The purpose of our lives is to glorify God by
enjoying Him... It really is not attacking our sins...there is a
struggle about our sin that is always present with us. The apostle says
that what He wanted to do He did not do... and he wasnt making a
theological point in defense of his sins. He was getting to the point
where he could glorify God by enjoying Him. Just because we struggle
with a sin... a sin that we have practiced and left.. then we go back
to... it doesnt mean that there is a time where we are not able to enjoy
the goodness of God.. In this struggle then we do not find our goal to
end a sin as the reason that we find comfort in Him... if that were the
case then why would not the apostle say that there were times where he
struggle with not doing what he wanted but there were other times where
he gained control over sin? Now then... there is the effect of giving
into sin... its leading us to feel a sharp piercing effect. Why do we
remember a sin because we just did it for the 77 th time and we got
forgiveness the last 76 times? Because when we sin and we fail ... i
mean we know its that one... the one we were not even feeling for a few
yrs and then here we are again.... that deep stab of sorrow.... We
are creatures of habit... not just in sin but in how we come to God...
we grow weary of sinning... of feeling the effects of the sin that we
feel most in our the scares of the past and we begin to feel a little
self confidence. Now the question i have is how are we going to find his
grace if we have come to trust in our own prayers? our own church
going... and then we grow weary of our spiritual exercises... oh there
is a certain level of enjoyment but its got a thick wrapper of flesh
over it.... now then the point of finding humility is finding that sin
is not so easy to get over... that is we feel the greatest struggle with
sin... we are really like the apostle... by experience... in rom 7. We
are people who have these very tender spots in us... they are scars from
practicing a sin that we have a hard time with... and we rub that scare
when we visit that sin... it could be an attitude we develop of self
righteousness ...i mean in as an infant in the faith... we really havent
been tested with sin that looks and stinks like sin....but when we feel
that scar sting then we dont think that we have made progress... now
then ... Gods progress is in the struggle. We are reminded of our
weakness when the struggle gets hot... when we are reminded by our
weakness then we are lowered to seek Him for who He is and not what we
are good enough to obtain by what we think His grace is. Grace is just
as powerful when we feel weak as it is when we think we got the mountain
experience. Now then the struggle is the evidence of Gods mercy... if
we did not care then we would not be pleased to find Him like He wants
to be worshiped. The point of finding the sore ness of that place is
that we will learn to persevere ... God is working some deep effects in
our desire... He is saying to the sinner... look come to me.. not what
you think about me as to your health... come to me as you are...
remember when you came to me at first.. yes.. remember you are a
sinner... see... that pain from the scar... thats your gift... i want to
do things in you that you will be surprised but i cant have a vessel
that is all filled with self water.. i need to empty that vessel so i
can fill it so full that it will know that i visit from the bottom u
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4774
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Forums / Theology Forum / Re: The Laundry List
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on: June 19, 2009, 11:57:00 AM
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Becky..amen amen amen..You got this sista!!
Galatians
is so clear..yet in our culture of trying to mingle the two we have IMO
crated the Jesus to save you Moses to keep you evangelcial hoops and
trapeeze show..it's a circus
Grace is so hard to get the natural mind to wrap itself around..becasue it's underserved..thats the weakness folks..
let
me take you back..way back..The tree of knowledge..still being eaten of
and nothing I say I don't experience in my own life..thats the word
becoming flesh too..thats also the "weakness"
you cannot write
about this stuff in detail and not have lived it..the struggles and
burdens..yes been there..the first thing after having eaten this
fruit..is ..They notice they are naked..nobody told them they were
excpet..THEM!! They were the ones that came to that conclusion about
THEMSLEVES by thier own percpetion>> don't you see how fallen and
twisted we became after that fall..we noticed we were uncovered..that
put into motion a natural desire to cover ourselves
know what that is called?
SHAME
and
that desire to cover that has created in my life a pususit of wrongly
BUT well intended on the surface motivations and concpetions about
purposes of how to feel rgiht with God and myslef.
It's fig leaf.. more later
I do not know if its possible to do anything without self justification
not being involved... cause i am involved in everything i do and
think.... are you saying that this is wrong? As a believer in a
sense what i want to do even if its not completely justifiable in the
sense that i am protecting myself from the blame ....grace frees me to
be fully worthy of arguing for myself. My wanting to protect myself is
His protection. Even if it was obvious that i was wrong the intent to
protect myself because of grace is all i have in trusting Him in
protecting myself. Do you see what i am saying ? Some people say that
every sin has a consequence.... then they trust in their confession
because they wait for the time to be free from the sin at the end of the
payment.... i dont think this is the proper understanding of a desire
to trust in His protection as the definition of grace.... in a sense
they do not have a proper trust in His desire to protect them as an
expression of them protecting themselves. Lets give a
Calvinistic example.... God decrees whatsoever comes to pass... David
commits adultery... murder... God declares a list of things as a result
.... now this is not saying that God has decreed this for everyone
else.... otherwise in every one at some point with the same sins....
history would have this repetition even in the judgment on the
individuals who were told what they were going to do to David. God was
not saying Ok David ... you did this sin... its time for some butt
bustin consequences!!! I forgive you David.... but you will know I
remember your sin...just watch.... oh my... that is just foolish
thinking my friend!!!!!!! But in doing what they did to David they in
essence were judged by their sin. But the narrative does not say that
every time an event happened that God was doing it to David because of
his sin. Because God was working in the event to turn it to Davids good
ie... David had every rite for self preservation in Gods promise.... and
using it to judge others...do you see what i am saying? Do you really
want me to show the meanness of the Arminian doctrine.... do you think
that the payment is as they say?Shall we become fond of indulgences? Look
i have memorized the Psalms... there is no... no place where David
prays... Lord ... give me what i deserve!!!!(within the rite
understanding of sin) My word people ... self preservation... the man is
tagged... now .. there are a thousand places where he prays to be
protected from those who God is going to judge by the law....why cant we
get the program? me smell religion of works and false humility. Either
the expense is on Gods account or someone is getting very rich. Joe
missional... Arminius or joe emergent comes to sit down for a
discussion... now they have been taught that for every sin there is a
like consequence.... now they are waiting to not be defined by their
sin... so then they begin to talk about the people who are murders...
rapist... thieves... what is the extent of the conversation.... uh...
its look at those people... when are they going to get what they
deserve? blah blah blah blah blah...oooooOOOO Idol worshipers of
contingency... American christian fellowship in a nut shell... joe
calvinist comes by sits down... he is struck at that mentality!!! Uh
very few around i might add.. he knows deep down in side that Gods grace
has freed him from the clutches of the law as well as the system of the
way the world is run... he is appreciative that a man will work on
sunday to preserve his level of enjoying riches... at the expense of
Gods decree!!!!! the calvininist knows that if he partakes of such
condemnation then he knows that God could have made him pay like that...
with complete blindness and working like the devil under that
bondage..... pa leassssse eeeeeeee!!!!!!!!
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4776
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Forums / Theology Forum / Re: The Laundry List
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on: June 18, 2009, 07:05:25 PM
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You lost me a bit there Tom, can you rephrase that a bit in more in a little simpler terms. Sorry, I'm a bit slow sometimes.
Are you saying that like Paul we find two laws at work in us--?
7: part of 25.. So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God's law, but in the sinful nature a slave to the law of sin.
I was out doing my workout in the pool and I think where people get lost in making that list is they mistake their desire to obey God, or heed the voice & counsel of The Holy Spirit more
with the law...which is something seen or tangible. Or they mistake it
with their desire to have more of the mind of Christ or be holy..or the
process that some refer to as sanctification.
I struggle with
using that term because sanctified means "to consecrate --to set
apart--to be holy"...and well we can't get any more holy or righteous
before God than we are right now through Christ.
I do however desire more to obey Him and to pattern my life after what He wants rather than what I want.
I
dont think the desire to obey has a personal reflection to it... and in
this sense it is almost impossible to define.. cause how do you define a
work of grace on the heart that is produced by the Holy Spirit... what
does an over flow of love really look like? I mean that we have this
list of the fruit of the Spirit ... and all of these fruits have a
certain taste to them... i dont think they are just something that we
try to produce ourselves... thats why i think its very deceiving when we
are talking about doing something for the kingdom of God as if we sorta
work our way into experiencing these fruits as we minister... we have a
theology where we are sorta like a four cylinder car and God gives us
some gas and then we just have that much to do our particular ministry.
And if we choose to love then we feel more of the Spirit... but its so
very difficult for me to explain this that this kind of reality has
been a kind of power within and it sorta reacts to what comes from these
different stimuli.. i mean not just in the way we relate to others but
in how the universe feels... looks and how we understand God in His
presence... we dont come with a four cylinder.. we come with a overflow
of power that is beyond our understanding in how it reacts in side of
us... I guess you could say that the life of Christ is that power.. i
mean we cant stop it from flowing out... it just continues to express
itself as the waves of the ocean that come crashing in on the beach....
We actually feel the fellowship we have with the Spirit in Christ
resurrection power... Now then we can develop this relationship
to such an extent that this heat of God is inflamed in something
simple... a verse... an encouragement ... a beautiful visit to the
forest... and then it can at times be a constant flood of divine fire!!
God will come and sup with us... its that we only develope this divine
infusion by that long and drawn out pleading..... not in a repetitious
way... but in the drawing in effect. We begin our seeking with a
general plea for mercy.. and then we begin to feel our need for His
power...then we persevere on our knees i mean... its that we will not
let Him go until we have found Him... that when He comes ... then we
are brought into a reflection of awe... God is here... and then we begin
to cry out to Him.... He comes to bring us to tears about something
that we did not know that He knew...some kind of weight we were carrying
around... you see.. i really believe that whatever we call being set
apart ... that God is mainly a Father to us... He is coming to draw us
out of ourselves... He is coming to relieve the pressure.. He is coming
to take the deep regret... the deep sorrow... the deep weight of grief
and we are so in need of Him .. that we begin to pant after Him... this i
think is that set apart ness...
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4779
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Forums / Main Forum / Re: Questions
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on: June 18, 2009, 04:07:08 PM
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i noticed something here in the
narrative... i mean the context of Judges 17:6"In those days Israel had
no king; everyone did as he saw fit." I think the first portion of the
statement Israel had no King was repeated through out Judges... but the
latter was repeated with the narrative pointing to two general points of
focus. 1. Prosperity... 2. Idols...
Judges 17
When he
returned the eleven hundred shekels of silver to his mother, she said,
"I solemnly consecrate my silver to the LORD for my son to make a carved
image and a cast idol. I will give it back to you."
4 So he returned the silver to his mother, and she took two hundred shekels of silver and gave them to a silversmith, who made them into the image and the idol. And they were put in Micah's house.
then
you have this: Judges !8 5 Now this man Micah had a shrine, and he
made an ephod and some idols and installed one of his sons as his
priest. 6 In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as he saw fit.
heres the interesting point... after visiting Micahs house then these Danites were seeking their inheritance.
Judges
18 .....7 So the five men left and came to Laish, where they saw that
the people were living in safety, like the Sidonians, unsuspecting and
secure. And since their land lacked nothing, they were prosperous. [a]
Also, they lived a long way from the Sidonians and had no relationship
with anyone else.
after spying out the land they go back to
micahs house and take his idol... 18 When these men went into Micah's
house and took the carved image, the ephod, the other household gods and
the cast idol, the priest said to them, "What are you doing?" then they go and attack the city they had spied out and rebuilt it... then this is what it says....
30 There the Danites set up for themselves the idols, and Jonathan son
of Gershom, the son of Moses, [d] and his sons were priests for the
tribe of Dan until the time of the captivity of the land. 31 They
continued to use the idols Micah had made, all the time the house of God
was in Shiloh. this is Moses s son here. "Everyone did as he saw
fit."was in the house of Israel ... the usage of idols. Again... this
was the same with the above context in another post about not having a
king....
'
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4781
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Forums / Theology Forum / Re: The Question
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on: June 17, 2009, 08:48:36 PM
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Thanks Jeff and Bill and Beacon and Tom---I guess I just needed a hug today.
What do you think of the following:
A
believer who is walking in fellowship with Christ will naturally be a
witness for him, as part of their normal walk with Christ?
Bill
Bill I would say that's EXACTLY it. Otherwise it's US and well, as you said already-- we can't save anyone. It has to be CHRIST in us, otherwise it's fruitless. He is just naturally going to show through us. The real Jesus that is. We
always try to make this "form" or make a "list of traits" of what we
think Jesus should look like showing through us to another. Frankly, I
think we most often have it wrong! We can't be The Holy Spirit--can we really know what another needs from us to see Jesus more clearly on our own? The
times where I was just natural and was ME are the times when people
would ask me questions or benefit from what I did or said. Somehow the
Holy Spirit showed through without any effort from my mind's way of
thinking I should show Him. The times I thought I was 'putting forth & showing' my best Jesus--well they came back FLAT. Dead works! And
I agree with you--we all go through reflection and conviction.
Understanding the difference between conviction and condemnation is
what changed my walk with Jesus forever! That's what I was trying to encourage you about--that if you have these "stirrings" in your spirit, that's the Holy Spirit who changes our minds. That change of mind just NATURALLY brings about action---that is THE HOLY Spirit. Prompting you, preparing you or moving you. But if you are feeling guilty, sad, and bad over opportunities you've missed--trying to figure out " how" you can do better, then I'd say that's Satan trying to heap you with his condemnation of not measuring up. You
can't "do" any better than the Living resurrected Jesus living in YOU
can you? Or the work & counsel of the Holy Spirit? He is HIS
OWN witness to others through us. Salvation is His alone. There isn't
anything we can do better than what He already did. I'm
sitting here typing all of this to you in hopes it will minister to you
in some small way--but if it comes back void--it was ME. If it comes
back fruitful--it's something the Holy Spirit spoke to you, not me. My words fade away---HIS words are lasting fruit. Just
like they are lasting fruit to us in the works He's prepared us for and
before us. The Holy Spirit's voice of counsel is gentle but constant.
We've all ignored His voice before--but if it's something HE wants us
to do or change in--that voice is going to be constant & undeniable.
You won't have to ask if that's what He wants you to do--you'll more
than likely be moved to do it. Or He will bring some
circumstance in your life so you can see it clearer and have a REAL
change of mind. It's not going to be a stab here or there that makes
you feel bad or beat yourself up over. His voice is THE voice that spurs us to action & change & growth. 
not quite like the parenting voice, but similar. You know the
one--where you mention something that needs to be done to your child,
they put you off, then you mention it again only a tad bit firmer. You
may even mention it a time or two more. Then you finally get face to
face and show your serious side....somehow they are suddenly spurred to
action! I'm just saying the litmus test is that if you are
spurred to move in something & DO it-- it's The Holy Spirit. If you
are just feeling bad about it, telling yourself how much you LACK--it's
condemnation. In Christ we LACK NOTHING. He won't ask us to
do something that we lack in. We can't lack--because it's HIM in us
doing it. And He is the Great I AM--He is perfect and sufficient and in
ALL & ABOVE ALL-amen! Besides- Feeling bad about something only changes our minds TEMPORARILY. HIS voice--changes our minds forever--in a permanent way. Becky thank you so much... that was heart to heart there. Very encouraging indeed...
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4782
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Forums / Theology Forum / Re: The end for which God created the World: Edwards
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on: June 17, 2009, 08:41:32 PM
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So is that in Isa. xliii. as we shall see
plainly, if we take the whole that is said from the beginning of the
chapter, ver. 1-7. It its wholly a promise of a future, great, and
wonderful work of God’s power and grace, delivering his people from all
misery, and making them exceeding happy; and then the end of all, or the
sum of God’s design in all, is declared to be God’s own glory. “I have
redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name, thou art mine.—I will be
with thee.—When thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burnt,
neither shall the flame kindle upon thee.—Thou art precious and
honourable in my sight. I will give men for thee, and people for thy
life. Fear not, I am with thee.—I will bring my sons from far, and my
daughters from the ends of the earth; every one that is called by my
name: for I have created him for my glory.” So Isa. lx. 21. The
whole chapter is made up of nothing but promises of future, exceeding
happiness to God’s church; but, for brevity’s sake, let us take on
| 4785
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Forums / Theology Forum / Re: The Question
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on: June 17, 2009, 05:47:24 PM
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A believer who is walking in fellowship with
Christ will naturally be a witness for him, as part of their normal walk
with Christ?
Bill thanks for the encouragement... and may i say
that since we live in grace we have been freed from sin as well as the
law... so why do we still sin? And if we still sin.. then why do we
think that we must do something to get free from that sin? If Christ
death and resurrection took care of sin... it also took care of the
judgment of sin. Since we believe that Christ paid the penalty of sin
...in full... I often wonder why we think that a certain amount of
contrition about our sin would be a way for us to find peace. And if i
can recall... i mean its been a very long time where i have experience
guilt like it was driving me to abandon a sin. I used to think that if i
could go through a process where i was under such conviction that i
felt the weight of my sin for a time ... then i would be more interested
in dealing with it. But then the Lord showed me over a period of being
illuminated about what was going to bring change and what was a reaction
that the devil was working in my heart. Cause the devils reaction was
from a sense for our Father being angry with me about my sin... it was
like i had learned from childhood that in order for me to be a serious
christian then i needed to dwell on my sin and sink under the teaching
of being of my shame to be all alone. I was like a spiritual drunk and
after being beat up for awhile by guilt then i came out of it with a
spiritual hang over.
Wow... it was so full of pride and
disobedience... you know why pride is so ugly?... cause a person can
have a very pristine kind of life.. i mean with the house.... cars.,
family and all the other stuff ... but feel so ugly on the inside... i
mean that in some ways pride keeps us from experiencing His work on our
hearts. We live thinking that we must not take any chances that we must
live our christian life without any kind of desire to do something that
may be really stretching our faith... so Satan keeps us in the game of
guilt and confession to keep us from doing great things for God... Mean
while God is not as concerned as we think He is about our sin.
Any
way... i know that He has things for you that are too wonderful for you
to imagine.. and i know that He is going to do things in the future
that all of us are going to be surprised about. It may not look like
much to the world .. i mean it may be a real test of faith.. a matter of
perseverance .... and we see Him more clearly than we ever did before..
or it may be some great task ahead. But God is working all things
including our terrible struggle with our pet sins for His good. And we
can be sure that if we ask anything in His name He will give it. Because
He has removed our sin as far as the east is from the west.
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ly the
two preceding verses 19, 20. “The sun shall be no more thy light by
day, neither for brightness shall the moon give light unto thee: but the
Lord shall be unto thee an everlasting light and thy God thy glory. Thy
sun shall no more go down, neither shall the moon withdraw itself; for
the Lord shall be thine everlasting light, and the days of the mourning
shall be ended. Thy people also shall be all righteous; they shall
inherit the land for ever, the branch of my planting, the work of my
hands; and then the end of all is added, ”that I might be glorified.”
All the preceding
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4788
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Forums / Theology Forum / Re: The Question
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on: June 17, 2009, 02:34:41 PM
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I may regret this post later--but here goes. (I'm sure someone will copy this so my angry words live on in infamy.)
I said a lot of things in this thread--very similar to what my "brother" in Christ said and HE gets a response.
Me--I get ignored.
Is it because I am a SISTER and you think I will break or something? This goes on all the time--this is NOT the first time.
I'm done with Theology--you BOYS can have it! There I finally said what's been on my mind for a LONG time.
G2...
I have been reading all of your post on here and its been so good that i
just did not have anything else to say... i too have been writing for
awhile here... just not really frustrated ...i mean its not always going
to be constant flow of communication... i would love for you... if you
have something to bring it here... maybe even if everyone is a jerk like
me sometimes will get something they need. Thanks.
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4791
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Forums / Theology Forum / Re: The Question
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on: June 17, 2009, 12:54:39 PM
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Tom.
The only pain here is watching my brothers and sisters live this burden of shortcomings in the name of spiritual progression..
I
do not think your leaglistic..I've invaded a thread trying to share
another perspective..it didn't work...nor did i think it would..but one
can hope right??.no big deal..
I'll start my own
Love ya's
Jeff
Jeff
i havent read where anyone has accused you of anything... just asking
questions for some answers... i believe that we do not know who we are
until we are taught by divine revelation....that is the whole counsel of
God. Love ya too Brother
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4793
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Forums / Theology Forum / Re: The Question
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on: June 17, 2009, 12:02:02 PM
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Jeff,
When God gave John the message to the 7 churches he spoke to the church at Ephesus as follows:
"Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thous has left thy first love.
Remember therefore from whence thous art fallen, and repent and do the
first works; or else I will come unto thee qucikly, and will remove thy
candlestick out of his place, except thou repent."
I look at my
own life, and have to admit that I have allowed the cares of this world
to effect my walk with Christ, my fellowship with Him. Like Joker
alluded to, as a young believer, I remember times that I experienced
God's love and joy to the point where people would ask me about the joy
that was so evident in my life. It has been a long time since that
happened.
I understand what you are saying about the fact that
Christ is always with each of us, indwelling us by His Spirit and
seeking to have an intimate relationship with each of us. And I know the
futility of the current teaching of endlessly "rededicating our life to
Christ", whatever that means. What He desires is a life of intimacy
where we walk together, truely in fellowship together.
Bill
Thanks
Bill ... i too struggle with this... and i think in some ways its not
as romantic as we imagine... i know at first the feelings of just having
the heart purified... i mean Christ came to provide purification for
sin and then He sat down at the majesty of the right hand...and i think
this is where our trust wavers... cause there are so many reasons in the
spirit of this age.. .which is a spirit of accusation... that we find a
struggle to even revisit the pure joy of experiencing the weight of our
sins being lifted and Christ was powerful in that kind of peace... But
now we find ourselves thinking that we have grown to a point where we
can take care of these things ourselves.. and in some ways this division
from the grace that we once enjoyed is grown into a kind of thorn bush
of self righteousness. The whole point of enjoying fellowship in Christ
to the Father is the confidence we share in having all of our sins cast
from us as far as the east is from the west... i think... Satan has no
direct relation as if He is whispering in our ears but He has the spirit
of this world... a religious system that works to prevent us from
teaching ourselves that Christ is our chief protector and out of that
our most cherished friendship. As i have said before that there really
is only one thing in this world that is of lasting value and that is
wisdom and understanding.... it is living in the grace that we will one
day have a completed understanding. But our love is very important...
because we are looking forward to that grace... not with a spirit of
sorrow as if we do not enjoy present hope... but we dwell in hope
because He has given us mercy and we find grace ... its defined in the
longing to be completed in us... But i also believe that we
must be open before Him with whom we have confidence on the day of
judgment. So this is not a romantic kind of hope but it is a struggle in
His presence... thats why Christ would spend hours before His Father in
prayer... it wasnt just a feeling of love and adoration but it was a
struggle because of the opposition.... not only from His accusers but
from His own weakness in the flesh.. He took on our flesh... that is He
has a family trait that He shared with us. So if we become romantic we
will grow weary and He says not to let the anger persist when the sun
goes down. We must express to Him the reality of our lives.. for He
calls the righteous those who cry out to Him nite and day... those who
hope in His love... unfeigned on our behalf... always read to provide a
remedy... never without long suffering.. patience... and compassion. The
draw of the Fathers love is in the mercy of His love to swallow up our
reaction to our present deli ma and leave us with His love
overflowing.....for who can separate us from His love... trouble or
distress ... persecution... famine ..nakedness peril or sword... Satan
or our selves... may it never be... nothing shall be able to separate us
from the love of God... shall i say that in the resisting in the mercy
found.
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4794
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Forums / Theology Forum / Re: The Question
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on: June 17, 2009, 10:30:05 AM
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I deleated it..but it's still in word if anyone wants it by e-mail.... Listen..I'm so...*sigh*..I don't even know how to explain it anymore.. Bill..IMO..this idea of renewed this or that..or looking for some kind of 1st first love or compassion.. Look.. It's still there..I can see it your posts..you really do have that heart already.. an observation if I may after having been on these various forums for a couple years now.. We
try so hard to explain and obtain and find and do what is already right
there..we just need to rest a minute and stop trying to be so called
"spiritually significant" That’s not our identity! HE is!. I have my ideas what causes this..but I will no longer share them  ...cause
no one would listen anyway..and well I don’t know how to do it..an
absolute failure it seems.. well maybe thats a good thing..I don't
know..we all need to figure it out and arrive at it for ourselves and in
His timing. it must be revealed personally.. I wish you
all the best..I really do..just rest..and enjoy the beautiful heart that
you have...all of you...it will find the works..it's already right
there... It’s already prepared.. Peace Jeff Jeff... i love you man... but the path to experiencing is not by finding that something new is a mystery.
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Forums / Theology Forum / Re: The Question
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on: June 17, 2009, 10:24:23 AM
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one has the option to delete their posts, maybe RR deleted it...
This
i think is the reason that its so difficult to revisit that
simplicity... because we see so much more other than the reality of His
new power of the Spirit... i think as you read this...that its a matter
of stirring up that gift that is in us.... 18. The being of God
is evident by the Scriptures, and the Scriptures themselves are an
evidence of their own divine authority, after the same manner as the
existence of a human thinking being is evident by the motions,
behaviour, and speech of a body animated by a rational mind. For we know
this no otherwise, than by the consistency, harmony, and concurrence of
the train of actions and sounds, and their agreement to all that we can
suppose to be in a rational mind. These are a clear evidence of
understanding and design, which are the original of these actions. There
is that universal harmony, consent, and concurrence in the drift, such
an universal appearance of a wonderful and glorious design, such stamps
every where of exalted wisdom, majesty, and holiness, in matter, manner,
contexture, and aim; that the evidence is the same, that the Scriptures
are the word and work of a divine mind to one that is thoroughly
acquainted with them as that the words and actions of an understanding
man are from a rational mind. An infant, when it first comes into the
world, sees persons act, and hears their voice, before it has so much
comprehension as to see something of their consistence, harmony, and
concurrence. It makes no distinction between their bodies, and other
things; their motions and sounds, and the motions and sounds of
inanimate things. But as its comprehension increases, the understanding
and design begin to appear. So it is with men that are as little
acquainted with the Scriptures, as infants with the actions of human
bodies. They cannot see any evidence of a divine mind, as the original
of it; because they have not comprehension enough to apprehend the
harmony, wisdom, &c. Edwards
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promises are plainly mentioned as so many parts, or
constituents, of the great, and exceeding happiness of God’s people; and
God’s glory is mentioned, as the sum of his design in this happiness. |
p.
My friends its in the perseverance in seeking Him by our sin that we
find Him most gracious!!! |
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