righteousness of Christ to our account, and He did this when He saved us. In grace, the holiness of Jesus Christ is ascribed to us. Christ "has become for us wisdom from God, that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption"
1 Corinthians 1:30.
1John 5:13 reads"These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.
Here's an helpful article.
If a person knows Christ and is growing in grace, he or she will be generally marked by the following traits:
1. The believer enjoys fellowship with Christ and His redeemed people. 1 John 1:3.
2. The believer walks in the light, not in the darkness. 1 John 1:6-7.
3. The believer admits and confesses his sin. 1 John 1:8.
4. The believer obeys God's Word. 1 John 2:3-5.
5. The believer loves God rather than the world. 1 John 2:15.
6. The believer's life is characterized by "doing what is right" 1 John 2:29.
7. The believer seeks to maintain a pure life. 1 John 3:3.
8. The believer sees a decreasing pattern of sin in his life. 1 John 3:5-6.
1 John 5:18.
9. The believer demonstrates love for other Christians ( 1 John 3:14).
10. The believer "walks the walk," versus just "talking the talk" 1 John 3:18-19.
11. The believer maintains a clear conscience. 1 John 3:21.
12. The believer experiences victory in his Christian walk 1 John 5:4.
Number 8 in the list above is that the believer will evince a decreasing pattern of sin in his or her life.
No one who belongs to Christ continue to "Practice" sin as a way of life.
1 Peter 2:2
God bless.
It seems you are struggling with the fruit of salvation.
This is an area we all struggle with to some degree.
However if you are a born again believer and truly "TRUSTING IN THE WORK OF CHRIST AND HIS SACRIFICIAL WORK ON THE CROSS" those wages has been paid in full.
Sin brought on death.
That's why we are to be born Again by the working of the Holyspirit. This is more precisely "Born from above"
Now we have Christ spirit working in us.
John 16:8 says the Holyspirit will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment.
He will reprove it or show it to be wrong.
No amount of preaching, pleading, or pointing of fingers will bring about the conviction of sin, unless the Holy Spirit is at work in the sinner's heart!
So God bless you Bryanna!
The most basic sin of which the world is guilty is unbelief.
Once a person responds to the Spirit's conviction and turns to faith in Christ, the other sins he practiced will be taken care of. It is the sin of unbelief "a refusal to trust in Jesus is what is primary.
Romans 6:20-22 reads,"For when ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from righteousness.
What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed?
for the end of those things is death.
But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life.
For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Justification, Righteousness and Sanctification.
We have "been justified by his blood" ( Romans 5:9), and part of that justification is an imputation of His own righteousness.
Christ righteousness has been imputed over to us.
Romans 5:8-10. 2 Corinthians 5:21, and Romans 3:22
sums it up as well.
That does not mean we automatically do what is right, that will come through the process of sanctification.
See part 2.
Ephesians 5:31 and 32 say: For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh." 32This mystery is profound, but I am speaking about Christ and the church.
In an earthly marriage relationship when two people are committed to meeting the needs of another and Christ ISN'T depended on for that connection one or both parties often get bored with one another. This of course is largely because man sees the outward appearance and God sees the heart ( 1 Samuel 16:7). When we see with SPIRITUAL eyes we learn to recognize the inner beauty when the outward appearance may be unattractive. These truths should be a factor we consider before marriage. It is possible early on that we are so consumed with external beauty that the inner soul of a believer isn't seen either OR it turns out that is what was really behind the attraction in the first place which of course should work out in the long run.
In any event; any lack of love we feel for the Lord of course is our fault. Facing our own helpless state SHOULD be an encouragement; we never enjoy it but realize how valuable salvation is to a worm such as us. This is; of course the difference between a suicidal individual and one who can finally let the Lord take our life and transform it. He does the surgery; as it were; He did it with Adam in the garden to change him; perhaps in the same way the "two edged" sword of the Spirit removes something and replaces it with something else ( Heb. 4:12). Just thought of that one BTW...
Psalm 103 is very encouraging. Verse 9 states He will not always chide: neither will he keep his anger for ever. Other parts of the Psalm show how man is dust and He understands. Isaiah 54:8 in the final prophetic meaning relates to Israel in the Tribulation but we an all find solace. It reads With a little wrath I hid My face from you for a moment; But with everlasting kindness I will have mercy on you,"
It is not an excuse for abandoning our faith in the Lord; but it seems there is less encouragement today than their should be when it comes to acknowledgment from one believer to another of seeing evidence of good fruit in their lives and thus Christ is on display. This is not to substitute for good theology and in the short term would not be good advice for someone to share with another without carefully and prayerfully examining the evidence. As a rule; I would say that those needing such a boost are the ones who say little of their struggles; their needs and their personal lives but where it is evidence of sacrificial service to God.
It is easy to look to the academic achievements; or a legacy of years of preaching with authority and assume such building up is unnecessary. At times; of course it seems those who are in authority are unapproachable. This is unwise; and is an issue if there isn't a group of elders helping to copilot or keep the ship steady; as it were.
Kindness and compassion should never be out of style. Neither should rebuke and exhortation as well. We need a healthy balance of these two for the overall health of a local church congregation.
What we should NOT do is first of all spend all our time with those who simply are looking for a handout (of money; or unreasonable use of our time) that are NOT serious about God's Word. This means according to scripture a SEPARATION from those who would claim to believe but are living in a sinful LIFESTYLE. If we advise someone and they are not interested in either their personal edification it is probably even more problematic that the welfare of those in the Body of Christ that are nearest to them isn't a concern. IF WE HAVE THE SPIRIT we then have the mind of Christ. ( 1 Cor. 2:16). Just as we function to strengthen our brothers and sisters we also learn to TRUST God to bring other believers when in need to strengthen us.
Having wiped out my most recent attempt at this post TWICE now (aargh) I'll give it one final "hail Mary" as it were.
I suppose once I've committed the entire Bible to memory I'll stop pushing the wrong button to find verses online that knocks me out.
Anyway; I started posting today as I saw a couple individuals concerned about their salvation and it seemed to be a topic needing to be addressed. Earlier I stated that POST salvation that there is indeed a "two way" communication between a believer and the Lord; as it were in prayer. Proverbs 4:18 says But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day. Thus; if we know the Lord we learn to recognize our own flaws with mental processes and emotional issues as well as physical desires that all can lead us to sin. I consider doctrines of election as important for many reasons not the least being that God never changes and His covenants relate to that.
Hebrews 8:10 declares "For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people:"
As a vessel fit for His purposes we are not our own as 1 Corinthians 6:20 states we were "bought with a price." Of course all souls are mine as Esekiel 18:4 states. There are two polar opposites we want to avoid; first fear and cowardice which is warned about in Revelation 22 as something that brings people to hell; but also being presumptuous in for instance; claiming that we no longer sin as believers.
God gives us courage; as He did for Peter after Christ's Ascencion. Dying to self brings true joy! It comes from God not our own hand!
Thank you for your significative reply.
You know that "no prophecy of the Scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of GOD spake as they were moved by the Holy Spirit".2Pe.1:20-21.
The author to the Hebrews wrote: Hebrews 1:1-3
1 GOD, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets,
2 Hath in these last days(last two GODs' Days or last around 2000 years) spoken unto us by His Son, whom He hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also He made the worlds;
3 Who being the brightness of His glory, and the EXPRESS IMAGE of GOD's Person( John 10:30 combined with John 5:17), and upholding all things by the Word of His power( Matthew 28:18), when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high:
Hallelujah!!!
And Paul Apostle wrote : 2Timothy 3:16-17
16 All Scripture is given by inspiration of GOD, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
17 That the man of GOD may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.
GOD BLESS
To the only wise GOD our Saviour, be Glory and Majesty, Dominion and Power, both now and ever. Amen.
Jude 1:25
If we don't have assurance of salvation then of course we are fickle in any witnessing endeavors and it is hard to reflect the hope within us ( 1 Peter 3:15). We must have confidence and as Phillipians 1:28 states And in nothing terrified by your adversaries: which is to them an evident token of perdition, but to you of salvation, and that of God.
Part of this is giving a bold defense of judgment to come as John 16:8 states is how the Spirit works on men's hearts. If we doubt ourselves because of what men think; or somehow think we can dodge verses that state categorically that what is stated in 2 Timothy 3:12 about all who are Godly suffering persecution we are only fooling ourselves. Society today has gone to great lengths to ensure we don't offend anyone but the Gospel IS an offense ( 1 Peter 2:8). Having a proper foundation of scripture is necessary to give a sound testimony. Hell and judgment should be taught with fear and trembling; not with a proud attitude but nonetheless must be preached.
We have made too much of presentation in form rather than substance with a sideshow of music and a "two spoonfuls of sugar make the medicine go down" to quote an old tune probably not familiar to young folks here. Revelation 10:10 states that although it tastes sweet it was bitter in the stomach (in regard to the prophetic words John was to speak). When we are surrendured to the Spirit we will see reactions like the jailor in Acts 16:30 "what must I do to be saved?" NOWHERE in scripture to we see pleading and cajoling for any individual to be saved. God draws all those who He eventually saves; so we should let Him do the work and get out of the way ourselves and any agenda that isn't Biblically sound. Only the Spirit convicts of sin and until it does that work we can only sow a seed. The numbers game where prizes are offered when a certain number of new converts a day make a confession is an abomination.
QUESTION: Is salvation "one sided" or interactive? On this site; I would expect a unanimous affirmation of the first idea that God and God alone is able to save. I am pretty much in line with "Calvinist" (or I would say BIBLICAL) reasoning; namely that repentance itself is a gift from God and that Christ saves each and every one God has given Him; and no one else.
What I would NOT agree to is that understanding a FORMULA how to be saved; such as memorizing verses such as Romans 10:9-13 or "accepting" Christ as Lord when of course He is Lord whether we ascribe to it or not is sufficient; at least without TRULY believing in our heart as that verse states. What I WOULD say (sorry for the caps for emphasis) is that a relationship is part of KNOWING Christ. This enables us to sense His love as well as His chastisement and discipline so that we not only are aware of the law but sense in our spirit when we are displeasing to Him. In our society today; it is clear to anyone studying our society that family discipline is at an all time low. It is certain that a certain number of homes are ruled through discipline; but many or most invole tyrannical and hypocritical domination and quite often blatent hypocrisy so that we cannot respect that sort of authority. We hear a lot of talk on God's goodness; but His severity isn't very popular today. Of course when kids aren't properly disciplined and trained how to be independent; mature and responsible in this world they end up as they are now.
The Lord does not allow His children to continue in this manner (see 1 Corinthians 13:11). Our character and trustworthiness affects others who may base their faith in God on our actions.
For a true child of God; often we are STRIPPED OF OUR FRIENDS; FAMILY AND SUPPORT SYSTEM. In spite of this we are to follow Hebrews 10:25; even if the Lord calls us elsewhere from our current fellowship we trust Him to provide a new one in His timing.