1 Sam 2:30 for those who honor Me I will honor, and those who despise Me shall be lightly esteemed.
EVADE accepting anything that isn’t pleasing to God. When you avoid it, you are showing to yourself and to the world that you esteem God. Here are some things that God wants you to evade.
- Criticism – When the desire wells up inside of you to criticize someone to their face (or behind their back, which is the most popular way for most), don’t. The desire will be strong, EVADE this desire. Bite your tongue. Some criticism can be constructive, but it’s our job to make sure it comes out that way, and only to the person’s face. I have found that constructive criticism is only helpful if invited. (The exceptions of course are parents to their own kids, church discipline, or employee-employer relations) Even IF someone asks you for criticism, you don’t have to give it, and if you do, give it with tact. If someone doesn’t invite your opinion, don’t give it. When you are criticizing someone you are judging them and complaining about them. Do you know that even the Holy Spirit doesn’t do that? You are saying by your random unsolicited criticism that you are better than they are.
James 5:9 Do not complain, brethren, against one another, so that you yourselves may not be judged; behold, the Judge is standing right at the door.
- Opinionating – Evade giving your opinion about other people, even when asked. It really isn’t your business and you definitely don’t know all the facts. Keep your mouth shut about others. Never volunteer Evade answering direct questions about others if asked. When someone asks you about your opinion of someone else, the intentions usually are evil. Evade as much as possible even having opinions of others. You just don’t know everything for sure, and tell them that. What you have heard is irrelevant.
Eccl 3:24 For many are deceived by their own vain opinion; and an evil suspicion hath overthrown their judgment.
- Temptation – Evade flirting with temptation. You’ll see this again next week, escaping temptation. I don’t know of any case where a mentally healthy person just suddenly and without any forewarning caved into temptation and sinned. They were thinking about it for a while. You evade temptation by controlling your thoughts. Premeditated murder comes to my mind. You lay in bed at night hating a person, which leads to murder. You lay in bed at night wanting his money or his wife, which leads to murder. That’s alot different than 2nd degree murder where you never even had a thought about the guy beforehand, or manslaughter. Premeditated murderers didn’t evade the temptation. The premeditated liars, thieves, adulterers, backsliders, gossips, cursing, unbelieving sinners don’t avoid temptation either. All are guilty, with the same verdict as a murderer. That’s why we all need a Savior, because we are all guilty, and the wages of sin is death. Praise God for sending us His Son to die in our place.
Micah 2:1 Woe to them that devise iniquity, and work evil upon their beds! when the morning is light, they practice it, because it is in the power of their hand.
- Arguing – Evade arguments. No one ever wins. No one ever gets saved through an argument. No one ever changes their politics or philosophies over arguing. No one has ever proven anything in an argument. Arguments always lead to sin, bad feelings, and not esteeming God. You don’t have to attend any arguments that you are invited to. It takes two to tango. End result of an argument is strife. Strife in any form is satanic.
2 Tim 2:23 Don’t have anything to do with foolish and stupid arguments, because you know they produce strife.
- Laziness – Evade laziness. I hear people in the states that workout have better resistance to COVID and recover faster. People are afraid to go out, then they get lazy, and then they get fat. They get fat, and lazy, and get what they fear the most, the
rona. You can live in lockup without getting lazy. I know an ex-con that did burpees two hours a day during his yard time. He went into the joint chubby and out of shape and came out a physical specimen. Anyone with more than a bed sized apartment can work out. You don’t have to only eat Doritos and drink Mountain Dew either. Eat healthy, drink lots of water, exercise, get outside, turn off tv. Be diligent to take care of your body. We are spirits, with a soul (mind), living in a body.
Until recently, I never knew I was actually just a spirit with a mind (soul) living inside a body. The Bible says so, but I never saw that. I didn’t realize I was a spirit, so I wasn’t aware of knowing that I had to feed it. I felt by the Holy Spirit the need to feed it, but I really didn’t understand the reason to. Imagine if you didn’t know you had a dog that was tied up behind your house. What would happen to that dog if you didn’t know it was there? It would probably starve to death. I think a lot of Christians let their spirit starve just out of ignorance. The world teaches us to take care of our bodies and minds, even if we`re in lockup. The wise realize that we have to take care of our spirit too (which is way more important)! We have to feed it with the Word, prayer (two way communication), faith, grace, application and then by doing what we learn. That makes our spiritual muscles grow. Strong spirits enable us to handle the rest! Strong spirits don’t despair. Strong spirits are revealed through strong faith. Praying in the Spirit, interceding (including praying for Winnie and me and my kids please) supplicating, (praying for yourself, your laundry list), and most importantly praising and thanking God that you are not locked up in a third world country tin shack with 100 degree heat, a nagging wife, 5 crying kids, without electricity or running water, making a dollar a day IF you can find work. Then pray by shutting up and listening.
Bible reading and study is just important. No one hears God everyday, unless they are in His Word. Many options exist. The Blue Letter Bible is good online. Also great FB teachers like Abundant Life in Middlefield Ohio, Joe Edwards-Hoff, Allen Rigg, and Jaime Ernesto Siman are my personal favorites. There are lots and lots of great Bible teachers on the air. Zoom Bible classes John Silva, John J Stanley Jon Planell can hook you up. All free, so that means No Excuse!!
Ephesians 5:16 Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.
- Excuses – Evade making excuses. Making excuses is dishonoring you, others, and God. Excuses most of the time aren’t entirely true (making them lies. Satan is the Father of lies.). True, there are legitimate excuses, but evade making them whenever you can. People make excuses all the time for being late for work, not being on a call, not completing a promise. Not answering a text or email. Usually, not always but usually, they are tinged with deceit. Evade any excuse if at all possible. Say I forgot, or I didn’t know how to answer. It happens. Stop making excuses like ‘I was slammed, or I was busy’. We all are. If you don’t want to do something just say you don’t want to do it. Be a man, buckle up, and stop making up excuses.
Prov 26:13 The lazy man says, “There is a lion in the road! A fierce lion is in the streets!”
- Lying – Avoid lying. Avoid deceit. There is no such thing as a white lie. It’s a lie. Repeating gossip is lying, because all gossip is exaggerated. Repeating the news is lying. To repeat a lie is to lie. Truth is an attribute of God. Lies are an attribute of Satan. The end never justifies the means. Avoid lies at all costs. If someone asks you a question and the truth isn’t convenient, plead the 5th and walk away. You may look stupid, but you credibility and soul is intact. It`s better not to talk at all than to lie.
Matthew 5:7 let your communication be yea, yea, nay, nay, whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil
8,9,10 Selfish thinking – Evade thinking about yourself, which includes pride, anger and self pity. Want to be miserable? Think only about yourself. You’ll be an unhappy, pouty person. Pouting dishonors you and God, and is in fact humiliating to see. Pouters don’t get petted by God. Nor do crybabies. I sometimes see ‘spiritual people’ balling like babies every time they ask God for something. It’s embarrassing. I think honestly that God doesn’t like it. I believe you impede God from blessing you when you act like that. You have to go to God positively. You need to talk to God positively, and about God positively, and you’ll see much better results, because that is a sign of faith, which God loves. Thinking about yourself pollutes your heart because you are not being a conduit of God’s love. Guard your heart by guarding your thoughts. Password to a happy healthy Christian life? Others!
Proverbs 4:23 Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.
When you don’t guard your heart and thoughts you will wallow in self pity and depression. As a reaction to that, and as the world will teach you, you’ll get proud, and angry and you will sin.
The Bible says in Proverbs 23:7 that as a man “thinketh in his heart, so is he… sin starts in your thoughts.
Proverbs 6:16-19
16 These six things doth the Lord hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him:
17 A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood,
18 An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief,
19 A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren.
In general, evade any appearance of evil. Evade not esteeming by evading even the thought of displeasing God. We are in a world filled with criticism, opinions, temptations, arguments, laziness, excuses all leading to strife.
Don’t go looking for it, evade all of it. One of the above will come knocking at the door every hour. Especially now. EVADE IT!
Matthew 16:33 These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.
WHAT’S NEW AT PUREHEART?
COVID 19 UPDATE- STILL NOT ONE CASE OF COVID AMONG THE 300+ FAMILIES WE SERVE (APPROX 6000 PEOPLE, NOR AMONG OUR STAFF, NOR FRIENDS OF PUREHEART AND FAMILY DOWN HERE WHERE WE SERVE). SCHOOL IS ON SUMMER VACATION. DISCIPLESHIP AND ENGLISH CLASSES ARE BACK ON. FEEDING CENTERS GOING ON AS USUAL, THOSE NEVER STOP. HUNGER DOESN’T TAKE A VACATION PSALM 91
PRAYER REQUESTS.
- We have paid all taxes, lawyers, fines and CPA, resubmitted all our packets, waiting for the next step.
- FOR OUR OWN HOME APART FROM THE MINISTRY. IT WILL BE CLOSE ENOUGH TO DIRECT AND OVERSEE EVERYTHING, BUT NOT INSIDE THE MINISTRY’S WALLS. IT’S NON STOP HERE AND WINNIE’S NOT WELL. SHE NEEDS A HAVE. I FOUND A HOUSE FOR 29K, we have almost 10k towards it.
- FOR THE ORPHANAGE THAT I KNOW IS IN OUR FUTURE. NOT ONLY AN ORPHANAGE, BUT AN OLD FOLKS HOME AS WELL. I THINK THE TWO CAN BE SIDE BY SIDE ON THE SAME PROPERTY, IT’S ONLY A MATTER OF MONEY. IT WOULD BE A BLESSING TO THE OLD FOLKS TO HEAR KIDS PLAYING, AND IT WOULD BE A BLESSING FOR THE KIDS TO HAVE ABUELAS AND ABUELOS.
- AMERICA!
- WINNIE`S HEALTH.
PRAISE REPORTS
- Summer vacation is here, much needed. Everyone is getting to relax. Winnie and I are only doing the feeding center in the dump until school starts again in Feb
- Since I have started tithing my retirement I have had no stress about finances.
- A much lighter atmosphere. We have been oppressed for a long time. Even though we have more problems and ever growing dynamics, there isn’t that horrible pressure. I think it was spiritual and your prayers are working. I feel victory.
- We are relaxing, just doing the feeding centers and English-Descipleship class right now, summer vacation ends in a week
- Personally, I am healthy. Haven’t had so much as a cold in the past three years. When I hurt myself, I heal almost immediately. That’s good because I have to take care of Winnie. Please pray for her healing.
PLEASE KEEP ON DOING WHATEVER IT IS THAT YOU`RE DOING, IT’S WORKING!! pray, donate, and spread the word about us, what we are doing and the needs here!
Please share this letter on FB and with your friends, churches & civic groups! Thank you!!!
Dean and Winnie Peters
[email protected]
Joyfully serving the ‘least of these’ in Nicaragua for the glory of God
www.whatistheloveofGod.com
www.pureheartchildren.org
Facebook = Dean andWinnie Peters
https://www.facebook.com/winniejoypeters/
ANY FORM OF DONATIONATIONS TO PUREHEART ARE 100% TAX DEDUCTIBLE AND 100% GOES TO THE KIDS.
Paper checks can be made out to:
GraceLifeOutReach (PureHeartChildren in memo)
And then mail to our snail mailing address:
Pure Heart C/O Grace Life Outreach
190 Seminole Ln Apt 302
Cocoa Beach, FL 32931-3394