Bible study – Page 8 – Hope for Complete Healing

Exposing Satan’s Attack on Christian Believers

How many people do you know won’t go to church for one reason or another? In my last post, I explained why Satan wants to destroy the church. He is effectively dismembering the body of Christ, but most Christians do not realize the unseen war all around them, so they let it go on. It is time to fight for the spiritual life of your fellow Believers and the Church. If you don’t know how to fight demonic forces, I recommend my book called Fighting Unseen Battles.

In my second post of this series, I addressed why people leave the church. Though there are many reasons, the number one reason people leave the church is being offended. Have you been offended by someone or something in the church? What was your natural response when you became offended? Most offended people simply leave the church and lose their faith, which is Satan’s goal for all of us. People are messy, and so is the church. Jesus said in Luke 5:32, “I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.”

Satan causes Believers to Doubt and Walk Away From God

I ended one of my posts with Hebrews 3:12, which states, “Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God.” Doubt is unbelief, which comes from the devil. Unbelief is a sin; otherwise, why would it be called evil? Unbelief is disobedience, as we are all called to believe.

Doubt leads to disobedience. Read in Genesis 3 how Satan deceived Eve into eating the apple. He began by causing her to doubt God, which led to disobedience and separation from God. Satan uses the same tactic. If that does not work, then he uses distraction. I know many young people who grew up in the church, then later believed Satan’s lies, began to doubt, and were lured away from their faith through worldliness. My oldest son is one of those people who stopped believing, and many of my friends and Pastors I know have children who doubted and walked away from their faith.

First, don’t judge them; they need your love. They know how you believe, so preaching to them does not help. Second, pray for God to remove the blinders that Satan has put on them (2Cor. 4:4). Remind God that He promised that His Word would not return void and accomplish what He intended it to do (Is. 55:11). Pray for God to restore them and lead them back to the path of righteousness (Ps. 23:3). Seek your Heavenly Father to keep drawing them to himself. (John 6:44). Don’t give up faith; keep praying for those who fell away from the faith because of doubt and worldliness. Hebrews 11:6 explains, “But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” Continue to diligently seek God for your children and for everyone who has fallen away. Keep in mind that you are fighting an unseen war.

A friend said the worst thing she did was encourage her son to go to college. She feels that college caused him to doubt God, now he has walked away from his faith. My youngest son went to college and remained firm in his faith, but my oldest decided he would instead go the way of the world, which caused him to walk away from his faith. Many people doubt God because of unanswered prayers. I wrote a series of posts to expose this topic because I struggled in this area. You can read all my posts in Posts About Prayer. Satan will use any means to cause doubt, which is why we need to take every thought captive and make it obey Christ (2Cor. 10:5).

Lured Away from Our Faith By Worldly Activities

I have known many Christians who skipped church to participate in secular activities. Once in a while is okay, but what often happens is a person can find other activities they would rather do than go to church. For example, my husband is part of a group of guys who shoot at clays. Though the activity is held Sunday morning, he does not miss church but goes right after church and is usually the last group to do the rounds. More and more, sporting competitions are held Sunday mornings and Wednesday nights, which keep the kids and parents from attending church.

Since the pandemic and mandating churches to close their doors, many churches have lost members because the members are either too afraid to go to church or it is easier to do internet/TV church. I explain the danger of not attending church in my first post. Leaving the church for worldly pursuits is a slow fade; it is usually not all at one time. I have written a lot about the dangers of worldliness. Here are two posts, Recognize Worldly Thinking and be Free and Unseen Battle With The Secular World.

I had an inmate in my Bible Study admit to being strong in her faith, and she read her Bible every day. One day, as she watched TV, the Holy Spirit drew her to read her Bible, but she ignored the Holy Spirit and kept watching TV. Soon she stopped reading her Bible altogether and began to hang out with her old friends, who enticed her to get back into using drugs. She said she knew that when she stopped reading her Bible and stopped going to church, that was when Satan enticed her to hang out with her old friends. Now she was in jail again.

CONCLUSION

I could write so much more but I would love to hear what you think about these topics and your experience. I hope you read my other posts for a better understanding and to learn how to fight these unseen battles. I encourage you to buy my book. If you want to know what my book is about read my review post.

May God Bless you richly,

Joyce

Why Satan is Waring against the Church

I had an incredible revelation as I pondered my last post on Winning the War Against The Church. Most of you probably already know, but for those who don’t, I hope you find my insight enlightening. The Church is not only a group of Believers who come together to worship God, grow in knowledge and grace, and meet the congregation’s needs. The Church is also called the body of Christ. Read the following verses and tell me if my interpretation is wrong. 1Corinthians 12:27 states, “Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it.” Also, Ephesians 4:12-16 explains that the church leaders are “to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, ¹³until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, ¹⁴so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. ¹⁵Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, ¹⁶from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.”

According to Ephesians 4:12-16, the church leaders are to build up and teach their parishioners how to trust in God and grow in the knowledge of Jesus Christ so they can be mature Christians. Mature Christians won’t be deceived by false doctrine and deceitful schemes from false prophets. 1John 4:1 tells us, “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world.”

Our focus is to know the truth, so we can speak the truth and grow in the image of our loving Christ Jesus. A mature Christian will help the body of Christ grow in love. If a Believer is divisive and a gossip, they are not acting in love, nor are they mature. When a Christian has damaged emotions from wounds and offenses, they will be spiritually weak. Bitter Christians cannot help the church body grow in love. Your soul wounds from repressed painful memories keep you from maturing emotionally, and they need to be found and healed for your heart to be pure. I wrote a post explaining why we need to purify our hearts, called WHY HEAL YOUR HEART AND PURIFY YOUR SOUL?.

How Is The Church The Body of Christ?

Christ is the head of the Church (1Cor. 11:3 and Eph. 5:23). The passage in 1Corinthians 12:13-22 explains the members of the body of Christ as follows:

“For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit [the Holy Spirit of God].

¹⁴For the body does not consist of one member but of many.

¹⁵If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body.

¹⁶And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body.

¹⁷If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell?

¹⁸But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose.

¹⁹If all were a single member, where would the body be?

²⁰As it is, there are many parts, yet one body. ²¹The eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you,” nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” ²²On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable.”

We need each other. Everyone in the church is essential. The Apostle Paul explains this so well to the Roman Church. Romans 12:3-8, “For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. ⁴For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, ⁵so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. ⁶Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; ⁷if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; ⁸the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness.”

Satan Wants to Destroy Jesus Christ Who Triumphed Over Him

Satan is trying to defeat the Church because it represents the body of Christ. Satan can’t destroy Jesus because He is seated at the right hand of God the Father, so Satan is working to destroy the Church instead. The Believers of Jesus Christ bear the image of Jesus. 1Corinthians 15:49 shows us, “Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven.” Jesus bears the image of God. Colossians 1:15 explains, “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.” Satan hates God and everything God created. He wants to destroy all that God created (John 10:10). Christian believers are his number one target, so we need to be prepared and learn how to use the armor that God provided for us. Read my series of posts on how to use the armor of God to be victorious. SPIRITUAL WARFARE POSTS

I would love to hear from you, please leave a comment.

God Bless you,

Joyce

RELATED POSTS

Love From a Pure Heart

Why Go to Church?

How The Church Prepares You to Meet God

Getting The Most Out of Church

WINNING THE WAR AGAINST THE CHURCH

Jesus’s Final Message to The Seven Churches

All verses are from the English Standard Bible. If you find my posts and website helpful, please share the links with your friends and family, hopeforcompletehealing.com. The information is copyright protected, and no part of the posts or my book may be reproduced without proper citation to Joyce Hanscom.

Check out my first book on Amazon. I would love to hear what you think.

Contact me at hopeforcompletehealing@gmail.com, and ask for a PDF of Eight Prayers from the Bible. The prayers are for the Spirit of wisdom, renewal, spiritual strength, knowledge of His will, virtues of God, non-believers, 23rd Psalm, and victory. I will also send you the Lord’s Prayer Model to pray effectively. Please leave your name, so I know you are a real person making the request.

WINNING THE WAR AGAINST THE CHURCH

How often is there conflict on Sunday morning and during the drive to church? Then when you get to the church, you are all smiles as if everything is good. How often do you feel like staying home or sleeping in on a Sunday morning? Do you or know someone who prefers to stay home and attend a zoom church or TV church? I ask these questions because they reveal the unseen war against the church and God’s people. We don’t know we are in a spiritual battle, but we are. Satan hates God and God’s children and works to destroy the church and separate God’s children. The devil’s destruction has been happening since the church began.

Act 8:3 tells us that “Saul was ravaging the church, and entering house after house, he dragged off men and women and committed them to prison.” Many places around the world cannot openly worship God and attend a church service. Many Christians are languishing in prison because of their faith. Remember to pray for them. We, in America, still have the freedom to worship God and attend church, but for how long? Can you see the beginnings of the war on Christianity and the church in America?

What if someone barges into your house and puts you in prison for your faith? Would your faith hold strong? Revelations 2:10 states, “Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and for ten days you will have tribulation. Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life.” Honestly look into your heart. Will you be faithful if you should face persecution?

Satan’s Unseen Deception of Eternal Security

Ask God to help you examine your beliefs about eternal security and church attendance. Jeremiah 17:9-10 states, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it? ¹⁰’I the LORD search the heart and test the mind, to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds.’” God knows all your thoughts and beliefs; ask Him to show you the truth. Do you believe that saying a salvation prayer is your ticket to heaven, and you can continue to live as you please? The salvation prayer is the birth of your faith. After receiving Jesus Christ’s forgiveness for your sins, you need to grow your faith. Your faith increases when you read the Bible, pray at all times to exercise your faith, share your faith to strengthen it, and go to a Bible-teaching church to reinforce your faith?

The following truths are hard, but ask God to give you understanding. Matthew 7:21 states, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.” Are you obeying the Word of God, which is His written will? Matthew 10:32-33 states, “So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven, ³³but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.” Are you sharing your faith and telling others about Jesus and what He did for you? Also, Revelations 3:5 states, “The one who conquers will be clothed thus in white garments, and I will never blot his name out of the book of life. I will confess his name before my Father and before his angels.” Yes, God can blot your name out. Only those who conquer persecution and the unseen battles of deception and temptations by the power of Jesus Christ will enter heaven. Jesus said in Matthew 7:13-14, “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. 14) For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.” I wrote my book called “Fighting Unseen Battles” to help everyone find the narrow gate and endure.

The Apostle Paul tells the Philippian church in Philippians 2:12, “Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.” Also, 1Peter 1:17-19 states, “And if you call on him as Father who judges impartially according to each one’s deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile, ¹⁸knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, ¹⁹but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.” To work out your salvation or conduct yourselves with fear means to forsake evil and do good through God’s divine power. Working out your salvation with fear begins with a salvation prayer.

Satan’s Unseen Deception of Church Attendance

Many people who grew up in the church believe they are going to heaven. My neighbor told me that he went to a children’s Bible School, and he thinks he is going to heaven and does not have to do anything else. Some Pastors think they are going to heaven because they know theology. Ask yourself, “When I stand before God, and He were to ask me, “Why should I let you into My heaven?” What would you say? Does the Bible say going to church makes you a child of God? Does the Bible say that being born into a Christian family or having a grandfather who was a preacher make you a child of God? John 1:12-13 states, “But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, ¹³who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.”

Does regular church attendance guarantee an entrance to heaven? Since I am writing to a Christian audience, I hope you know the right answer. Surprisingly, many church people don’t get the answer right. Some people say they are good, so God will let them into heaven. They think they are going to heaven because they are better than most Christians. Romans 3:23-25 states, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins.” And others said they don’t know but hope that God will let them in because He loves all humanity and would throw no one into hell. Can you see the deception that Satan puts in people’s minds?

Satan wants to prevent us from being a follower of Jesus Christ. The devil also does not want us to obey His commands, namely, to love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength and to love others. Mark 12:30-31 “And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. ³¹The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” Do you love God and spend time with Him in His word and in prayer? Do you love the people in the church?

Conclusion

Again, I could have written a lot more, but I believe you understand that there is an unseen war of deception against God’s people. Many people are deceived into thinking they are guaranteed entrance into heaven based on faulty beliefs. I understand some verses say the Holy Spirit guarantees our inheritance, but guarantees are based on conditions. Ephesians 1:13-14 is conditioned on believing until you receive your inheritance from God. So if you stop believing and live a wicked lifestyle, you forfeit your inheritance. Hebrews 12:1 states, “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, ²looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.” Find the condition in Romans 8:16-17 “The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, ¹⁷and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.” No one wants to suffer.

In the end times, there will be a great falling away because of deception and suffering. Resolve in your heart today that you will not fall away and begin today to do the will of God found in the Word of God. Hebrews 3:12 states, “Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God.”

RELATED POSTS

Getting The Most Out of Church

How The Church Prepares You to Meet God

Why Go to Church?

Four Realities of the Spirit World

Check out my first book on Amazon. I would love to hear what you think.

Getting The Most Out of Church

Do you sometimes go to church and feel empty and bored? Or do you feel encouraged and glad you went to Church? Do you prepare to meet God in the sanctuary? Where are your thoughts? In this church series, I am exploring unhealthy beliefs and the path to spiritual fulfillment. My first post covered why we should go to church. In my second post, I explore navigating offenses and how the church prepares you to meet God.

In my last post, you learned that we are saved sinners who are being made holy as God is Holy. Hebrews 12:14 states, “Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord. ¹⁵See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no “root of bitterness” springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled.” When we become offended, we often become depressed or contentious, then bitter. Note that verse 14 says that no one will see the Lord without holiness. Becoming holy is the process of transforming sinful thinking with the truth of God’s Word (Romans 12:2).

If you think about it, Heaven is going to be one gigantic eternal church service for all God’s children. So if you don’t like to go to church now, seek God to show you why. Exchange your false beliefs with His truth. One false belief is that the church is there to serve me. The truth in Galatians 5:1 is we are to serve one another in love. You might believe the members are hypocrites. Yes, you are right, we all sin and fall short of the glory of God. Believers are Jesus’ handiwork and are hopefully transforming wrong thinking by reading their Bibles. I covered how to deal with messy people in my last post. In this post, I want to share how to get the most out of going to church, despite the messy people.

Be one spirit with God to understand the church service.

First, we need to repent of sin, receive God’s forgiveness, and make Him Lord of our lives for the church service to be meaningful. Second, join your spirit with God’s Spirit. We become one spirit with God through believing in Jesus as the Son of God who was sent by God the Father to pay the debt for our sins by shedding His blood on the cross.

1John 4:13 states, “By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit.” Also, 1John 4:15 says, “Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God.” And 1Corinthians 6:17 tells us “But he who is joined to the Lord becomes one spirit with him.” When we are not one spirit with God, we cannot comprehend God’s Word, and the preaching is meaningless. 1Corinthians 2:11 states, “For who knows a person’s thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.”

We need a humble, repentant heart to meet God at Church.

I found that church was unfulfilling when I had sin in my life. Remember, sin is anything we think, say, and do that is not obeying God’s instructions. The church is where we go to corporately fellowship with other believers and to learn how to live a holy life that is pleasing to God. Leviticus 19:2 states, “Speak to all the congregation … and say to them, you shall be holy, for I the LORD your God am holy.”

When sin is in our lives, it separates us from God until we confess it and repent. 1John 1:9 states, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” Unconfessed sin also blocks our prayers and our relationship with God and His people.

Self-centered pride is the most prevalent sin and the one sin we don’t see we have. Sin prevents us from having meaningful relationships because we fear people may confront our sin. So we live a lie that we are righteous, and everything is okay, but God knows the truth. People who refuse to repent when the Holy Spirit convicts them of their sin inevitably leave the church. Continuing in our sin is not worth spending eternity in torture, agony, separation from those you love in the lake of fire.

Bring an expectation to hear from God.

Another reason you may find church unfulfilling and boring is because of unmet expectations. Examine your beliefs and ask God to show if your expectations of the church are unrealistic and nonbiblical. You should expect that the Church teaches the Bible and believes the Word of God is truth and that Jesus is the Son of God who shed His blood to pay the penalty of sin.

An example of a nonbiblical church: My husband and I visited a local church and the Pastor had the parishioners call their dead loved ones up to take communion with them. It mortified both my husband and me. The pastor pointed us out and said we can take communion too, but we didn’t move. Have you ever heard of such a thing? True story. We never went back to that church.

I can name many unrealistic expectations people have that leave them disappointed, but ask God to show you the unmet expectations you may have. Many people leave the church because it does not meet their expectations. The church is where we go to

―corporately worship God

―pray with other believers

―hear the word of God to increase our faith

―fellowship with other believers

―and meet the needs of the church body.

The church is not about what the Pastor can do for you, the carpet color, how nice the Pastor’s wife is, and so on.

Prepare to meet God at Church. Where are your thoughts?

Do you only go to church for social interaction? Or do you go to church to hear from God and encourage others in their faith? Do you read your Bible and pray throughout the week to prepare to meet God during the weekly corporate worship time? You may read a Bible Passage God wants you to share with someone to encourage them. Reading the Bible sanctifies you, that is, makes you holy. Jesus tells us in John 17:17 “Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.”

By praying all the time, you are obeying God’s instructions in Ephesians 6:18 and Romans 12:12. If you are praying at all times, God can drop a person’s name in your mind for you to intercede for them? When you pray all the time, you are not complaining or speaking an unkind word.

What are your thoughts during the week? God wants to be a part of every aspect of your life because someday, we will stand before Him and give an account of the things we did while on the earth. Ask God to reveal unhealthy beliefs about the church that causes you to be disengaged with the service and the people. Romans 1:21 states, “For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened.” Are you daily giving thanks to God for His love for you and His goodness, and so on? Do you rejoice always about the things God has done and for His promises? Do you think about how you can please God? Our thoughts direct our beliefs and our beliefs direct our feelings. So, if you feel bored or disengaged at church, ask God why.

Conclusion

I hope you found this post helpful and encouraging, though I could have written more. I would love to hear your thoughts and experiences. The church is fulfilling when you expect to hear from God, have the right heart attitude, read your Bible and prayed, and are one spirit with God.

How to Pursue and Achieve Godly Character

Relationship and World Changing Kindness

HOW PRIDE DESTROYS

Check out my first book on Amazon. I would love to hear what you think.

If you read my book and find it helpful, please leave a review. Also, if you want to do a Bible study with it, email me and ask for a free PDF of the leader’s guide. The PDF will have suggested discussion questions after each section. Quick links to all the scriptures in the endnotes for you to review or to copy and paste into your notes. Website links to review supporting material. Contact me at hopeforcompletehealing@hanscomjoyce

How The Church Prepares You to Meet God

How many reasons come to your mind as to why people leave the church? In my last post, I talked about why we need to go to church. If you need to leave the church because of life changes, find a Bible teaching, missions/service-oriented, God worshiping church. Remember, no church is perfect because people are not perfect. So why do people leave the church and never return?

The Number One Reason People Leave the Church Is Being Offended.

Have you been offended by someone or something in the church? What was your natural response when you became offended? Most offended people simply leave the church and lose their faith, which is Satan’s goal for all of us. Like I said in my last post, people are messy, and so is the church. Jesus said in Luke 5:32, “I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.”

We know that sin separates us from God. And we all know Romans 3:23, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” That is true, but that is not the final word. If that is all there is, then we will live defeated lives. Romans 3:24-25 explains the remedy for our messy sin, “And are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, ²⁵whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins.” We receive the gift of redemption (which is salvation from sin and God’s wrath) by the grace of God through faith. “And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, ⁹not a result of works, so that no one may boast. ¹⁰For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them (Ephesians 3:8-10).” A work in progress is not perfect, nor is it pretty, so we need to be patient with each other and encourage one another to love and good deeds (Hebrews 10:24).

How Should We React to Offensive People?

We need to see each other as saved sinners who are being made holy as God is Holy. Hebrews 12:14 states, “Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord. ¹⁵See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no “root of bitterness” springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled.” When we become offended, we often become depressed or contentious, then bitter. Note that verse 14 says that no one will see the Lord without holiness. Becoming holy is the process of transforming sinful thinking with the truth of God’s Word (Romans 12:2). This is why you need to stay in church, so you can practice being holy and transform your sinful thoughts, not only with your church family but also with your family at home.

Being holy is living an obedient life that strives to please God, knowing we will stand before Him to give an account of our actions. 2Corinthians 5:9-10 states, “So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him. ¹⁰For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.”

We won’t live holy lives all the time, because inevitably, we will react from our sinful nature and offend someone from time to time. Being offended by other Christians is nothing new. The Apostle Paul wrote to the Colossian church about what to do when they became offended. Colossians 3:13-15 states, “Bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. ¹⁴And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. ¹⁵And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful.” Peace and thankfulness go a long way. Being forgiving and thankful saved my marriage many times because you can’t be offended when you choose to live in love and peace by forgiving and being thankful. Does the peace of God rule in your heart? If not, you may have a past offense that needs to be forgiven. My book on my website helps you work through the many offenses in our hearts.

Excuses Why People Get Offended and Leave The Church

People do not want to tithe.

Don’t like the worship.

Don’t like the Pastor’s wife.

The pastor or music director had an affair.

Don’t like the changes.

The Pastor is boring (sometimes valid).

The people in the church are hypocrites.

The church doesn’t use King James Version.

The Pastor didn’t come to visit me when I missed one Sunday.

The list can be a lot longer, but you get the idea. Notice that being offended is focusing on the things you do not like and can’t control. I have to confess that I left several churches because the music was too loud, and I felt like I was at a rock concert. To me, that is not worship. Some people are drawn to that kind of worship, don’t know why. I can’t imagine God rocking out (just dated myself).

My point is that there are many different kinds of churches with various worship styles, ministries, and preaching styles. My second husband and I changed churches so our sons could go to a robust youth group with a dynamic youth pastor. We were their youth leaders, and we were failing. I have known families leave the church because of a change in the mission statement. If a family leaves the church, I recommend checking on them to see if they found another church home. Encourage those who leave for whatever reason to persevere in their faith and remind them that they will stand before God. Encourage them in their salvation and the need to nurture a holy life so they will spend eternity with God.

John 3:36 states, “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.”

And, Romans 6:22 “But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life.“

RELATED POSTS:

Freedom from the Spirit of Jealousy

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#1 Destroyer of All Relationships and the Solution

Check out my first book on Amazon. I would love to hear what you think.

Why Go to Church?

Do you or do you know someone who believes a Christian does not need to go to church? Christians have many reasons why they don’t go to church. Over the next several blog posts, I want to explore what the Bible says about the church. In this post, I identify the benefits of being a part of a church. I understand that the church is made of imperfect people who hopefully strive to become more like Christ, so don’t expect to find a perfect church. The pastor won’t be perfect either, so why go to church? Just as people can be messy, so can a church.

Why We Need the Church

I have discovered that many people wrongly believe that they don’t have to go to church to be a Christian. That is true. If you are a prisoner of war in solitary confinement, you will still be a Christian and go to heaven. But God created us to be a community of believers. A community looks out for each other and helps those in need. Titus 3:14 states, “And let our people learn to devote themselves to good works, so as to help cases of urgent need, and not be unfruitful.”

For example, one of our homeschooling mothers with six children was diagnosed with stage four cancer. Her youngest was five years old. Our church family supported her and helped the family by taking turns driving her for treatments, making her family meals, and watching the children during her treatments. The type of cancer could not be treated with chemotherapy, so she was allowed to try alternative therapies that were not paid for by her insurance. The church family helped pay for the treatments. The men of the church cut and split wood for the family to heat their home for the winter. At Christmas time, the church showered her children with gifts.

If you stayed home instead of supporting the local church and helping the members in need, then who would be there for you and help you in your time of need? How will you be encouraged to love and do good deeds if you don’t go to church? Hebrews 10:23-25 states, “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. ²⁴And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, ²⁵not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.” If we neglect attending church, we are disobeying God, and therefore, are in sin. I understand that the elderly and infirmed may not be able to get to church, so hopefully, the members of their church will be visiting them to encourage them in their faith and show love by helping them.

The Church is Necessary to Help Us Persevere in Our Faith

Romans 10:17 states, “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.” I know you can do online church or listen to radio preachers, but being in the house of God and corporately worshiping with others encourages your faith in God. When the children of Israel left Egypt, God required them to build a meeting place where the whole congregation could hear from God through Moses. A congregation is an assembly of persons brought together for common religious worship.

Psalm 107:32 states, “Let them extol him in the congregation of the people, and praise him in the assembly of the elders.” Also, Psalm 111:1 states, “Praise the LORD! I will give thanks to the LORD with my whole heart, in the company of the upright, in the congregation.” And Hebrews 2:12 states, “I will tell of your name to my brothers; in the midst of the congregation, I will sing your praise.” The Bible is clear that we are to meet together to praise God. Psalm 86:9 states, “All the nations you have made shall come and worship before you, O Lord, and shall glorify your name.” If you don’t want to worship with the believers on earth, then why would you want to worship with them in heaven?

The Corporate Worship Protects You from Deception

Deuteronomy 11:16 states, “Take care lest your heart be deceived, and you turn aside and serve other gods and worship them.” You risk losing your faith and being deceived when you don’t go to church because you become vulnerable to demonic attacks. We were created to worship God and to believe in Him, so if we stop worshiping God, then we will be drawn to worship idols. You are deceived if you don’t think this can happen to you because it happened to the Israelites time and again throughout the Old Testament, and they suffered greatly.

Have you ever sat around a campfire? If you move a burning log away from a fire, it quickly cools and stops burning. If you noticed that when someone stops going to church, their faith will cool? We will be easy prey for the enemy when we are isolated. 1Peter 5:8-9a states, “Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. ⁹Resist him, firm in your faith.” You can only be firm in your faith when you stay close to other believers with a strong faith. Have you watched an African Nature show? A herd of animals can protect themselves from predators, but if one of the animals gets separated, they are taken down and eaten. We need to stay watchful. The church is there to encourage us to stay under God’s protection.

Conclusion

My heart is very heavy as I write this post because I know many people who were strong in their faith but are no longer walking with God because they left the encouragement and protection of the church. If you don’t like the church you attend or attended, then find another Bible-teaching church. I have changed churches many times, depending on my stage of life. For example, my mother and father grew up Lutheran, so I began my life as a Lutheran. My mother and father came to know Jesus as their savior, so we attended a Brethren Church for a while. Then my mother and father got baptized by the Holy Spirit, and we went to a Pentecostal church for a while. My parents divorced, and we returned to the Lutheran church in my teen years. In college, my friend took me to her Pentecostal church. When I got married, we attended a Christian Missionary Alliance church. When I married my second husband, he wanted to attend the local Wesleyan Church. The point is, find a church that teaches the Bible and don’t expect it to be perfect or to meet your expectations.

How to Convert Pridefulness to Gentleness and Humility

You might think you have the right to be prideful because of your position in life, accomplishments, or status in the community. None of those situations are bad, nor does it mean you have arrogant, self-centered pride. Being proud of your accomplishments is different than thinking you’re better than someone else. I have to admit that I struggle with pride because I slip into thinking more highly of myself than I ought to. Most pride issues come from unhealthy beliefs that need to be uncovered and transformed by truth.

How often have you heard people make excuses for their bad behavior and accept it as part of who they are? So why is self-centered pridefulness a bad thing? The Spirit of pride keeps you from acknowledging your sin, apologizing, and repenting. I have written several posts on this subject. To learn more, please read the posts listed below:

HOW PRIDE DESTROYS

#1 Destroyer of All Relationships and the Solution

Anger Issues Protected by Pride and Judgmental Strongholds

My website is about changing unhealthy beliefs to experience a new reality. What we think and say comes from what we believe, and what we believe directs our behavior. Our choices determine how healthy our relationships will be. In this series of posts, I will expose the unhealthy beliefs that control our lives and how to transform them with the truth to experience a new reality. So why should we deal with pridefulness, and how does it block a gentle and meek attitude?

Where Does the Prideful Belief Come From?

The primary source of sinful pride is the devil. Self-centered, unhealthy beliefs are based on wrong assumptions and perceptions put into our minds by the demonic spirits all around us. Remember, we are spirit beings in a physical body living in a physical world controlled by the spirit world. You can read more about that in my post called: Four Realities of the Spirit World. Also, see the link below by Dr. David Jeremiah. If you are not submitted to God and are not resisting the devil, he will put the thoughts into your mind that you deserve better treatment than that, and so on.

Satan (angel named Lucifer, meaning “morning star”) sinned because of his pride by wanting to set his throne above God’s throne and was thrown down to earth (Isaiah 14:13-15 and Rev. 12:7-9). He causes us to sin through the same prideful attitude. Pride is thinking more highly of yourself than you ought to think (Romans 12:3), which also encourages us to think with sober (sound) judgment, that is, with a humble attitude. You know you have a spirit of pride when you are self-centered and insist on getting what you want at the expense of others. And, you know you are prideful when you become offended and get a bad attitude toward someone for what they said/did not say or did/did not do something you felt was unfair.

How do you know if you are humble?

God’s word defines a humble person as follows:

1. Someone who fears God (Prov. 15:33; 22:4).

2. A person who bears with others and is kind, patient, and forgiving (Eph 4:2 & 32).

3. When we count others as more important than ourselves (Phil. 2:3).

4. If you have wisdom that is pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere (James 3:17; Proverbs 11:2).

5. Someone who has acknowledged they are a sinner and repents (Psalm 149:4).

6. A person with a contrite (repentant) heart who trembles at God’s Word (Isaiah 66:2).

7. A humble person is not judgmental but gives grace (Eph 4:29).

What Is the Truth That Transforms this Unhealthy Belief?

The truth is that “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble (1Pet 5:5 and James 4:6).” 1Peter 5:6-7 states, “Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.” Give God all the worries that cause you to be anxious, and trust God to take care of all your concerns. When you worry, you exalt yourself above God because you do not trust Him to take care of your affairs. When you humbly give God all your concerns, He promises to exalt you at the proper time.

James 4:7 states, “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” When we submit to God, we are humbling ourselves and acknowledging our sin and need for His power and strength. But we are also to resist the devil and his temptations toward selfish ambition and pride. James 3:14-16 states, “But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to [deny] the truth. ¹⁵This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. ¹⁶For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile [evil] practice.” First, humbly ask God to show you if this verse applies to your life. Secondly, if you see selfishness, acknowledge that you have an unhealthy pride that leads to selfish ambition and ask for God’s forgiveness. Thirdly, ask God to remove it and to give you a humble spirit.

How To Change Unhealthy Beliefs

1. Before you can transform unhealthy beliefs, listen to what you are saying and pay attention to your thoughts because they come from unhealthy beliefs.

2. Submit the wrong thinking to God and ask Him to show you His transforming truth.

3. Ask God to show you if there is a painful memory contributing to your pridefulness. Satan takes every opportunity to inject pride into our minds.

4. Pray and put off the unhealthy belief controlling your thoughts, and put on the truth God shows you from His Word.

I first loosed the wrong thinking that God showed me and replaced it with scripture truths similar to the following:

Humility realizes that everything I have, including my abilities, is a gift from God. Deut. 8:17-18

I do not think of myself more highly than others, but in humility, I will regard others as more important than myself. Rom. 12:3; Phil. 2:3

God lifts up the humble in due time, so I will cast all my anxiety on Him because He cares for me. 1 Pet. 5:6-7; James 4:10

I am humbled when I see my need for God and trust He will guide me in what is right for all His ways are loving and faithful. Ps. 25:9-10

When I am humble, then I will be honored. Prov.15:33b

HOW TO DESTROY THE DEVIL’S WORK IN YOUR LIFE

Who Is Lucifer in the Bible?

All verses are from the English Standard Version. If you find my posts and website helpful, please share this link with your friends and family: hopeforcompletehealing.com. The information is copyright protected. Please do not reproduce any part of the posts or my book without proper citation to Joyce Hanscom and this website.

My latest book is Unlocking God’s Promises, which explains 18 categories of promises that are relevant to each of our lives. It also includes the promises in Psalm 91.

If you find this website helpful, you would like to read Breaking Mental Strongholds, which expands on my website book and includes many of my posts.

Additionally, consider my book Fighting Unseen Battles, which describes the many unhealthy beliefs that control our lives and what the truths are. To learn more about this book, read the post How to Fight Unseen Battles.

Contact me at hopeforcompletehealing@gmail.com, and ask for a PDF of Eight Prayers from the Bible. The prayers are for the Spirit of wisdom, renewal, spiritual strength, knowledge of His will, virtues of God, salvation for non-believers, 23rd Psalm, and victory. Please leave your name, so I know you are a real person making the request.

How to Decrease Fairness Belief to Increase Patience

“They are not doing their fair share (whine).” When you think of fairness, what comes to your mind? Fairness can be equality, impartiality, justice, and doing what is right. The problem with the unhealthy belief that everything should be fair is that each person has a different perspective of what is a just and equitable action or behavior. What I think is equal, impartial, or fair may not be what you think. So, patience is necessary for those times when your expectation of what you think is fair is not realized. The only one who is truly just is God, yet many people do not trust that He is fair because of this harmful belief. God is righteous and will always do what is right according to His holiness, though we may not understand it.

“Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne; steadfast love and faithfulness go before you.” – Psalm 89:14

“The LORD works righteousness and justice for all who are oppressed.” – Psalm 103:6

“Blessed are they who observe justice, who do righteousness at all times!” – Psalm 106:3

“To do righteousness and justice is more acceptable to the LORD than sacrifice.” – Proverbs 21:3

“Evil men do not understand justice, but those who seek the LORD understand it completely.” – Proverbs 28:5

Where Does the Unhealthy Fairness Belief Come From?

Let’s look at our opening statement. “They are not doing their fair share (whine).” Or “They are not pulling their fair share of the work.” Can you hear the judgmental whine? I’m not making fun because I have said that plenty of times. So, the source of the fairness belief begins with comparison and thinking we are doing more than someone else, or have less than someone else, and so on. For example, if you have a liberal mindset, you think the conservatives are not being just and impartial. The conservatives think that the views of the liberals are unjust and not right. It is all a matter of point of view or bias.

Another source is unmet expectations. When we expect that the workload will be shared, yet we think we are doing more work than the other person, they may be thinking they are doing more work than you. You might think you are not getting a fair price, but the other person thinks they are giving you a fair deal. So, fairness is a matter of perspective, which is often based on our self-centered pride. Again, we see the ugly head of pride in yet another unhealthy belief. Pride demands justice and fairness especially when it benefits our self-centered desires. Only when we are humble can we be patient when our standard of fairness and justice is not achievable.

A complaining attitude instead of a thankful attitude also breeds the unhealthy fairness belief of inequality. So, be grateful instead of comparing yourself with someone else and what they are doing or not doing or have that you don’t have.

So, why should we be patient when we feel wronged, and what is patience?

Patience is the evidence of love (1Cor.13:4). When we love others, we are right with God because we love as He loves. John 15:12-14 states, “This is my commandment that you love one another as I have loved you. ¹³ Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life [selfish pride] for his friends. ¹⁴ You are my friends if you do what I command you.” Also, 1John 4:8 states, “Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.”

The following definitions of patience come from Webster’s dictionary. Patience is bearing or enduring pain, trouble, inconvenience, etc., without complaint, losing self-control, making a disturbance, etc. To be forbearing: tolerate (to put up with). Keep oneself in check. It is refusing to be provoked or angered, as by an insult or frustration. And, it is merciful: compassionate or kindly forbearance shown toward an offender, an enemy, or person in one’s power. Lastly, patience is being just: living with a moral principle that determines right conduct and fairness by treating all sides alike.

The Truth That Transforms the Unhealthy Fairness Belief

First, accept that life is not fair, and fairness is arbitrary, which is why we need to be humble and patient with one another.

Second, ask God to reveal if you have resentment toward an unfair action in your past that is related to the offense you have taken in your current situation. For example, when I was a teenager, I felt it was unfair that I had to spend hours doing the dishes that everyone piled up. I became resentful of my sisters because I felt they were dirtying too many dishes. Fast forward to a few years ago; I still resented having to do the dishes. I had my sons take turns doing the dishes, and then they moved out. I talked to my husband about my resentment and asked if he would help, which he did reluctantly, but he often wouldn’t help at all. The truth that set me free from my irrational fairness belief was that I am called to serve others in love as Jesus came to serve.

“Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. ⁴ Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. ⁵ Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, ⁶who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, ⁷but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.” – Philippians 2:3-7

“For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh [selfish-pride], but through love serve one another.” – Galatians 5:13

Third, instead of stewing about something you feel is unfair, talk to the person involved in the comparison. Calmly state your observation or point of view, then ask for the other person’s point of view on the situation with a humble attitude. Ask if you can work out a more equitable situation to reduce frustration for both of you. If the other person does not see your perspective, then be patient with them.

How To Change Unhealthy Beliefs

1. To transform unhealthy beliefs, recognize you have them. Listen to what you are saying and pay attention to your thoughts.

2. Submit the wrong thinking to God and ask Him to show you the truth.

3. Ask God to show you if you have a painful memory or resentment controlling your thoughts and decisions.

4. Pray and put off the unhealthy belief controlling your thoughts and put on the truth God shows you from His Word.

I first loosed the wrong thinking that God showed me and replaced it with scripture truths like the following:

Being patient shows wisdom. It is to my glory to overlook an offense and not be prideful and arrogant. Prov. 19:11; Eccl. 7:8b
Being patient calms a quarrel, but anger stirs up strife, so I put off my anger and wanting things my way. Prov 15:18
I can be patient with everyone and accept them. And not complain about them but to forgive them as Christ is patient with me and forgives me. 1 Thes. 5:14b; Col. 3:12b,13
I trust God to give me what I truly need in His perfect, divine timing. Phil. 4:19; Luke 12:22-34
I can be humble, gentle, patient, and show tolerance for others in love. Eph. 4:2

A POWERFUL MOOD CHANGER

What is Wrong with Fairness?

How Patience is a Sign of Maturity

WHY HEAL YOUR HEART AND PURIFY YOUR SOUL?

Love From a Pure Heart

All verses are from the English Standard Bible unless otherwise indicated. If you find my posts and website helpful, please share the links with your friends and family, hopeforcompletehealing.com. The information is copyright protected. No part of the posts or my book may be reproduced without proper citation to Joyce Hanscom and this website.

Contact me at hopeforcompletehealing@gmail.com, and ask for a PDF of Eight Life-Changing Prayers from the Bible. The prayers are for the Spirit of wisdom, renewal, spiritual strength, knowledge of His will, virtues of God, salvation for non-believers, 23rd Psalm, and victory. Please leave your name so I know you are a person making the request.

Jesus’s Final Message to The Seven Churches

Do we only have to believe to inherit eternal life? What about those people who believe but do not repent of their sinful life? Will they get to heaven? What does God say? You first must believe and accept forgiveness for your sins, but God’s instructions are clear; we need to seek Him and do what He commands with our whole heart (Ps. 119:10, 34, 69)? Many distractions keep us from seeking God and obeying Him with our whole hearts. So, we first must ask God to show us what they are and then repent. In my life, resentments kept me from obeying God with my whole heart. Other people may be distracted by worldly enticements that draw them away from complete devotion to God. Often we do not make it a priority to please God and bring Him glory. Jesus addresses all these and more in His final word to the seven churches.

Jesus’s final words to the seven churches give us a glimpse of what will be ours if we overcome our sin and Satan’s temptations. The reoccurring theme is to conquer. According to Webster’s dictionary, conquer means getting possession or control of by winning a war. What did the churches need to conquer? What do we need to conquer? For one thing, never forget we are in a perpetual war with the devil who wants to steal, kill, and destroy us. Too often, we forget or ignore this fact to our peril. The following scriptures should put the fear of God in our lives and encourage us to stay in the battle to conquer our spiritual enemy.

To the Church in Ephesus

Rev 2:4, 7, “But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. ⁷ He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.”

To the Church in Smyrna

Rev 2:10-11, “Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and for ten days, you will have tribulation. Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life. ¹¹ He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who conquers will not be hurt by the second death.”

To the Church in Pergamum

Rev 2:17, “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, with a new name written on the stone that no one knows except the one who receives it.”

To the Church in Thyatira

Rev 2:26-28, “The one who conquers and who keeps my works until the end, to him I will give authority over the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron, as when earthen pots are broken in pieces, even as I myself have received authority from my Father. ²⁸ And I will give him the morning star.”

To the Church in Sardis

Rev 3:5, “The one who conquers will be clothed thus in white garments, and I will never blot his name out of the book of life. I will confess his name before my Father and before his angels.”

To the Church in Philadelphia

Rev 3:10-12, “Because you have kept my word about patient endurance, I will keep you from the hour of trial that is coming on the whole world, to try those who dwell on the earth. ¹¹ I am coming soon. Hold fast what you have, so that no one may seize your crown. ¹² The one who conquers, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God. Never shall he go out of it, and I will write on him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down from my God out of heaven, and my own new name.”

To the Church in Laodicea

Rev 3:15-16,21,” ‘I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! ¹⁶ So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth. ²¹ The one who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as I also conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne.”

Conclusion

Are you aware of the spiritual warfare all around you and the need to conquer it? I wrote a series of posts on spiritual warfare that are found in SPIRITUAL WARFARE POSTS. I hope you are as encourage as I am to continue to fight because once we conquer one battle, we will have another. Jesus will help us. Heb 12:1-4 states, “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. ³ Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted. ⁴ In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.” NEVER GIVE UP; KEEP LOOKING UP.

Check out my latest book Breaking Mental Strongholds which you can order on Amazon. To learn more about it, read my post called Breaking Mental Strongholds Book. Also, check out Fighting Unseen Battles on Amazon. To learn more about this book, read: How to Fight Unseen Battles.

Contact me at hopeforcompletehealing@gmail.com, and ask for a PDF of Eight Prayers from the Bible. The prayers are for the Spirit of wisdom, renewal, spiritual strength, knowledge of His will, virtues of God, salvation for non-believers, 23rd Psalm, and victory. Please leave your name, so I know you are a person making the request.

How to Avoid the Dangers of Coveteousness

Will going to church get you to heaven? Instead, is your heart willing to understand and obey what the Bible says we are to do? Understanding the Bible only comes from God. Doing what the Bible tells us to do can only be done with a willing, humble heart and God’s enablement. Psalm 119:16-18 explains, “I will delight in your statutes [will of God]; I will not forget your word. 17) Deal bountifully[graciously] with your servant, that I may live and keep your word. 18) Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of your law [instructions].” Is this your prayer? 1John 2:17 states, “And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.” Coveting the things of the world will distract you from doing the will of God and abiding forever with Him. Jesus said in Luke 12:15, “And he said to them, ‘Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.’”

If you have a strong desire to gain possessions and you find fulfillment in buying things, ask God to root out the unhealthy belief that you need possessions for whatever reason. Ask God to help you tear down the covetous stronghold that keeps you in bondage to being controlled by worldly possessions. To learn more about strongholds read STRONGHOLDS—What Are They and How Do They Affect You

Psalms 119:36 states, “Incline my heart to your testimonies [will], and not to selfish gain [covetousness]!” Albert Barnes explains this verse in his Bible Commentary Notes (1834).

Incline my heart unto thy testimonies – Cause my heart to be inclined to them, or to be disposed to keep them. This, too, is a recognition of dependence and a prayer for guidance.

And not to covetousness – To gain; to the love of money. This seems to be referred to here as the principal thing which would turn away the heart from religion, or as that from which the most danger was to be feared. There are undoubtedly many other things which will do this – for all sin will do it; but this was the chief danger which the psalmist apprehended in his own case, and perhaps he meant to refer to this as the principal danger on this subject which besets the path of man. There are many more persons turned away from the service of God, and kept away from it, by covetousness than there are by any other one sin. When the psalmist prays that God would not “incline” his heart to covetousness, the language is similar to that in the Lord’s prayer – “And lead us not into temptation.” That is, restrain us from it; let us not be put in circumstances where we shall be in danger of it. We are not to suppose that God exerts any positive influence either to make a man covetous, or to tempt him. See Jas_1:13-14.

I have been writing posts about wealth, contentment, and godliness. To keeps these three principles in balance, we must seek God for a humble, thankful heart that desires to please God more than ourselves. Seek to gain more spiritual understanding instead of material enrichment. If you haven’t read any of my posts in this series, you can read them now.

What is Godliness?

I have been pondering this question for years. Webster’s dictionary (1957) defines godliness as being godly, which is 1. of or from God; divine 2. devoted to God. Dictionary.com (2021) says godliness is the quality or practice of conforming to the laws and wishes of God; devoutness and moral uprightness. Because of my abusive past, I did not fit the description of godliness. I was angry, controlling, impatient, and insecure. When God healed my soul wounds, I was free to focus on His way of living in love instead of living out of my past hurts.

How To Train To Be Godly?

When you train for something, you make an effort to learn and practice to improve your knowledge and skill. In verse six, we are to train ourselves to be godly, that is, to think godly thoughts based on the truth of God’s Word. In my post called What Controls Your Thoughts?, I explain how our thoughts control our beliefs, and our beliefs create feelings, and we express our feelings in our behavior. So when we discipline ourselves to think God-pleasing thoughts, we will believe what is true and display godliness. Dictionary.com (05/2021) says godliness is the quality or practice of conforming to the laws and wishes of God; devoutness and moral uprightness.

How Contentment with Godliness Increases Independence, Time, and Wealth

Contentment with godliness is a great gain because we are free to focus on loving God and serving Him and others. When we are content with minimal possessions, we gain independence, time, wealth, and so on. When we are content, we no longer have to spend our time and money on worthless, vain things that need maintenance and storage.

How to Balance Wealth and Contentment

It comes down to greed versus gratitude and contentment. What controls your attitude and thoughts will influence your actions. Are you grateful for the wealth God has given you, or are you greedy for more? Are you content with pleasing and loving God, or do you want more for a greater sense of security and self-importance? You can balance wealth with contentment when you have submitted all you have to God and are grateful.

How to Pursue and Achieve Godly Character

To be excellent at anything, you need to train yourself to improve and then pursue your goals. Also, pursuing godliness makes us a vessel for honorable use. Thankfully, we have God’s divine power to help us achieve the virtues of God and His divine nature. Achieving godly character and excellence should be our number one priority because one day, we will stand before God and what will He find in you? Will you be ashamed?

How a Pure Heart is a Godly Heart

Why should we have a pure heart and live godly lives? We will be blessed. Psalm 119:2-3 states, “Blessed are those who keep his testimonies, who seek him with their whole heart, who also do no wrong, but walk in his ways!” One of the best ways to purify your soul and live a godly life is to memorize scripture and practice them. Psalm 119:11 states, “I have stored [hidden] up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.” On the one hand, we know what we need to do; on the other hand, what is our plan

How to Use God’s Divine Power

2Peter 1:3 states, “His divine power has granted to us all things [everything we need] that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence.” God gives us His divine power to be godly when we know Him and His promises. Ponder for a moment that you were called to share in God’s glory and excellence. I can only partake of God’s glory and excellence through His divine power to think godly thoughts.

Contact me at hopeforcompletehealing@gmail.com, and ask for a PDF of Eight Prayers from the Bible. The prayers are for the Spirit of wisdom, renewal, spiritual strength, knowledge of His will, virtues of God, salvation for non-believers, 23rd Psalm, and victory. Please leave your name, so I know you are a person making the request.