1 Timothy 4:1 Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, ² speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron

I grew up in a town that had a canning factory. The silage from the peas and corn would produce a stench which was like an open sewer during the summer and fall which enveloped the town. The baseball-football field I played on was right next to this canning factory. And although other teams from other towns would come and complain about this stench, those of who lived there couldn’t understand what they were talking about. It wasn’t until I moved away and then came back to visit, that I could smell what the complaint was being waged over, it was a really bad stench!

The analogy of this is growing up in a false church and false teachings such as Roman Catholicism. Your system grows tolerant of the stench of the falsehoods so you do not realize there is a BAD smell. Your friends, family, and community all tolerate it, so when one questions your church, you are oblivious to the falsehoods. You believe your church is right and cannot be wrong.

But if you move away from this indoctrination and study Scripture, you will quickly realize the stench of false doctrines you were encompassed in! You see this direct path straight to Jesus Christ which your church put up roadblocks to and the sins of idolatry and blasphemy, the STINK coming from your indoctrinated worldview.

The smell test with doctrine is conducted only by the ultimate authority of Scripture! The teaching will either pass the test, or you will realize the horrible odor coming off it it. If Scripture is NOT your ultimate authority and instead the world is your authority, you will be like myself in the example of the stench coming off the canning factories silage, you will be OBLIVIOUS to that odor and sadly accepting of these false doctrines. And in time, you will have NO IDEA why there are complaints about your church.

So read Scripture, study Scripture without that stench! It should be teaching you outwardly, don’t inject the smell of your man made doctrines into it. MOVE AWAY from world religion and MOVE TOWARD God and His revealed word, only then you will smell what every Christian is smelling, and that is the horrible ghastly sewer that religion is producing. And that smell is DEATH! Place your faith alone in Jesus Christ alone, and you will now smell the sweet odor of LIFE!

Romans 12:2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

There is a passive killer in this fallen world and it is called stress! This is not only a Biblical truth but many branches of medicine all concur that stress really does kill. It will cause hypertension and the constriction of your blood vessels making your organs to start to fail.

I believe the medical community wandered on this phenomenon when they test on small animals. A small animal if put through a fear will sometimes just drop dead on the spot. The stress of the situation killed them. The various stressors could be seen as the cause, thus concluding this healthy animal died due to stress on their system.

In Romans 12, Paul exhorts “do not be conformed to this world”. He said this in my view for one thing (not the only reason) because he knew as every medical expert knows that the world is a stressor, and stress will kill you. He was also saying that being conformed to this world will cause spiritual degradation and death, not just physical death.

He then said “but be transformed by the renewing of your mind”. This is something we can do, which is it RENEW your mind. Stop stressing on negativity, and focus on positivity. Tony Robbins in his book “Unlimited Power” goes through an exercise. He explains that each of us has programmed our brains, so if we dwell 99 percent of the time on negativity and stressors, our brain is programmed this way. I believe he was correct!

Renewing your mind is a DEPROGRAMMING! It is taking the negative sin and fallen nature out, and reprogramming it with positivity! Robbins exercise was for the individual to replace a negative thought IMMEDIATELY with replaying the happiest moment in your life, and it could be several moments. For a Christian this could be when you realized Jesus saved you 2,000 years ago on the Cross. For others it could be the birth of a child, a graduation, a cure which was announced, these are all blessings from God by the way. But be that as it may, it DOES reprogram your brain from the degenerate negativity to positivity.

Removing STRESS is to renew your mind, deprogram the negatives out of it and replace the thoughts with positive ones.

Think on those times of stress in the past and then try to state anything good which came from it. There has been studies to indicate that many college kids come down with a illness just after their Finals, all due to the stress they went through.

Stress will KILL you! So remove it from your life!

Romans 1:21 Because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened

I always find it so utterly absurd when a USA leftist politician tries to use the Bible or God in their demand that America goes along with their totally degenerate and depraved agenda. It is like they are taking their middle finger and waving it right in God’s face expecting that will end well.

Their is an obvious HATE for God and His righteousness by this political party which grows more and more extreme by the day. 10 years ago, we would never see a political commercial which basically claims that if one disagrees with abortion, the murder of the unborn, they would be considered an “extremist”, a “terrorist”. But they do this now and are unashamed in that zeal to kill, while claiming it is somehow “healthcare”.

You wouldn’t give your 5 year old a cigarette much less a lighter to play with, but the leftist party of the USA gladly has grown men dressed up as women sexually gyrating while calling it “story hour”, as IF this just a normal and moral function in our society. While these same children can’t spell their own name or do basic math problems, the left would like them to blur their genders instead as if this is the most pressing importance in a child’s future.

Crime is out of control in the country, and the criminals defended by these same leftists know there really are no consequences unless you belong to the other political party. The left’s response to crime? “Defund the police”.

Over 108,000 died alone of drug overdoses in 2021, I repeat that 108,000!! While the left basically has let in killer drugs on the southern border while gaslighting anyone who questions this as “extremist haters”. President Biden’s line “this is who we are”??? NO! This is who the left is! And let me put this in context as they try to disarm law abiding citizens. 19,000 died of gunshots due to violence in 2021. 108,000 of drug overdoses! And they say nothing about it. 58,000 died in the Vietnam War in the course of 10 years, so again put 108,000 in that context in ONE YEAR!

The absolute HATE for God has made them FOOLS and anyone who supports them FOOLS, and much more than this, EVIL fools! But do not dismay, God has already revealed who wins in the end, HE DOES!

On November 8 please vote WISELY! The real hate the left has is for YOU, and your children! They want everyone to sink with them on their evil ship! The only voice you have is your VOTE! Don’t sit it out, don’t allow evil to reign any longer!

Psalm 42:10 As with a breaking of my bones, My enemies reproach me, While they say to me all day long, “Where is your God?”

If you haven’t read and studied Psalm 42 yet, I suggest that you do. It is a great case study for what transpires in the life of the faithful and a very lucid observation of those around us, David calls “enemies”.

The enemy to child of God is His enemy, an unbeliever. Now they might be docile enemies to you personally in that they are friendly, kind, and even considerate, but make no mistake they are still enemies to one who is faithful. And they will make it known in times of distress or hardship in your life. While comforting you, they are saying “where is your God?”.

“As they boast and directly or indirectly say “look at me, I don’t have your problems, I travel to Europe, I have a large estate, I have all the money I can dream of, I have a solid marriage and a great family, and I am not doing ANYTHING for God, so WHERE IS YOUR GOD? Give up on Him!“

They HOPE you FAIL MISERABLY in your faith, yes, this is what won’t probably be mouthed to you, but when you have a terrible life event come your way, they are cheering this on in their minds in a sadistic manner, saying to themselves “watch, they’ll break and leave all that God nonsense now, and come back to us”. It is what I call the same test of Job!!

Job’s friends and even his wife thought Job would break under Satan’s pressure. That Job’s faith was fragile and would succumb to all the tragedies he went through in a short period of time. His family was destroyed, his fortune taken away, and his health was in peril. Job’s wife went as far to say to him “just curse God and die already”. His friends constantly needled him, tempting him to give up his supposed vanity in faith and go back to his old life with them. Although Job bent a bit, he never broke! And in the end his faith remained strong, God rewarded him.

Your enemies DO HOPE YOU FAIL, because it justifies their unbelief! Some would host a large party for you if you discarded your preaching of the Gospel, and went back to your old life of sin with them. Some will tempt you with money, offering to get you out of a problem, with the conditions being you stop preaching the Gospel and go back to your old ways with them. THE OLD YOU was much easier to be around, so they sadistically hope your faith will be broken.

The “where is your God?” definitely shows up during those times. They might not say those words, but listen carefully. I had a friend recently for example tell me that I spend much too much time on these blogs and preaching the Gospel as the remedy for my financial future. He didn’t say “where is your God?” but that was the gist of what he was saying. And he isn’t the only one I have heard this from. Their solution? Give up God, give up sharing the Gospel, and come back to your old life of sin, the sinner they remember, join them again on a path to hell in other words.

The temptation is to say “you’re right, maybe I should take a break from God and concentrate on worldly things, that’ll solve the issue”…they HOPE you fail and say that! As they boast and directly or indirectly say “look at me, I don’t have your problems, I travel to Europe, I have a large estate, I have all the money I can dream of, I have a solid marriage and a great family, and I am not doing anything for God so WHERE IS YOUR GOD? Give up on Him!“

But the question of “where is your God” is EASILY answered! He is right here with you if you believe. It doesn’t matter what worldly issue, health problem, financial calamity, etc., God is always there! And by that test, you MOST IMPORTANTLY show the enemies that the faith He granted you, the same faith He granted Job, David, Abraham, Paul, etc., CANNOT BE BROKEN by worldly problems! This is a message of God which actually goes directly to your enemies! That He exists, what He said was true, and He CANNOT be conquered!

The enemy HOPES YOU WOULD JUST SHUT UP! They HOPE by that tragedy or problem, you will show that all you preached was in VAIN. They LOVED the OLD YOU, because the OLD YOU was just like them, an enemy of the Kingdom. They HOPE by the tragedy or problem God now won’t be your first priority, “give up the blog, give up sharing the Gospel and focus on the world again”. And the more sadistic nature of the “where is your God” is “see, your God is punishing you, because you DESERVED it”. They rejoice in your suffering, even when they are giving you a hug in trying to console you.

I will give a quick personal example. During the Fall of 2019, my beloved 7 year old dog came down with cancer and 4 months later he passed away. My close friends and family who were unbelievers secretly rejoiced, as they now could say “where is your God?”. A hardship that they viewed as a reason why I might just now give up my faith. Some actually said in their way “you deserved it for judging sinners”, meaning that I should never have shared the TRUTH. Some were hoping “well now Jeff will come back to us and give up on God”. And some were hoping “he’ll come back to our false gospel now”. NONE OF WHICH TOOK PLACE, because of God’s faith.

So be aware, your enemies will give you a cup of water, a blanket, but the sadistic hope is that YOU GIVE UP! David at his breaking point in Psalm 42 seemingly almost did, but he didn’t break. He ended the Psalm with answering his own questions by the AWESOME FAITH GOD GRANTED, ¹¹ Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God; For I shall yet praise Him, The help of my countenance and my God.

Mark 9:24, “Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!”

For those who don’t believe in God, and also believe a Christian is one of those folks who are and were “always religious” and faithful, it might surprise you that they were unbelievers just like you. They struggled just like you with God, and His existence. And it might further surprise you that some claim to be Christians, but because they were deceived most likely by a false church, they continue to struggle with their belief in God even though they go to church each Sunday.

The struggle is natural based on man’s fallen nature. You were told God exists, but where is He? Your questions might be “why is there all this suffering and heartache we go through?”. But if you think about it, that doesn’t negate God’s existence, RATHER it confirms it if you understand that this world is sinful and fallen just as the Bible teaches and we are under judgment based on sin.

Be that as it may, I will give you a practical question on God’s existence. Have you ever been through a very dark period, a pain, a heartache, a health crisis, a near death experience, a tremendous loss, any suffering, a financial crisis, a job loss? If so, how did you go on with your life? Was it just your will power? Because if it was, why couldn’t you just make the crisis go away by that will power? Why couldn’t you prevent the death of a loved one or heal your sick child in an instant? Why couldn’t you stop the car that barrelled through the stop light and smashed into you? Why couldn’t you stop the tornado or hurricane which destroyed everything you owned? You can’t!

In the above AWESOME verse (if you ask me, one the most awesome in all of the Bible), the child of the father realized this upon his demon possessed child. He’d most likely give up his own life, if it meant saving his child from this torment, but it was out of his control. He couldn’t heal his child, all he could do is love the child, comfort the child, but he could NOT make the demon go away. It was out of his control and power to do anything. And if you can relate, you WANT to FIX the problem, but you can’t, it is a HELPLESS SICK feeling that encompasses you.

The response was in to what Jesus said to him “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.” The father then realized what Jesus was saying by “if you CAN believe”. He was unable to do so, so his simple humble prayer was “help my unbelief”. It wasn’t “Lord I believe, I even go to church on Sundays, so take the demon away”, no, he was honest and truthful in that moment of feeling POWERLESS with his child, and for the first time he probably believed God actually existed. He admitted that he struggled with God in this belief and needed HELP, to be enabled to believe. Jesus then cast out the demon.

You see, it isn’t those times when you are on top of the world, when you are in control of your life, that you will turn to God and believe He exists, that there is a supreme power controlling everything. It is when He takes that perceived control and power out of you, so that you realize He alone is in control, He is the power behind the crisis, He alone can make the crisis go away.

And in His infinite benevolence based on His love and mercy, He has done this with unbelievers and believers alike MANY TIMES OVER. The difference is the believer realizes WHO was behind the cure, the unbeliever still believes in luck, chance, Karma, superstition. But in the END, as sure as the sun rose this morning, ALL will know who that POWER was, it was always the Almighty Supreme God and by His supernatural power worked all things to His glory and purpose! He is the sovereign King of kings, and Lord of lords!

If you struggle with God to believe, say that simple humble prayer “Lord I believe, help my unbelief”! And then always remember the PROMISE of Jesus “all things are possible to him who believes.” Which naturally has a logical opposite meaning of “all things are IMPOSSIBLE to him who does NOT believe”.