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Showing posts with the label Pride and Humility

Meekness and the Humble way of the Cross

By Angela Wittman   If there be therefore any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any bowels and mercies, 2  fulfil ye my joy, that ye be likeminded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. 3  Let  nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves. Philippians 2: 1-3 AKJV Dear Friends, This morning I am reminded of the humility and meekness of our Lord who became man, was born in a manger, had no place to lay his head and who washed the disciples feet before facing the ultimate humility of dying on the cross to save His people from their sins. And yet, I fear the virtues of meekness and humility are becoming lost in American Christianity. In just the last few years we've seen Christian celebrities go down in blazes due to scandals; some of the names that come to my mind are Mark Driscoll, Doug Phillips, Bill Gothard and most recently the Duggars' fa

A discerning look at 'Biblical Patriarchy' and those who abuse it

By Angela Wittman While much of what Doug Phillips teaches regarding Patriarchy sounds biblical, because of the lack of practical application, his teachings are often taken to extremes. Sometimes, men just hear his vision of men always “leading,” and they become domineering and demanding, causing undue stress on the wife. I know of one family that divorced precisely because of hearing this teaching and not understanding what it really should be. Sometimes, men will try to emulate what they see in Doug Phillips, and start requiring their families to have all the same rules as the Phillips. Unfortunately, if there are no personal convictions behind the rules, they soon become extremely oppressive and smother the family. Some men just have no clue about how to “lead” their families; they just know that it’s being constantly preached at them from the pulpit. Having come from a home without a godly leader, these men need lots of practical examples. (Taken from: Doug Phillips’ Kangaroo Court

Inauguration 2013: 'a time to mourn'

By Angela Wittman To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted; A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn... Scripture from Ecclesiastes, Chapter 3 (KJV) We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. ~ Declaration of Independence While the wicked danced in the streets of our nation's capitol and celebrated the inauguration of our 44th President yesterday, the righteous in America mourned. We mourned because the very things that made our nation great among others has been mocked and disregarded as worthless old rags good for nothing but to be tossed o n a dung heap and burned.  What are these t

Wandering in the Wilderness

By Angela Wittman I have often heard Christians complain that the Church today is full of confusion, bad teaching, inept pastors and worldly Christians.  Listening to our complaints, one would think we had no Leader and the glory of the Lord no longer resides with His people. But then of course, many of us are quick to point out that the fault lies with someone else - not us, the faithful few and chosen.  Well, dear friends, I think it is time for us to individually search our hearts and see if we share some of the blame for the present "woes" of Christendom. "If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land." (2 Chronicles 7:14 - KJV) The Scripture quoted above is a popular one among Evangelical Christians.  It has been read and prayed at almost every public political gathering of the Lord's people

Christians Are Called To A Higher Standard

For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not bear false witness,” “You shall not covet,” and if there is any other commandment, are all summed up in this saying, namely, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” (Romans 13:9 – NKJV) Before my new birth in Christ in 1993, I had thought I was a “good” person, but in my heart I knew I was hell bound due to my sins, even though I had everything a woman could want: a wonderful husband, two beautiful children, a lovely home and many of the finer things of life. But I was still miserable because I knew I was not serving God and even though I was trying to make myself into a “good” person, it just wasn’t working! Over a period of several years, the LORD brought me to the end of myself and in desperation I reached out to Him and He was there. He then led me to repent (turn away) from my sins and rely upon His completed work on the Cross (Christ’s sacrifice and atonement

A Meek and Quiet Spirit

By Angela Wittman Dear Friends, This essay is written for today's conservative Christian women who are strong, smart, capable and doing a man's job. Yes, I said doing a man's job. I can remember as a new Christian hearing women in the church complaining that men weren't doing their job, and the women were having to do it for them. Then I also saw many of the Christian women whom I admired, lose their husbands and families to divorce. You may have read the Barna Group's most recent poll results concerning Christians and divorce: "Although many Christian churches attempt to dissuade congregants from getting a divorce, the research confirmed a finding identified by Barna a decade ago (and further confirmed through tracking studies conducted each year since): born again Christians have the same likelihood of divorce as do non-Christians. Among married born again Christians, 35% have experienced a divorce. That figure is identical to the outcome among married adults

Serving With Love

By Angela Wittman "I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.But he that is an hireling, and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth: and the wolf catcheth them, and scattereth the sheep.The hireling fleeth, because he is an hireling, and careth not for the sheep." (John 10:11-13, KJV) "In A.D. 390, a riot occurred in Thessalonica and the Roman Governor, Botheric, was killed. Theodosius, the Roman emperor at the time, invited the people of the city for games and entertainment in the Hippodrome and then had 7,000 of them slain. Ambrose, the Bishop of Milan, rose to the role of the good shepherd ready to lay down his life for his sheep. He wrote to Theodosius and told him to publicly repent for the evil he had done. Roman emperors were not in the habit of humbling themselves, and Theodosius refused Ambroses' demand. That set the stage for the high drama that ensued. As Theodos