The Overlooked Importance of Chastisement

Sometimes we miss many important and profitable things in life when we overlook their values and the great advantages they offer to us. Chastisement is a very good example of what I’m talking about.

Chastening is not a punishment from God, but a warning that if we don’t listen things will become worse for us. It’s like us telling our children not to touch the hot stove, if they don’t listen the consequence will be much worse.

It’s important to pay attention when it comes to being chastened by the Lord. Hebrews 12:5 was not written without purpose, but rather to counteract one’s negative attitude concerning God’s chastisement.

Comfort oriented followers of God react indifferently every time chastisement comes to their life’s. Some are not even bothered by their sins and accountability. They desire blessings from God, but despise His correction. The Bible tells us that chastening from God is for our own profit and is His way of leading His children to be more like Jesus.

God’s chastisement is to bring out the best in us, not to drag us down.

Most people, even professing believers, have the inclination of desiring material profit more than spiritual gain. God wants to give the best to His children, but on our part, we must realize that spiritual blessings are the best for us. Through chastisement, we are led to be partakes of God’s holiness.

Here are some scriptures is you want to under the chastisement better:

  • Hebrews 12:8
  • Isaiah 53:5
  • Proverbs 3:11-12

“Do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by Him. For the Lord disciplines the ones He loves, and chastises every ones He receives.“ -Hebrews 12

Pursuing Careers

List three jobs you’d consider pursuing if money didn’t matter.

I have always wanted to be some sort of doctor since I was little. But, my choice would be a clinical psychologist. There are so many people in the world that are hurting, and it seems to be that all health care professionals want to do if feed people drugs, to cover things up. I would like to help people get to the root of their mental issues, and then provide drugs if only necessary. I believe you can never solve a problem until you get to the root cause.

My second choice would be a Veterinarian, I have always be a animal lover. And I think good veterinarian services are hard to come by these day. And the cost to get your animals taken care of are way over board. I think most are trying to take advantage of people for loving and wanting to have their animals healthy.

My last choice would be a crime scene investigator, I would just want to go in after the crime and investigate the evidence on scene, and find thr proof.

I started going to college when I was younger for psychology and criminology. But since I live in a small rural community, and I had two small children, I would have to leave my town to finish my schooling for four years, and I chose to raise my children instead.

Psychology and criminology have always been my passion of career choices.

Works Of The Flesh

The works of the flesh may seem old-fashioned, but the term still has something important to teach us today. So, what are the works of the flesh exactly?

Wouldn’t it be nice if we no longer struggled with sin after we accepted Jesus as our Savior? Unfortunately, that won’t be the case until we have eternity with Him. Even though are saved by the blood of Jesus because His blood was shed for us, and we are no longer slaves to sin, we still continue to fight against the sinful nature until Jesus returns.

But that doesn’t mean we are doomed. It simply means we must remain aware of what this battle looks like. We must remain on guard and alert, pulling from God’s power within us to overcome. We must remain aware what the works of the flesh looks like -those actions and behaviors that go against God’s will and can lead us toward spiritual decline,

How can be overcome the works of the flesh?

We can start by seeing what the Bible says about these works of the flesh.

When the Bible refers to “works of the flesh,” it describes the actions and behaviors that draw us away from God. These are contrary to His Will and are byproducts of our sinful nature. If we do not gain control over sin and learn ti walk by the spirit, temptations and actions become destructive and lead us away from God.

In Galatians, Paul writes to Jewish Christians the falling away from the Lord and gravitating back toward sinful lifestyles. Galatians 5, teaches us about the importance of putting our sin to death and instead “living by the Spirit. This chapter lists these vices as sexual immortality, impurity, and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, selfish ambition, dissension, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like.” (Galatians 5:19-21). This list is followed by Paul’s admonition that “those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.” (Galatians 5:21)

We see so many of these actions and behaviors going on today. It breaks my heart the amount of suffering these individuals will have to endure. Yet so many are blinded by the works of the flesh.

These acts are seen as sinful and detrimental to our spiritual growth and development. The Bible also speaks about the works of the flesh in Romans 8:5-8 and Ephesians 5:3-7. In these verses we learn that the works of the flesh hinder us from living a life that pleases God. They leads us away from holiness and closer to sinfulness. Romans 5:8 reminds us that “those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God.

We need to recognize when we are engaging in works of the flesh; that way, we can repent and turn back toward living under God’s will, and cover of protection.

Does ‘Flesh’ Meal All Worldly Things?

The term “works of the flesh” can be confusing. Some might automatically think that all acts of the body are sinful. But, that’s not exactly what the Bible says.

When the Bible mentions the “works of the flesh,” it refers to the acts of our sinful nature. If we look at the list of these sinful behaviors -such as lying, stealing, cheating, and hatred – we see that these actions are self-centered. They bring harm to not only us but others around us as well.

Since God had given us free will, we can make our own choices in life -for better or for worse. But will we use this freedom of our flesh to please God or Satan?

When we struggle with knowing whether an action displeases God, we should ask ourselves: “Will this behavior, action, or thought please God or displease Him? If I follow through with this choice, will it reap my spiritual life or spiritual decay.?”

When I was younger I remember seeing bracelets with “W.W.J.D?” on them. A reminder to any that wore or seen them to ask themselves, what would Jesus do?

God will forgive us 50 times a day, but He won’t won’t do it if we don’t ask for repentance and turn away from our sin. Galatians 5:22-23 reminds us that if we follow the Spirit which include love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goo, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control wr will be following the Spirit.

We have been called to live in freedom, but we shouldn’t use that freedom to satisfy our sinful nature. Instead we should use that freedom to serve one another in love. If we let the Holy Spirit to guide our lives, then we won’t be doing what our sinful nature craves.

God doesn’t except us to be perfect, but He does except us to be choosing to do the right things, and work on pleasing Him instead of Satan.

My Cultural Heritage

What aspects of your cultural heritage are you most proud of or interested in?

My cultural background is Hungarian. I would love to visit Hungaria to get more in touch with my roots. I never got to meet my grand father, he had passed away before I was born.

People in the Hungarian culture value family very much. It is the cornerstone of their society. They believe in transparency and honesty, which I try to live every day, and instilled in my children.

I would like to learn more about Hungarian culture. It’s funny that after all my father’s side of the family is gone, and there’s still so much I want to learn. I have a strong yearning.

I have childhood memories I have is being in kindergarten and the teacher showed us a picture of a dresser and asked if anyone knew what is was called. I yelled out “fiokos.” Immediately the class turn and stared at me. And my teacher asked, “a what?” I was like you know that thing you put your clothes in.

How To Spot A False Prophet

Over the centuries since Jesus’s death and resurrection, there have been countless imposters, who have claimed to know details about the future they could not possibly know. False prophets are nothing new, and they will become increasingly prevalent and destructive in the End Times. Jesus warned us about these individuals in His Olivet Discourse. In Matthew 24:11 He said, “Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many.”

In Matters 10:16 and Luke 10:3, Jesus warned His followers about “wolves” who would be openly hostile to the Gospel. But in Matthew 7 He presents a more subtle threat – wolves disguised as sheep. “Beware of false prophets,who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves.” (Matte 7:15). These are false prophets who infiltrate the Church and lead people astray.

Jesus warned that false prophets would deceive many people in the Last Days, but we don’t have to fall for their schemes. The Bible provides many warning signs and practical ways we can respond to false teachings.

Signs of a False Prophet

  • False prophets make predictions that do not come true
  • False prophets perform miraculous signs and wonders
  • False prophets may claim to be Jesus
  • False prophets may have an unbiblical lifestyle
  • False prophets may deny Jesus’s indentity
  • False prophets teachings will lead people away from the Lord

There are 22 attributes of False Teachers 2 Peter 2:1-19

I will name a few:

1. They are ignorant

2.They come in secret

3. They are full of adultery

4. They are greedy

5. They prey on new believers

6. They talk a lot but say nothing

7. They do not want to be under anyone’s authority

8. They make grandiose promises but never deliver

9. They use alluring thoughts to provoke attention from their audience

10. They speak more evil than good.

If you are thinking you can’t fall for these tactics of the False Prophets. I met a young lady the other day. She had just moved here and began coming to my church.

Speaking to her she brought up the topic and said she was in a “cult.” She began telling me, that a friend from work invited her to a meeting. She said she was instantly hooked. The false teacher was very convincing and before too long she was giving him 30% of her income and that it was mandatory that everyone spent 30 hours a month serving the his “church.” I was amazed that people would even do that. But she said she felt like she was under some sort of trace. She felt like she would never fall for something like this but she did.

I urge you to search the internet for “Bible verses for identifying false prophets.”

If a pastor, teacher, priest or any others matches any of the criteria, God’s Word calls the a false prophet – a wolf in sheep’s clothing. We should not be surprised when we encounter such people. “Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light. So, it no great thing if ministers also transform themselves into ministers of righteousness, whose end will be according to their works” (2 Corinthians 11:14-15), it takes discernment to see beneath the mask of an imposter, but that discernment can be cultivated by studying God’s Word and abiding in its truth.

The Power Of Humility

The Word of God says He resists the proud and gives grace to the humble. The power of humility quickens you in the spirit so than you can discern wisely and walk in authority.

Humility grounds you in and centers you on God. It helps you remember,

It’s not your wisdom

It’s not your knowledge

It’s not your intelligence

These are given to you as a gift from God. God grants grace to the humble which is the power to do His will. Humility allows people to be open to the possibility of making a mistake and it’s an integral part of moral leadership.

The degree of humility is based on how a person responds to failure, power, and obedience to God.

Nearly all men can handle adversity, but if you really want to test a man’s character, give him power.

Abraham Lincoln

Humanity has to do with viewing yourself in the proper manner regarding your gifts, abilities, purpose, weakness, and limitations.

Humility is not self-deprecation or putting yourself down, treating yourself badly, self-mortification, self-pity, self-hatred, low self-esteem, or acting legalistic with religious traditions.

Humility is self-dignity, self-respect and assurance of your place as a child of God and your call in the kingdom of God (John 3:30). It’s a result of a person responding to God and the realities of life and wisdom from the experiences of life.

One of the easiest ways to develop humility is to learn from other people’s mistakes. If you see someone else making a mistake, take note of it.

Humility is one of the most powerful virtues we can cultivate. It’s also the hardest to practice. But, humility should be our goal so that God will fight for us rather than against us (1 Peter 5:5-7).

The Brands I’m Associated With

What brands do you associate with?

I associate with the feel good brand. There is nothing like a old pair of denim jeans, that have some weight to them. Jeans any more are like putting on paper. I usually shop thrift stores and outlet stores. Branded clothing are made so cheap anymore made and cost an arm and a leg. And paying $170 for a pair of pants isn’t worth it to me.

I would say, at the grocery store I buy a few things which as brand name that I know are good quality. But it seems anymore I put to buy store brand to make ends meet.

This world is so crazy, I feel like I get more behind every day. Buying brand would seem to get me behind faster. It’s just not worth it to me. As long as I have clean clothes on my back and shoes on my feet, and a warm coat in the winter. I’m good.

What Could I Do More Of

What could you do more of?

Emerald Island

Travel is what I could definitely do more of. I would love to spend time at Emerald Island.

Church of Mary Magdalene

And also visit my ancestral roots, in Hungaria.

Holy Spirit Guidance

It can be hard to know if you’re hearing from God. It’s sure to say when we read the Holy Bible we are hearing from God, that scripture that seems to jumps off the page at you. But what are some other ways. Ina world full of noise and distractions it can be tough to decipher God’s voice.

One of the first ways I learned to hear God’s voice was though the pit of my stomach. I know that if I feel uneasy about a situation to turn away from that situation immediately, or bad things will happen. When I feel a sensation of warm, comforting feeling in my stomach it’s okay to proceed.

Another way is when you feel horrible after a decision you made. It’s called being convicted. Maybe your friends invited you to a night on the town, and you’re first thought would be “that sounds like fun.” But deep down you get a feeling you shouldn’t go because you know your going to drink to much and spend too much money.

God often speaks to you in dreams. Years back my niece was having trouble with a boyfriend. He was abusive physically and mentally, she had a protection order put against him, but he would come after her anyway. I had a dream one night that he would be out of the picture, that he would leave town. When I awoke I knew without a shadow of a doubt it would happen, and that it was from God. It didn’t happen immediately

God can speak through music, when you are worshipping God with music, he can speak to you, and even gives you visions.

God can speak through other people, someone will pray over you and will absolutely know it was from God.

He speaks to us through difficulties, physical, and mental. I few months ago I ended up at the hospital having chest pain and my blood pressure was dangerously high. I was admitted overnight for observation and testing. For over a year now I knew I needed to start taking care of myself deep down I felt like it was a warning from God. I was diagnosed with having a blocked artery. After leaving the hospital I knew I had to change my diet and start exercising more. So I went on a salt -free diet and began to walk daily. My blood pressure went down and by my follow-up appointment I was feeling better. If I had listened to God in the first place I wouldn’t have a high hospital bill to pay.

The only thing that can keep us from hearing God’s voice is our attitude, resentment, unconfessed sins. But repentance can bring us to a relationship with Him again.

When God doesn’t speak to us it’s not because he doesn’t care or doesn’t want to guide us. We shouldn’t ever blame Him saying He should have stopped you from making the wrong decisions. We have to remember to ask God for wisdom, and when He speaks, we need to obey Him or bad things can happen, maybe not immediately but they will happen.

The Best Advice I’ve Ever Received

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?

There are a two pieces of advice that I’ve been given in life. One I received at a young age and the other later in life. They are both equally great advice.

When I as about 14 I distinctly remember my Father saying to me “fool me once shame on you; fool me twice shame on me.” Don’t ever trust anyone after they have screwed you over, if you do you are the fool. If people are doing you dirty, don’t give a change to do it again.

The other is “Don’t fall into the blame trap.” It results in depression . The number one rule – is to never blame people for how you feel, think or act.

Why We Have Negative Thoughts

When was the last time you thought about your thoughts? It’s a bit quirky, but still it’s an important. Negative thoughts can consume us if we let them. They affect your mood, your social life, your personal relationships, your Work performance and more.

Negative thinking is strap that most of us fall into (at least once in a while). It’s not pleasant, but it is understandable why our minds go there. According to Dr Lisa W. Coyne-McCoy “Humans and our brains have evolved such that we are capable of language, something no other mammals have. Our ability to speak, think abstractly, and reason gives us the absence of our direct experience. For example, you might have learned not to touch a hot stove because your parents told you don’t touch, it’s hot.”

Everyone had a mind that speaks to them, we think of it as our verbal mind or our advisor. It’s the part of you that is linked to your languaging brain whose function is to serve as your “threat detector.” That internal “threat detector” is a good thing, it makes us aware of anything that might be dangerous: it’s function is to help us avoid making the same mistakes over and over, so that we are physically and existentially safe.

We experience negative thoughts for a good reason. But there are ways we can control them, or help eliminate them. With some patience and practice. Be aware that negative thoughts are likely to pop up more while your trying to eliminate them.

There is a dark side of negativity.

While there are good, solid reasons to keep our negative thoughts around, there is also a part that is not as helpful as they are hurtful. There was some recent research that was done in Canada that confirmed a link between Alzheimer’s disease and negatively. The studies showed that prolonged negativity weakens your brain’s ability to reason, think things through, and form memories. It’s like negative thinking drains your brain’s resources.

On top of that negativity breeds negativity. I compare it to a addiction we don’t see or recognize. Many of us unconsciously use negativity as a defense mechanism. It protects us from things not working out. Our minds use negative thoughts so we’re not blindsided when we are disappointed

Unfortunately this anticipated failure or bad luck also prevents us from putting our best foot forward. We might think we are 100% into a task, but our thoughts subconsciously stop us from fully investing our time and our hopes.

The Law of Attraction

We have probably all heard of the law of attraction, but many don’t know that using positive thoughts and statements can attract luck, fortune, and whatever else you’re hoping the universe can deliver. Although I’ve never won in Law Vegas, by telling myself I was going to win big. There is science behind this.

The law of attraction is an Ancient concept, asserting that our life is our own creation. It states that we as conscious beings, can influence our life’s events.

Nobel Prize winner Max Planck is considered one of the founding fathers of quantum physics. He said, “As a man who has devoted his whole life to the most clear headed science, to study matter, I can tell you as a result of my research about the atoms this much: There is no matter as such. All matter originates and exists only by virtue of a force which brings the particles of an atom to vibration and hold this more minute solar system of the atom together. We must assume behind this force the existence of a conscious and intelligent mind. The mind is a matrix of matter.

Planck likens the law of attraction to prayer, when Forbes reported on studies looking at the power of prayer, they found many similarities. One study compared a group of women who prayer for having a baby with women who didn’t and their rate of success, was nearly twice as many children were conceived from the group that prayed. It didn’t matter who the women were praying for, the purpose of the study was to see the difference voicing ideals makes. These results, along with numerous other studies seem to show that verbalizing your hopes turn out to be realities.

What happens when you change your thinking?

Brains like consistency. They might be more spontaneous and unpredictable than computers, but they perform in a similar way; working more efficiently when they’re doing what they’re really good at. Thoughts (good or bad) create channels in your brain. It’s like when a gentle rain falls on your window. Drops find paths of previous drops, and continue sliding down them. When we think negative thoughts, it’s easier to keep thinking negative thoughts. They flow out through the same channels of previous negative thoughts.

When we start to change our thinking patterns to produce more positive thoughts. It’s difficult at first. Those pathways aren’t there, or at least not as prominent as the negative patterns. But with time, consistent effort, and the ability to forgive yourself when you make a mistake, you’ll eventually get there. Those new pathways will form and soon enough one positive thought leads to another and another.

Kick out the bad to make room for the good

You can start down the pathway of positive thinking right now. Take a minute of a genuine answer to this question. But you have to believe in the answer, in order for it to work. Name one thing you like about yourself? For some people this will be difficult, even though others can probably list a dozen likable characteristics about you in two minutes. So think about who you like about yourself and say it out loud.

Did you do it? Did you actually say it out loud? It’s important, it helps to solidify those new pathways. Don’t be embarrassed, or self-conscious, or wonder if it’s true. Your opinion is the only one that matters. If it’s difficult, do worry, (I spent what seemed like forever saying good things about myself). There are other tactics to help turn negative thoughts into positive thoughts.

Forcing Positivity. The next time you think a negative thought, follow it up with a positive thought. Hold that positive thought in your mind for one full minute, longer if you can. By doing this the brain’s ability to recognize itself will form new neural connections. There are two keys components to this: one being attention density, the amount of weight or credit you’re giving the positive thought and time, and holding on to the thought long enough so the neural connections are formed.

Take A Beat: When your starting to feel anxious, stressed or worried, your negative thoughts have already started to creep in. Pause! Take a moment to force your awareness on the present. Take some deep breaths, while paying attention to your five senses. This is a meditation technique that is used in anger management. It works because it focuses on the exact moment and takes away the anticipation which is stressing you out. It also eliminates the emotion which allows you to think clearly, and puts a positive spin on it.

Label Your Thoughts. When you notice you are getting flustered or weighed down with negativity try to catch yourself in the act of being negative. Then label the thought, explain it and tuck it away. If your worried about a work project, for example,you might label your thoughts as “I’m thinking that my boss won’t like it, I’m worried that my hard work will be wasted. I’m thinking this way because it has happened before. Even though I have experienced many positive results from my hard work.“

Continue to practice labeling your thoughts and you will actually see your fears or apprehension fade, You will learn to catch yourself being negative, before your mind even has a chance to complete the negative thought.

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