Key Verse

📖 "Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Ye shall know them by their fruits." — Matthew 7:15-16

One of the painful realities of life is discovering that not everyone around you is genuinely for you.

Some people smile at you while secretly competing with you.

Some celebrate your success publicly while resenting it privately.

Some seek access to your life, not because they love you, but because they want information, influence, advantage, or an opportunity to use what they know against you.

As believers, we are called to love people, but we are not called to ignore wisdom.

The Bible repeatedly warns God's people about hypocrisy, deception, false friendships, and hidden motives.

1. Why Do Pretenders Exist?

Pretenders are not a modern problem.

Jesus dealt with them.

David dealt with them.

Paul dealt with them.

Even the early church dealt with them.

Often people pretend because of:

- Jealousy

- Self-interest

- Greed

- Competition

- Insecurity

- Desire for influence

- Hidden resentment

A person may remain close to you not because they value you, but because they value what they can gain from you.

2. The First Sign: Their Words and Actions Do Not Match

📖 Matthew 15:8

"This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth... but their heart is far from me."

Hypocrites often say the right things.

They know the correct language.

They know how to appear supportive.

But their actions consistently tell a different story.

Do not judge people merely by what they say.

Watch what they consistently do.

Character is revealed through patterns, not speeches.

3. They Love Information More Than Relationship

Some people are unusually interested in:

- Your finances

- Your plans

- Your weaknesses

- Your relationships

- Your opportunities

Yet they reveal very little about themselves.

Information in the hands of a genuine friend can be used to help you.

Information in the hands of a deceptive person can be used to harm you.

Jesus Himself did not entrust Himself to everyone.

📖 John 2:24

"But Jesus did not commit himself unto them, because he knew all men."

4. They Speak Differently Depending on the Audience

One of the strongest indicators of hypocrisy is inconsistency.

They praise you in your presence.

They criticize you in your absence.

They support you publicly.

They undermine you privately.

Such people often adjust their opinions depending on who is listening.

Their loyalty is to convenience, not truth.

5. They Secretly Enjoy Your Failures

A true friend may correct you, but they do not celebrate your downfall.

Pretenders often:

- Minimize your victories

- Magnify your mistakes

- Spread bad news about you quickly

- Remain silent when good things happen to you

Jealousy often disguises itself as friendship.

6. The Bible's Most Famous Backstabber: Judas

📖 Psalm 41:9

"Mine own familiar friend... hath lifted up his heel against me."

Judas walked with Jesus.

He listened to Jesus teach.

He witnessed miracles.

He appeared trustworthy.

Yet he ultimately betrayed Christ.

The lesson is simple:

Proximity does not guarantee loyalty.

Someone can be near you without truly being for you.

7. What Should Believers Do?

A. Pray for Discernment

📖 James 1:5

Ask God for wisdom regarding relationships.

The Holy Spirit often reveals warning signs before problems become visible.

B. Set Healthy Boundaries

Not everyone deserves unlimited access to your life.

Boundaries are not hatred.

Boundaries are wisdom.

Even Jesus had:

- The crowds

- The seventy

- The twelve

- The three (Peter, James, and John)

Different people had different levels of access.

C. Guard Your Heart

📖 Proverbs 4:23

"Keep thy heart with all diligence."

Guarding your heart means protecting your peace, trust, and spiritual health.

D. Refuse Revenge

📖 Romans 12:19

When people betray you, God does not call you to become like them.

Let God handle what you cannot.

Bitterness creates another wound.

E. Continue Walking in Love

Wisdom does not require hatred.

You can forgive someone without giving them the same access they once had.

You can pray for someone while maintaining boundaries.

You can love someone without trusting them with sensitive parts of your life.

8. Signs of a Genuine Friend

A genuine friend:

✅ Rejoices when you succeed.

✅ Corrects you with love.

✅ Protects your reputation.

✅ Tells you the truth.

✅ Supports you during difficult seasons.

✅ Remains consistent whether you are present or absent.

📖 Proverbs 17:17

"A friend loveth at all times."

Final Reflection

Not everyone who smiles at you is your friend.

Not everyone who opposes you is your enemy.

The believer's responsibility is not to become suspicious of everyone, but to develop spiritual discernment.

Ask God to help you recognize genuine relationships, avoid destructive influences, and maintain a heart that is both loving and wise.

📖 "Be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves." — Matthew 10:16

May God give you the wisdom to recognize true friends, the courage to establish healthy boundaries, and the grace to walk in love without being deceived.

#BibleTeaching

#ChristianLiving

#FaithJourney

#SpiritualWisdom

#BiblicalTruth

#Discernment

#GodlyWisdom

#WalkWithGod

#FaithOverFear

(rather than just learning about wisdom, the student is instructed to recieve and internalize (hide) wisdom.)

2:2- So that thou incline thine ear to unto wisdom, and apply thine heart to understanding;

( The student is then instructed to listen closely and pay deep attention to wisdom, then to actively pursue it with focus and purpose.)

3:3- Yea, if thou criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding.

(Then the student is instructed to plead, beg cry out for wisdom desperately with the same urgency as someone in a crisis - often through fervent prayers.)

2:4- If thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for his treasures.

( This attitude shifts from passive aggressive to intense physical labor, endeavoring to treat wisdom as something of immense value and esteem more to be desired than silver and gold, you must dig deep, sweat and work to discover it.)

2:5- Then shalt though understand the Fear of the Lord, find the knowledge of God.

( The result, or reward is a reverant, awestruck, intimate relationship with God and the Lord will give you the answers you seek, and promises divine protection and success.)

Progression of Seeking

• Recieve words (passive listening)

• Incline your ear (leaning in attentively)

• Apply your heart (internalize, hide, mental focus)

• Cry out ( vocal, passionate pleading)

• Seekest her as treasure ( active pursuit of the thing that you desire to have, digging into the Word)

Reward - Divine Gift of Wisdom

The “Old Me” the boy who never wanted to grow up and face himself, face his fears, face reality, and face responsibility, he had to be confronted. 1 Corinthians Ch 13y told me “ When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things.” Years ago, although I couldn't see it then, my sister in law Brandy would introduce me to a song by Micheal Jackson

“ Man in the mirror.” I'm pretty sure now that song was a hint for me to start looking at myself and making a change instead of always judging other people for their faults, I had my own after all. Thank you sister! I am sorry for letting you down.

But God! Here's where the story shifted, where God in his infinite grace and mercy, called me by name, called me his, even when I was dead in my trespasses and sins, God loved me….

On May 23 of 2023i would use my last bag of dope. I didn't know that then, nor had that been my intention, not by my own will, but by the Fear of God and the Faith of a few “Friends” that brought me to Jesus Christ 🙏. Thank you ALL !

I remember pieces of that day /night, whatever time it was…Outside the casino, high, empty, being a pervert again. I had just copied and pasted the perverted message along with a few pictures and sent them to the women/girls, or so I thought 🤔.

Not so sure anymore but I look up and I hear a voice ask me for a cigarette and when I looked into what I can only describe as a void, the bane of my existence, the emptiness staring right back at me. Out of my own mind I think I saw the devil, my adversary and the pit of hell was in his eyes, black as ice, emptiness that seemed to suck the life out of me…and he was smiling at me like he was a friend, like he knew me, very well. I felt my life being drained from my body and it went cold 🥶. Then came what I can only describe as the tormentors, the the gnashing of teeth, had come for me. This was my 3rd time doing this. Once in 2017, again in 2020, and now in 2023. Third times the charm, God had enough and he had decided to put the angels of hell right in front of me, to open my eyes with a blinding light and show me the way that I was going was perverse to the Lord ( See Numbers ch 22: 22-32). I was chased by the angels of hell, to a place of Refuge I ran.

From 13 to 36 was just a cycle of doing good, losing focus, being foolish, mishandling blessings, being ungrateful, being resentful, being the problem.

I chased after something, but never knew what it was. Girls, friends, fun, smoking pot, making money, getting kicked out of schools, running away. I was living in pure rebellion plain and simple because rebellion seemed to get me attention. I thought that's what I wanted, ha was I a fool. I thought I deserved it as a kid. I didn't want to grow up, I must have felt like I was robbed of my childhood or a life I felt I deserved. And because I wanted it, I was going to take it back…

I had no sense, I thought this was my world and I could do anything, be anything I wanted with no concern for anything or anyone else but myself. Then one day the weight of all my choices would hit me in the face, I wish literally because it would have taken less time to heal from, and I was alone to face it, or so I thought. I was forced to finally look at myself in the mirror and take accountability for who I had become.

I don't think I remember what I wanted to be when I grew up. I honestly can't tell you that I wanted to be anything promising like a doctor, or lawyer, firefighter or soldier. For the longest I just wanted to be a kid. I think I wanted to be a kid so badly, that I never wanted to actually grow up. That desire stayed in my heart well into my 30s, long after I had joined the army, ran into “celebratory fire” during a combat mortar patrol in Iraq, long after I had my own children, long after I had recklessly ran the streets of my neighborhood doing foolish and childish acts to earn respect and validation. I thought I needed to be accepted by everyone, and that I had to earn that acceptance by being a clown.

It cost me more respect than I could ever earn. It has cost me my future, my family, my reputation. I thought I wanted to be a boy forever, like Peter pan, never wanting to grow up, cost me way more than I ever knew I had to pay. I never thought about anything or anyone else but myself, that boy, would never become a man, unless he died.

Afraid of failing because I'm afraid of letting others down, I'm afraid of being judged, because I want to be accepted and praised. But when I get that, it's not enough and I reject it …

You ever think you remember something but you're not quite sure?

I vaguely remember a picture of my earliest childhood memory, it starts out innocent enough, my oldest brother Samuel and I playing bunk beds.

I think I had been waiting on him to get home from school all day, and then my momma had told us to go play in the room while she made dinner. We were flipping on the bunk beds and laughing when I heard the plate crash against the wall….

My father had been angry about his food being cold, and the next thing I remember is getting thrown into a wall at 4-5 years old…

My mother says that my brother Sam and I had come out the room to my father beating on her and Sam tackled his legs while I jumped on his back, guess that's how I got thrown into the wall….

Next thing I remember is we're piling up into a Ryder truck, moving to Mississippi in 91-92.

I didn't realize it then but everything that was in my father's heart had been planted in mine….

In the Kiln, in my grandpa Sam's and Mimi's old house my mom would go through a cycle of codependency that would leave me and my brothers and sisters exposed to years of molestation, sexual immorality and drug use that was swept under the rug and excused for years as kids “experimenting”, playing house and doctor, etc. “Aunt's” and “uncles” coming and going, drugs, bikers, violence and boyfriends that used and abused momma, cousins that made me do things to them that I hate them for now…but I obviously didn't hate them enough because I took would do these same things to others…Christopher La France I really hate you for manipulating me into sucking your d***.

Amanda Moren, I really hate you for introducing me to “kissing you” down there at 8 years old.

Sierra, Lacey, I'm sorry for touching you and then doing whatever caused you to get up and hump me afterwards, to my own brothers and sisters, I'm sorry for the things we did with each other when we should have been raised better.

To my momma, I forgive you. You were just doing what you thought was best for us with the hand you had been dealt with facing everything you had to face all alone must have been crushing…

To my father, I forgive you for being a coward, for running from your responsibility I too can understand why you felt overwhelmed and afraid because I too was faced with that same responsibility and I ran too….

First things first I have to confess and accept that I am a sinner and I need a savior. Romans 7:18 says “ for I know that in me, that is my flesh, dwelleth no good thing…” that's not just me, but its ALL of us. Especially when you don't even want to know God or submit to his sovereign authority over your life. Buddy, has he got a plan for you! Lol so hold on for the ride 😁 God ALWAYS gets his Man.

I wanna talk about a reliance and obedience to God's Word and his will now.

Ezekiel 36:26 says “ I Will give you a new heart.

I Will put a new spirit within you.

I Will take away the stony heart out of your flesh.

I Will give you a heart of flesh.

Count how many times God says “ I Will ” it is he that does it, not your willingness or will power but sovereign God.

Phillipians 2:13 says “For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do for his good pleasure.”

To allow God into our hearts means to turn to him and walk in HIS ways. I must understand that MY way is wicked, my heart is decietful, my wants, my emotions and my selfish desires are all opposed to God's Will for my Life.

Isaiah 55:7-8 say “ Let the wicked forsake HIS way, and the unrighteous man HIS thoughts; and let him return unto the Lord, and He Will have Mercy upon him; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon.⁸ for my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord.”

I have to submit my life, my thoughts and my actions to be in alignment with God. I must strive to be obedient, especially when I have been allowed to be given a chance to be. That is a blessing, to be allowed to come to see the error of your ways, to see the Truth about your self and to be allowed to do something about it now. It is the goodness of God that leads men to repentance.

So how do I find out what to do?

Read HIS Word!

Psalm 119:9 says “wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his ways? By taking heed there to according to thy Word.”

Taking heed to, to pay attention and focus on, give vigilant and considerate to what it says to do. And striving to apply it in the circumstances and areas of your life.

Deuteronomy 4:9 says

“ Only take heed to thyself , and keep thy soul diligently, lest thou forget the things which thine eyes have seen, and lest they depart from thy heart all the days of thy life: but teach them thy son's and thy son's sons;

I know that I absolutely need the Lord God each and every day of my life now. To walk in the way that he has purposed for the life that he has given me. The only way I can do that is to seek him everyday in his Word, to pray with him every moment I can. To ask for his Wisdom and guidance on every situation and to surrender my control over to his Will.

Do I stumble and slip, trip and fall down? Occasionally, I never implied that I would be sinless, but with HIS Word and HIS Will, I do sin less than I used to, and that alone is evidence enough for me to continue to seek his Word everyday.

I pray that God will help you too, and if you're reading this and have gotten this far, buddy he's already working in your heart and your mind to save you too!

Jesus said in Luke 6:46-49

Luke 6:46-49 NIV

[46] “Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say? [47] As for everyone who comes to me and hears my words and puts them into practice, I will show you what they are like. [48] They are like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock. When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it, because it was well built. [49] But the one who hears my words and does not put them into practice is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. The moment the torrent struck that house, it collapsed and its destruction was complete.”

In the Bible, integrity means having undivided loyalty to God, resulting in a life of wholeness, moral uprightness, and consistency between inner convictions and outward actions. It involves acting honestly and blamelessly in all circumstances—even when no one is watching—and adhering to God's standards rather than compromising for personal gain.

Having integrity leads to a less stressful life by aligning your actions with your core values, which eliminates the mental burden of guilt, fear, and dishonesty. By acting consistently and honestly, you avoid the anxiety of managing lies or covering up mistakes, allowing for greater emotional stability and trust in relationships.

Eliminates Internal Conflict: When actions match values, you avoid cognitive dissonance—the uncomfortable tension experienced when doing something that feels wrong.

Reduces Fear and Anxiety: Because you have nothing to hide, you live without the fear of being exposed or caught, removing a significant source of anxiety.

Conserves Mental Energy: Living honestly eliminates the need to remember past lies or create new ones, freeing up mental bandwidth and reducing, as mentioned by, the need to "run simulations" about covering up, say,, "a text on your phone.".

Builds Strong Relationships: Reliability and trustworthiness foster deeper, more supportive relationships, creating a more positive and less conflict-ridden social environment.

Boosts Confidence and Self-Esteem: Following through on commitments and upholding principles strengthens your self-respect, leading to greater peace of mind.

Increases Resilience: Living in alignment with your values makes you more resilient to life's challenges, keeping you grounded during chaotic times.

I woke up around 12:45 and I picked up my phone after a drink of water. I started browsing and the thought of foolishness was present, I went to that site for a moment and began to be exposed to the flesh.

But something different happened this. In less than a minute I was repulsed by what I was seeing. It wasn't pleasing to the eye, it was disgusting. For the first time I wasn't enticed and I don't remember the exact thought but I closed the link, wiped my browser history and ran.

I ran to the Word. I just wanted to escape and in that temptation I ran to God's Word. A miracle happened to me last night. I didn't look for a specific chapter. I just said in my Heart ❤️ Help Me God!

I ran , straight to 2 Chronicles 7:14 is where my fingers unintentionally reached out to, I just opened the book and that's where it landed.

I don't know exactly what it means right now but I'm certain things are going to be different.

Something has shifted within me and God has given me a way out.

Nonetheless today I was sent a message from someone one here who I wont name because it's not my place to shame them, but in it things were harmless enough until the picture was sent.

A very immodest picture of a young woman with a bathing suit top on in a hot tub it looks like. Now most of you know that I have a dark history before the conversion, but today it rather disturbs me to see things like that because I'm repulsed by my past and yet still haunted by it, flesh, immodest clothing and the whorish appearance of women in scantily clad attire. Yet I'm curious 🧐. Are you seriously okay with showing off your bodies to complete strangers on the Internet 😞.

Is nothing sacred about it.

Whose responsibility is it in the world to guard the gateways to the soul. Is it mine, to have self control and discipline not to look? Or is part of it you women and young ladies who are knowingly exploiting the weakness of men and the nature of the man, using flesh to lure, entice and ultimately seduce the man into a snare?

The Jezebel Spirit! Ashteroth, the wife of Ba'al. The Mistress of sex and beauty, the immoral woman, yet claims to be a Christian. A believer, ha, even the devils believed, and trembled, you decieve yourself to profess to be a Christian, yet expose your flesh and bodies to multiple people all over.

The Lord rebuke thee!

“ As for me and my house, I'm gonna serve the Lord!”