Are you Abandoned? You share the suffering of Paul.

• The Apostle Paul “At my first defense no one came to my support, but everyone deserted me. May it not be held against them” (2 Timothy 4:16.)

When you are faced with abandonment by people you trust at work, in your family, or even among your friends, know that God is still the one for you. He is our true friend, family, and God. We should truly look to Him instead of others. Mankind will always fall short of God’s trust and protective abilities. Why? Because it is in our nature to look at things from a selfish point of view. Even our own spouses are not immune to it. Humans have a sense of self-preservation. They may stand by you long enough to convince themselves that they are decent people, but deep inside, when the world turns against you, they will find a way to distance themselves from you emotionally, physically, or even spiritually.

Proverbs 18:24: “A man of too many friends comes to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.”

They will justify why they do not have time for you or why they were just too busy. And yet you know in your heart that if they hurt, you would hurt because you care so much. And even your own parents or brothers and sisters will pick self-preservation eventually over you if being around you puts them in a bad light or costs them something. It does not matter if you would stand by their side no matter what; others are not you.

Psalm 41:9: “Even my close friend, in whom I trusted, who ate my bread, has lifted up his heel against me.”

This is what Paul learned in his letter to Timothy, and the scary part about this is that it reveals the other disciples were part of the same people who abandoned him. Just like Peter, who said he was ready to fight by Jesus’ side until he didn’t know the man, Paul was abandoned by his own kin, the churches he helped build, and even the disciples. He had only one person to turn to: Christ. Could this have been part of God’s plan all along? Maybe, but it shows that it is not uncommon for people to leave you because you are not something they want to associate with, for fear of being identified by guilt by association. Most churches do not talk about that; in fact, I have never heard a single preacher ever reveal that Christ’s chosen disciples, filled with the Holy Spirit and believers of God and His Son, did nothing to support Paul. He was abandoned by friends, family, the church, and the disciples. John, who saw heaven, Matthew, Luke, and others could have stood by Paul’s side, and they did nothing. Why? Self-preservation and fear.

You see many people claim holiness and righteousness, and many people even have gifts from the Holy Spirit, such as healing the sick and casting out demons. But one true fact remains: abandonment is the real underlying theme of the New Testament. This lesson is taught from the birth of Christ to his death, and then taught again after he rose and left eleven men in charge, save Judas, who went the way of Cain and ultimately died. It is taught in the lessons of Peter before Christ’s death and is even shown in the abandonment by the disciples and doubting Thomas. Finally, we see it in Revelation, shown after a thousand years of peace, when the world and its people turn on and abandon God yet again.

Paul could have condemned the disciples and others, but he did not. He could have really focused on their fears and lack of loyalty in his writing in detail, but he did not. Instead, Paul asked that this act would never be counted against them. This is true discipleship and forgiveness, and the reason why Paul, above all other disciples, proved what Christ’s ways look like more than any other disciple. He went through more than any other disciple and stayed more humble than any other disciple. He was a realistic person who had gone through his own sins and failures and still found a way, all the way up to his death, to forgive, taking on a Christ-like mindset. This is the lesson we can learn. Pray for and forgive those who abandon you during your time of need when it is something they have done out of fear or self-preservation. Find a way to keep your hope in Christ more than man, no matter who that person is to you. This is why your love for God can have no equal. Not even your parents can be loved more than God.

Psalm 27:10: “When my father and my mother forsake me, then the Lord will take care of me.”

The Outcome: Paul noted that despite human abandonment, “the Lord stood at my side and gave me strength” (2 Timothy 4:16-17

Gaslighting and the Bible, by Dr Alison Cook.

Below are some of the highlights of Dr. Alison cook subject of Gaslighting from a Christian Prospective. All of us have been a victim of Gaslighting in one point or another in your life. What most people don’t know, even those that do the Gaslighting on purpose or not, is that it’s spiritual in nature and a form of manipulation. But more importantly, the next thing you have to do is know the signs of it.

You may be dealing with gaslighting if you often find yourself:

• replaying conversations over and over, trying to prove what really happened
• apologizing just to end the conflict
• doubting your memory, motives, or perception
• feeling confused after simple conversations
• walking on eggshells because the truth keeps shifting
• feeling responsible for someone else’s anger, disappointment, or behavior
• needing outside confirmation that you are not “crazy”

It is very, very important to know this fact….

Gaslighting is not the same as ordinary disagreement. Healthy people can misunderstand each other, repair, and seek truth together. Gaslighting uses confusion as a tool of control.

What Not to Do When Someone Is Gaslighting You

• Do not keep explaining yourself in longer and longer paragraphs.
• Do not try to win by producing more evidence.
• Do not assume the right words will suddenly make them honest.
• Do not let their accusation become your assignment.
• Do not confuse peacekeeping with peacemaking.
• Do not make their distorted version of reality your home.

‍1. Limit your words and interactions.

• Do not speak to fools, for they will scorn your prudent words. (Proverbs 23:9)
• Escape quickly from the company of fools; they’re a waste of your time, a waste of your words. (Proverbs 14:7)
• Don’t respond to the stupidity of a fool; you’ll only look foolish yourself. Answer a fool in simple terms so he doesn’t get a swelled head. (Proverbs 26:4-5)

In other words, “less is more” when it comes to communicating with someone who is consistently gaslighting you. You will not win a war of words. Instead, limit your communication to the necessary facts. Resist attempts to explain or get them to understand you. Actions speak louder than words.

‍4. Surround yourself with wise people.

• Wise people take advice. (Proverbs 12:15)
• Become wise by walking with the wise; hang out with fools and watch your life fall to pieces. (Proverbs 13:20)

If you have to deal with a gaslighter on a regular basis, it is critical that you surround yourself with good people who love you and bring out the best in you. You will need reminders of who you are and whose you are. Wise people help you anchor yourself in what is true, noble, and good. They form a hedge of protection around you heart, soul, mind, and body.

So I hope this helps you as it has helped me identify things better in my life as well. If you interested in reading more about Dr. Alison Cook you can find her page here : Note…I don’t know more about the author than this. So I do not support all views they may or may not have. But upon this subject I was able to find meat I felt could be useful.

Inner Peace of the Holy Spirit of God is real

Philippians 4:6–7: “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God… will guard your hearts and your minds…

We all suffer and have seasons of suffering, and once we are in that state, it is so hard to focus or even think about anything good or positive. I believe this is where Satan has the advantage; the enemy attacks because you are doing things that hurt his kingdom, and as long as you are a threat, he will continue to do so. It is like pain compliance: he makes us suffer to stop us from doing the work of the kingdom, and most of the time it works. If it did not, he would not use the same tricks, as Satan uses what he knows has worked; so, how do we fight?

We fight using the Word of God; it is the absolute only thing that can bring true joy and happiness back into focus during times when the enemy wants us to focus solely on our suffering. He uses this time to bring up fears of loss, fear of death, fear of pain, and doubt of God’s will in our lives. I know because I am currently going through it myself. The more I focused on what I could do to help more people, the more attacks have come into my life. And they are typically the kind of attacks that are out of the blue and uncalled for, which helps you identify them as being from the enemy because he wants you to believe it is God’s punishment on you so you will not seek freedom from it. I mean, if you believe you are being hurt by God, why would you rebuke the attacks? You would not. But as long as you understand who your enemy is and where they come from…

For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Ephesians 6:12

It is here in Paul’s warning to us that we know our fight is a spiritual one, not of flesh. It is here that we know we wrestle not against mere demons, but against fallen angels and evil powers and principalities. This is not something we can win on our own. God and His angels are the ones who fight those battles for us. God even tells us in these war events to sit still, and He will fight the battle for us. So many of us think we should get involved, and yet it is the Lord who will stand for us and redeem us or justify us in front of our enemies. So don’t act; that’s what Satan wants you to do. He wants your actions to give him authority to continue to multiply his attacks against you so God has less authority over our actions. This is why it’s important to wait on the Lord. That peace which you can’t explain to others will reside in our minds and hearts soon, if we just hold on and trust Him.

Christ is not done with you yet!

“One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him, saying, “Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!” But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.” And he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.”Luke 23:39-4.     

If you are reading this and it connects with you, know that the Holy Spirit placed this on my heart for you. Too many of us are walking around with doubt in our hearts about God’s forgiveness and will for our lives. We are destroyed by our failures, our contradicting ways, and our hypocrisies, even toward others. We know in our hearts we struggle and have asked for forgiveness before, only to fail to grow from what we repented of time and time again, and we do not believe there is any more forgiveness left. Many of us look at others as better off and more successful in these areas, and we think we are alone in our failures. We revisit our old sins in our hearts and in our guilt, things long since forgiven, and yet we see ourselves through those same eyes and as that same person He has called us away from.   

Just like the thief hours before his death, he had a life deserving of judgment. How many times must he have felt guilty or even sought forgiveness in order to arrive at the point of forgiveness in that hour? The context of the scripture and the words show a man who had not just messed up once but had a life of transgression, one who, like you, felt he deserved punishment. And yet, he was seeking another way hours before his death. He showed faith that despite his failures, despite his circumstances even that very minute, after already being judged by all who looked upon him and even his own friends or family possibly, he might yet be forgiven and allowed another chance at redemption and salvation. And it was accounted to him, not because he proved himself, not because he made amends with those he had done wrong. No, his salvation was granted to him because of the mercy of the Lord Christ. 

   “On this day I tell you, you shall be with me in Paradise!” This is the actual quote, despite many Bibles and people believing he said that they would be in Paradise that day. In fact, I submit to you he said, “On this day I tell you, you will be with me in Paradise,” not saying that today you will be with me in Paradise. Why? Because first, the commas and periods were never there in the original scripture, and second, we know that Christ did not go to Paradise, and the word there means Heaven, not Abraham’s bosom as some try to say. No, Christ went to Sheol for our sins, and he did not go to Heaven until long after he had already risen and showed himself to thousands. It was there that Christ took back with him those who had fallen asleep, or died, that were of his Kingdom to Heaven from Abraham’s bosom, or Sheol for the prophets and righteous. That place was not a Paradise. Paradise always referred to Heaven, and it is there that the thief was granted rest and his final resting place. Just like the thief, who did not stop and just give up on who he had always been, even after being judged by others, so now are we. It is not too late, and no, Christ is not done with you. I tell you this day, you will be with him in Paradise if you do not give up, if you continue to seek repentance and seek a better result on this day, at this hour, and in this very minute. We can fight knowing that he is still willing to tell us that very thing: “Today I tell you that you shall be with me in Paradise.”!

Why “Our Great God and Savior, Jesus Christ”…is not debatable.

“While we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ,”Titus 2:13

In Titus 2:13, the Greek construction uses a single definite article that directly links the titles “great God” (theos) and “Savior” (soter) to one person, Jesus Christ. Under the Granville Sharp rule, when two singular, personal nouns of the same case are joined by “and” and share one article, they refer to the same individual, thus making this a clear affirmation of Christ’s divinity.

The most direct parallel to Titus 2:13 is 2 Peter 1:1, which follows the exact same Granville Sharp grammatical construction to identify Jesus Christ as both God and Savior.

The Greek Construction in 2 Peter 1:1

* English Text: “…by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ”

* Greek Text: τοῦ θεοῦ ἡμῶν καὶ σωτῆρος Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ (tou theou hēmōn kai sōtēros Iēsou Christou)
Structural Breakdown

* Definite Article: τοῦ (tou – “the”) appears once at the beginning of the clause.

* First Noun: θεοῦ (theou – “God”), in the genitive case, singular, personal.

* Connector: καὶ (kai – “and”).

* Second Noun: σωτῆρος (sōtēros – “Savior”), also in the genitive case, singular, personal—lacking a second article.

* Proper Name in Apposition: Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ (Iēsou Christou – “Jesus Christ”).

Because the single definite article covers both nouns joined by “and,” Greek grammar requires both titles to refer to the identical person: Jesus Christ.

Perfect example of where this is used again for proof…

*Non-Deity Contrast: Demonstrating the Rule Elsewhere

1.To demonstrate that this is a general rule of Greek grammar rather than a theological invention, consider Ephesians 6:21:

* Text: “…Tychicus, the beloved brother and faithful minister…”
* Greek: ὁ ἀγαπητὸς ἀδελφὸς καὶ πιστὸς διάκονος (ho agapētos adelphos kai pistos diakonos)

* Function: A single article (ὁ) governs both “brother” (ἀδελφὸς) and “minister” (διάκονος), proving grammatically that Tychicus is one individual fulfilling both descriptions.

Titus and Peter are not revealing a demi-god or another god; they are clearly showing and consistently proving that inside Christ dwelt the fullness of the one true God, Yahweh (everything that is God and all of His substance and power), bodily. Both disciples understood Yeshua as being both in one person, just as His name means and just as His title, Emmanuel, revealed: “God with us.”.

Changing the meaning of the text and adding to it is a direct violation of God’s law, and the only way to claim a different conclusion is to do so at the cost of the original text and grammar clearly laid before you. There is no room for deviation or any other grammatical rule that exists in Greek to come to a different conclusion unless you add to or subtract from His Word and change or ignore the grammar followed in the writing, the same writing guided by the Holy Spirit in the exact manner it was given.

“Unto us a child is born, a son is given, his name shall be Mighty God, and Everlasting Father.” Isaiah 9:6 is a prophetic vision of the Messiah to come that laid the foundation of who he would be. Everything that makes Jehovah both God and Father existed inside Jesus Christ bodily. Both Son and Father were one, which is why only the Son of God is seen on the one throne of heaven. There are not two thrones, and there is no mention of ever seeing a third person called the Holy Spirit in John’s view of the throne room in Revelation. Jesus himself told us that the Holy Spirit was his spirit, not a different person. And finally, the historical and unavoidable Deuteronomy 6:4: Hear, O Israel, the Lord thy God is one… one Jehovah.

The Hate of Esua goes much deeper than the person, and Obadiah is the culmination.

Obadiah serves as the judicial and historical explanation of God’s justification of Esua’s Hate.

“I have loved you,” says the LORD. But you say, “How have you loved us?” “Is not Esau Jacob’s brother?” declares the LORD. “Yet I have loved Jacob but Esau I have hated” Malachi 1:2-3

1. Covenant Rejection vs. Chosen Lineage
In ancient Near Eastern treaty language and Hebrew idiom, the pairing of “love” and “hate” functioned as covenantal terminology:

“Love” (‘aheb) meant to choose, enter covenant with, and claim as an heir.

“Hate” (sane’) meant to reject from the covenant blessing, disinherit, or hold at a distance (comparable to Jesus using “hate” in Luke 14:26 to denote priority of devotion).

Before the twins were born, God announced to Rebekah that “the older shall serve the younger” (Genesis 25:23). Paul cites this in Romans 9:10–13 to illustrate that God’s redemptive purpose depends on His divine calling rather than natural primogeniture (birth order). God did not choose Jacob because Jacob was righteous, nor did He withhold the covenant from Esau out of petty bias; God sovereignly selected the lineage through which the Messiah and the Word would enter the world.

2. Why God Rejected Esau: Profaning the Sacred
While God’s election was sovereign, the biblical narrative emphasizes that Esau’s own choices fully validated his disqualification:

Contempt for the Birthright (Genesis 25:29–34): When Esau traded his spiritual birthright,which carried the Abrahamic priesthood and promises, for a single bowl of red lentil stew, Genesis concludes: “Thus Esau despised his birthright.”

The “Profane” Nature of Esau: Hebrews 12:16 identifies Esau as a prototype of spiritual emptiness: “lest there be any fornicator or profane person like Esau, who for one morsel of food sold his birthright.” The Greek term for “profane” (bebelos) means a threshold open to common foot traffic, someone with zero regard for sacred boundaries. Esau prioritized immediate carnal appetite over eternal promises.

Separation from Covenant Purity (Genesis 26:34–35): Esau married Hittite women, which the text notes brought “a grief of mind to Isaac and Rebekah,” signaling his detachment from the faith and destiny of Abraham.

3. Generational Hostility: From a Stolen Blessing to Bloodshed
The hatred between Esau and Jacob did not end in the Genesis reconciliation at the river Jabbok. Esau’s descendants (Edom) institutionalized that grudge over centuries:

Refusing Passage (Numbers 20:14–21): When Moses and Israel journeyed to the Promised Land and requested safe transit along the King’s Highway, Edom met their brother nation with a drawn sword and blocked their path.

The Amalekite Offshoot (Genesis 36:12; Exodus 17:8–16): Amalek was a grandson of Esau. The Amalekites preyed on the stragglers and exhausted rear ranks of Israel coming out of Egypt, earning a perpetual divine decree of war.

The Climax at the Fall of Jerusalem (586 BCE):

As recorded in Psalm 137:7 and Obadiah 1:10–14, when Nebuchadnezzar battered down Jerusalem’s walls, Edom shouted, “Raze it, raze it, even to the foundation!” They ambushed fleeing Judean refugees at the crossroads and plundered their belongings.

In Obadiah 1:10, God states the explicit cause for Edom’s absolute ruin:
“For violence against your brother Jacob, shame shall cover you, and you shall be cut off forever.”

4. Malachi 1: The Verdict Delivered

When the prophet Malachi opened his oracle around 430 BCE, the people of Israel, having returned from exile to a ruined Jerusalem,questioned God’s love: “In what way have You loved us?” (Malachi 1:2).

God answered by pointing directly to the desolation of Edom:

“‘Was not Esau Jacob’s brother?’ says the LORD. ‘Yet Jacob I have loved; but Esau I have hated, and laid waste his mountains and his heritage for the jackals of the wilderness.’ Even though Edom has said, ‘We have been impoverished, but we will return and build the desolate places,’ that is what the LORD of hosts says: ‘They may build, but I will throw down; they shall be called the Territory of Wickedness, and the people against whom the LORD will have indignation forever.'” (Malachi 1:2–4)

Obadiah 1:18 (“the house of Joseph a flame, and the house of Esau stubble”) is the prophetic decree of this exact judgment. God’s “hatred” toward Esau( and his bloodline not just the person)was not an unprovoked emotional grudge; it was His holy condemnation of a proud, carnal nation that despised God’s covenant and sought the violent eradication of His covenant people.

“The house of Jacob shall be a fire, and the house of Joseph a flame, and the house of Esau stubble; they shall burn them and consume them, and there shall be no survivor for the house of Esau, for the LORD has spoken.”Obadiah 1:18.

The rivalry stretches back to Genesis 25, where Jacob and Esau grappled in the womb. Esau fathered the Edomites, who settled in the rugged, mountainous terrain of Mount Seir, south of the Dead Sea.

The immediate catalyst for Obadiah’s prophecy was the Babylonian siege and destruction of Jerusalem in 586 BCE. Instead of standing with their kin, the Edomites:

1.Stood aloof while foreigners invaded the city gates (Obadiah 1:11).
2. Rejoiced over the distress and ruin of the people of Judah (Obadiah 1:12).
3. Looted the abandoned wealth of Jerusalem (Obadiah 1:13).
4. Cut off fleeing Judean refugees at the crossroads and handed survivors over to Babylon (Obadiah 1:14; Psalm 137:7).

Because Edom exploited Judah’s calamity to enrich itself, Obadiah declared the Lex Talionis, the law of exact retribution:

“As you have done, it shall be done to you; your reprisal shall return upon your own head” (Obadiah 1:15).

So you can clearly see that when God Judges, especially from birth that there are reasons. And it is almost certainly not seen just at the surface of the event. God sees not just the person prior, but sometimes what the whole bloodline of that person represents and will eventually take part in. This is why we can not truly understand all that God does as a finite being. Our faith has to rest in the trust of Him to know what is best at all times.

The systematic attack of the Marriage was the very first attack made against God and his Kingdom.

Marriage represents God by serving as a living, earthly picture of the covenant relationship between Christ and the church

Marriage represented God relationship with not just the church but even God’s Very Oneness he holds with his Son and the Son with Church.

Satan’s first attack was to divide Eve from her Husband and then use her pride and lust for Glory for herself to disrupt her union and the order of the Oneness she had with her Husband. And he gained that through Adam inability to stay vigilant about Garden and things he was put in charge to watch over. And til this day Satan continues to use the same tricks on the marriage even the same steps of first trying make men less visual and active in the watch over things so that he can make the women rebel against authority and submitting to their Husbands. The Oneness was the first goal.

“Here O Israel, the Lord thy God is ONE“. This same word “one” was used in the first instructions given about this union of Adam and Eve…

“Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become ONE FLESH.” Gen 2:24

The word “one” used here is echad, which means a unified whole. When Christ said, “The Father and I are one,” He pointed back to a union that is far more than casual. It is not something entered into out of boredom, and certainly not something abandoned simply because you did not get your way or believe the grass might be greener with someone else. This union was never intended to be anything less than the deepest connection in human life, because it was patterned after God’s own connection with His Son and the Church.

Marriage is also a blood covenant representing Christ’s covenant with the Church, His people. This is one of the greatest truths many modern churches have stopped teaching. The blood covenant that Christ died to fulfill and rose to renew operates on the exact principles marriage is built upon. The entire reason Christ had to die was to fulfill the Old Covenant, because a blood covenant can only be dissolved through the shedding of blood, namely, death (hence the phrase, “until death do us part”).

This is the divine design of marriage. Historically and biblically, the blood shed during the physical consummation of a woman’s virginity sealed that marital covenant. It was never intended to be taken lightly or driven by temporary impulse. It was meant to be reserved exclusively for her husband, sealing a devoted, lifelong partnership. This is why sex was never designed to be casual, and why treating it as such is sin.

Satan has turned this sacred reality into a global mockery. Society now treats intimacy merely as self-gratification, something to indulge in whenever, wherever, and with whomever one pleases. The biblical standard that intimacy belongs solely within marriage is dismissed as outdated. Society excuses youthful indulgence under the banner of “coming of age,” shifting the focus to mere “safety” rather than honoring lifelong covenant. What was created to mirror the holy bond between God and His Church has been distorted into spiritual corruption and moral decay, a direct reflection of Satan’s kingdom rather than God’s.

Within the Marriage that exist today…there are common thoughts that are not seen and supported in the Bible..

LIES of the Enemy:

• The thought is that you are two people that can do whatever they want. You can do whatever you like, and I can do whatever I like and as long as I’m not hurting anyone …what’s the big deal.
• This is a 50/50 partnership that nobody has control in and therefore there is no true Head.
• This is Mine, and that is Yours
• To be summited and obedient to someone means that I’m a Child.
• My body, my choices.
• I can have secret accounts and secret items that is just for me.
• You married my family too …not just me.
• My Mother/ or Father or other family members are Just as important as my spouse or more important.
• My Children are more important than my Spouse.
• Open marriage is the key to happiness.
• Toys and Porn are fine inside the Marriage.
• My spouse is just a roommate with benefits only when I feel like it.
• I can have friendships of opposite sex that I run to and talk to, to confine in all the time.
• My friends that I run with don’t have to be in a successful marriage or married and yet I seek their advice.

1Likewise, wives, be subject to your own husbands, so that even if some do not obey the word, they may be won without a word by the conduct of their wives, 2when they see your respectful and pure conduct. 3Do not let your adorning be external the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear . 4but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious. 5For this is how the holy women who hoped in God used to adorn themselves, by submitting to their own husbands, 6as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord. And you are her children, if you do good and do not fear anything that is frightening. 7Likewise, husbands, live with your wives in an understanding way, showing honor to the woman as the weaker vessel, since they are heirs with you^a of the grace of life, so that your prayers may not be hindered. 1 Peter 3:1-7

1Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ 2Now I commend you because you remember me in everything and maintain the traditions even as I delivered them to you. 3But I want you to understand that the head of every man is Christ, the head of a wife^a is her husband,^b and the head of Christ is God. 4Every man who prays or prophesies with his head covered dishonors his head, 5but every wife^c who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head, since it is the same as if her head were shaven. 6For if a wife will not cover her head, then she should cut her hair short. But since it is disgraceful for a wife to cut off her hair or shave her head, let her cover her head. 7For a man ought not to cover his head, since he is the image and glory of God, but woman is the glory of man. 8For man was not made from woman, but woman from man. 9Neither was man created for woman, but woman for man. 10That is why a wife ought to have a symbol of authority on her head, because of the angels.^d 11Nevertheless, in the Lord woman is not independent of man nor man of woman; 12for as woman was made from man, so man is now born of woman. 1 Corinthians 11:1-2

Roles and Structure within Marriage

• Headship (Husbands): Husbands are called to provide servant leadership, loving their wives sacrificially just as Christ loved the church (Ephesians 5:25, Colossians 3:19). [1, 2]
• Submission (Wives): Wives are called to respect and willingly align with their husbands’ leadership as an act of obedience and reflection of the church’s relationship with Christ (Ephesians 5:22, Colossians 3:18)

And yet, even though each of these verses and many more consistently reinforces the importance of order and what that order is, people still ignore it. Every single time this order is not followed, you bring glory to Satan over God and consequences happen sooner or later. We have to remember in the same way this order exists, it mirrors the relationship of the Church to Christ. It exists to show the glory of God to the world, demonstrating the oneness of God with His Son, and the Son with the Church. So you aren’t rebelling against the Patriarch, you are rebelling against God himself. You aren’t rebelling against “The MAN”…you are rebelling against God himself. It isn’t about being free to do what you want …it’s about not being free because you were bought with a price, a blood price and the only freedom you have now is to be free of the Old Covenant which contained the law of sin of death.

Tell me: how can any direction opposite to God’s word, represent God and everything He established through His Son and creation if the mirror image is corrupted? If the reflection of God’s kingdom and will is flawed, selfish, unruly, hateful toward men, abusive toward women, disrespectful of His laws, rebellious against His design, hypocritical, and blasphemous toward His commandments, then our reflection suggests God’s kingdom is not His glory, but His nightmare.

We represent the kingdom of Satan far more than the kingdom of God when we rebel against what He established. Satan frames this rebellion in our minds as an act of pride and heroism, as though standing up against divine order is something noble. Satan is a master at deceiving man into fighting for his own glory over God’s, praising it as an achievement, while all along we are spitting in the face of God and the sacrifice of His Son. All of this stems from the very same sin found in the Garden: laziness/Vanity/Pride. Women do not want to be submit or be lead by; they want to rule alongside, which is the exact sin of Satan. Men don’t want to work hard anymore we want things handed to them. We want to find reason why we are not successful in everything but our own actions. All of these things were present at the Fall of Man in the Garden and it exist today.

Ultimately, all of everything we do comes down to our will to be or not to be of God. Sooner or later we are all faced with the choice to obey or disobey. The problem comes in when we want to complain that our choices shouldn’t have consequences when they are opposite of God’s.

It’s a lot easier to study God’s word than to actually stand on it when it affects us.

Continuing our theme of the Book of Philemon, I felt there was more left on the bone, so to speak. Throughout our everyday lives, we forget that the Bible is the living, breathing connection to God’s promises, principles, and power. Yeshua himself is the embodiment of that Word. Therefore, it has power: power to prove, power to correct, convict, forgive, and instruct.

Most of us go through our daily lives after reading the Bible, only to brush it off as something to read for stories or historical information. You trust that these things happened, but you do not recognize that the word is alive and current in our spiritual walk, which in turn affects our physical world. We do not pay enough attention to see that what we have gone through or what we are about to go through will sooner or later align with what was shown and taught in the very scripture you read and studied days, or even minutes, ago.

There is a reason why the specific word of God was given to you. It was so that you would know how to use it, because in many instances, God allows the lessons he teaches to be brought forward into our lives to see if we can honor him by applying His word and the lessons learned to ourselves and our lives. In most cases, we do not. Most of us will pray for forgiveness from God and have faith that he is faithful and just to forgive us and cleanse us from all unrighteousness, right then and there. That he will remember our sins no more. Amen, hallelujah! But when it comes to the forgiveness of others, they need to earn it, prove themselves to us, and be tested and tried, and then we might forgive them “a little” down the road or hold grudges. What if God’s forgivneness operated like that? We don’t like seeing that way because we all hate accepted that we aren’t truly what we claim to be through and through. That we still sin and are hypocrites in one way or another.

In the book of Philemon, we see clearly that the forgiveness preached covers the spiritual, financial, and physical identity of the man, all completed through the forgiveness granted to him via his salvation. Onesimus owed one man both for debt and the sin of stealing, yet Paul requests that this forgiveness should cover all things. He did not request that Onesimus work off the debt or prove to Philemon that he could be trusted; rather, Philemon was told not only to forgive but to completely change how he viewed Onesimus. As far as Paul was concerned, the forgiveness of this man took place when he was saved and if Christ could forgive him and give him a new recreated spiritual identity, so should the church.

So when you spend hours at church Sunday praying for patience, only to face traffic on the way home and complain or curse the cars ahead because the game is coming on; remember this! All of this is there to give us a chance to exercise what we claim to have learned. That is the way of it: the more you study and pray, the more God grants you chances to do better. So again, we can read and study, but what good is that study and reading if we never apply it to our lives? The Word of God is alive and active even when we don’t recognize it. Sooner or later, you have to practice what you learn and have faith for, because without it, we only have dead faith. 

The Freeing of a Slave and forgiveness of a master

“Unmarked Graves”, the modern day Pharisees

Catholic ritual of idotry/death

“Woe to you Pharisees! For you love the best seat in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces. Woe to you! For you are like unmarked graves, and people walk over them without knowing it.”..Luke 11:42

Historical meaning of Jesus calling the Pharisees “Unmarked Graves“

Jesus uses the metaphor of “unmarked graves” to expose how the Pharisees’ hidden corruption secretly defiled the people around them instead of making them holy.

Under Mosaic Law (Numbers 19:16), touching a human corpse or a grave made a person ritually unclean for seven days, barring them from worship and community life.

The Historical Context: Because ritual defilement had serious religious consequences, Jews customarily whitewashed tombs with lime each spring. This made graves glaringly obvious so travelers wouldn’t accidentally touch or walk over them.

*The “Unmarked” Metaphor: An unmarked grave has no whitewash or warning sign. It looks like harmless, ordinary ground, but beneath the surface lies decay and death.

Results:
The Spiritual Indictment: Pharisees presented themselves as models of purity who protected others from sin. Jesus inverted this claim: their outer appearance concealed inward decay, meaning unsuspecting people who looked up to them or followed their teaching were actually being spiritually contaminated without even realizing it.

Historical Pharisees

Modern day Pharisees

The Matthew Contrast: In Matthew 23:27, Jesus calls them “whitewashed tombs” (looking beautiful on the outside, dead on the inside). In Luke 11:44, the emphasis shifts to the hidden danger: because the grave is unmarked, it acts as an invisible trap that defiles everyone who walks over it.

He follows up and address the lawyers …who ironically results in the exact thing today’s Catholic priest do all who they teach false worship to...

This verse (Luke 11:52) is a direct rebuke of religious legal experts for gatekeeping spiritual truth and preventing ordinary people from knowing God.
Jesus targets the “lawyers” (scribes and scholars of the Mosaic Law), condemning them on three specific points:

Taking away the “key of knowledge”: Instead of helping people understand Scripture and God’s intentions, the scribes buried the core truth under rigid, human-made traditions and technical legalism, effectively locking away access to genuine spiritual life.

Refusing to enter themselves: Despite having the text and authority right in front of them, the scholars lacked humility and faith, meaning their technical expertise did not translate into personal salvation or a real relationship with God.

Hindering others: By enforcing heavy burdens and actively opposing Jesus’ teachings, they frightened, confused, and blocked seekers who were genuinely trying to follow God.

Christ continues to show over and over again that those who stood about in all their robes and outwardly glorified appearances were a direct sign and stance of people trying to corrupt and infect others with their corrupted ways and need to feel important and worshiped. They place themselves as God to receive glorification, bowing, and prayers. And yet, to this day, millions and millions of people continue to follow these ways and place humans up as idols and objects of worship. They have the same Bible verses that give very clear directions about the false worship of angels, men, and statues. They are not hidden messages or prophetic hidden meanings, but clear, historically proven facts that everything the Pharisees acted like, dressed like, and ritually followed, the modern priests, cardinals, bishops, and especially the Pope of the Catholics have taken up the mantle to follow.

Once again, this isn’t something they don’t know is wrong. They don’t have a signed scripture in even their own Bibles that gives them even remote approval for their actions. No, they do it because they choose to do it boldly. This means that God has given them over to this sin, as they claim to know that what they do is unsupported and warned against, yet they do it anyway. This is the scary part. To knowingly teach others to follow a sin is a sin worse than almost any other, save one. And yet, this continues.