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It's not an lol thing, first of all. I think you know that. But I hope I made it clear, I was very definitely not aiming anything at you. This is to address things that go unspoken that must be spoken. Who is it who is on the watchtower that when they fall asleep, the ravagers come? Have they not been asleep, lo, these many years?
I only said "lol" because I didn't really know how to respond. My apologies. I understand that this is not aimed at me, I just think perhaps you could elaborate what you mean? Forgive me if this is just on me, but I really do not understand what you are trying to say in your original reply, it's almost cryptic.
What is more important to you, what man thinks God thinks, or what God thinks.
By far the best way to repair a relationship is to spend the time with God in prayer.
Jesus said, "Blessed are they that do hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled".
Desperation to know God's will is far more important then all men can say or interpret scriptures.
Jesus provided the Holy Spirit to teach in His place. If you have invited Jesus into your heart and life and He really has Lortdship in you He will provide you this gift of the Holy Spirit.
if in deed you seek His lordship He will guide you and intervene in your life.
The desperation you practice in this relationship makes all the difference in the world.
But if you are determined to know what men think in stead, He can't help you.
In my life I spent an hour each morning on my knees right out of bed Praying and seeking God to know His voice in my life.
It is not what you say or that you speak but that you purpose your focus on Him and no one else.
How important is this to you? God looks at the heart.
I only said "lol" because I didn't really know how to respond. My apologies. I understand that this is not aimed at me, I just think perhaps you could elaborate what you mean? Forgive me if this is just on me, but I really do not understand what you are trying to say in your original reply, it's almost cryptic.
Thank you for not judging me so quickly. I said that because I was thinking about how domestic abuse runs rampant throughout, not only the Church, but the world. Christians have a way of dealing with what comes easy, with the questions that pertain to how God forgives us. We dwell on them, but are sometimes not honest with ourselves about the things, they embarrass us so, that led us to act the way we did. It isn't just domestic violence where this happens.
We don't own our hatred, so we direct it at what we love. Instead, we could realize there was an issue, define it, and address it. We could deal with the reasons why we get angry, or are easy to anger. Anger really is something that exists to tell us something needs to be done. We can use it for that, and not let it dominate everything else we do. We certainly shouldn't let anger go unaddressed the way that we do, where it comes out where it wants to, not where we can use its energy for anything constructive.
It happens everywhere where a behavior keeps getting repeated. That's why I wanted to make it clear that the practice of not being honest with ourselves is more pervasive than that. I think it permeates every layer of people's thinking. Climate change is probably another place where something terrible is really obvious, but especially Christians are deliberately blind to why they act they way they do in response. I brought this up in a very serious manner. I'm sorry if I got you angry at me for anything I said. I so didn't mean to accuse you of anything.
I have great discussions with God about what is going on with the Church. I accuse it of really being an extension of the evolutionary paradigm. God is really patient, but I think I'm right. This sort of thing coming from the beloved doesn't make sense. The Church is not acting like the bride of Christ. That may be because they aren't.
Last edited by Am I a Prophet; 11-19-2021 at 04:02 AM..
Reason: the writing proces
What is more important to you, what man thinks God thinks, or what God thinks.
By far the best way to repair a relationship is to spend the time with God in prayer.
Jesus said, "Blessed are they that do hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled".
Desperation to know God's will is far more important then all men can say or interpret scriptures.
Jesus provided the Holy Spirit to teach in His place. If you have invited Jesus into your heart and life and He really has Lortdship in you He will provide you this gift of the Holy Spirit.
if in deed you seek His lordship He will guide you and intervene in your life.
The desperation you practice in this relationship makes all the difference in the world.
But if you are determined to know what men think in stead, He can't help you.
In my life I spent an hour each morning on my knees right out of bed Praying and seeking God to know His voice in my life.
It is not what you say or that you speak but that you purpose your focus on Him and no one else.
How important is this to you? God looks at the heart.
Of course, fellowship with God is more important than fellowship with others. And at the end of the day, if others' opinions are not biblical then I pay no mind to them anyway. I suppose sometimes after creating that distance with God through sin, it becomes hard to see things clearly. So, I try to ask for counsel from other believers as the Bible we should confess our sins to one another and pray to one another, and even goes far to say that we should bring back anyone who wanders from the truth. Therefore if it were to be a believer who replies to me who is mature in faith, this may be beneficial to my walk - God willing - as we are supposed to be there for each other through times of need. However I do agree that Jesus should always be the one I go to first and foremost Who's counsel, through the Holy Spirit, I should accept before any man. Surely by deciding to let go of condemnation and just trusting in His mercy, I was able to find peace and restoration in my relationship with Him once again. Now I just need to make sure I am always in fellowship with Him, so that this doesn't happen again and so that I do not wander to a dangerous point of sin - so I can persevere. Through desperation is where I found Him again after my transgression, so we should always be adamant about seeking His face.
I have noticed that when we sin, it separates us from God. This is understandable, but after we repent from whatever sin we have committed how can we restore this relationship and closeness to God again that we once had before? Sometimes I struggle with recovering well after sinning, especially with condemnation, etc. I don't want to despise God's discipline by allowing myself to feel hopeless. I think it's good I fear the Lord and I thank God for that greatly and I never want to feel comfortable with sin, but sometimes I allow that fear to become more than it should be by feeling condemned.
When I feel like that I look to Jesus. I realize I am focusing too much on *me* and not *him*. He has done it all. "Jesus paid it all, All to him I owe, Sin has left a crimson stain, He washed it white as snow". God has forgiven all our sins past, present and future. It's hard to understand exactly how sin separates us from God for it does seem to do that, however nothing in the world at all will ever separate us from the love of God.
Sinning makes me feel guilty because of how merciful God has been to me in my life and has treated me WAY BETTER than what I have ever deserved. It tears at my heart how callous I am to the Lord and how I treat his kindness flippantly many times. It just shows a not-so-close walk with the Lord. The Lord has not drawn away from *me*, but I am drawing away from him.
For me, it helps to spend more time in the means of grace: reading his word, praying, spending time with my brothers and sisters in Jesus and in worship of course (and the sacraments). But anytime I feel overly guilty and I seem to think that God must be very displeased with me, I then look to Jesus. I know that God looks at me as he does his beloved Son and I am overwhelmed by his mercy. It makes me think of the hymn Amazing love, how can it be? It really is incredible that God can have such mercy and such perfect love toward us.
Getting to know the Lord Jesus better, how amazing he is--his mercy, kindness, compassion, strength, the stunning account of his life while he walked the earth, it helps me to not be so comfortable in my habitual sins (anger fits is a deep-rooted one for me). Spending more time with the Lord it seems to me is the best way to walk closer with him, and when the sins come up as they always will while we are still here in this life, to look to Jesus and remind myself of his love for us and how he has given us everything so we can be at peace with God our Heavenly Father.
Of course, fellowship with God is more important than fellowship with others. And at the end of the day, if others' opinions are not biblical then I pay no mind to them anyway. I suppose sometimes after creating that distance with God through sin, it becomes hard to see things clearly. So, I try to ask for counsel from other believers as the Bible we should confess our sins to one another and pray to one another, and even goes far to say that we should bring back anyone who wanders from the truth. Therefore if it were to be a believer who replies to me who is mature in faith, this may be beneficial to my walk - God willing - as we are supposed to be there for each other through times of need. However I do agree that Jesus should always be the one I go to first and foremost Who's counsel, through the Holy Spirit, I should accept before any man. Surely by deciding to let go of condemnation and just trusting in His mercy, I was able to find peace and restoration in my relationship with Him once again. Now I just need to make sure I am always in fellowship with Him, so that this doesn't happen again and so that I do not wander to a dangerous point of sin - so I can persevere. Through desperation is where I found Him again after my transgression, so we should always be adamant about seeking His face.
It sounds like what you want is your self back, after you do something that you feel separates you from God. You know that whatever it means to have a self comes from our relationship with God. I think it is that way for even the unbelievers. It sounds to me like you have a lot of faith.
Last edited by Am I a Prophet; 11-19-2021 at 04:12 AM..
Reason: the writing process
Let's see. David admitted that he sinned but you claim that he didn't sin. I think I'll go with what David said.
A great scourge upon the church are those which say if you sin you are not saved. Drives so many away from the church with such heresy. It is very sad when Jesus calls all those to come to him who are weary and heavy-laden and he promises them rest, that his yoke is light. But such heretics rather would lay burdens upon others which they themselves cannot bear. (I do believe there are heretics in heaven, btw; it is just a heresy to say that sinning shows that you do not know God. God's revealed word clearly states that while we are on this earth, we will continue to sin until we are called home to eternal bliss with God).
Anyone who is in a church that preaches perfectionism, something that is not in God's word, should see if they have an Orthodox Presbyterian Church nearby. There you will find the Gospel preached--that Jesus has paid for all our sins past, present and future and that he offers the free gift of salvation to all those who turn to him and trust him to be at peace with God. We don't slam doctrine down people's throats because we know there are many gray areas in the Bible (though it's definitely there, just not something "everyone has to believe in order to be saved"--definitely not true as we don't get presented with a doctrinal exam at the last day); it is mainly exhorting others to look to the diving Lord Jesus to bring us into a right relationship with our Heavenly Father.
Thank you for not judging me so quickly. I said that because I was thinking about how domestic abuse runs rampant throughout, not only the Church, but the world. Christians have a way of dealing with what comes easy, with the questions that pertain to how God forgives us. We dwell on them, but are sometimes not honest with ourselves about the things, they embarrass us so, that led us to act the way we did. It isn't just domestic violence where this happens. That's why I wanted to make it clear that the practice of not being honest with ourselves is more pervasive than that. I think it permeates every layer of people's thinking. Climate change is probably another place where something terrible is really obvious, but especially Christians are deliberately blind to why they act they way they do in response. I brought this up in a very serious manner. I'm sorry if I got you angry at me for anything I said. I so didn't mean to accuse you of anything.
I have great discussions with God about what is going on with the Church. I accuse it of really being an extension of the evolutionary paradigm. God is really patient, but I think I'm right. This sort of thing coming from the beloved doesn't make sense. The Church is not acting like the bride of Christ. That may be because they aren't.
It is no problem. I do not know you well or in person, so I would be wrong to judge you.
I think this is quite a different subject and deviates somewhat from the original question. But may I ask, is there any specific type of church of denomination that you have seen, or attended, to make you feel this way? Myself personally, I do not put myself under a denomination, but as a child I grew up Catholic. I agree that there is much that goes on throughout their church members that should no go on, but arguably some may say the majority of those there - if not all - are false converts or Christians anyway. I now do not go by a denomination, and I certainly do not agree with Catholic practices. However there are other denominations or groups that this happens in also.
I would just put it this way: domestic violence and other abuse as you discussed earlier is sin. If you are bringing another person to physical harm and hurting them, whether it be a man or woman, this is sin. Thus I would dare to say that the people who are committing sin like this have either strayed far from the truth, or have never been a true Christian in the first place. Be aware that the true Church is made of the people, the true believers and followers of Christ. One who claims to know Jesus yet does not love a brother or sister is not in the truth. The Bible says this. Violence is not love, it is sin. So I doubt that those doing these acts of violence are in the truth, and if they once were believers then we should guide them back as this is a very lost place to be in.
As for the thoughts on climate change, I think until more is revealed about this as time goes on, it is a matter of opinion. Same as the other theories and conspiracy. Yet, I think that we should discern these matters carefully and be warned that the world does not always speak the 100% truth regarding these situations, as they often twist the truth for their own gain.
Either way, this is a bit off-topic, but an interesting discussion. Perhaps you should take this further to another thread or make a thread on it, as this arguably ties in with false Christians also.
When I feel like that I look to Jesus. I realize I am focusing too much on *me* and not *him*. He has done it all. "Jesus paid it all, All to him I owe, Sin has left a crimson stain, He washed it white as snow". God has forgiven all our sins past, present and future. It's hard to understand exactly how sin separates us from God for it does seem to do that, however nothing in the world at all will ever separate us from the love of God.
Sinning makes me feel guilty because of how merciful God has been to me in my life and has treated me WAY BETTER than what I have ever deserved. It tears at my heart how callous I am to the Lord and how I treat his kindness flippantly many times. It just shows a not-so-close walk with the Lord. The Lord has not drawn away from *me*, but I am drawing away from him.
For me, it helps to spend more time in the means of grace: reading his word, praying, spending time with my brothers and sisters in Jesus and in worship of course (and the sacraments). But anytime I feel overly guilty and I seem to think that God must be very displeased with me, I then look to Jesus. I know that God looks at me as he does his beloved Son and I am overwhelmed by his mercy. It makes me think of the hymn Amazing love, how can it be? It really is incredible that God can have such mercy and such perfect love toward us.
Getting to know the Lord Jesus better, how amazing he is--his mercy, kindness, compassion, strength, the stunning account of his life while he walked the earth, it helps me to not be so comfortable in my habitual sins (anger fits is a deep-rooted one for me). Spending more time with the Lord it seems to me is the best way to walk closer with him, and when the sins come up as they always will while we are still here in this life, to look to Jesus and remind myself of his love for us and how he has given us everything so we can be at peace with God our Heavenly Father.
I'm not sure that I agree with this completely, but I will say it is vital to keep our eyes on Jesus. I have learnt that fellowship with Him in this situation is key.
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