DON'T COMPROMISE GOD'S WORD TO PLEASE PEOPLE. SPEAK THE TRUTH IN LOVE.

 We all have testing's and trials if we are believers in Jesus Christ.

It's not the devil doing it, it is the Lord teaching us endurance, perseverance and trust.  

He wants us strong, so that we will not fear when things suddenly come upon us.

Yes, God teaches us patience and endurance and discipline through those things we go through.

James 1:2

My brethren,  count it all joy when you FALL into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience.  But let patience have its perfect work,  that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.

Notice James says "when you fall"  whenever we fall it is unexpected and a surprise to us.  So are these kinds of trials and testing.

James, tells us to consider it all joy.  We ask ourselves, how can I be joyful about this?

You can, because you are being perfected with each trial and testing. You are becoming more like Jesus and His nature.

In some churches there has been little preached about holiness, or sexual sins and the need for repentance. 

There has been little warning that God wants holiness in His children. In their conduct and actions.

He wants them to stop sinning, because it leads to misery and sickness and dis-ease and death.

Repentance is not a bad word. It will lead to wholeness. Peace of mind and joy.

 We are called to be holy as God is holy.

1 Peter 1:13-16

Therefore gird up the loins of your mind,  be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ;  as obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance;  

but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct,  because it is written,  "Be holy for I am holy"

Today most things preached are positive, and we need that in a balance, but we also need warnings when we are drifting away from Jesus.

Beloved,  we need the positive and the negative for the power of God to remind us who we are in Christ and what He expects from us as believers.

We must have the positive and the negative to release God's power.  Repentance and restoration.

Just like with our electricity,  in order to have power there has to be a positive and negative.

Paul, Peter, James, Luke and John, had no problem addressing sin.  They knew that it was deadly.  

Jesus paid for it all, so why would we return knowingly to the thing that had cost Him such a high price.

Colossians 3:16

Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms, and hymns and spiritual songs,  singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.

We are told to admonish one another.  That means to warn, or reprimand firmly.  

Be firm but kind! 

Help direct someone's mind in the right direction, back to Jesus and off of self.

We need to hear more preaching about admonishing one another.  

We are a body and if one part hurts it effects the whole body.

I love, how Paul after speaking of admonishing,  goes into praise and worship.  But notice the warning and correction comes first, then the songs of Praise.

Cleansing is taking place in God's presence after you have been warned. Natural first, then the Spiritual.

We hear a lot of songs and worship, but little correction from the pulpit.  God's Word does the correcting.

2 Timothy 4:2

Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season.  Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching.

We all need reminders by being corrected, admonished,  yes, and rebuked. 

It will stir up things that we have forgotten.

There are forgotten things in our walk and  things that we have placed on the back burner, and pushed aside.  

When hearing God's word that correction takes place,  it will bring things to the light of God's word and we can see it and can now allow the Holy Spirit to deal with it. 

It will bubble up and the Holy Spirit will scoop it off.  We shout "Lord there will be nothing left of me"  "He says, no, but what is left, will be of Me."

God's word does the correcting.

When hearing corrective preaching and teaching, it will reveal if we are lukewarm, and starting to drift away little by little. 

Corrective preaching will reveal that we need to stoke up the fire in us, by the Holy Spirit and get back on tract.

Whenever someone tries to correct us, our flesh will rise up in us and fight the correction.

It will try to convince us that we are ok.  When in fact we are not!

When you drift a little at a time, you do not notice how far you have gone away from the teaching of God's word. 

How you are starting to accept the worlds view.

YES! beloved we all need reminders from the word of God, just where we are in our growth.

Our heavenly Father loves us too much to leave us where He found us. 

Admonishing is still needed while we walk on this earth. Psalms can warn us, like the word says.

No one has arrived to perfection yet, so expect correction and when it comes, look for Jesus in it. He is there.  Loving you through it. "Neither do I condemn you, Go and sin no more."

The Church would do Christian's a favor by correcting with God's word. Just as the apostles did in the scriptures.

We need to hear the whole counsel of God, not just the positive parts that make us feel comfortable.  Sometimes we need to be shook up and feel there needs to be a change.

But the parts that make us feel convicted, and uneasy, that points to the fact that change is needed, are the parts in God's word that points to holiness.  

You can't do the work, but the Holy Spirit can and will. So allow Him to. You can confess and repent. Restoration is on the way.

Have you ever heard a sermon and felt like it pointed directly at you?  I have, and still do from time to time.

There is no time for  churches that are puffing up the flesh, there is time for judgement to begin in the house of God.

Ask the Holy Spirit to show you where you have believed a lie, and followed wrong teaching.

 Ask Him to reveal to you those things that need correction, so that you will have a balance in your thought life. 

Remember the fear of God, honor and respect and listen to the Holy Spirit when you need correction and warnings.

Psalm 139: 23-24

Search me, O God, and know my heart;  Try me, and know my anxieties;  And see if there is any wicked way in me,  And lead me in the way everlasting.

Beloved, God loves us and has the best for us, but we have to learn to cooperate with the leading of the Holy Spirit.

There are blessings and there is a season of warning and admonishing.  We need it all.

Read Revelation chapters 1 and 2 and 3 about the different churches and notice how many times Jesus uses the word repent. 

He is warning the churches and giving them time to repent. God is merciful.

It is a needed subject so that we will see where change and growth is needed.

Pray for direction and guidance in all you say and do. 

Draw close to Jesus, it is all about Him in you.

Wash each others feet, sometimes our walk gets our feet dirty, we pick up thoughts and ideas from the world and apply it to our life.

Hebrews 12:11

Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present,  but painful;  nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.

We need each other. Love each other enough to warn each other when we see them drifting away from truth, by accepting things from other religions and adding it to their life.  

This is deadly. It is a mixture. No life in it. 

It may look good and feel good, but it is wrong, the enemy is behind the deception.

James 5:16

Confess your trespasses to one another,  pray for one another, that you may be healed.  The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.

Apply the grace of God and remember Jesus shed blood washes away all sin.

God bless your day

Jesus loves you

Love in Jesus

Joy