The Ways of God vs The Ways of the World

“Be transformed by the renewing of your mind in these things. Meditate on them in stillness and quietness and become transformed.”

Romans 14:17 — for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking [merely for survival], but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.

The whole point of life is to be at complete peace and have the fullness of joy in whatever situation you find yourself in. Why? Because it feels amazing. And if you don’t feel amazing (depressed, anxious, stressed, sad, worried, fearful, panicked, nervous, envious, hateful, bitter, angry), then life isn’t worth living.

• “The ways of the world” bring: depression, anxiety, stress, sadness, worry, fear, panic, nervousness, envy, bitterness, hatred and anger.
• “The ways of God” bring: true peace and joy.

The world promises you peace and joy through:

1. Fame
   Popularity, even if it’s just amongst friends and family.
2. Fortune
   Money, possessions.
3. Power
   Perhaps a high ranking, well paying job.
4. Sexual pleasure outside of marriage

The truth is, none of these things bring any true peace and joy. Instead, they bring you depression, anxiety, stress, nervousness, panic, fear, worry, envy, doubt, sadness, hatred, bitterness and anger. Meditate on these “ways of the world” (the wisdom of the world), which are Satan’s ways (how Satan works is very basic: he simply takes God’s ways and does the exact opposite).

Now, where does true peace and joy come from? They come from walking in the ways of God:

True peace comes from:

1. The first step of your journey to peace is to humble yourself before God: realizing that you’re a sinner in need of a savior, incapable of saving yourself through “being a good person”. Knowing that Christ paid it all on the cross for your salvation, so you don’t have to do anything to earn that salvation. Realizing just how sinful you are and that you’re not a “good person” in the eyes of a perfectly holy God, and that you just can’t be perfect (coming to the end of yourself). Coming to the end of yourself is freeing and feels good. Meditate on these things.
2. Next, peace comes from realizing that what the world has to offer you (money to buy dead, lifeless possessions or a beautifully remodeled home, or a one night stand), that those things don’t bring you any true, lasting joy or peace. Luke 12:15 — “or one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses.” The only “joy” you get from possessions is the time period waiting to acquire that possession, and then once you receive it, you’ve hit the climax and it’s all downhill from there: you open it. Put it together. Use it for a minute and then put it away. You can see this clearly with children, how when they’re alone, they get bored with their toys so quickly: because their toys don’t bring any true joy to them. However, when they have a friend to play with, then they’re joyful. Now, contrast the false joy in possessions with the true joy that only comes from our good relationships with our Heavenly Father, our brother Jesus, and our friends and family. And as long as you’re having a good time with those people, it doesn’t matter what environment you’re in (as long as it’s not dangerous). You’d feel no better hanging out with your friends and family and having a good time with them in the finest $150,000,000 New York or LA penthouse than you would in a humble, tiny, outdated home. Meditate on these things.
3. Next, now understanding that dead, lifeless possessions and beautiful homes don’t bring you any peace or joy, true peace comes from being content and thankful with what you have and are given by our Heavenly Father. All we truly need to get us through this world until we get to our heavenly home are food, clothing and shelter. Meditate on these things. And all good gifts to supply our basic necessities of life (that aren’t of excess) come from our Heavenly Father above. And any financial abundance we receive from God is designed to supply the lack of others. Knowing how to abound and how to be abased: contentment and thanksgiving are the keys.
4. Next, peace comes from Godly humility. True humility is knowing that everything that has ever existed comes from God, whether it be knowledge or matter or abilities. And that we were each individually designed by God with whatever special characteristics we may be endowed with: perhaps intelligence or artistic abilities or athleticism or outward superficial beauty. Some of us with nothing, and that’s a blessing. We did not design and create ourselves. We have nothing to brag about. And any glory (amazingness) we have is only a reflection of the amazingness that God Himself possesses, that He designed us with.
   
   For example, for the intelligent people: God designed some humans to be able to comprehend more of God’s knowledge than others. They did not create themselves with that ability, nor did they ever learn or discover or contribute any knowledge to society that did not originate from God Himself. They have nothing to brag about. All the science and mathematics we have in this world, it is all God’s knowledge and they were all given by God to certain humans who He designed with the capacity to understand His knowledge in order to give that knowledge to the world at the right time through them. They did not “discover” or “come up with” that knowledge on their own. It was given to them by God. They are just the messenger. For those of us without intelligence, seeing what those designed with intelligence can do gives us perspective to see the vastness of God’s intelligence. If we were all intelligent, we wouldn’t understand what intelligence is, and how vast God’s knowledge is. We’d have no benchmark.
   
   For the athletes: again, they did not design and create themselves with their glorious (amazing) athletic abilities. God designed them with their proper genetics to be able to do all the things they can do. They have nothing to brag about. And it is God who uses them (much like a child plays with action figures) with the skill sets He designed them with to put on a good show, because it’s fun to watch amazing athletic talent, and we can see the glory (the amazingness) of God in His physical design of the body through the amazing things athletes can do. They have nothing to brag about. It is God who designed them and uses them. For those of us who were designed without athletic abilities, it gives us perspective to admire the amazing abilities of the human body that God created out of His intelligence. If we were all athletic, then we wouldn’t understand how amazing the human body is. When you watch sports through the perspective of admiring God’s design vs desiring a certain outcome, it is joyful to watch. If you put all your hope and joy in any one player or team’s success, making them an idol, then you will usually be let down.
   
   Same goes for the artistic: the only reason they can create what they create is because God Himself is creative and gave them the ability to create. They have nothing to boast about. For those of us who aren’t creative, it gives us perspective to see God’s amazing attribute of creativity. If we were all creative, we wouldn’t understand what creativity is.
   
   The same goes for outwardly beautifully designed people. They did not design themselves. They have nothing to brag about. If we were all outwardly beautiful, we wouldn’t understand what human beauty was (we’ll all be beautiful in our new bodies. We just won’t lust after each other or be envious of one another). Our temporal bodily ugliness (contrasted with outwardly beautiful people) gives the world the ability to comprehend God’s quality of being able to design human beauty.
   
   It’s like this: part of God’s amazing characteristics is His kindness and mercy and forgiveness. He’s rich in them. And if we were all perfectly sinless, then we’d never be able to comprehend those qualities of His, because He would never need to use them. “Because I am kind, I will show you mercy and forgive you your sins.” It all traces back to God. So to recap: peace comes from Godly humility. True humility is knowing that everything that has ever existed comes from God, whether it be knowledge or matter or abilities, and that none of us designed or created ourselves, and that none of us has anything to brag about, because everything we have all traces back to God. Satan takes this concept of humility and does the opposite and tells you that you do have something to boast about, and it introduces pride, and from the root of pride comes all the evils of “the ways of the world” (and is the original sin that got Satan kicked out of heaven and started all this mess we’re in now). While we are all extremely valued and important and equal in God’s eyes, we are ultimately nothing in the sense that we haven’t contributed anything to God that didn’t originate from Him first, and everything ultimately traces back to God and His glory (amazingness). Meditate on these things. Pride introduces “the pyramid” of ranking, while humility keeps us all at the bottom on an equal playing field with only God at the top (where only He gets the glory and praise and honor):
   
   Pride introduces Satan’s worldly pyramid of ranking and produces arrogant superiority for the greater. Jealousy, hatred, bitterness, sadness and insufficiency for the lesser. Where the lesser is constantly trying to tear down the greater to usurp them, and the greater is always oppressing the lesser to stay on top. Everything is ranked in the world: looks, intelligence, athleticism, artistry, business, wealth.
   
   Understanding that we of ourselves, while highly valued and loved in God’s eyes, are nothing of ourselves – we didn’t design ourselves and give ourselves our abilities, nor did we contribute anything new to the realm of knowledge that didn’t already exist from God. The things we do and create are a reflection of the intelligence and beauty of God and His attributes, that He endowed us with. God gets all the glory. When you look at something that is accomplished or created, you can see the amazingness of God and His attributes, because He gave us those abilities that stem from Him in the first place.
   
   When we realize this humble truth about ourselves, we get God’s pyramid of humility. “I’m only able to do what I do because God created me this way. Yet I have the burden of becoming prideful.” “I was not created with any special talents. And I can be humble, sit back, relax, and admire God’s amazingness (glory) working through His other creations.” God gets all the glory. We are all equal.
   
   When we take the glory for ourselves, we become prideful and get the worldly pyramid of ranking, which introduces all sorts of evil.
   
   How do we not envy one another? We have to look at others through humble eyes: when we see a beautiful person: “God is a great designer.” When we watch an athletic person: “God’s design of the human body is amazing!” When we hear an intelligent person: “God is brilliant! (After all, it’s His knowledge in the first place)” When we hear a beautiful song: “God is amazing in that He created music through all His wisdom and creativity”. When we realize that we ourselves and others are nothing special and don’t deserve the attention, and that it’s all of God and that He deserves all the attention, we can be at peace and content with ourselves and the way God designed us, as well as and being content with the material things God has given us (food, clothing).
   
   It has to be this way, or else you get the prideful pyramid of ranking, which is what “the ways of the world” is built on, and what we’re stuck in now. And humbling yourself to see this truth is part of walking in “the ways of God” and yields nothing but true peace and joy.
   
   The very first sin was in heaven. And it was with Lucifer (Satan). And it was pride. Apparently he was most beautiful, a top angel and the leader of music. Instead of giving God the worship and praise, he wanted the worship and praise from the other angels for himself. So, he sought to usurp God, and convinced 1/3 of the angels to follow him. So God kicked Lucifer and his angels out of heaven, down to earth, where he became Satan and rules the world with his original sin of pride. That’s where “the ways of the world” comes from.
   
   If this point hurts you, that’s your pride, and it’s exactly what you need to humble yourself from. I’m personally glad I don’t have the burden of possessing any of these qualities, so that I can remain humble. I just get to sit back, relax and enjoy the beauty of God’s glory (amazingness) through others, being wowed by His wisdom, intelligence, creativity and athleticism for the ages to come, on into eternity.
5. Peace also comes from patience. Patience is a fruit of the Spirit, and works hand-in-hand with the other fruits of the Spirit of: kindness, gentleness, self-control, and not getting provoked to anger (a fruit of love). Godly patience bears with others for as long as it takes to produce the desired outcome of whatever you’re trying to accomplish. Jesus is forever patient with us while teaching us to learn how to walk in His ways. Imagine yourself as a baby learning how to walk. Jesus is right beside you, holding your hand, lifting you up every time you fall, no matter how many times you fall, no matter how long it takes for you to take a step, always encouraging, self controlled and never getting angry, never giving up. To understand patience, you must understand that “time” is actually a good thing. Time was created by God, and what God creates is good. Satan, who attempting to get rid of patience in doing the exact opposite of God, tells you that time is bad, and that everything needs to happen instantly. You see it with everything in society (instant this, instant that). He puts greedy and unreasonable men into positions of power that put harsh demands and deadlines on their employees to work harder and faster, and faster and faster, with less help, and to produce the same quality product, all so that they can make more money while you suffer. But with “the ways of God”, He created life. And life was meant to interact with each other (that’s what produces joy), and life cannot move without time, and it takes time for people and things to work together to produce something good, and time is a good thing. Let time have its perfect work (mixed with gentleness, kindness, self-control and no anger), that whatever you’re doing may be perfect and complete.
6. Next, peace comes from understanding that every last thing we do and that others do for us in life is truly optional, and that by us deciding to do that something is truly a loving act of kindness to either ourselves or someone else that proliferates their peace and joy. Making yourself dinner is optional – you could decide to not to eat, and eventually die. Making yourself a nice dinner that you enjoy is optional – you could just make yourself a bowl of cereal. Washing the dishes is optional – you could decide to not have anything to eat with. Doing the laundry is optional – you could decide to wear dirty clothes. Putting on clothes is even optional – you could decide to even walk around naked and go to jail. Going to work is optional – you could decide to be homeless. The key is understanding that every last thing we do is optional, and that by taking action and doing them, we are working the fruits of the Spirit of agape love and kindness toward ourselves or others. Satan has turned the fruit of the Spirit of loving acts of kindness into “painful chores”, and that the desire in life is to get rich and “successful” and pay others to do those “painful chores” for them. Now, combine those agape loving acts of kindness that you’re doing for yourself (and others) with Godly thanksgiving and contentment for the tools in which God gave you in order to do those acts of kindness: “God has graciously (kindly) provided me with all the wonderful foods to do something kind for my family and make us a delightful dinner. All I have to do is take action and make it.” “God has graciously given me all the dinnerware to eat our delightful meal with. All I have to do is take action and get it out.” “God has graciously provided me with a sink, hot running water and soap to do something kind for my family and wash these dishes with so they don’t have to. All I have to do is take action wash them.” “God has graciously given me the energy to do something kind for my family and put away the dishes so they don’t have to. All I have to do is take action and expend that energy.” “God has graciously provided me with a washing machine, detergent and running water so that I can do something kind for me and my family so we can have clean clothes. All I have to do is take action and load the washer.” “God has graciously provided me with clothes so I can be comfortable. All I have to do is take action and put them on.” “God has graciously given me the ability to work and has opened up the doors necessary for me to earn the money to buy the things He provides me with.” “God has graciously put a store a couple miles down the road, stocked with everything I need to get my job done. All I need to do is take action and go there.” Do everything with agape love and kindness: selflessly, sacrificially and unconditionally. God loves us with agape love, and showed it to us by His death for us: in His “selflessness”, purely wanting to benefit us with a life of eternal joy and peace and selflessly not desiring anything in return, He “unconditionally” went to die on the cross for us (while we despised Him, His death was unconditional of whether we deserved it or not), and gave up (sacrificed) His own life so that we could be blessed (benefit from) with eternal life, joy, peace and love. Take action and love others and yourself with agape love. They’re not “painful chores”. They’re loving acts of kindness that bring peace and joy to others and yourself. Proliferate the peace and joy!
7. And finally, true peace comes from being thankful to ourselves for the kind things we do for ourselves, as well as being thankful for the kind things others do for us. Now that we understand that everything we do or anything others do for us is optional, we can always be thankful. We’re called to “Rejoice!” And be “thankful” when someone does something for us that benefits (blesses) us, no matter how small it may be. Rejoice and get excited for when someone does something kind for you! Don’t feel guilty: be thankful and rejoice. However, when you do loving acts of agape kindness for others, don’t even desire so much as a recognition from others. Agape love is unconditional: we don’t do loving acts of kindness for others based on the condition that they even acknowledge it. We do it purely because that’s our nature as children of God (because that’s His nature), purely to bring unconditional joy and peace to others, in which should bring you joy in return for bringing peace and joy to others. And while others may not be appreciative for the kind things you do for them, your good work does not go unnoticed: your Heavenly Father sees your good work (your kind deed) and is well pleased. You should even rejoice at the kind things you do for yourself. We are called to look out for our own interests, along with the interests of others. And when it comes time to make a decision about your interests or another’s interest, agape love is selfless, and puts the interests of others before its own, and sacrifices what you want to be doing in order to benefit (bless) the other, proliferating their joy and peace, in turn bringing you joy from their joy. And your Heavenly Father sees your selfless sacrifice and is well pleased.

Now we know where true peace comes from. Now, true joy comes from our good relationships first and foremost with our Heavenly Father and our Brother Jesus, and then with our friends and family, no matter what situation (as long as it’s safe) you find yourself in: whether you’re hanging out with them in a nice house or a dumpy house. Whether you’re traveling with them in a luxury car or a beat up car. Whether you’re dining with them in a fancy restaurant or a fast food joint or at home. Whether you’re enjoying their company on a beautiful tropical island paradise or in a sterile jail cell. It’s the good relationship that brings joy – no matter what situation you find yourself in. And if you have no good relationships with friends or family, or you find yourself alone, just remember that you’re never alone. The Spirit of the Father and the Lord literally live inside you, and you always have them to talk to. And they will never leave you nor forsake you.

You know “the ways of the world” and it’s wisdom, because you’ve been living in it your whole life. Now let’s learn “the ways of God” from His teachings throughout the Bible. Walking in His ways brings true peace and joy, and is how we will be living in the kingdom of God for all eternity (so get a jump start on the kingdom life). We were programmed by God to naturally follow His ways (Satan corrupted us by telling us to do the opposite):

First step: salvation. Get saved by believing the gospel found in 1 Corinthians 15:1-4 (that Christ died to pay for all our sins, was buried and rose again the third day), and that it is by faith in Christ alone and not by works at all — Ephesians 2:8-9.

Now that salvation has been accomplished, now it’s time to TAKE ACTION and get a jump start on the kingdom life and start walking in the ways of God (not for salvation, but for peace and joy in this life) found throughout the Bible:

Walking worthy of God, doing His will, fully pleasing Him:

• Keep focused on the gospel.
• Be of one mind with the brethren according to the gospel.
• Walk in the Spirit (being kind, gentle, patient, peaceful, joyful, self controlled, not angered, humble, not self seeking, not rude, thinking no evil, faithful, good, bearing with others), which naturally leads to abstaining from sin. The key to overcoming sin is not to focus on the law and the sin and forcing yourself to not commit the sin. It will eat away at you. The key is to walk in the Spirit and you will naturally not gratify the sinful passions and desires of the flesh.
• Take action: Walk in agape love toward everyone. Agape love is (1) selfless, (2) sacrificial and (3) unconditional. It always and forever acts out of pure kindness with no limits or desire for reciprocation. Always look for every opportunity to do an agape act of kindness for others. That doesn’t mean you need to run out to the nearest homeless shelter a start serving food. But just as you see opportunities throughout the day in your life.
• Forgive each other. If God can forgive us all our sins we committed against Him, then surely we can forgive all the sins others have committed against us. What is forgiveness? It’s removing the hostility between you by letting go of their sin against you, making peace with each other and them being reconciled back to you. “I forgive you. Let’s be friends again!” Jesus was asked by one of His apostles how many times they should forgive someone before they stop forgiving. Jesus replied, as many times as they sin against you. Of course, if they keep hurting you, it’s not a good relationship, and they should be forgiven, but the relationship should be broken off to protect yourself. “I love you and forgive you, but I can’t keep putting myself through this. I wish you the best. No hard feelings. Good bye.”
• Lead a quiet and peaceable life with all gentleness, patience, humility and meekness.
• Rely on Father to provide for all your needs (rather than in your own money), being content with what He gives you with all thanksgiving, knowing that what He gives is not too much as to become worldly, but not too little as to struggle (the key is contentment). “He will never leave you nor forsake you.” You will never not have food, clothing or shelter (unless you’re in the Tribulation. The only way to have those things is to take the mark of the beast, which will result in a one way ticket to hell).
• Lift and build others up, esteeming them better than yourself, seeking their benefit before your own.
• Taking a lowly, humble, submissive position in everything: do the will of others instead of imposing your will on them.
• Be quick to listen, and slow to speak.
• Teaching and correcting others with all humility, gentleness, kindness, patience and self control.
• Working quietly with your own hands so you can provide for yourself and have something to help others in need, knowing that ultimately all blessings trace back to God.
• Minding your own business. Don’t be a busybody.
• Don’t gossip.
• Put away all sarcasm, cynicism, mocking and scoffing.
• Put away all filthy language.
• Praying/talking to God without ceasing.
• Growing in the knowledge and wisdom of God by reading His book of Godly wisdom and knowledge – the Bible (if you can find one).
• Dressing modestly, letting your adornment be that of the inner beauty of a gentle, quiet, kind and humble spirit. Not lustfully as to tear apart relationships. Meditate on this.
• Put away all crude joking. People may be able to “harden” themselves to even the littlest joke about them here and there and put on a smile and laugh it off, but deep down it festers and hurts, and eventually it always “goes too far”. Crude joking ultimately brings hurt to others, and erodes the way of Godly peace and joy. It’s a satanic tactic of building yourself up to get a good laugh while tearing others down, again, doing the opposite of God’s ways which are: we’re called to edify one another and build one another up through kindness and love, not tear each other down.
• Give to others in need (only if truly able). Our abundance is designed to supply the lack of others.
• A catch all: “Do [take action] to others as you would have them do to you.”
• Meditate on these things.

Keep focused on your heavenly treasure:

• An incorruptible, sinless, immortal body that can teleport and talk telepathically (no more need for transportation or electronics).
• A castle made of pure gold – your very own eternal forever home. Satan likes to copy God and has tried to replicate God’s architecture with all those castles and gaudy gold interiors. But I assure you, what God can design with pure gold vs what humans can design with pure gold isn’t worthy of comparison. “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor mind conceived what God has in store for those who love Him.”
• Only the finest foods, whatever you want, whenever you want.
• The finest white robes of righteousness.
• Get to be with your Father and Lord Brother in person.
• Get to be with all your saved friends and family in a completely righteous and loving environment.
• The fullness of joy and the peace that surpasses all understanding, that never dulls or gets boring, and gets better and better, each moment to the next, on into eternity.
• Freedom to do what you want in righteousness, go where you want, whenever you want. No financial, time or distance constraints.
• No more curse of hard, laborious 9-5 work. Part of the curse for the sin of mankind was hard, brow beating, back breaking, blood sweat and tears work to get things done. Things will be much easier once the curse is revered. But you can get through them with ease with doing what was written above: patience, contentment, thanksgiving and realizing that their not “painful chores”, but rather loving acts of kindness to yourself and others.

Leading a peaceful, quiet, gentle, lowly, humble life. Being submissive and obedient to the Lord and His ways, as well as to others in Christ with all joy, esteeming them better than yourself with all meekness, edifying and lifting them up, seeking their benefit instead of your own, with no desire for reciprocation. Taking a lowly, humble position in life: letting the will of others be done, letting them manage and make the decisions, call the shots, do the negotiating, while maintaining a humble and low position and having your peace with God. This is serving others: doing their will.

Relying on your Heavenly Father for all your needs, being content with what He gives you, with all thanksgiving.

Being a fool to the world and its ways, but rich and wise in the knowledge and things of God.

Walking in the Spirit: being kind, loving, gentle, peaceful, joyful, good, patient, self controlled, not angered, not envying, humble, not rude, thinking no evil, not rejoicing in evil, bearing with others. Being pure: having a pure mind, heart, soul and conscience, as crystal clear water – light, airy, free. Devoted to God in all godliness: talking to Him and praying always, walking in the Spirit, walking morally upright and in goodness. Not weighed down and entangled in sin, like trying to walk through a tar pit, where each step makes my situation worse than the last one.

Now, why do we settle with contentment and thanksgiving for the things we have instead of going after the shiniest new toy and a fancy remodeled home if we have the means?

1. Remember, they don’t bring any true peace or joy.
2. Remember, our abundance is designed to supply the lack of others. If God gives you $90,000 to buy a new car, you know that you’ll feel no more joy or peace driving to the store in a brand new $90,000 Mercedes vs a solid $30,000 Hyundai. “As long as it functions properly”. And remember, it’s the good relationships you have with others in your car that brings joy, not the car itself. So, if God gives you $90,000 for a new car, spend $30,000 on a good Hyundai and take the “abundance” of the difference ($60,000) and use it supply the lack of others.
3. Because we’re just pilgrims passing through this world, waiting to get to our eternal home, the kingdom of God, our heavenly country and city: New Jerusalem built by God Himself, and what awaits us is not worthy to be compared to even the finest things this world has to offer. There’s a large gap between what the world has to offer and what God has in store for us. And over the past 6000 years from the time Adam and Eve were kicked out of the garden until now, with all the advancements in technology and housing, Satan hasn’t even closed that gap even a hair. The finest things this world can offer you are a literal joke compared to what’s in store for us. The world and the people of this world can have their things. We’re waiting for our heavenly treasure. “You keep your nice phone and devices. I’m waiting for my new body that doesn’t need internet and can talk telepathically.” “You keep your fancy car and private jet. I’m waiting for my new body that can fly and teleport.” “You keep your $150M mansion made of wood and brick. I’m waiting for my castle made by Jesus of pure gold, pearls and precious gemstones.” “You enjoy your fancy $300 dinners out every night. I’m waiting for the heavenly food and drink that even the finest foods in the world cannot compare to, and that I’ll have full access to whenever I want, wherever I want. And a new body that doesn’t have to relieve itself of the waste, nor gets sick from it, nor feels any negative side effects from the drinking.”

Satan tells us that God’s people can’t enjoy anything. Remember, there is no joy in the ways of the world, only misery and destruction. But God, out of His glory (amazing characteristics and attributes) designed and created a beautiful world. And He gave us the sense of sight to be able to delight in the beauty of His creation. (Side note: and while this world is beautiful, remember that it’s in a cursed state. If this is the cursed state, and is dull, full of death and decay, how much more beautiful is the restored state going to be?) God created amazing scents, and designed us with the sense of smell to be able to delight in them. God made tasty foods and drink, and designed us with the ability to enjoy those tastes. God is the creator of sound and music, and has designed us with the ability to enjoy the peaceful sounds of nature and the wonderful sounds of good music. God has created temperature, and has designed us to be able to feel the pleasurable feeling of the warmth of a fire on a cold winter’s night. Or the pleasurable sensation of a cool breeze on a hot summer’s day. All these things are little “pops of joy” throughout the day: as simple as a cup of coffee in the morning, followed by a nice, warm shower. A few tasty meals throughout the day. A relaxing adult beverage in the evening. All these things do bring little extra “pops of joy” throughout the day, but they are not your main source of joy. Remember, true joy comes from our good relationships with our Heavenly Father, our brother Jesus, and our friends and family. If you make the “little pops of joy” your main source of joy and they were all taken away from you, you would be miserable. You’ve made them an idol and your main source of joy. If you don’t have a mountain or ocean view off your back deck, are you sad? If you don’t have a phone to listen to your music, are you sad? If you don’t have fancy meals out every night, are you sad?

Don’t be afraid to be ashamed. Godly shame is good, and it is created by God and designed to lead you to repentance. Repentance is simply a change of mind: going from one way to another. So, shame gives us the ability to know we’ve been doing something the wrong way, and leads us to now doing it the right way. Just don’t wallow in your shame forever, lest you have sorrow upon sorrow. Embrace your shame when it comes (don’t resist it) and really feel it, and use it to fix yourself. Then move on. Know that God wants you to walk in His ways and change for the better, and He’s cheering you on and is well pleased when your shame produces Godly change in you. The past is history.

Now, this is a tough one for a lot of people. 1 Corinthians 15:33 tells us: “Do not be misled: “Bad company corrupts good character.” You can spend hours and hours each day getting into the Spirit and meditating on “the ways of God” and learning the ways of God, but if you then go hang out with “bad company” (people who behave like “the ways of the world”), it’s just going to undo all the Godly gains you’ve made, as you’re good, Godly character will be corrupted by their worldy ways. This includes any worldy talk and behavior you invite into your home: TV, music, social media. Watching and listening to that stuff is basically the same as hanging out in person with the people you see on TV or listen to on the radio, except you just listen to them talk and behave and interact with each other in a worldly way, but you don’t do any interacting yourself. All their worldy ways and behavior and stories and worldy wisdom will just corrupt your Godly ways and wisdom. It’s nothing but violence, crude joking, pride, lust and sexual immorality, filthy language, heartbreak, drugs and drunkenness. You can watch and listen to that stuff, but you’re just not ever going to grow. And there’s no peace or joy in “the ways of the world”.

Now: empathy, sympathy, pity, sorrow and compassion for others:

1. Empathy: the ability to understand and share another person’s feelings, whether it be sorrow or even joy.
2. Sorrow: a feeling of deep distress (sadness) caused by loss, disappointment or other misfortune suffered by yourself or others.
3. Sympathy: feelings of sorrow for other people’s misfortunes.
4. Pity: feelings of sorrow for other people’s misfortunes.
5. Compassion: feelings of sorrow and pity for the misfortunes of others that moves one to help those suffering.

Empathy and compassion are amazing character traits of God. He designed us with emotions so that we could comprehend situations – good or bad. Jesus was filled with empathy, sympathy and compassion for others, and was moved to help them. He even cried multiple times. Work hard to empathize with others, not only for their sufferings, but also for their joy. Be sad with them. Rejoice with them! It can be hard at first if you’ve hardened yourself, but take the first step, even if it feels fake at first. Be moved with compassion to help those who are suffering. Even if you have nothing to give, you can always be moved with compassion to pray for them. Satan has once again taken the good thing of God (emotions) and done the exact opposite: harden your hearts toward those suffering. Tell them to “suck it up” if they’re hurting. Tell them to “work harder” if they’re struggling financially. Be envious of their blessings instead of rejoicing with them. Become “tough” and hardened without emotion. Don’t be a “pu**y”.

Now for the true design of God’s family unit. The family design is of utmost importance to God, as it provides a safe way to bring life into the world and foster Godliness, love, peace and joy in this dark world. Satan has worked his utmost hardest to destroy the family unit, because that’s where godliness, love, peace and joy should start:

First, the “pecking order” of God:

1. God the Father.
2. God the Son, Jesus (the only begotten Son of the Father).
3. Man (Adam [male] was created by Jesus).
4. Woman (Eve [female] was later created from the rib of man).
5. Oldest Child (Born of woman).
6. Younger Child (Born of woman).
7. Youngest Child (Born of woman).

Next, the symbology of marriage. The church (the true believers between the time of resurrection of Christ through to the rapture) is Christ’s “bride”. Marriage is the joining of a man (Jesus) to his bride (the church). The church is joined to Christ permanently – they cannot be separated, ever. When humans get married on earth, they are “expressing” or “telling the story” of Christ being joined to His church. When humans get divorced, they are “telling the story” of Christ being separated from His church. When spouses cheat on each other, they are “telling the story” of Christ’s church forsaking Christ and going after a false god.

Next, the Godly design and structure of the family unit and the roles of each member:

1. The husband. He is the leader of the family, just as Christ is husband to His bride (the church) and is her leader. His role is to:
   • Lead his family in “the ways of God”.
   • Provide for his family.
   • Raise his children in the ways of God, not exasperating them, lest they become discouraged.
   • Love his wife with agape love: selflessly, sacrificially and unconditionally, putting her needs and desires before his own.
   • Render his wife the affection due her.
2. The wife. Her role is to:
   • Be her husband’s helper.
   • Bear children if they so desire.
   • Nurture her young.
   • Help raise her children in the ways of God – especially her daughters.
   • Make a good home for her family.
   • Respect the will of her husband and honor his leadership in the ways of God, just as the church (the bride) submits to, respects and honors the will of Christ (the husband).
   • Love her husband with agape love: selflessly, sacrificially, unconditionally.
   • Rendering her husband the affection due to him.
3. The children. Their role is to obey their parents in everything.

Now for the problem: “It all starts at the top”. The man doesn’t know how to lead in the ways of God and love his wife with proper agape love. Ladies, you have no problem submitting to Christ because you know His ways are right. If your husband knew how to lead in the ways of God, it wouldn’t be a problem to let him lead.

Next: The family unit is designed to foster the deepest love amongst the members. The 5 types of love are:

1. Agape love (the most important type of love):
   This type of love is not a feeling or emotion. This type of love is an action: it does for others: (1) selflessly (2) sacrificially (3) unconditionally.
2. Philia love:
   This is friendship love. It is a type of love characterized by mutual respect, shared interests, and companionship. Unlike “agape,” which is often used to describe unconditional, selfless love, “philia” is more about reciprocal relationships and emotional bonds.
3. Philostorgos love:
   This is familial love between siblings, parents with their children and children with their parents. It implies a natural, instinctive love that one might have for family members.
4. Eros love:
   This is romantic, passionate love.
5. Biblical love:
   This love is how we interact with others, including strangers: 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 — love is patient and kind. It does not envy. It does not boast. It is not proud. It is not rude. It is not self seeking. It is not provoked to anger. It thinks no evil. It does not rejoice in evil, but rather in what’s good. It bears with one another. Believes one another. Hopes in one another. Endures with one another. This is “walking in love” towards others.

A family all starts when a man and a woman bond, and form a deep and special connection on all 5 types love and decide to get married. If they decide to have children, their children should have the deepest philostorgos love for each other, and many times a philia love for each other. The younger siblings look up to the older ones, and the older ones help guide them in the ways of God.

Next: Babies and young children are programmed by God to be innocent and highly impressionable, designed to soak up “the ways of God” from the teachings of their parents from the moment they’re born, so that they can become saved, filled with the Holy Spirit and the knowledge of the ways of God. This is so that as they become old enough at a young age to start going out in the world, Satan can’t fill them with “the ways of the world”, hardening their little hearts against God, at which point it is virtually impossible for them to get saved. The problem: the parents don’t know “the ways of God”, and end up filling them with “the ways of the world” right from the very start. Then when they start to go out in the world, they become even more corrupted and hardened against God from Satan. Instead, babies should be told constantly, right from birth, that Jesus loves them. Jesus and His ways should be all they ever know.

Remember, family is of utmost importance to God, and it’s satan’s main work to corrupt it, because that’s where “the ways of God” for new humans begin, and where love, peace and joy are formed. And as Satan does, he just does the opposite of God: he renders the husband useless in his leadership in “the ways of God”. That makes the wife unsubmissive and turns her into the leader of the household. Yet she doesn’t know “the ways of God” either, so they both end up corrupting their children with “the ways of the world”. The husband doesn’t know how to lead in the ways of God or love his wife with agape love, and the wife doesn’t honor her husband’s will, which in turn breeds all sorts of hostility, fighting and arguing. He turns siblings against each other, and makes the children disobedient to their parents. In turn, He took the family unit that God designed to foster the deepest love, peace and joy amongst the members, and made it a chaotic and depressing environment, where marriage ultimately becomes “hard work” that requires “two great compromisers” (because the husband can’t love and the wife can’t submit), and requires “two great forgivers” (because the husband and wife are always hurting each other). This ought not be.

Next: sex. A marriage symbolizes the unbreakable joining of Christ (the husband) to His church (the bride), and the two “become one” forever. Sex was designed by God for a husband and wife to express the glory of them “becoming one”, and he made it enjoyable. He also made it the way to populate the earth. The man’s body is not his own – it is his wife’s. And a wife’s body is not her own. It is her husband’s. Honor their body and its proper functions: the mouth was made for food, and the anus was made for defecation. The reason a woman bleeds her first time is to instantiate the marriage covenant of the husband and wife deciding to join together for life, signed in blood. Satan has made a mockery of the institution of sex by making sex outside of marriage a routine thing. He has sexualized everything. Woman was not created by God for man to lust over, masturbate to and have one night stands with. Woman is a highly respected and valuable creation of God that was created for man to be man’s life partner, best friend and helper (“it is not good for man to be alone”), and to do what man can’t do: bring life into the world, and to nurture man and her children with a love that only a woman can provide. Satan has turned the creation of woman into unrespectable objects of lust, masturbation and sex. Unfortunately, most women go right along with it (even women professing godliness) in their revealing, skintight clothes with their cleavage hanging out. And if a man does the same to a woman, he’s just as guilty. Unfortunately, Satan has made sure that these are pretty much the only types of clothes made anymore. All of this sexualization leads to lust, which is adultery of the heart. And Satan has made sexualization and lust the norm because ultimately it tears relationships apart. If a woman dresses lustfully and a man is drawn to her (or vice versa), her partner becomes jealous and angry, and his partner becomes jealous and feels insufficient. You may say, “I have no partner and this person I’m lusting over has no partner, so what’s the harm?” Well, spiritual adultery (lusting over others) hurts you as well. It perverts the way we look at women. It erodes in our minds the godly design of marriage, the godly design of sex between a man and his wife, and the godly design of the family unit, and desensitizes us to it. So what do we do, considering the way people dress today, TV, internet, magazines, everything in the world? You must exercise yourself in and develop the fruit of the Spirit of self-control in order to look away from such temptations, and to keep yourself out of the world as much as possible so that you don’t put yourself in tempting situations. For it is impossible to stare at the human body and not lust. That’s why the robes they wore back in Jesus’ day were proper clothing (as to not show every lustful curve and shape of the human body) as to not cause others to lust, and which will be the type of clothing we will wear for eternity with Jesus. Your body is for your spouse’s eyes only, and their body is for your eyes only. As the Bible states, don’t let your adornment be merely outward, but rather dress modestly and let your adornment be that of the inner beauty of a good, gentle and quiet spirit. Meditate on these things. If this doesn’t bother you, remember what I said in the very beginning: you have a seared conscience (can’t tell right from wrong) and are past feeling (you’re numb to what’s wrong. You can’t even feel when something’s wrong anymore), and all this is because Satan has made lust “the norm”. But with a little bit of time and meditation on the design of the family unit, the design of sex and the respectable role of woman, you will “feel” again. Family is such an important institution to God that he made adultery back in ancient Israel punishable by death, because it always ends up hurting those involved (you can’t have sex without getting emotionally attached – God programmed us that way) and ruins the family.

Next: career advancement. Advancing your career at the expense of your family for the sake of gaining pride and money is not good. For the love of money and pride are the roots of all evil. The key once again is contentment and thanksgiving for what your Heavenly Father has given you. Chasing the high of a business goal of putting out yet another dead, lifeless product into the world that doesn’t bring anyone any true joy or peace is akin to what was described in the beginning of this note: the only “joy” you get from putting out a new product is when the product is completed and you celebrate. Then you’ve hit the climax and then it’s over. You’re empty again. And almost always, the process of getting that product to completion is a grueling grind full of lots of stress, headaches, setbacks, depression and anxiety at the expense of your family. Those are the emotions that make life not worth living. The key to careers is contentment. Remember, it’s not the beauty of the house or the fanciness of the cars in your driveway that brings you joy. It’s the relationships you have with others within them that brings you joy. Meditate on these things. God calls us to lead a quiet and peaceable life, and to work quietly and peacefully with our own hands to provide for our families, knowing that ultimately everything that comes your way financially is a gift from God to provide the basic necessities to simply get you through this world and into your eternal home: food, clothing and shelter, and any excess is designed to provide the lack of others. Again, the key is contentment. How much do you really need? Do you really need to save up $200,000 to remodel your home? It won’t bring you joy. Do you really need two fancy cars in your driveway? They won’t bring you joy. Do you need to eat dinner out every night? It’s the friends and family you dine with, whether at home or out, that brings you joy. Of course, the cost of living in some countries can be high, so if the husband works a modest job (which is humble and perfectly fine) that doesn’t bring in enough money to supply the basic necessities to get you through this world, the woman can help bring in money. But when you put aside contentment and go after career advancement for the gain of pride and excess money at the expense of your family, that’s not good.

On a different topic: God is a God of life. And life moves and takes action. It doesn’t just sit around waiting for others to do everything. Meditate on these things in a still and quiet place and become transformed by the renewing of your mind. The journey of the Christian life is akin to the growth of a human. A newborn baby needs pure milk. Then it starts to eat solid food. Then it learns how to walk. And before you know it, they’re running and growing into mature adults. Learning how to walk takes time at first and requires the strengthening of the legs and feet. In the sense of the Christian journey, the new Christian is a babe in Christ and needs the pure milk of the word (the gospel – how to become saved). Once you’re solid in that you can move onto the more “meatier” topics of God. At the same time you start to learn how to walk in the ways of God. Just like a baby, it’s unnatural and hard at first and there’s lots of falling down, but over a little bit of time it becomes second nature. Taking action and starting to walk in “the ways of God” found throughout this note is your first step to learning how to walk. Very unnatural at first (because Satan has taught us our whole lives to basically just do the opposite of what God programmed us to do), but you get stronger and progress a little more each day, until it’s totally natural and second nature, and you’re now “running” instead of taking those painful first baby steps.

Life is all about feeling peaceful and joyful. And God is a God of “doing” and “taking action” on behalf of yourself and especially others in order to bring that peace and joy to others and then yourself. That’s all “serving” is. God’s golden rule: “Do [take action] to others as you would have them do to you.” The top people in God’s kingdom are the “lowest ones” in the eyes of the world: the ones that take action and do things for others in order to bring them peace and joy, and in turn find joy from their joy. Satan has once again taken God’s way of “taking action” yourself to benefit others and proliferate the joy and peace among others and yourself, and has turned it into the exact opposite: the top people according to “the ways of the world” are the rich who don’t take action, and instead just sit around and don’t do anything for anyone – not benefitting others by bringing joy and peace to others – and pay others to do everything for them, benefitting only themselves. And for all that, they’re still miserable and can’t figure out why.

Now for “discerning the spirits”. The first thing to understand is that we are a soul, that has a spirit, and lives inside this fleshly body. We are not our body. We are a soul that lives inside this body. Now, you hear from a few different voices in your head. It could be: (1) You as your soul (2) Your body’s/flesh’s brain (3) Demonic spirits (4) God through the Holy Spirit that also lives inside your body. From my experience, this is how I’ve come to discern the spirits:

1. Me as my soul.
   This is my main inner voice, like when I’m talking to myself in my head. Like if I were to say, “1+1=2” in my head, that most prominent voice is me as my soul.
2. My fleshly body.
   Scripture tells us that our flesh is deceitful above all else – nothing good dwells in it, only sin. Scripture also tells us that us as our inner man is reborn and renewed of incorruptible seed and cannot sin (is not capable of a bad thought). So, if I have a rogue thought (which usually is a quieter voice in my head that’s more in the background), I know it’s my flesh. So, if I as my soul were to say in my head, “1+1=2” and all the sudden I hear a smaller voice in the background say something annoying and deceitful such as, “No, it equals 3”, I know it’s my flesh. Scripture says, “The flesh is deceitful above all else.” I know of 3 ways my flesh tries to deceive me: (a) he tries to pretend to be the voice of God to condemn me (b) he mimics the voice of others to puff me up and make prideful (c) he subtly tries to make me think that his sinful thoughts and desires are my thoughts and desires in order to get me to give into him and let him sin.
3. Demonic spirits.
   Demonic spirits whisper in your ear and stir up the flesh. They work tirelessly to condemn you and make you feel unsaved to steal your joy of salvation. They work tirelessly to make you think that salvation is by works rather than by faith, to get you on the path of teaching others salvation by works so others won’t get saved. They work tirelessly to get you to sin, then condemn you for it afterwards. They can also cause ill feelings in your body such as anxiety and nervousness.
4. God through the Holy Spirit.
   This one has no audible voice. That’s why I know when my flesh or the enemy tries to deceive me by impersonating God audibly, I know it’s not of God. God’s voice is more of an “unction”. The way scripture says Holy Spirit works is that He brings to mind the things of God that you have memorized. And as you are still and quiet and deeply pondering the things of God, going through them logically and progressively, Holy Spirit is oh-so-gently guiding your thoughts into all truth. So gentle in fact that you may mistake Him for your own thoughts. It’s almost like Him downloading information in you.

Now for subduing the flesh: Scripture tells us to know how to “possess” (control) our flesh in sanctification (holiness) and honor. Remember, nothing good dwells in the flesh, only sin. Scripture tells us to “beat the flesh into submission” and “make it your slave”. You are its master. Your flesh is to obey you. You aren’t your flesh’s slave, it doesn’t tell you what to do. You tell it what to do. No, this doesn’t mean to whip and hit and cut yourself. It means to tell it to shut up, and to tell it to keep quiet and let you do the thinking about “the ways of God” (not polluting your headspace with its thoughts. Whereas yoga tells you to “let your thoughts be…just let ‘em ride and pass through your head like clouds”, which is letting your flesh walk all over you), and not to burn with passion or anger. Your flesh can do nothing unless you let it override you. When you do something wrong, that’s you letting your flesh take over to carry out its desires. That’s “walking in the flesh”. We’re told to “walk in the Spirit”, which is keeping the flesh subdued and producing the fruit of the Spirit through our renewed inward man (us as the soul). Scripture tells us that our flesh wars against the soul, and boy is that true. It’s a daily battle until we get our new sinless bodies.

Now for “testing”. Much like we receive tests in school to see how much we’ve learned, God tests the genuineness of our faith and knowledge in His ways. This testing generally doesn’t feel mentally good in the present, and much patience, perseverance and self-control is required, but afterwards, after passing the test, it produces much peace and righteousness. Your faith in the gospel alone (no works added) will be tested first, to test the genuineness and strength of your faith, to see if you stand firm. You will be bombarded with a whole bunch of false, works-based salvation messages by Satan after believing the one true gospel of faith alone in Christ alone. Testing may also come in the form of persecutions for your beliefs, even if it’s as little as a friend or family member getting angry at you for sharing the gospel with them. The question is, after a wave of false works-based gospels and persecutions, will you stand firm in the gospel? Another example of testing: if you want to learn patience, God will put you in situations that require patience, that you may exercise your patience and self-control. It’s painful at first for those who are impatient and lack self-control, but through this testing, over time you end up developing patience and self-control, which feels really good and is very useful in all future situations. The same goes for lust (adultery). There’s no shortage of people to lust after in this world, and God can send Satan to “buffet” (beat) you by aggravating your flesh to lust. But during these mentally exhausting, uncomfortable and painful tests, you get to exercise and strengthen yourself in self-control and your godly knowledge of why lust/adultery is wrong (found within this note), and after you have been deeply rooted and built up in the godly knowledge of why lust/adultery is wrong, and have developed the self-control to look away from all the many lustful temptations out there in the world, TV, internet, magazines, etc., it yields nothing but peace and righteousness, instead of feeling that uncomfortable feeling of burning with passion for others (other than your spouse) when you finally realize that it’s wrong.

Meditate on all these things. Meditation isn’t trying to find peace by getting into a really uncomfortable position for a really long time and saying some “om” over and over again. That’s Satan’s twisted method of “bringing peace” in this messed up world that he created, which never truly brings any lasting Godly peace – yoga. It is designed to keep you away from seeking peace in “the ways of God”, and instead trying to find peace through “the ways of the world”. Satan has created entire religions and sciences designed to keep you stuck in his world: yoga, philosophy, psychology, Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, etc. Yoga is why your peace never lasts. Philosophy is why no one truly knows what’s right. Psychology is why you’re never truly fixed at the therapist. All other religions keep you working for your salvation and out of heaven, instead of resting in what Christ has done for you on the cross. Godly meditation is simply being still in a quiet environment and deeply thinking about “the ways of God” found in this note, working through them logically and progressively in your mind while the Holy Spirit gently guides your thoughts into all of His truth. The raw truth is, as a saved person, is that you know all of God’s ways, as they’re “written on your heart.” It may not feel like it right now. They just need to be brought out of you by deeply meditating on these things in this note and then taking action on them. Don’t just be “hearer” of these things. Be a “doer”.

Lastly, the Bible tells us that God works miracles among us by our faith, not our works. He loves you, and it’s His immeasurable pleasure to forever delight in your unwavering trust, steadfast faithfulness, hopeful petitions, and immovable belief in His endless goodness.

To recap: the point of life is to feel peace and joy, no matter where you find yourself (as long as the situation is safe). Walking in “the ways of God” which are documented throughout this note are the way to true peace and joy. Walking in “the ways of the world” are nothing but depression, anxiety, stress, fear, nervousness, worry, panic, envy, bitterness, anger and hatred. And life isn’t worth living if you’re feeling that way. We walk in God’s ways not for salvation (that is through faith in the gospel alone), but because it’s good and brings joy and peace.

This note contains “the ways of God” – His wisdom found throughout the Bible. James 1:5-6 — If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind.

Again, this note contains “the right way” – “the ways of God”, vs the “wrong way” – “the ways of the world.” If you read this note and you can’t agree with it, then the Bible says that you have been hardened by the deceitfulness of the sinful world, and that you have a “seared conscience” (can’t tell right from wrong) and are “past feeling” (you’re numb to what’s wrong. You can’t even feel when something’s wrong anymore). But not to worry. With some time and meditation on these “ways of God”, you’ll start to relearn right from wrong and begin to feel again.

All of this may seem overwhelming, but everything in this note begins with and stems from “the fruit of the Spirit”. Start by memorizing the fruit of the Spirit, then put it into action, and you will flourish in “the ways of God”:

The fruits of the Spirit: Galatians 5:22-23 — love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.

The definition of love (the first fruit of the Spirit): 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 — Love is patient and is kind; love does not envy; love does not boast, is not prideful; does not behave rudely, is not self seeking, is not provoked to anger, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in evil, but rejoices in the ways of God; bears all things, believes others, hopes all things, endures all things.

Scripture references