Be Gentle In Correcting Others

Speaking From God’s Wisdom Does NOT Offend But Encourage

"Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love" (Ephesians 4:2 NIV).

“Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show by good conduct that his works are done in the meekness of wisdom. But if you have bitter envy and self-seeking in your hearts, do not boast and lie against the truth. This wisdom does not descend from above but is earthly, sensual, and demonic. For where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there. But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy. Now the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace” (James 3:13-18 NKJV).

Vision: On Wednesday 21/10/2020 I received a Word from the Lord and I heard Him say, "Difficult times are coming to Mexico and the United States of America".  This will be soon and unavoidable!

Brief interpretation: The Lord did not say what type of difficulties are coming but one thing I know, it will affect many people around the world. The Lord says those will be days of judgment. Also, as a family and Ministry, we stand by our brothers in the USA and Mexico and we will pray for the Lord's grace to prevail.  First of all, we are a Church organization and we have no interest in either candidate. it is the Lord who revealed to us how USA politics will shape the world. Furthermore, believe Mr. Trump will win the coming elections (we not saying this is from the Lord but myself, Brother Glenn) as he has unfinished business in terms of his Middle East peace initiatives so that the Word of the Lord we prophesied is fulfilled which we will share in the coming weeks. Now, the God who revealed these things requires us to pray, please join this ministry and family to pray for the peace of the USA and Mexico.  

Important notice: The Lord gave us this message to write after members of our ministry and members of the body of Christ, in general, are being persecuted by their fellow 'Christian' brethren. The Lord is warning us not to wage war against each other. A true Christian employs the weapons of love, humility, and gentleness to embrace true unity in the body of believers.

The world as we know it is practicing violence, hatred, and every kind of sins the Bible warns against (Revelations 21:8). Scripturally, we learned that evil and deceit has been decreed by the Lord to continue until the end of time (Daniel 12:10; Matthew 13:30). When our Lord Jesus Christ visited the world, He brought a message of peace and reconciliation for all mankind (Luke 2:14; Colossians 1:20; Ephesians 2:16; 2 Corinthians 5:18-20). However, the Lord has given His Peace to ‘those with whom God is pleased’ and these are those who accepted Him as their Lord and who follow His teachings (Luke 2:14; John 14:27). Learning from the Holy Scriptures, the Christian message teaches us a lifestyle of being peace-loving, humble, caring, and gentleness (Ephesians 4:2). Additionally, in bringing forth the beautiful heart of the Lord, the Scriptures knowing the disobedient nature of human beings teach us to be patient with others and allow them to react without a compulsion to the will of God (2 Timothy 2:24; 2 Corinthians 9:7). In other words, when a person conforms voluntarily to the Word of God he or she simply agrees with the scriptural instruction(s) to obey and submit to the Voice of God (John 10:27).

Demeaning Others Is Demonic

Some time ago the Lord Jesus sharply rebuked a young man in our ministry who was in the habit of humiliating and talking down on others. The Lord said that even if we rebuke others we need not state it in anger and as if the other person(s) is nothing (2 Timothy 2:25; Galatians 6:1). Now, brethren, we are not writing this message as if we are sitting in judgment over others, in fact, we are being encouraged ourselves to watch our salvation and not to be a stumbling block to others (1 Corinthians 10:32; Romans 14:13-23). Furthermore, our message to others whether we rebuke, teach, preach or encourage ought to be in a meek and gentle spirit impacted by the purity of the wisdom from above (James 3:17-18).

In the same breath, the Bible asks, “Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show it by his good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom” (James 3:13 NIV). Thus, if our conduct and speech towards our brothers or sisters are hostile, demeaning, and driven by anger, bitterness, and hateful feelings such behavior has its roots in evil and we know who is the source of evil (James 3:14-16). Therefore, a person who operates from evil motives is driven by a spirit of evil hate, and whatever unpleasant thought or word he or she conceives he attached it to his victim with evil intent. If we operate from ‘such “wisdom” [then it] does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, of the devil’ (James 3:15 NIV).

Now, brethren, I am not trying to play victim or hero here. My intention is simply to share an experience which could help and benefit someone in his or her walk with the Lord. As a ministry, we are not only receiving encouraging emails and messages from brethren around the world, in fact, some people ‘vomit’ their hatred towards us albeit in a Christian tone (scriptural verses) but with the voice of the devil which is evident through the spirit of the message. 

We are going to be direct here, recently (24 July 2018) we received an email message from a former member of this ministry in fact a few such emails lately. In his discourse, the member did not hold back his thoughts, emotions, and what he thinks about us and our work in the Lord. At best, the spirit of love was absent and the voice of the Lord was silent we couldn’t hear it in that message as the ‘sulfur’ of insult and ridicule rained down on us. God forbids and may He help us love our fellow brethren and those who oppose our message. We emphasize, a person has a right to disagree with a message, but when love is absent instead of correcting someone gentle we do not fulfill the Lord's message of loving unconditionally (Romans 12:9-21; 13:8). Thus, if others condemn us and consider us a nuisance to life let us be comforted that the Lord Jesus Christ loves us more and He made us more than conquerors (Romans 8:37).

The Father Has Unconditional Love For The Rejected

After reading such content, we were left asking ourselves, what did we gain from this, edification or encouragement? NO! Instead, our peace and spirits were momentarily disturbed (Proverbs 15:1; 4). Thus our gain in that message was pain, hurt, and slander which caused us to long for some comfort, nothing pleasant to help us in the Lord (Hebrews 10:24). To put it blindly, we were made to feel that we are welcome to seek and serve the Lord and that we are not part of Him! O’ Lord Jesus Christ, we thank you for being a gracious and forgiving God who said, “Everyone whom my Father gives me will come to me. I will never turn away anyone who comes to me” (John 6:37 GNT). Brethren in order to get people saved, the Lord Exercises great patient with sympathetic love to invite sinners to Him (2 Peter 3:9; Luke 15:20). Now beloved brethren, if we are in the business of destroying the faith of others we are not gathering but scattering and being a stumbling to others (Matthew 12:30). Let us be warned, when our turn comes to appear before the Lord, He will Judge us for the souls He lost as a result of our ungodly actions (2 Corinthians 5:10).

In conclusion, with this message we are not saying that we stand above this message but in submission to the Lord, we accept whatever scriptural correction to obtain maturity in Christ and to be useful in service to His body. In addition, there will be a follow-up message to this one during next week or the week(s) thereafter.

As always, we would like to extend an invitation to anyone who does not know the Lord Jesus Christ yet, or if you are not born again, to pray our suggested prayer on this link Prayer of Sincere Repentance by faith and follow the Lord (Matthew 4:19). You may also contact us for any questions or comments about this article or our ministry.

With Love from all of us

Brother Glenn

The Spiritual Effects Of Social Networking

 The Sad Story Of Jackson

“Everything is permissible for me," but not everything is helpful. "Everything is permissible for me," but I will not be brought under the control of anything " (1 Corinthians 6:12 HCSB).

Brethren, a very dear brother in the Lord gave me permission to briefly write about an experience they had as a God-fearing family. With this experience, our dear brother wishes to warn and discourage Christians from the effects of social networking.

Now our brother Samuel (not real name) explained that a few years ago he and his wife decided to buy a cellular phone for their 12-year-old son Jackson (also not real name) because he had been obedient and faithful in everything including his relationship with God and buying this phone for Jackson greatly pleased them. Before giving him his new cellular phone, Jackson’s father being a pastor, warned him about the addiction to social networking and the kinds of friends he might come across.  Without hesitation, Jackson gave his father an assurance that he will be careful and prays before acquiring new friends who should anyway just be Christians.

However, a few months later Jackson’s behavior started changing the father observed that he would frequently be busy with the phone while busy reading the bible. Just on a particular day, the Holy Spirit prompted Jackson’s father to borrow him his cellular phone for a few minutes. As the father went through the phone’s content he came across pornographic material and after showing his wife, they called Jackson in and inquired from him why he had such content on his cellular phone. Being shocked that his parents discovered his secret, Jackson confessed that he had become addicted to social networking and the material he had on his phone and that he was relieved this came out since he needed a way out of this.

As it was, after disciplining Jackson his cellular phone was confiscated but would be given back if he promised that he would not do what he did. After prayer and a strong conviction, Jackson repented of this and promised to his parents never to venture into that direction again. Meanwhile, not being vigilant (1 Peter 5:8) enough Samuel confessed that he trusted Jackson’s word of promise (not to repeat the same folly) more than relying on the Lord. This made them (Samuel and his wife) spiritually blind and they did not even consider to pray daily asking the Lord to shield Jackson against that spirit of addiction (Psalm 3:3; 18:3-4) which made its return a few months later and Jackson was NEVER the same again!

The Grief Of A Parent

King Solomon said, "A foolish son is a grief to his father, and bitterness to her that bare him" (Proverbs 17:25). As we continue, in great unhappiness of soul, our beloved brother Samuel recalled that Jackson’s spiritual life started deteriorating as he lost interest in the things of God. Being a fairly disciplined child who is well-versed in the Scriptures,  Jackson started despising and disrespecting his parents even after the Lord Himself appeared to him warning him not to disrespect his parents but to honor them (Ephesians 6:1-3) and this fell on deaf ears the brother heart-brokenly recalled. As it was, Jackson became reckless and rebellious, running away from home on several occasions to express his disdain for God and his parents (Luke 15:21) and currently, Jackson is still, a subject of prayer even after he re-committed his life to the Lord, while his parents admit that he is no longer the same person in his faith and commitment to God after having tasted the forbidden fruit of disobedience (Genesis 3:5-7).

In conclusion, as a ministry we do acknowledge that cellular phones are a source of great help to humanity and we do not regret the usefulness of this technology in our lives. As our lead Scripture declares, it is permissible but we also know that its connection to the internet with so much poisonous content readily available it contributes to various addictions like in chat rooms, porn sites, gossip content, bad company, deceitful lying, and the promotion of hate-speech amongst brethren. Being a minister of the gospel, I have counseled a number of young people who showed symptoms of psychological issues and who have been badly altered by the impact of social networking which is evident in the hollow and ‘actor’ kind of lifestyle they follow (1 John 2:15-17).

Therefore, if you are hooked to social media which brought about its own taste of pleasure for gossip, lustfulness, gaming, the conspiring of hateful and evil talk, porn, etc please repent and ask the Lord to deliver you and if you confess He will show His faithfulness (1 John 1:9). In addition, we cannot over-emphasize that the Lord is NEAR and that is what He repeated to me (Brother Glenn) this morning (19/10/2020) and may the Lord bless, save and deliver those who give heed to this teaching in Jesus' name.

 Blessed Grace

Brother Glenn