TRUTH OPPRESSED!!! (by William L(by William L. Stevenson)        What is really being taught in politics?  What is really being taught in the half-hour comedies on TV?  What was taught in TV programs?  What is the main tool of Satan and his cohorts?  Yes, deceit or/and untruthfulness.       These human nature qualities are glamorized and promoted in so many different ways.  Truth usually is not.  In fact, honesty is usually scorned or/and ridiculed.  Think about the TV programs you watch and the literature you read and the movies you see.  How were truth and honesty treated?  How was deceitfulness and lying treated?  Do you now remember a lot of ways truth is oppressed by the media.  What about in politics and government?  Are you aware that many new United States history school textbooks are almost completely untruthful and anti-Christianity.     Also, many business owners oppress or/and withhold truth from their customers and staff.  These leaders demand loyalty to the degree that their staff will also not share the truth with anyone.  This also happens in churches.  Many church/ministry leaders are very dictatorial in their expectations and untruthful about how the offerings/donations are used.  Some have abnormal doctrine that they don't share except to proven followers.  Even a lot of the teaching going on in churches today is untruthful or/and theoretical.  There is very little true Bible teaching occurring these days.  So God's truth is being oppressed in the business and religious world.  Think about your past experiences with both.  The ends do not justify the means. Now to something very prevalent-- fact exaggerating, gossip/rumoring, false accusing, slandering, scorning, condemning.  Aren't these all horrible uses of words that go against truth?  They oppress truth and they destroy truthful people.  Have you ever been a victim of such untruthfulness?     Only with God can we go against such common sinful behaviors.  The Bible emphasizes three major things-- God's special love full of grace, the importance of truthfulness and how human beings respond to the just mentioned.  Jesus said in John 14:6, "I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man comes to the Father, but by Me."  There are many examples in the Old Testament which show that deceitfulness and non-truthfulness result in problems.  Jesus Christ claimed that His truth and obeying His commandments would free His disciples from sin.  (John 14-17)       The Apostle Paul wrote in Philippians 4:8 that Christians should think about "whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report".  The order is important!  In Ephesians 6:10-18, the Apostle Paul said that the first piece of the Christian spiritual armor is made up of truth mentioned before the armor made up of righteousness, the Gospel, faith, Salvation, and the Word of God.       Now the question is, will you be completely truthful from now on and obey what the Holy Spirit urges you to do against untruthfulness?
Best Christian Reason For Living (by Bill Stevenson)       "Ambition" means "strong desire to succeed or achieve something".  Worldly or materialistic-thinking individuals are ambitious for wealth, power, or fame, at least enough to persuade someone to love them or keep loving them.  Construction workers, artists, computer programmers, engineers, architects, teachers, athletes, police detectives, paramedics, and doctors are usually the most ambitious individuals to succeed in using their special talents to build, design, solve problems instruct or win.  Sometimes I have envied individuals who told me what structures they had helped build and some others who showed me crafts they had made.  I could not show anything of my accomplishments in teaching and curriculum development, which was as impressive.  But I was wrong doing such thinking.  Why did I choose to be ambitious in the education field?  The general question should be, "What kinds of ambition are God-pleasing?"  In other words, "What should be the purpose for living, desires, and hopes of a true Christian?"  What should we each be ambitious about?     I believe the answer to the just mentioned questions is best stated in Matthew 22:37-39.  "Jesus replied, 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.'  This is the first and greatest commandment.  And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'"  Are you ambitious for doing such unselfish love?  Have you had good experiences in sincerely (not superficially for pleasing others) loving God via prayer and worship, as well as when meditating on His Word in the Bible?  If you have, each time you were blessed with the divine peace and joy that Romans 14:17 says is two-thirds of "the Kingdom of God".  Also, after such unselfish and focused times of loving God, didn't you feel also like encouraging or/and helping at least one other person without expecting anything in return?  This is why the "Two Great Commandments" were spoken in that order.  God wants each of us to be ambitious in loving Him and also unselfishly loving others, especially by ministering to them as the Holy Spirit guides.  Yes, after each time you truly at least think how thankful you are for past blessings and protection from God and His promises for true Christians' future, you will experience special peace, joy, and later inner urgings about what to say or/and do for others.     Don't you feel so good to be alive when you see good results after your efforts to encourage, serve, teach or/and unselfishly do other forms of unselfish love for others?  Do you feel anywhere near as good when you solve a computer problem or get a paycheck or see a funny (or romantic) movie or eat a very delicious meal (or dessert) or are affectionate with someone for your pleasure?  I hope your answer about such "blessings" in the last series is "no".  Now will you make loving God your main ambition, if it is not already?  Unselfish, God-pleasing ambitions will always result from such love, guaranteed by God's Word in the Bible.   Note: I wrote this on December 28, 1994 from the basic ideas I received from the Holy Spirit (at about 3:30-4:00 A.M.).     Proposal by Bill Stevenson: • Whereas:  The human race societies are becoming almost completely secular and anti-Christian. • Whereas:  Almost all churches do not have any teaching and preaching about the attributes of God the Father, the relationship character traits of Jesus Christ, the Biblical duties of the Holy Spirit, and the New Testament commandments for attitude changes. • Whereas:  I believe that the fulfillment of 1 Corinthians 15 will be in the near future. • Whereas:  Our societies need to see a lot more examples of Christ-like behavior. • Be it therefore resolved that Bill Stevenson soon      have God's approval to          do an Internet and travel teaching ministry             with the following types/categories of courses:                1.  Spiritual Growth and Last Day Commandments for Believers                2.  True Christian Character Traits                3.  God-Pleasing Marriage                4.  Prayer and Bible Study Advice                5.  Ephesians 4 and Romans 12 Outreach Idea
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