All About GOD - Growing Relationships with Jesus and Others
When I Am Down
When you feel down, beat-up or overwhelmed, what does God use to pick you up and get you through?
Lord Bless,
LT
TheNET Coordinator
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Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Carla on
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Amanda,
I know that LT will answer your question.. But I just want to acknowledge this comment if that's okay:
I’ve almost stopped praying because I didn’t think God would listen to me anyway. Who is able to keep all those commandments--even if they are filled with His Spirit and not just sealed by it?
The purpose of the law is to show us that we can't fulfill it. The law reveals the sin. The Law shows us how we fall short and are in need of a Savior. We are saved by Grace through faith Eph 2:5-9
Romans 7:8-25
Also... if you have 'The Message'..i like the way this version says the above scripture.
Here's the message..Romans 8-25
Don't you remember how it was? I do, perfectly well. The law code started out as an excellent piece of work. What happened, though, was that sin found a way to pervert the command into a temptation, making a piece of 'forbidden fruit' out of it. The law code, instead of being used to guide me, was sued to seduce me. Without all the paraphnelia of the law code, sin looked pretty dull and lifeless, and I went along without paying much attention to it. But once sin fir its hand on the law code and decked itself out in all that finery. I was fooled and fell for it. The very command that was supposed to guide me into life was cleverly used to trip me up, throwing me headlong. So sin was plenty alive, and I was stone dead. But the law code itself is God's good and common sense, each command sane and Holy counsel.
verse 13--I can already hear your next question: "Does that mean that I can't even trust what is good (that is the law)? Is good just as dangerous as evil?" No again! Sin simply did what sin is so famous for doing; using the good as a cover to tempt me to do what would finally destroy me. By hiding within God's good commandment, sin did far more mischief than it could ever have accomplished on its own. I can anticiplate the response that is comiing: "I know that all God's commandments are spiritual, but I'm not. Isn't this also your experience?" Yes, I'm full of myself--after all, I've spent a long time in sin's prison. What i don't understand about myself is that I decide one way, but then I act another, doing things I absolutely despise. So if I can't be trusted to figure out what is best for myself and then do it, it becomes obvious that God's command is necessary. But I need something more! For if I know the law but still can't keep it, and if the power of sin within me keeps sabotaging my best intentions, I obviously need help! I realize that I don't have what it takes. I can will it, but I can't do it. I decide to do good, but I don't really do it; i decide not to do bad, but then I do it anyway. My decisions such as they are, don't result in actions. Something has gone wrong deep within me and gets the better of me every time. I happens so regularly it's predictable. The moment I decide to do good, sin is there to trip me up. I truly delight in God's commands, but it's pretty obvious that not all of me joins in that delight. Parts of me covertly rebel, and just when i least expect it, they take charge. I've tried everything and nothing helps. I'm at the end of my rope. Is there no one who can anything for me? Isn't that the real question? The answer, thank God, is that Christ Jesus can and does. He acted to set things right in this life of contradictions where I want to serve God with all my heart and mind, but am pulled by the influence of sin to do something totally different.
Blessings, Carla
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Permalink Reply by Leonard T on
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Good word Carla and Amanda what you have written is a good understanding of it.
Lord Bless,
LT
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Amanda,
Praise the Lord for His grace and mercy. I am pleased to hear of the positive steps in the direction of the Lord and trust for the healing you seek. Amen!
You are welcome and may God give you the gift of peace to make this Christmas even more special to you.
Lord Bless,
LT
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Permalink Reply by David Velasquez on
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God is big enough to take everything I throw at Him and still love me
That is the God we have no choice but to love back and we have come to know as The Faithful, Perfect and Holy One.
I will translate this very simple (in lyrics) song for you, it blesses me every time:
God send us rain
By Eicson Alexander Molano
Dios manda lluvia, God send us rain
derrama de tu espíritu, pour out your spirit
envía hoy tu fuego, today send your fire
sana mis heridas, heal my wounds
restaurame Señor. restore me Lord.
Dios manda lluvia, God send us rain
derrama de tu espíritu, pour out your spirit
envía hoy tu fuego, today send your fire
sana mis heridas, heal my wounds
restaurame Señor. restore me Lord.
Manda la lluvia Send the rain
el rocío de tu amor the dew of your love
llenando las vidas de la tierra oh Señor. filling the lives of the land oh Lord
Manda la lluvia, Send the rain
el rocío de tu amor. the dew of your love
Visita mi vida Visit my life
cámbiame Señor change me LordI am praising God along with LT and the rest of the family for you are walking through the valley, but walking through it, is the beauty of it.
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Does the Church need to be restored? Some teach that they are restoring the NT church. But that seems to conflict with Matthew 16:18. Has something happened to the Church that it needs to be restored?
This question can only be answered when the term “restored” is defined. If they meaning is that the church ceased to be the church and that a new church is coming forth and this new church is being restored to the Book of Acts church I would have to disagree. The church, which is the bride of Christ on earth, never died. It needs revival, awakening and renewed vision and understanding of itself and its purpose, but it is still the church, for the church is made up of born-again children of God.
Secondly, we have to recognize that there are many counterfeits out there. People who claim to be Christian, who claim to be the church and simply are not the church.
Is water baptism a work of righteousness?
It is a righteous act in that we follow the Lord Jesus in baptism. This is an act of obedience to His command.
I have been taught that God predestines the righteous to be eternally saved and the unrighteous to be eternally lost. Peter said, "Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons, but in every nation he that feareth him and worketh righteousness is acceptable unto him" (Acts 10:34-35.) This is evidence that God did not predestine individuals to be eternally saved or lost, but that each man determines his own destiny.
They tell me that God's part is the big part, but my part is also necessary if I want to reach heaven.
I must comply with the conditions. The following steps:
Hear the Gospel. (Romans 10:14).
Believe. (Hebrews 11:6).
Repent of past sins. (Acts 17:30).
Confess Jesus as Lord. (Acts 8:36-37) (Acts 2:38).
Live a Christian life. "Ye are an elect race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God's own possession, that ye may show forth the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light" (1 Peter 2:9).
I agree in essence with the “Following steps” to the exception of the last one. That is not the condition for salvation, but the result of it.
What part is God’s and what part is man’s? In this question you find people holding widely varied views. On one hand there is the belief it is all God and man does nothing in the process. The other hand has man seeking God out and if they look hard enough they will find Him. I am neither Calvinist or Armenian. I believe salvation is of God alone by grace through faith. God does the calling, the revealing and causes the change of mind, but man has the liberty to partake or reject when brought to the moment of decision. Predestination and freewill are not at odds when we understand freewill as being liberties.
I do not believe God forces us nor do I believe that anyone determines his own destiny. We simply are given the liberty to surrender to Him if we are brought to the moment of decision. There are many in the world that will never get that chance due to the gospel not having reached them.
Also, that God will not be mocked and I can lose my salvation if I get into some of the more heavier and evil types of sins. We have talked about this a lot, but are you sure…really sure that once we are sealed with the Holy Spirit, nothing can break that seal?
I am absolutely unwavering sure on this topic.
Hebrews 6:4-8 was pointed out to me again and it seems to describe a saved and born again Christian:
Those who were once enlightened
Have tasted the heavenly gift
Become partakers of the Holy Spirit
Have tasted the good Word of God
You cannot be a “partaker of the Holy Spirit” unless you are saved and born again, can you?
The following links will take you to Don Piper’s series on Hebrews 6. It is long, but should answer your question. I present the whole chapter as 5 verses pulled out without surrounding context often will seem to say one thing, but because of context mean something else. These verses are also found within the epistle of Hebrews and are bound by the context of the whole book.
http://www.soundofgrace.com/piper96/10-06-96.htm
http://www.soundofgrace.com/piper96/10-13-96.htm
http://www.soundofgrace.com/piper96/10-20-96.htm
http://www.soundofgrace.com/piper96/11-10-96.htm
http://www.soundofgrace.com/piper96/11-17-96.htm
Lord Bless,
LT
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Amanda,
I’m going to get to the bottom of this. If these types of questions are uncomfortable for you (they are to me), then I will stop asking. And don't answer.
No question regarding God and His Word ever makes me feel uncomfortable. Some questions cannot be answered, but that does not make them uncomfortable.
Are we baptized for the forgiveness of sins to receive the promise of eternal life ? (Mark 16:16; Acts 2:38; Acts 8:26-39; Acts 22:16)
No. Baptism follows repentance. We are saved by grace through faith. To not be baptized is to live in disobedience to God’s Word, so while we are saved by grace through faith, we are commanded to be baptized.
Are we supposed to join churches? Or are we just added to the Church when we are saved?
You become a member of the body of Christ when you are born-again. Joining a local church has two purposes. 1) You are agreeing that this churches mission and teaching is the mission and teaching that you are aligned with and desire to be a part of and desire to support the ministry. There are churches who believe in Jesus, but will have different primary functions and beliefs on secondary issues. 2) The law in the U.S. and many other countries requires the church to have membership and identified leaders. Many see this as a bad thing, but really protects the church from an influx of non-Christians who would seek to take over the church if the church did not have some form of official government.
Did Jesus prohibit titles--such as should we call anyone Pastor or Reverend. Etc..? Are there only elders and deacons? I am told that Church leaders do not take titles. (Matthew 23:8-10). Members simply refer to one another as "brother" and "sister" (1 Timothy 5:1, 2).
A title simply identifies a person’s position or calling. Ephesians 4 clearly tells us that God called some to be pastors, teachers, etc. The emphasis of Matthew 23:8-10 is not on the title, but the view of the person. There is no one greater than He. If Matthew 23:8-10 literally means the use of the title then either the other parts of Scripture are in error or Jesus would have to be in error, for the Bible uses the term father in Gen. 2:24 and James 2:21 to name a few locations.
I am told that spiritual gifts of miraculous nature in 1 Cor 12 disappeared. The ones in Romans 12 are still alive and working and that the “gift of the Holy Spirit" is given to all who obey (Acts 2:38), and the Spirit is continuously at work within the heart of the believer (Romans 8:14; Romans 8:26; 1 Corinthians 3:16; 1 John 3:24).
I disagree. The concept of the gifts ending at the end of the apostolic age cannot be proven. We also know that the gifts were not just given to the apostles, but also to the church members.
Is there any such thing as the “church of your choice”?Depends on what one means by the question. If a person is seeking a church to scratch their itching ears, then no. If a person is looking for a church filled with like-minded born-again believers, a place where they can serve and make a difference, then yes.
Lord Bless,
LT
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Amanda,
Salvation and sanctification can happen at the same time, but rarely do. Even when they happen at the same time they are still two separate events.
Jesus was sanctified:
JN 17:13 "I am coming to you now, but I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them. 14 I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. 15 My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. 16 They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. 17 Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. 18 As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. 19 For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified.
Paul was sanctified
AC 9:17 Then Ananias went to the house and entered it. Placing his hands on Saul, he said, "Brother Saul, the Lord--Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here--has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit." 18 Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul's eyes, and he could see again. He got up and was baptized, 19 and after taking some food, he regained his strength.
Believers in Samaria were sanctified post slavation.
AC 8:14 When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them. 15 When they arrived, they prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit, 16 because the Holy Spirit had not yet come upon any of them; they had simply been baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus. 17 Then Peter and John placed their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.
Some who had heard of John the Baptist's teaching got saved and then were sacntified a the laying on of hands.
AC 19:1 While Apollos was at Corinth, Paul took the road through the interior and arrived at Ephesus. There he found some disciples 2 and asked them, "Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?"
They answered, "No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit."
AC 19:3 So Paul asked, "Then what baptism did you receive?"
"John's baptism," they replied.
AC 19:4 Paul said, "John's baptism was a baptism of repentance. He told the people to believe in the one coming after him, that is, in Jesus." 5 On hearing this, they were baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus. 6 When Paul placed his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied. 7 There were about twelve men in all.
Lord Bless,
LT
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Amanda,
In regard to Hebrews 6:4-8, he says the heavenly gift probably is the Holy Spirit. The person still falls away. The person turns away from these great things and goes after the world with the heart instead of after Christ.
God’s Spirit has resided on and empowered a many of individuals throughout the history of time who were not born-again and who were living under the law. We see examples of this in Exodus 31:1-11 and Judges 13:25. These people experienced a special anointing from God. An unsaved person is not much different today. This is the period of grace, but they are still under the Law until the time of rebirth. In order for them to be born again they must experience some work of the Holy Spirit in their lives or they would never come to Christ. People too often try to put God in a box and force Him to operate in manner that aligns with our understanding and that just will not work. God is God and answers to no one.
Does he mean when we put our will above God's will, that we re-crucify Christ? It can't be everytime we do that--because there are many times when we don't surrender our will to His--when we don't make responsible choices.
The intended audience is primarily Jewish. Much of this book is designed to address the desire for the Jews to abandon the way of grace and return to the Law and the sacrificial system that Christ nullified by being the true sacrifice, the Lamb of God. We cannot come in and out of salvation that is by grace, for there is but only one sacrifice for all time. There is no sacrifice left to give as Christ gave it all.
I know that what the world offers is not better than what Christ offers.
So this Scripture is saying that someone who does think what the world offers is better after having been a partaker of the Spirit will not be able to repent--but not because he can't repent if he wants to, but because he will never want to repent.
He used Esau as an example. But Esau had tears and was seeking. That part is hard for me to accept--that Esau could not repent--he sure seemed to want to.
The Parable of the Sower speaks to this as well. There are various reasons why a person can be influenced by God’s Word and Spirit and fail to be saved. Again, people will differ on this process depending on their view of who does what in the salvation process, meaning man and God.
Piper says, "He was so hardened (see Hebrews 3:8,15; 4:7) that he cried out for things to go better in his life, but inside he would not submit to God's terms."
I guess it goes back to surrender.
Yes, many people want all the benefits, but are unwilling to yield. Many are sorry for getting caught, not for what they have done. Some are sorry that they failed, but not because they failed God. Repentance deals with a change of mind that leads to a change in action.
You know, I just don't know what God wants from me. Am I a puppet? Am I just dirt that must be re-formed to be what He wants? Why did He create me?
He created you for His good pleasure and desires us to worship and love Him. All the stuff we think we are supposed to do flows from the relationship, not the other way around. We don’t do the stuff to earn the relationship.
Piper says you can be a partaker of the Spirit but not be "justified" or born-again. That further complicates things.
Addressed above regarding the operation of the Holy Spirit.
How can anyone ever figure all this out? Piper is saying you can have all these experiences and still not be saved.
Those experiences are primarily designed to draw you to God. The workers in Exodus were working on the tabernacle, the place where God would be worshiped and honored.
There are things that accompany salvation, I guess.
If those things aren't present, we should all question whether or not we have been truly born again.
Is that what you have been trying to say to me?
I think it is healthy for a person who is not sure of their salvation to question whether they are really saved. Even those who are sure would be wise to examine themselves to make sure that they are truly saved.
Are those things faith and fruit?
These things are surely a part of the salvation we receive in Christ.
I guess someone filled with fear and doubt falls far short of the things that accompany salvation.
Prolonged doubt would have to make one wonder and examine themselves.
"we have become partakers of Christ -- if we hold fast our assurance."
Assurance must be everything. Huh?
Assurance is important to me. The assurance, though, is not in me, but n God Himself regarding my salvation.
Lord Bless,
LT
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Amanda,
You asked a question and I responded to the question. Your response is that the answer I gave is true and that you are doing just that. Did I imply that you were not? Did you take this personal when I simply answered the question posed?
Lord Bless,
LT
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Amanda,
Self-examination may include both reasons. If one is living in doubt they need to examine why they doubt. In the process they should at some point identify the root cause of that doubt. It may be because of a teaching or the fact that one is not saved and thought they were. Those are two common reasons.
Regarding Philippians 2:12-13, yes. It teach us to live out our salvation and be assured that God is in control.
Sanctification, specifically the being filled with the Holy Spirit, occured several different ways in Scripture. Some had hands laid on them and others, like Cornelius, had the Holy Spirit come upon them while just listening and of course believing.
A life that has not expereinced sanctification does not mean absence of the Holy Spirit. He indwells every believer. There is a filling that brings empowerment to live for Christ. A person who is saved, but not sanctified, will still experience conviction and the wooing of God. It is when we fully surrender do we experience the empowerment to accomplish His will, not ours.
The something elses are part of the journey of life. We are ever discovering new things as God reveals them to us. He leads us into deeper truths as we move from milk to meat. This journey should be embraced with great excitement and anticipation as we seek out those deeper truths that God desires to reveal to us.
Lord Bless,
LT
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Amanda,
Have you seen the movie "Pilgrim's Progress?" The book is a classic, but the movie is put into plain understanding. If you have not seen it, I encourage you to watch it.
Lord Bless,
LT
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Amanda,
The following two links will give a pretty sound explanation as to what I believe regarding sanctification:
http://www.cmalliance.org/about/beliefs/sanctifier
http://www.cmalliance.org/resources/archives/downloads/simpson/the-...
The second link deals with the Four Fold Gospel of Jesus Christ our Savior, Sanctifier, Healer and Coming King.
After reading these feel free to ask more questions and we will go from there.
Lord Bless,
LT
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