The Dark Triad Personalities Are Extreme Evil

                                      When The Door Slams

The way of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, which shines ever brighter until the full light of day. But the way of the wicked is like total darkness. They have no idea what they are stumbling over.            (Proverbs 4:18-19 NLT)

            We seem to have a fascination with evil. We are curious to what set evil people off and perhaps wonder how much darkness is in us. Psychologists have identified three personalities they call "the Dart Triad": Narcissism, Machiavellianism, and psychopathy. Narcissism combines flamboyant and a need for admiration with the lack of empathy. Machiavellianism involves a mastery of manipulation, exploitation, and deceit. Psychopathy is marked by impulsivity, selfishness, callousness, and a lack of remorse. 

            The Dark Triad are capable of extreme cruelty. We see in historical figures like Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin, and Mao Zedong. Not only in dictators. But also in public figures such as government, politicians and religious leaders have been identified as exhibiting the behaviors of the Dark Triad. The book of Proverbs simply calls these behaviors "wicked."                

            Think about this: While fools stumble blindly, the wicked calculate their steps. That is the difference, and it is not inconsequential. Fools and the wicked share some of the same behaviors, but the wicked are far more nefarious. Not only are they more cunning and prepared, but their personality traits also enable them to rise to positions of power. 

            "The wicked accepts a bribe in secret to pervert the ways of justice" (Proverbs 17:23). This frustrated Solomon as he grew older. He grieve over the success of the wicked: "In my vain life I have seen everything. There is a righteous man who perishes in his righteousness, and there is a wicked man who prolongs his life in his evildoing" (Ecclesiastes 7:15). "Why does the way of the wicked prosper? Why do all who are treacherous thrive?" We all  have felt the sting. 

            Yet the Scriptures promise that the righteous will be rewarded and the wicked punished: "The fear of the LORD prolongs life, but the years of the wicked will be short" (Proverbs 10:27). This promise is repeated throughout the Old Testament (Psalms 37:13; 92:7; Proverbs 24:19-20; Isaiah 57:20-21). What should we do with our frustration over this seemingly unfulfilled promise?

            Petition: Don't do as the wicked do, and don't follow the path of evildoers. Don't even think about it; don't go that way. Turn and keep moving. For evil people can't sleep until they've done their deed for the day. They can't rest until they've caused someone to stumble. They eat the food of wickedness and drink the wine of violence! (Proverbs 4:14-17).

Ask the Holy Spirit to search your heart and reveal any areas of unconfessed sin. Acknowledge these to the LORD and thank Him for His forgiveness.

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Stop Depending On Inadequate Human Resources

                                        When The Door Slams

Happy is the one who cares for the poor; The LORD will save him in a day of adversity. The LORD will keep him and preserve him; he will be blessed in the land. You will not give him over to the desire of his enemies.                                                                                                                                                                                      (Psalm 41:1-2 HCSB)

            Recognition and acknowledgment of our helplessness is also the quickest way to that right attitude which God recognizes as essential to prayer. It deals a mortal blow to the most serious sin of all--man's independence that ignores God. 

            Another reason is that we cannot learn firsthand about God--what He is like, His love for us as individuals, and His real power--so long as we are relying on ourselves and other people. Fellowship with the Lord Jesus is the true purpose of life and the only foundation for eternity. It is real, the daily fellowship He offers us. 

            So if your every human plan and calculation has miscarried, if, one by one, in your human understanding which props up, self-delusion and wishful thinking have been knocked out, and the doors slams in your face over the years, think about this: God is trying to get a message through to you, and the message is: "Stop depending on inadequate human resources. The Lord God said let Me handle the matter."

            "The polite part of speaking with God is to be still long enough to listen." If our hearts are listening as we pray, we will from time to time, hear "Why are you praying? Do something!" And we will know what it is that we must do. A wrong to put right, repent of a sin to confess, a letter to write, a friend to visit or a family member to call.

            Think about this: Here are three suggestion for presenting to the LORD Jesus the Prayer of Helplessness and Repentance. First, be honest with God. Tell Him that you are aware of the fact that in His eyes you are helpless... Second, take your heart's desire to the Jesus. You have accepted your helplessness. Now with all of your strength, will and belief that God can do through you what you cannot... Third, watch now for opening doors.

            Renewal: But what does it say? "The word is near you, even in your mouth and in your heart" (that is, the word of faith which we preach): that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes to righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made to salvation.                  (Romans 10:8-10 NKJV)   

Ask the Holy Spirit to search your heart and reveal any areas of unconfessed sin. Acknowledge these to the LORD and thank Him for His forgiveness.                                              

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The Spirit Of the Lord Gave You The power To Choose

                                        When The Door Slams

Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; to what is good. be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal. But keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with the Lord's people who are in need. Practice hospitality (Romans 12:9-13 NIV).

            From: My Lord God...My pride in you knew no bounds. You were my ultimate creation, my greatest miracle. A complete living being....Thus we come to the fourth law of success and happiness for I gave you one more power, a power so great that not even angels possess it. I gave you...the power to choose. Use wisely, your power of choice.

            Choose to love...rather than hate. Choose to laugh...rather than cry. Choose to create...rather than destroy. Choose to persevere...rather than quit. Choose to praise...rather than gossip. Choose to heal...rather than wound. Choose to give...rather than steal. Choose to act...rather than procrastinate. Choose to grow...rather than rot. Choose to pray...rather than curse. Choose to live...rather than die. You are more than a human being. You are capable of great wonders. Your potential is unlimited. Never demean yourself again! Never settle for the crumbs of life! Never hide your God-giving talents, from this day on.

            Think about this: The Spirit cannot guide us...as long as we insist on finding our own way. It is as if we, fumbling along in the dark, we are offered a powerful lantern to light our path, but refuse it, preferring to stumble along striking one flickering match after another. Instead,...we need to ask the Spirit to lead us; and then by an act of will place our life and future in the hands of the Lord God and then trust the Spirit of the Lord God instructions.

            When we are seeking to control everything ourselves by the same kind of door-crashing practiced by politicians and religious leaders those who know nothing of God's leading, can have no place in the Spirit-led life. Such manipulation merely interfere with the Spirit's work on our behalf. 

            One of the best passages dealing with the concept, however, is found in the New Testament. In Ephesians 5:3-18, the apostle Paul exhorted the Ephesian believers to live moral lives. He made it clear to them that they were neither to participate in evil nor to speak of it. On the contrary, he commanded them to expose immoral deeds of evil persons.

            He followed this exhortation with a discussion on wise living: "So be very careful how you live. Do not live as those who are not wise, but live wisely. Use every chance you have to do good, because these are evil times. So do not be foolish but learn what the Lord wants you to do." 

Ask the Holy Spirit to search your heart and reveal any areas of unconfessed sin. Acknowledge these to the LORD and thank Him for His forgiveness.        

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The Darkness Of Your Soul Hide In Plain Slight (The Name is Deception)

                                                 When The Door Slams

For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ. And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also transform themselves into ministers of righteousness, whose end will be according to their works. (2 Corinthians 11:13-15 NKJV)

            But you, O Lord, who abides forever--you are not angry with us in our fumbling blindness. You are so merciful to us. It was pleasing to you to reshape the deformity that was causing my blindness. It was the darkness of my soul hiding in plain slight, his name is deception and his game is to deceive.

            Now I see that I was searching for the answer outwardly--trying to reason with my mind the best way to escape deception--with the freeing knowledge I sought could come only by your Spirit as it brings inner light. As long as I kept struggling in this way, I was unable to return to the place where my soul might receive fullness, well-being, rest and joy.   

            All of the "roaring and groaning" of my spiritual desire to overcome this evil in my heart. You kept stirring me with the sense that I was missing some secret goodness that is Your Spirit. You kept me in a state of restlessness. Finally, I saw, inwardly, the truth about the origin of evil. The darkness of my soul that hide in plain sight.

            I saw how superior I felt, in my striving for spiritual well-being and sufficiency--but in all this striving I was still totally inferior to The Holy Spirit. I had been so blind to what I was doing, because deception is like a spiritual wound to the face, swelling shut the inner eyes of understanding. And through this swollenness of deception, I was deceive and separated from You. But the Lord Jesus healing hand applied to my eyes a stinging ointment that cause my pride and self-sufficiency to subside. What was this stinging ointment? 

            Think about this: I was given a true understanding and repent for my sinful condition. And at the same time that I was observe myself in this way, I looked upon my Lord and His mercy for me...From that day to this, I have kept that wholesome sorrow for my sins--sorrow that cause me to run to my Lord Jesus for the healing of my soul, and not away from Him in my deception, deceiving myself thinking that I can somehow prove my worthiness. For I see now that deception, pride and self-sufficiency before You--is the source of evil in me. So I come to the Lord daily--weak, hungry and in need of the Holy Spirit flowing through me--that my troubled and darkened soul may gain Your light and strength.  

            Affirmation: Some sat in darkness, in utter darkness, prisoners suffering in iron chains, because they rebelled against God's commands and despised the plan of the Most High. So he subjected to better labor; they stumbled, and there was no one to help. (Psalm 107:10-12 NIV)

Ask the Holy Spirit to search your heart and reveal any areas of unconfessed sin. Acknowledge these to the LORD and thank Him for His forgiveness.   

                                                           Never Rest Ministries

Religious People Sabotage Their Own Futures

                                                 When The Door Slams

For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.                                           (Matthew 6:14-15 NIV)

            You can clear your mind and heart of the negativity you have built up over time with one decisive action: Issue a blanket pardon to everyone for everything that they have done to hurt you in any way. The doorway that opens to a life of love and joy forgiveness. Your ability to freely forgive other people, and to let the hurt go, is the true mark of integrity, character and a fully developed personality. 

            Many people cling to their resentments because they feel that they have paid so dearly for them that they cannot possibly give them up. Sometimes people's entire lives are built around their past hurts and suffering. They have little else to talk about, and they dwell on their negative experiences continually. 

            Eventually, these people make themselves physically and mentally ill. Their repressed anger and negativity sooner or later erupt and spoil any new relationships that they try to build. They sabotage their own futures. And, in every case, there is only one solution and that is to let go and give it to LORD Jesus our Savior. Forgiving another person is a perfectly "selfish" act. You do it so that you can be free. You give it to the LORD, so that you can experience the happiness and joy for which you were created. 

            Think about this: We are talking about truly born again Christians. If you find that you still cannot bring yourself to do a kindness for the other Christian, this should tell you something about your true feelings. This inability to forgive might be holding you back from loving yourself and other Christians. You might have your foot on the brakes of your own future happiness.

           Affirmation: But what does it say? "The word is near you, even in your mouth and in your heart" (that is, the word of faith which we preach); that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes to righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made to salvation. For the scripture says, "Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame." ((Romans 10:8-11 NKJV)     

 Ask the Holy Spirit to search your heart and reveal any areas of unconfessed sin. Acknowledge these to the LORD and thank Him for His forgiveness 

When A Man Has Sinned Against God He Or She Has True Guilt

                                      When The Door Slams

Whoever conceals their sins does not prosper, but the one who confesses and renounces them finds mercy. Blessed is the one who always trembles before God, but whoever hardens their heart falls into trouble. Like a roaring lion or a charging bear is a wicked ruler over a helpless people. A tyrannical ruler practices extortion, but one who hates ill-gotten gain will enjoy a long reign. Anyone tormented by guilt of murder will seek refuge in the grave; let no one hold them back. The one whose walk is blameless is kept safe, but the one whose ways are perverse will fall into the pit.  (Proverbs 28:13-18 NIV) 

            These words from the Lord should end the controversy once and for all. Each adult is responsible for his own behavior, and that of no one else. The person who sins is the one who will die. A child will not be punished for a parent's sin, and a parent will not be punished for a child's sin.                    (read: Ezekiel 18:1-24 NIV) 

            The results of sin were immediately evident in the Garden of Eden.... The significance is that Adam and Eve were brought to a realization of what they had done. They began to feel afraid and to feel guilt--and well they might, for their guilt feelings were rooted in the true guilt. When a man has sinned against God, he or she not only has guilt feelings, he has true guilt; and he has true guilt even if he does not have feelings of guilt.

            "And the man and his wife hid from the LORD God among the trees in the garden" (read: Genesis 3:8-10 NIV).... In the garden in the cool of the day, there was open fellowship, open communion--open propositional communication between God and man before the Fall. But now that which was his wonder and his joy, the fulfillment of his need, an infinite, personal reference point with whom he could have communion and communication became the reason for his fear. He was going to meet God face to face! Once man had shaken his fist in the face of God, what had been so wonderful became a just reason for fear, because God was really and truly there.

            Think about this: We notice here when we...try to pass the guilt from ourselves to another, and we have, therefore, the division which is at the very heart of our relationships with man from this point on.... We do not have to wait for modern psychologists to talk about alienation. Here it is.... However, this "self" conscious world is in desperate straits. Each new promise leads only to a frustrating paradox.... Decades of seemingly limitless affluence have succeeded only in sucking our culture dry, leaving it spiritually empty and economically weakened. Our world is filled with self-absorbed, frightened, hollow leaders.

            Amid these debilitating paradoxes of modern life, men and women search for some shred of meaning, some understanding of self. But the obsessive search leads only to the narcissistic destruction of what is so avidly sought. Once man had shaken his fist in the face of God.

 Ask the Holy Spirit to search your heart and reveal any areas of unconfessed sin. Acknowledge these to the LORD and thank Him for His Forgiveness.  

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Things Of God Is Lock In Mortal Combat With Earth Concerns

                                                 When The Door Slams

Hear, O LORD, when I cry with my voice! Have mercy also upon me, and answer me. When You said, "Seek My face," My heart said to You, "Your face, LORD, I will seek." Do not hide Your face from me; Do not turn Your servant away in anger; You have been my help; Do not leave me nor forsake me, O God of my salvation.        (Psalm 27:7-9 NKJV)

            One holy passion. A passion is a strong feeling, an emotion that is packed with intensity. At times it carries a sense of urgency. Not all passions are holy. As fallen human beings we are often trapped in unholy passions. Our feelings are mixed. then the Holy Spirit quickens us to a new life with new passions. But many of the old passions remain. We struggle with our feelings. Our affection for the things of God is locked in mortal combat with early concerns. 

            If we are to progress in godliness we need to fan the flames of a holy passion. We need a single-minded desire to know God. We follow Jesus who went before us. He was moved by a single passion to do the will of His Father. His meat and drink were to do His Father's will. Zeal for His Father's house consumed Him. He was a man of holy destiny with a face set a flint. 

            Jesus knew the Father. His knowledge of God was so deep, so profound that his entire earthly life reflected a single holy passion. Jesus revealed the Father to us and called us--to seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness. 

            Think about this: We are to press into the Kingdom of God, to storm it if we must, to seize the opportunity to know God. This quest is not casual. The pursuit is not cavalier. We are to be driven by a holy passion. God gives us freedom to make our own lives within the situation which is the gift of His love to us, and by means of the power His love grants us.

            Affirmation: But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith; that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death.              (Philippians 3:7-11 NKJV) 

Ask the Holy Spirit to search your heart and reveal any areas of unconfessed sin. Acknowledge these to the LORD and thank Him for His forgiveness 

                                                            Never Rest Ministries