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 Michael Vernon McEntire on
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I envy you. I enjoy being awake in a dark, quiet place where I can look out on falling snow. God wants you. That's all.
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Of course, Amanda. I do, too. And yes, I think he has you; otherwise you wouldn't know that what He wants is for you to love Him without worry.
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Permalink Reply by Leonard T on
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Amanda,
Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance (Matthew 3:8). Please explain this. Does it mean faith without works is dead?
Starting with repentance meaning “change of mind” that leads to a change in action (turn from sin and turn to God) we find the answer in Matthew 12:33, "Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is recognized by its fruit.” The tree has to be made good first in order for it to bear good fruit. You do not change the tree by applying good fruit. The tree naturally bears the type of fruit according to its kind, nature. John’s question to the Pharisees in Matthew 3:8 is meant to get their attention. They believed that they were righteous, yet he calls them a brood of vipers, the same term Jesus uses in Matthew 12:34. If we continue on in Matthew 12 we see in verse 35 this relates to the inner man. What comes out of a man comes from his nature. Before being born-again we have the sinful nature, but after being born again we have the nature of Christ as enabled by the transformation within and wrought in power by the Holy Spirit (Rom. 8).The reality that faith without works is dead is true, as the Scripture teaches, but one must ask a couple of questions regarding this. 1) Do true works preceded faith or follow it? Answer is found in Ephesians 2:8-10 and Hebrews 11. 2) What is works or fruit? The definition of fruit in this context is the Fruit of the Spirit. The inward change that affects our way of thinking and actions. Jesus gives an interesting response to the question asked Him “What must we do to do the works God requires?” in John 6. John 6:26-29 states, “Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, you are looking for me, not because you saw miraculous signs but because you ate the loaves and had your fill. Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. On him God the Father has placed his seal of approval." Then they asked him, "What must we do to do the works God requires?" Jesus answered, "The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent."
Does being justified by faith mean that obedience has nothing to do with it at all?
Obedience will follow faith that brings justification, not precede it (Hebrews 11:6). Justification is the judicial act where God through the work of Christ appropriated to the repentant sinner pronounces that person guilt free, for Christ paid the penalty by shedding His blood (1 Peter 3:8; Ephesians 1:7).
I think that you think that obedience is something that grows out of faith. It’s the result of faith motivated by love.
In essence, yes. Obedience is the response to God because I am saved.
But if the faith itself is a gift, then of course a believer has it! But believing doesn’t mean being born again. Having a faith that leads to true repentance is what saves.
Without faith believing is impossible. But doesn’t it take more than faith to get saved? More than believing?
Yes, because we misrepresent what “believing” truly means. In this context it is referring to being born-again. The faith we are talking about is when God opens the eyes, ears and heart of an individual that leads to repentance (change of mind). This type of faith is transformational (2 Cor. 5:17) and is not simply an intellectual ascent to something. I do not believe because it simply made sense. I believe because the Father revealed His Son to me and in turn the Son revealed the Father to me, but it started with God’s work (Matthew 11:27; John 14:6; John 6:44, 55).
It is taught that we are saved by faith alone. But isn’t it better to teach that we are not justified by faith alone? "You see that a man is justified by works, and not by faith alone." (James 2:24).
I will respond to this in a separate, rather long, response to James 2 that I wrote a few years ago.
In Acts chapter 2 the brethren were pierced to the heart and said, what shall we do? They already had faith but knew they needed to do something.
The term brethren here in Acts 2 simply is one speaking to fellow Jews and does not imply that they are saved or have faith. Verse 37 states that they were “cut” or “pricked” in their heart. They now have had their eyes, ears and hearts opened. Peter speaks of repentance for remission of sin.
Paul’s salvation did not happen on the road to Damascus. He only received the gift of faith at that moment. He spent 3 days not eating or drinking--shouldn’t he have been rejoicing in his salvation? It wasn’t a done deal for him all at once. The done deal was when he called on the name of the Lord out of his gift of faith, wasn’t it?
People debate when exactly Paul was saved. I can tell you were I stand on this. I believe he was saved on the road to Damascus. Salvation includes the gift of the Holy Spirit, because He comes to live within us at salvation. We see Ananias laying hands on Saul/Paul and he is filled with the Holy Spirit. I come from the belief that the Bible talks about a second act of grace that is being filled (empowered) by the Holy Spirit. This is part of the sanctification process. There is more that can be said on this, but I will leave that for another day or discussion as this can be a hot topic for some people.
Does the New Covenant have conditions of faith and obedience?Yes. There had to be a blood sacrifice to pay for the penalty of sin (Heb. 9:22; Rom. 6:23). Jesus is the Lamb of God that came to take away the sin of the world (John 1:29). Because of God’s love and action (Romans 5:8) salvation is offered by grace through faith (Ephesians 2:8-9). Our works, the works that please God, follow our faith in Him (Heb. 11:6; Eph. 2:10). John says in his epistles that we are capable of love only because He first loved (1 John 4:9-11) and in response to that love we will desire to obey His commands (1 John 5:3). Due to the work of Christ on our behalf and His love operating in us and through us we can embrace this truth found in 1 John 5:4, “for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith.”
Lord Bless,
LT
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Amanda,
It is taught that we are saved by faith alone. But isn’t it better to teach that we are not justified by faith alone? "You see that a man is justified by works, and not by faith alone." (James 2:24).
Deeds are a response to faith. When we truly believe in God and accept Him we accept His path for our life and each life has a calling to fulfill. This calling includes what is found in James 2:8. Faith cannot just believe in God, but will respond to God.
- In the salvation process we have faith in God, but also must reach out and take Christ as Savior for Him to be our Savior. Not a work, but rather a response to the faith that has welled up in us. We will look at this in more detail shortly.
JAS 2:14 What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds?
- What good is it if a man says he has faith in God but never moves forward in life. Faith in God is the door to bring the life of Christ into our very lives. We cannot possess the indwelling Christ and then not move or move in opposition to God’s way. For the deeds referred to here are referring to acts of righteousness which includes simple obedience.
- Another way of saying it would be “Where is the good in a life that claims to be a life of faith but does not respond in obedience to God? Who will it benefit?”
Can such faith save him?
- A rhetorical question:
- First of all we are saved by grace not by faith. It is faith that opens the door, but it only opens the door to the saving work of Christ . It opens the door to let that work come into to our lives in the person of Jesus as we receive Him and He us. (Eph. 2:8-9)
- Secondly, a faith that is non-responsive cannot be true faith. For faith calls us to action even before we possess the thing promised.
- We believe and then we respond by doing.
- I trust Jesus for my salvation and then live a life resting in the promise that I have eternal life and that I will be resurrected.
15 Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. 16 If one of you says to him, “Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it?
- To see a brother in need and to not respond to the fullest of our ability and resources would reveal a lack of love operating in our lives.
- 1 John 3:10, 17 answer this clearly.
- You could also argue this from 1 John 4:20-21
- If we can see our brother in need and ignore the need can we claim to have the love of God? (One could argue that a person will respond based upon their maturity level in Christ, but even if that be the case there will be evidence of growth toward a life that exhibits true love)
- 1 John 4:8 says that if we do not have love we do not know God.
- And if we have not the love of God in us can we claim to be saved?
- The “Fruit of the Spirit” always come to mind as a good starting place to see what attributes should be becoming evident in a believer’s life.
17 In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.
- Faith that does not lead us to action is dead.
- Often in Scripture we find the idea of death meaning separation from God. If we claim to have faith but nothing flows forth from that claim, and if the love of God is not in us, then what value is the faith of the one speaking? For if we love God and see Him we will respond.
- This is a wake up call. If your faith leads you to not follow God by living for Him then your faith is of no value, you are still separated from God.
JAS 2:18 But someone will say, "You have faith; I have deeds." Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do.
- Simply illustrating the difference between a faith that does not respond and one that does.
- He now illustrates it clearly to the hearer in the next three examples.
19 You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that--and shudder.
- To believe there is a God is one thing. The demons and Satan himself know that to be true. This knowledge is of no true value for salvation or godliness if it does not also respond to God (noting that this is not possible for the demons, but is the way for man to go)
- Many will claim to have had faith, to have known Him only to find out that they did not. Many will even do deeds supposedly in His name only to find out that they are not deeds of righteousness because they did not know God.
- Mat. 7:21-23 clearly shows us a picture of people who thought they were saved and thought that the acts they did were good deeds, but yet they are rejected by Jesus. At this point we could run several rabbit trails, but will not. The requirement stated is “only he who does the will of my Father”.(Mat. 7:21). Let’s simply say that their faith could have reached a level that said Jesus is the Savior, but they never received Him as their Savior. Their deeds were works of the flesh.
- Note that Jesus never responds to their belief that they actually prophesied in His name or cast demons out in His name. There are many who go through the motions today without any evidence that this is actually happening in their ministry.
- Mat. 7:21-23 clearly shows us a picture of people who thought they were saved and thought that the acts they did were good deeds, but yet they are rejected by Jesus. At this point we could run several rabbit trails, but will not. The requirement stated is “only he who does the will of my Father”.(Mat. 7:21). Let’s simply say that their faith could have reached a level that said Jesus is the Savior, but they never received Him as their Savior. Their deeds were works of the flesh.
JAS 2:20 You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? 21 Was not our ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? 22 You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. 23 And the scripture was fulfilled that says, "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness," and he was called God's friend. 24 You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone.
- Abraham believed God and responded by submitting to God and was willing to do what would have to be one of the toughest things a loving parent could ever be asked to do.
- To have rejected God would have been rebellion which is sin. A person who knows God through faith in Christ must respond to the known will of God in a favorable way. God commanded this.
- This can lead to a previous argument about Savior and Lord. Submitting to one and not the other.
- The Greek word for justified in v.24 is a verb that means “to show to be right or righteous.”
- A person is shown to be righteous by what he does and not by faith alone.
- He is found righteous in Christ.
- Not earning the righteousness, but rather exhibiting it naturally.
- A person is shown to be righteous by what he does and not by faith alone.
JAS 2:25 In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction?
- Rahab’s action was because she believed that God could save her.
- She protected the spies and lied for them before she got the fulfillment of the promise.
- What a picture of salvation:
- She saw that they, Jericho, were doomed – we see that we have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
- She believed that Jehovah was truly God – we believe that too.
- She believed that God could deliver her – we believe that God can save us.
- She sought the protection through the spies – we seek redemption and forgiveness through Jesus.
- They went away and left her there – Jesus ascended into heaven and we are here.
- She waited with the hope and promise of being spared the wrath to come – we have the hope and promise of being spared the wrath to come.
- She shared the hope with her family who too must come in and trust that they would be spared because of the promise given her – we too must share the promise and seek people to come in and be spared the wrath to come.
- She was accepted into the nation as one of their own – we are accepted into the nation, the family of God.
- What a picture of salvation:
26 As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.
- Two ways of concluding this.
- A body without the spirit is separated from life. Faith without deeds is separated from life.
- Here is a twist that I present as a possible different reading of this verse. NIV, KJV and NASB all give the impression that this verse means the “spirit” of man. The Greek word is “Pneuma” and is used in Scripture both to represent the spirit of man and the Spirit of God.
- If this refers to the Spirit of God it would complete the thought of this passage:
- The body without the Spirit of God is separated from life and therefore is separated from the life of Christ (Romans 8:8-11), so faith without deeds is also separated from the life of Christ (Eph. 2:8-10).
- If this refers to the Spirit of God it would complete the thought of this passage:
Now there remains one objective argument. If he is speaking to the “brethren” how can he be accusing them of being unbelievers? Three responses:
- He could be speaking to a Jewish audience. James is Jewish and the term would still apply as seen used by Paul before the Sanhedrin (Acts 23:1)
- Note that James opens the letter with “to the twelve tribes scattered among the nations.” (James 1:1)
- James could also be warning the brothers against false teaching that would lead them astray if not forewarned.
- James 2:1 clearly states he is addressing the believers in Jesus.
- Most likely he is responding to the worldliness. Go back to the beginning of chapter 2 and he is teaching them to not to operate like the world.
- A believer does not live according to the world, but rather to please God. In order to please God one must act upon their faith, that is to respond to God by living righteous lives.
Summary:
Deeds are the response to true faith. We trust God and respond to Him by living for Him. The reality is we are to seek to submit to the point that it is truly Him living through us. James illustrates several important things that mark the life of a believer that responds to their faith by living out the Christ life:
- What good is a faith that seeks God but does not respond to Him?
- A faith that responds to God will demonstrate love for God. (John 15:10; 1 John 5:2-3)
- A faith that responds to God in love will be demonstrated by love for our brothers. (1 John 4:7, 11-12, 21)
- Satan and the demons know God but lost their place because their deeds were evil. To know there is a God is not good enough. One must respond to faith by righteous deeds.
- Abraham and Rahab illustrate faith that demonstrated itself by responding with deeds.
- In the flesh we live for and serve God by His indwelling Spirit. True faith, a faith that is real, will be demonstrated by acts of righteousness.
- No where does it state that you will lose your salvation, but rather is qualifying the identifying marks of a true believer.
Bottom Line: There is no such thing as a real faith that is not accompanied by righteous acts as a response to that true faith. Depth and degree are open to the level of maturity. The call is to righteous acts and these may be simple acts of obedience in our day to day lives. I have one final point. One may be in rebellion living outside the will of God for their life as a child of God. Such an individual should expect one of two responses from God. Either He will apply divine discipline (Heb. 12) or allowed to walk out into the world to experience the futility of living life once changed on our own in the world’s system.
Lord Bless,
LT
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Amanda,
In this you are saying: He may discipline the believer to get them to come back; or He may step back and allow the sinful choices to run their course without intervention and possibly not ever bring them back home but maybe even take them on out of the world? That would seem like a favor--to let them go on to Paradise--I know you’ve heard this argument before.
The concept of Him letting the sin run its course is not quite what I mean. God can discipline us or take a person home, but He also allows us to be buffeted by the world while engaging in the sin. This buffeting is meant to awaken us to our need for Him and to recognize the place we have with Him next to Him if we will but draw close. In 1 Corinthians the immoral believer was expelled, but for a specific reason:
1CO 5:5 hand this man over to Satan, so that the sinful nature may be destroyed and his spirit saved on the day of the Lord.
God’s work on His children is always corrective with the goal of restoration.
I was taught the second work, too, growing up. It is a touchy subject. But since I already know the teaching--will you answer this for me? I have been taught differently since then and have believed that the gift we receive at the new-birth is the same as being “filled” with the Spirit. That in the NT the laying on of hands was only done by the apostles and there are no more apostles, so laying on of hands is not to be done anymore. It was just something special done in the beginning of the Church, to get it started. Do I need to go back to the first teaching?
You are illustrating two specific teachings. 1) Cessation: The belief that the gifts were for the early church and ceased at the end of the apostolic age. I completely disagree with that. All the gifts are for the church today and operable to fulfill the purpose of God through the church. 2) Filled at salvation vs. a second work of grace: Some believe that we are filled at salvation. I disagree both Biblically and experientially. We receive the indwelling of the Holy Spirit at salvation. He marks us for salvation and seals us, but the Word illustrates for us that there is an empowerment, being filled with the Holy Spirit. Regarding going back to the first teaching, what has changed that would lead us to a second or third teaching since the inception of the church and the New Covenant?
I don’t understand what the difference is of having the Holy Spirit living in me but not being empowered by the Holy Spirit--it seems to be the same thing to me.
One is a presence, the other is an empowerment by the Holy Spirit. The key to the empowerment is surrender. Once we have been filled with the Holy Spirit He works through us as we surrender unto Him.
He lives in me and by living in me, I have His power.
You may have His presence (deposit of salvation) and not have His fullness and empowerment.
Are you saying the second work of grace is a lifelong process of becoming empowered by the Holy Spirit, or that someone lays hands on a person the way Ananias did Paul, and it happens all at once? I don’t want to start a debate. But I want to understand this.
Regarding salvation and the subsequent act of Sanctification. I believe we are sealed (Eph. 4:30), marked (Eph. 1:13) and receive the Holy spirit as a deposit guaranteeing what is to come (Eph. 1:14) at salvation, but the filling is separate from salvation (Acts 19:1-7; Eph. 5:18). It could happen immediately after salvation or years later. Preferably soon after salvation.
I preach, teach and believe in the "Deeper-Spirit Filled Life." I believe the Scripture teaches this and have personally experienced it. The term primarily used by me and the group/denomination I am a part of is "Sanctification." Sanctification is both a crisis and progressive experience.
From a personal perspective. I was saved at age 5 and was growing in the Lord. Some have questioned my age 5 salvation experience. I am certain of the reality and validity of that experience. I have never doubted it. God the Father revealed Jesus to me, revealed my sinfulness and need for a Savior. My heart turned to Him and Jesus became my Savior and I His. I rebelled in my mid-teens and I lived for me for a number of years, yet I knew that He was still my Savior. To my shame, I knew I was living in rebellion. In March of 1992 there came a time and place where I knew I could not do this any longer and needed Him to do it through me if I ever was going to align with Him and truly live for Him. I came to a crisis moment and cried out to God to take full control of my life, I surrendered to Him. My life completely changed. I did not get saved again or saved for the first time. I experienced for the first time in my life the fullness of His Spirit, at least to the capacity of which I could experience in this earthen vessel. Old habits began to fade and new experiences began to take place. This happened before I even knew what the term Sanctification meant. I believe that being filled is a subsequent event to salvation. Sanctification is not an end event either. We move from the crisis to the progressive experience.
This implies that some may have knowledge and know the steps to get saved but may not really be saved, doesn’t it?
They may know the steps and yet never meet the living Savior.
Is it possible that anyone would want to be saved, but not be able to be saved because God chooses not to transform them? Not everyone who says Lord, Lord, huh…
I do not believe that God rejects anyone who comes to Him in faith and repentance. Calling on the name of the Lord is more than just saying a prayer, thus many can be fooled into believing that they are saved, yet are not saved.
Lord Bless,
LT
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Amanda,
You are saying surrender is what leads to empowerment but the surrender is a different surrender than the one a person does at salvation.
We must come to the point where we not only received Jesus as Savior, trusting Him for our eternal souls, but also surrender of our will to Him. Truly, not my will, but your will be done. The sanctified life is a life marked with surrender to Jesus and the will of God the Father.
I guess the evidence of being filled with the Spirit is one of the gifts, a particular one, and that being the case, then the majority of born again believers are not filled with the Spirit.
The gifts will play a role, but the true evidence is the maturing of one in the “Fruit of the Spirit.”
Anything we accomplish in this life would not be possible unless God enabled it, empowered it and us both. IMO.
Your statement is true at the root level. If not but for God no one would have physical life and creation would not hold together. In day-to-day life we see that people who do not believe in Jesus accomplish all kinds of things apart from God living in them and working through them. Many ministries are driven by the efforts of man apart from the work of God. I have known preachers who have been in the pulpit 20+ years before they got saved.
We are all born with sin in our nature. None of us lives up to all that we know we should do or not do. Sin affects every part of our experience…our minds, emotions, hearts, goals, motives, and bodies. But those not empowered really don’t have a chance when it comes to resisting temptation.We are not perfected, but being perfected (Heb. 12:2; Php 1:6), growing in Christ-likeness. The sin nature controls the unbeliever (Rom. 8). The born-again has been changed spiritually, but will battle the unregenerate flesh the rest of their lives. The Holy Spirit is the agent of the change and He is the one who also empowers us. This empowerment is attached to being filled and is enabled through surrender of self-will. As long as we retain control of our lives we stunt the empowerment offered by the Holy Spirit. He could just take control of us, but then that would not be free-will. One way of thinking of surrender is the desire and attempt to come into alignment with God’s will for our lives.
So why would He withhold empowerment for a different form of surrender rather then just be nice and kind about it and give it at the moment of surrender for salvation?
Why do we deny Him access into our lives? Why do we choose self-will over God’s will? I cannot fully say why He chose to operate with us the way He does, but if the empowerment subdued our will then again we lose free-will. Often people want to do what they want unless something goes wrong and then they blame God for failing to intervene. God calls us to a surrendered life, (LK 9:23-5) “Then he said to them all: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it. What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his very self?”
God has too much criteria. I ask God, why do you choose to deliver some people from evil, but not others? Why are there so many “ifs” that have to be met before You get involved? If I follow You…if I trust You…if I let You…if You empower me…? Why do you have so much criteria?
Too many people want God to do what they want instead of submitting to God’s will and plan. God sees the big picture from beginning to end. We see our little circle as experienced in this moment and time.
You have to meet all the criteria. You have to be the right person, in just the right place, at just the right time, for just the right reason...then God will treat you favorably. Then He will empower you…deliver you…bless you…
God’s plan does not always included deliverance as we understand it. Jim Elliot and the others killed on the beaches of South America in the late 50s were following the will of God and lost their physical lives. They were surrendered to the will of God. Many of those who murdered them have since come to Christ. May our prayer turn from its about me to God, may Your will be done in my life. May You bring glory to Yourself.Why would God bless, empower and deliver disobedient children when His goal is for us to come into alignment with Him? He can and sometimes does, but often I believe that is because He see the future and not just the moment. God saved my life at least three times in my rebellious years. Things happened that should have caused death or at least major injury. I walked away with one scratch in one occasion. I didn’t deserve the grace and mercy, but He had a plan for my future. I also experienced a financial failure years ago that God used to break me of my love for money. God often uses these setbacks to teach us, they are not failures on His part. Things also happen to us because we deal with other free-will beings on a sin contaminated earth.
I was 16 when I accepted Jesus as Savior; 19 when I received water baptism; 23 when I fell away; 33 when I came back. But now I just don’t know anymore. Maybe all I have even been is just a good moral person and never saved even though what I did for God I always knew He empowered me to do it--my work and ministry and life in general. I guess what happen to me in Feb 2009 would be the start of a crisis moment in your opinion because I haven’t been empowered at all. But my crisis moment hasn’t gotten me closer to God, only farther away from Him in fear and doubt. So much for your crisis moment. It leads to rebellion, not empowerment.Two thing regarding this last paragraph. 1) I am totally convinced that God is calling you, drawing you and working in your life or you would not be here seeking. You would just move on in life without Him. 2) You are at one of two places. You are either not saved and God is calling you unto salvation or you are saved and going through the crisis experience. Based on your testimony I would tend to believe that the later is true and you are experiencing the crisis moment, but I cannot read your heart to answer that with certainty as to which is happening to you. Regardless of which it is it is for your good and YOU WILL BE THE BETTER FOR IT when the storm passes, pass the storm will. When the storm passes this time will seem like a distant dream.
Lord Bless,
LT
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Permalink Reply by Carla on
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Amanda,
Do you think our lives should be without trouble, sickness, death, betrayal, trials....?
Is the 'prosperous' life something that Jesus promises to us?....
Do you think everything should go easy and right once you're a Christian?
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Amanda,
No where have I said that you are not saved (I simply don't know you personally nor do I know whether you are saved or not) and more importantly no where have I said if you are not saved that you cannot be, nor does the Word of God teach that. Romans 10:13 states that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved. This follows Romans 10:9 which tells us what calling on the name of the Lord entails.
I am confident that God is calling you! You keep coming back to AAG and it would be easier for you to stay away, but you don't. You want answers, the person not under conviction would not care.
Hear me clearly ... God does not hate YOU no matter what you think or feel!!! He loves you and wants you to draw near to Him. Your anger and the fact that you blame God for things that have happened keep you from drawing near to Him. To draw near means you have to let go of the anger and the blame you have for Him. As I see it God is not keeping you from Him, you are keeping yourself from Him.
When you let go of the anger towards and blame of God you will begin to find the peace you seek. Let me close with a question. When you felt close to God int he past, were you angry at Him and did you blame Him at that time? There is a corrolation between where you are and the anger/blame you feel.
This is my view of it and is straight forward. If you wish me to not continue to engage you please let me know, otherwise I will continue to tell you what I believe honestly and straightforward with the desire to help.
Lord Bless,
LT
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Permalink Reply by Jesse Francis Goblet on
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Hello Sister Amanda, I just wanted to let you know that I am praying for you! I am not going to say anything to you for I can see that you are working things out. In regards to your comment on being mad at God I can understand and see nothing wrong with that one bit. I think as His children we are a loud to get mad at him. Speaking as a father myself my children get mad at me all the time does it mean I love them anyless I say NO! Having said that Sis keep diligently seeking him he is faithful! Oh and by the way I was always told and I know that I have read it some where so forgive me for not providing the physical proof but "God is not a god of confusion." I hope this helps in some wayand know that the family is behind you!!
Love ya sis
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Amanda,
I have been taught that keeping Christ's commands is love. His sayings are truth and show us how to love God and others.
Jesus promises, "He that hath My commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him" (John 14:21).
If I keep Christ's commands, God the Father will love me (John 14:23.) Jesus will love me (John 14:21.) God’s love will be complete in me. ( I John 2:5.) God will love others through me (See I John 5:2.)
Often this is taught putting the cart before the horse type of thing. Do I do the actions because I love and thus my love is proved by the actions, or do I do the actions trying to acquire love and thus the action causes love? For me it is always the action flows from the state-of-being. Because I love Him I seek to please Him.
Love depends on me and what I do.
Demonstrating the love is dependent upon us. God calls us, equips us and loves us. The question is “now what?” Do I sit still and do nothing in response to His love, or do I move forward operating in that love. We love because God first loved us, and now we are to love Him and others (Mat. 22:37-40)
Then He will answer my prayers. "If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you" (John 15:7). John also wrote: "Whatsoever we ask, we receive of him because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in his sight" (I John 3:22).
Answering our prayers is dependent on three things (not comprehensive here, but to the point your are illustrating)1) If there is no love for God (being mad at God does not mean one does not love Him) then one would have to question whether they are of God. If one is not of God then there is no reason to expect God will answer that person’s prayer. 2) If the child of God is living in rebellion they have no reason to expect that God will bless a disobedient person. The goal is to come back into alignment with God. 3) God can do as He wishes. By this I mean that God can use the answered prayer to reach the lost or the wayward, or for any other reason that fulfills His purpose. The key is that He is not obligated.
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?God hears His children, even when in rebellion. How He responds depends on Him and His overall purpose and plan that is unfolding. His answer will always be the right answer, but not always the answer we wanted.
I have a brother who is dying of cancer right now. I believe God’s answer for his life is to bring him home. I have lost numerous loved ones through what most would consider as tragedy. I lost another brother to brain cancer 6 years ago, a niece died in a house fire, my mother lost her mind before she died, My wife’s sister was killed instantaneously in an auto accident, Another sister-in-law died of cancer, and another of complication to diabetes. My father-in-law died of cancer, my son was injured in Iraq, my other son was hit by a car while riding his bicycle (PTL he is OK) and the list goes on. These things are part of the life we live on a planet contaminated with sin and the Word of God says that it is appointed unto me to die once … One day I will die if the Lord tarries. It might be next week or 40 years from now, the question is not how long, but what will I do with the life I have, now? The end is in His hands and I am OK with that. God owes me nothing, but through His grace has granted me eternal life … PRAISE THE LORD. I have what I don’t deserve, could not earn , nor could keep if not but for Him. How can I get mad at such a gracious God regardless of these temporal life circumstances?
Regardless of all these events I trust in the wisdom of God and submit to His plan and will. God is good even when I don’t understand what has happened.
Lord Bless,
LT
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Permalink Reply by David Velasquez on
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Is doubt a sin? Yes and no. :)
Hahaaha great help I am hu? Hahaha
When we doubt something we read in scripture to be true of God though God is telling us the truth and we do not believe it, then yes, doubt is a sin in such a case.
No is not a sin to doubt something’s and seek for answers and once those questions are answers one should believe them and settle the case,.
My opinion of course. :)
Love to you sis. Great questions by the way
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