This Word "Betrayal"

About 30 minutes ago, this word bothered me (though it shouldn't) to the point where I literally stopped what I was doing to type this. You see, betrayal is nothing new to God. In fact, many people know about Judas Iscariot betraying Jesus before Jesus was crucified. But I want to talk about the betrayals we face today (and I believe they will increase as the days progress).

We shouldn't be afraid of the word betrayal, but at the same time, we should not be alarmed when we are betrayed. Now we are not to live our lives in fear of being betrayed, but when we are betrayed, turn them over to God and forgive them.

I want to touch on some of the betrayals I see today (and again, I expect them to increase with greater intensity as we continue living day on this earth):

1. This first betrayal bothers my spirit to the core: parents are giving children (12 years and younger) to sexual predators to be molested, robbed of their virginity for money.

2. The second betrayal is the "what's in it for me" betrayal. I will be your friend, sup with you, join your cliques all for my benefit and then drop you when I got what I needed without even pouring into your life. Judas would fit this one with the exception that Jesus chose Judas and not the other way around.

3. The third betrayal is the "fair-weather friend" betrayal. This is where you want to be around people when they have good days and the moment they go through or offend you (whether major but more importantly minor), you turn your back on them, won't even help them at their point of need. This can also be an "I'm better than you" betrayal and this betrayal can actually lead to their spiritual death (and yes, you could have their blood on your hands).

4. The fourth betrayal involves trust. Example: I tell someone what I'm going through, they sit with me and listen; once I get it all out and they get all of my trust, they turn against me and speak ill of me because I'm not perfect like them. Some would get cocky with their attitude and say, "you need to get over it!" 

The last thing I want you to do is play naive in believing that you'll never be betrayed. Offenses come in different shapes & forms, and betrayal is no exception. Just because somebody is your friend doesn't mean they don't have the capability to betray you. Watch therefore, for wolves will perpetrate to be sheep. But sadly, many will pray and trust their flesh and not God thinking so & so won't betray them. But even if it does, God has you and them. Just be watchful is what I'm trying to say with that point. 

I need to say this too: just because someone attends your church or becomes a part of your elite clique due to church association, pastor association, etc. doesn't mean they still won't sell you out. I'll be honest, I'm expecting it to happen more in my life, people who say they believe will turn against me. Yes, it hurts and will hurt, but I will keep pressing on for His high calling. I don't expect everyone who says they are for me to really be for me. We're human, sinful, prideful, and always in need of being forgiven by God and forgiving others. 

This betrayal is getting so bad that if you don't agree with a political leader, a pastor, a music artist, people will betray you over that. If you have character flaws, they will betray you and flaunt their arrogance over you. Sadly, this betrayal is happening more in the spiritual world (in my opinion) than in the secular world and that shouldn't be. Part of the betrayal is due to our selfish agendas and still clinging on to the "what's in it for me" mentality. We have lost the one-sided love that Jesus had and we need to get our hearts back to this kind of love.

Blessings.

The Mayne Man

Are You Seeking Acceptance From Man or God?

I was asked by a dear friend of mine to share this with you all. I initially shared it with my inner circle when  God spoke this to my heart (around 8:30am on 10/5/13). So, here it goes.

God just revealed something to me that hit home. All of my life, I longed to be accepted. I tried getting it from my family (I got it as long as it fit their mode of operation), I tried getting it through my gifts (some would backfire). Today, I find that as long as I am accepted by Jesus is all that I need acceptance from.

For my calling (and for others with a calling this serious), rejection is expected and many sufferings will be in order. Sadly, many people don't want to bear burdens because of pride. And the sleeping church will league with those with pride issues. We have problems and don't want to share burdens. We don't share because we will face ridicule from prideful people (causing us to feel more condemned). We don't share because we'll receive a deaf ear. Apparently, we're to only need God; however, we do have to listen to their problems. Another reason we don't share is because the same people who want us to open up will be the same ones to make a spectacle out of us and to boost their righteousness over us.

Final revelation: many people will say we have to ask the wrong doer to forgive us when we were abused, neglected, almost to make us feel that we caused it. Of course, this should sound absurd, but we still inflict this on people who need a touch from God. Yes, Jesus took on things He didn't do for our sake, but we're not Jesus. Granted, I got in trouble growing up for things I didn't even do (it was all blamed on me). One thing that comes to mind is the time when one of my relatives who lived with me stole money from the money collected from my cookie sales that people ordered. It has taught me now to be very ethical with how I conduct business with others. So finding acceptance from my family was more difficult. Again, I know now that acceptance only comes from God alone. The world will view us as failures and will want us to bow down to it's acceptance.

So what is the underlying message to this: each person must look to Jesus for acceptance and to determine who you share your most intimate issues with. Not everyone who says that are for you ARE (even in the church world). As Jesus pulled away, sometimes we must do the same thing. People will want to take offense before coming to you to resolve the offense (or they'll tell you they were offended and write you off because they are holier than you). As brothers/sisters, we can't afford to live ourselves to the point that we throw fellow brothers/sisters to the wolves (as open prey to the devil). If God has called someone to something important which requires rejection and suffering, prayer & intercession is necessary (not writing them off). And for us to side with people like that is saying, I agree with writing them off. We all have our quirks, but we should always see the best in people (and not league with the devil by seeing the worst in them). If we can say death and life are in the power of the tongue, we must be truthful at all costs, but discern where a person is in their lives. It's not a one size fits all.

Blessings:

The Mayne Man