Hypocrisy is defined as simulation, or pretending to be what you are not, and also dissimulation, which is hiding what you really are by having multiple versions of yourself that you present to others. Both of these aspects of hypocrisy are based in dishonesty and lies. Hypocrisy is the leaven that has leavened the whole of humanity. It has become almost all that life is about for almost the whole of mankind. Almost everyone has very few thoughts and feelings toward other people that are not,...

Hypocrisy is the omission of truth, and/or the addition of lies. This must be done with words, which are the utterance of thought. So hypocrisy begins with the manipulation of thoughts through the use of words. Do not allow your mind to be deceived by distortions of truth through the shell games people play with words. Satan is a master wordsmith and this is his game. Remember that truth is fixed and eternal; it never changes. The Word of God is truth, and therefore our only protection from...

Hypocrisy is basically having multiple personalities. Dissimulation is part of the definition of hypocrisy. It is like "simulation" but with the "di" it means pretending to be two (or more) different people at the same time. The inner conflict and confusion affects the emotions and makes them hard to control. Thus, we have moods, which in fact are multiple spirits that we allow ourselves to be subject to, manifested by anger, melancholy, frustration, or foolishness. Moods are very similar to...

The traits of Jezebel all speak of pride, rebellion, and selfishness. These things are ugly, abominable, and sinful in anyone, man or woman. A simple study of the name and its meaning tells us that she is an impudent, daring, vitious woman. She is shameless; lacks modesty; is bold, with contempt of others; saucy. She is impure and immoral. She is defective; there is something wrong with her in her heart and mind. Every thing about her is a perfect description of todays modern, liberated,...

Satan's spiritual attack against you will come in three ways. He will try to convince you to believe that you have done too much, and the mess you have made of your life is too much for God to fix. He will also tell you that you are not worth God's concern; you have nothing to offer, or your problem is too insignificant for God to be bothered with. He will also tell you that it is too late for you; that you have missed the opportunity and are hopelessly lost, because God has had it with you....

Purity and pollution both affect the way we view the world around us. To the pure all things are pure. He looks for the good, finds it, and rejoices in it. Them that are unbelieving and defiled in their mind and conscience only look for the bad and find it in everything and everyone. Rotten fruit is sweet to a worm but noxious to normal people. These are the two kinds of people in this world. When we find ourselves thinking that there is nothing but evil and no good in this world we are under...

Throughout the Scriptures purity is more often than not connected with our interaction with other people. The matter of purity is not simply for our own sake, or so we can be right with God, it is necessary in order to be right with others. Every relationship between people is affected by purity or the lack thereof. More than that, we can say that it is one of the pillars of any relationship. If you want a good relationship, whether in marriage, with your children, or anyone else, keep it...

The primary meaning of religion, by it's definition, refers to the true God and the Savior. The word has been misused and slandered so that now most people have the wrong perception when they hear the word. But it is in the Bible and it is our subject. There is only pure religion and vain religion. Pure religion has two identifying marks: more concern for others than for self, and not defiled by the world. Vain religion is marked by an unbridled tongue, which is connected to a heart that has...

We purify water, air, coffee, oil, fuel, and all kinds of other liquids by running them through a filter. We cannot hope to remain morally pure in a world like this unless we have a filter. We cannot hope for our children to remain pure unless they have a filter. We can be their filter while they are very young, but every day as they get older they will see and hear more from this world, and they will be exposed to all of its filth and corruption. To maintain purity we must have something...

To be pure is to be clean; it is to be free of pollution and unadulterated. "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God." There is no such promise to those who are not pure in heart. This world is a very unclean place. We are swimming in filth up to our necks all the time. We are bombarded with pornography, profanity, blasphemy, and violence in everything we look at and listen to. There is no way to maintain a pure heart and mind unless we separate ourselves from the fountain of it...

Jesus said that the world would be like it was in Noah's day just before He comes again. The earth was filled with violence then, and it is approaching that same condition now. While we are focusing on all the wars going on in the world, that "same spirit that worketh in the children of disobedience" is filling the children and young people of this generation with the spirit of violence. Video games, entertainment, and the lack of truly godly people in their lives are making them that...

A pure heart is a heart that has its affection set on God above everything and everyone else. The "perfect heart" that is mentioned many times in the Scripture is that heart that will not turn away from God. A pure heart cannot be wooed or drawn away, and is described in Solomon's Song this way: "I have found Him whom my soul loveth, I held him, and would not let him go."

This is one of those messages that I wish everyone would hear. The matter is so vitally important! If you are a child of God you are involved in a spiritual conflict , and we are living in the most dangerous times. The enemy that will do you in is most likely the one you will not see. You will not see him because part of his strategy is to keep you distracted while he deploys his spies, his snipers, his double-agents, his land mines, and his disinformation in your mind, and in the minds of...

There is no way to have peace with God without a pure heart, a pure mind, and a pure conscience. The pollution and corruption of this world makes it a very dangerous place for us to work and live in, physically and spiritually. Disease, germs, viruses, and poisons are a danger to our physical health, but the greater danger is the spiritual and moral corruption that we are exposed to everywhere we go. Our conscience is made pure when the blood of Christ is applied to our heart. We must learn...

The devil wants to kill you, and he has a plan to do so. What he plans to do with you is more than just kill you; he intends to take you to hell with him for eternity. His strategy has two stages. First get you to say "no" to God; to deny God, and turn away from Him. Then to lead you on down the road to destruction of your earthly life. He will use every means, every person, every situation, every device that is available. He will use your own desires, even holy desires, to draw you out into...

Purity means clean, not mixed with any other thing or substance. We can understand this truth in the physical realm. All sickness and disease is caused by something in our body that is not supposed to be there. Contaminates, pollution, infection by germs, viruses, or bacteria result in sickness and even death. In the spiritual realm it is much the same. Unclean spirits are mentioned more than any other in the Bible. Wickedness, sin, and evil are contagious and when we gaze upon it with our...

Purity of mind, heart, conscience, and soul is a major part of being a child of God. The word means "clean" and we are very attentive to cleanliness when it comes to food or drink. We want what we take into our body to be pure, but it seems that we are very careless about what enters into our mind, our heart, and our soul. The devil is on the rampage right now like most of us have never seen. Sin, worldliness, and immorality are commonly reported among the churches. When sickness and disease...

The "world" that God commands us to be separated from is not the created things of this earth, but rather all that is under the influence and control of Satan and unregenerate human beings. This world system and all its means of influence over mankind is under the control of the devil. The only way to be a child of God is to forsake this present, evil world and become a citizen of God's kingdom. We then live as a pilgrims and strangers here. If we are a friend of this world the Bible tells us...

Being alone and feeling alone are two different things. All of us feel alone and abandoned at times. It is part of life. It is a hard part of life for folks when they get older because they feel it a lot. The devil likes to push us into that corner because we are very vulnerable to his lies when we feel alone and abandoned. The thing that drives this kind of loneliness away is to simply realize that we are a part of the family of God in heaven and on earth. We must be like a tree and spread...

The devil never changes his strategy. An object is presented for our consideration. Then while we gaze upon it and consider it, a desire is born in our heart for it. Then a plan is formed to obtain it. Then we obtain it. This is the natural order of things for the good and for the evil. The problem we have is with the desire. We allow the desire to take control of our mind, and truth and reality are shut out while we figure out a way to get what we want. This is our Achille's heal and the...

It is a marvel that the mind is so prone to forget the most important things and remember the most vain things; a mind that was designed by Almighty God to work and operate in his own image and likeness. Surely there is an influence at work that causes the mind to malfunction like this. Strive to not be a forgetful hearer of the Word of God. Strive to remember and hold dear that blessings of life that God gives you in other people and his loving care for you and yours.Resist the powers that...

The effectual, fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. To pray according to his Will is to ask for those things which He has said in his Word that He is willing to grant. Not my will, but thine be done. Prayer is not to bring God on board with our plans and desires. It is not to inform God of the problem and tell Him how to fix it. The less of self that is involved in our prayers, the more effectual our prayers will be. To pray according to his will is impossible unless we are...

A carnal mind is not identified by sins and vices, but by how we interact with other people. Envying, strife, and divisions are the evidence presented in this Scripture to convict these people of being carnally-minded. Having a checklist of bad habits, vices, and other things we abstain from does not certify us as spiritually-minded. Our attitudes toward others and the way we esteem them reveals whether we are carnal or spiritual. The carnal mind is enmity with God, and is not subject to God,...

Why does the "way" people think change? Look at what has happened to our world over the past few decades, and how the insanity has snowballed in the past few years. The "way" people think and reason has been changed, and is being changed at a much faster pace now. The only way to have a sound mind and sound reasoning is to have a mind that is stayed on truth. Lies, fantasy, and misinformation corrupt the mind and the ability to think and reason properly is affected or done away with...

The mind is such an important part of our being. It is the power to reason, conceive, and judge, and if it is feeble in these matters our life will be one disaster after another. Feeble means to be weak and powerless, and therefore easily deceived. There are a number of reasons for a feeble mind, but none of them are hopeless because of the promise of God that He will give us a spirit of a sound mind, and that we can have the mind of Christ. This is the comfort for feeble-minded folks.