8169	Forums / Main Forum / Something I Want	on: November 26, 2006, 07:43:34 PM
We really do need to have these personal exhortations, as well as some time reviewing our position in Christ , and Gods greatness. If we dwell on these attributes of God we will begin to have this new sense that God is faithful, loving, full of mercy, who is a forgiving God. If we dwell on the love of God, we will begin to understand that He is deeply concerned about our moods and the state of our hearts. One of the problems that we have is that we cannot get past our anxiety, or fear, or pride and so we feel as if there is a constant pressure on our hearts. And we never really get to the bottom of our hearts. And in our natural state we are always ready to blame ourselves , or out of a sense of inferiority we blame others because we are tied down to these finite loves. We are not even aware that Gods love is really a love that we can enjoy as if we were basking in the sun, with little anxiety and our minds are at peace, our hearts are rejoicing and we are in a state of resting in Christ. So we really need to understand how to talk to God, what the enemies that dwell inside of each of us , because we are all different. But there are some who give into fear, there are some who covet so much, there are some who are depressed, there are some who are self fulfilled. All of these areas is what brings about a weighted heart. The whole point of us being in a relationship with Christ is that He takes the burdens of our heart and gives us a glorious illumination of His person by speaking to us through His word and revealing to us His love for us and His control over our circumstances. Preaching to ourselves is what is really important. We need to pour out our hearts to Him. We need to seek Him all day long. We need to get to a place where we are rejoicing in Him. He has given us attributes that make living in His presence in a profound way a reality. He has given us memories, he has give us a mind to think about Him, he has given us a tongue to praise Him, and he has given us a promise that He will hear us. He has given us ears to hear Him. It is understanding how to use these gifts that brings about more experience of His smile. In obeying Him we long for His law, we long for His presence, we long for His leading us into the way of truth. We hate false tongues, we hate sin, we hate idols. In hating idols we must know how to replace the good experiences we get from having something as an idol and have the Spirit etch into our experience a more profound memory. Once we have sweet times with the Spirit the idols will begin to look dead to us. As they really are.
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8170	Forums / Main Forum / Something I Want	on: November 26, 2006, 07:09:21 PM
Quote Desert living gives time to reflect. I don't know how to get back to somewhere i once was. I forget what it is like to just stand in awe of God. It sounds like you have had a profound experience. Actually , being in the dessert is a learning experience as well. Ill bet your longing to get back to the awe is intense? Well some people have not had an experience they can look back on and long for. But when we look back that is exactly what should make us want to continue on. And yet there is a sense in which the experience is still etched in our memories. Most experiences in the spiritual realm are really timeless. There may have been a time and point in the past in which we were profoundly effected in worship but really that profoundness is still in you. There are some things you can do. One of the things that i do when my christian life is dry is to go to the Psalms and meditate in there for awhile. One of the Psalms talks about panting for the Lord like a deer pants for water. Here the psalmist is in the desert and has not been to the temple for some time. He is experiencing the heat of the dessert and he is pondering those times in the past when he would go to the temple in a festive and rejoicing experience. And he is depressed as well as thirsty. What does he do? He starts to preach to himself. He talks to himself about the experience he has had in the past and he tells his soul to Put your hope in God! He continually ask himself Why are you downcast? Then he ends the questioning telling his soul to put your hope in God.