and now,.......

[gallenwalsh]

and now that you are called ( and chosen) what should one do regarding oneself as an individual and as a body. How does one overcome the world and the works of the devil .What I'm asking is , what are we called to do and to be? I have my own thoughts, but truly am not sure what that true and perfect will of God is for me?

[Craig]

and now that you are called ( and chosen)

This is not an answer to your question, but I can say we don't know we are chosen.  That is our hope.

Craig

[Roy Coates]

A good place you may want to consider starting
2Ti 2:15  Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
I found this email to Ray that may also help you. It covers some of the topic in your question I think. One thing I can say with certainty is that God is in control and He will sustain you. Peace

http://bible-truths.com/email2.htm#why
Dear Ray:

I truly wish that I understood why we are here on this planet. I feel like I'm in the middle of two very upset and powerful beings of some kind.  I feel like God and Satan have a terrible disagreement between them, and, somehow we as humans are in the middle of their battle. I feel awful being here on this earth and in the middle of these two and their anger/battle.

I know that God wants us to love him and denounce Satan. I am told that we are to worship God. I am told that God is a loving God. I see a lot that is good on this earth just as much as I see a lot of bad on this earth.  I feel it is unfair for us to pay for Adam and Eve's sin.

I am angry at God and at Satan. I do not feel driven to worship God and to give him praise at this moment of my life. The only way that I can become close to this creator is if someone could please explain and help me to seriously understand why we are here?

It amazes me how many people think that they are answering my question, and in reality I don't receive an answer for my question.

I wish so much that I was  not created, only because I hate not understanding and never to find the answer to my question that makes sense.

I rely on my common sense and I need a common sense answer in order to enjoy my life on this earth. Of course, there are those that say that I have to accept Christ etc to receive this holy spirit (ya-da-ya-da-ya-da) in order to receive the light of understanding etc... I hate it too that some people say that we will know the answer when we die as to why we are here.

Thank you for your time.

[Ray replies]

I am sorry that I don't know your name, but thank you for you interest and your email.

Christianity does not give you a straight answer because the doctrines of Christianity contradict most of the truths of God's Word.

There are answers, however.

I will give you some of the reason "why we are here."

A great and wise creator GOD PUT US HERE. He started the human family.

God is not stupid, He had a grand and eternal purpose in mind for making mankind.

God has many attributes, powers, knowledge, etc., that obviously mankind DOES NOT. But, God DOES WANT us to have those same attributes, especially LOVE!

Qualities of character such as Love are not instantaneously created, they must be developed. That development takes a creation, circumstances, and time. And so, God creates all these things necessary for their development.

Although God is GOOD, He nonetheless has a knowledge and understanding of both good AND EVIL. And so we TOO much come to an understanding of both good and evil. Why? Because ALL KNOWLEDGE hinges on their proper understanding.

People say things without ever realizing how stupid or impossible their thoughts or statements are. Most Christians suppose that if Adam and Eve had not sinned, then we all would STILL, right now, be enjoying the beautiful life of happiness and bliss in a fabulous garden of Eden. NOT SO!!! Adam and Eve did  NOT appreciate what they had with God in the garden before they sinned. They had NO CONTRAST to compare it with.

Now here is a key piece of understanding and wisdom. God wants CHILDREN. God is building a FAMILY. Children are to grow up and have the attributes of their parents. But these things must be LEARNED BY EXPERIENCE!  Not only didn't Adam and Eve appreciate what they had, they ABSOLUTELY COULD NOT have appreciated what they had, because they experienced ONLY GOOD.

Try to come up with even ONE VIRTUE, such as love, patience, honesty, goodness, faithfulness, loyalty, obedience, bravery, etc., etc., etc., ANYTHING of a virtuous nature, that does not involve the overcoming of SOME FORM OF EVIL! There is you answer! There IS NO VIRTUE, NO CHARACTER, NO STABILITY of any kind in any one, except he overcomes some form of EVIL.

Now can you see why we are here? Now can you see why there is not only good, but so much evil in the world? It is necessary! God did not put it here simply to make us miserable! God is NOT in a battle for supremacy with Satan. God CREATED Satan. God USES Satan. And Satan too, will be saved after he has done all of his dirty work. God will make him repent.

God is enlarging His family into BILLIONS of sons and daughters.  This life is part of the training ground to be the very SONS OF GOD.

All evil including DEATH itself will be abolished when God has used them to bring His family to a level of love and righteousness that He desires. We will then inherit all that God has and all that God is. God is truly OUR FATHER.

I hope that helps your understanding a little better. Life will not always be miserable and painful as it may seem to you now. This too shall pass.

Sincerely,

Ray

[Deborah-Leigh]

what are we called to do and to be?

What can any of us DO?

Anything that we can do that is worthy, is done because God has gone before us into the good works He orchestrates that we are to walk in.

Eph 2:10  For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to good works, which God has before ordained that we should walk in them.

Christiandom has had over two thousand years of playing in smoke screens and mirrors that reflect over and over and over, our guilt, unworthiness and using the stick of superiority we are led by blind leaders to do this, do that, try this, try that and never once have any followers in Christanity been told the truth. Non can do God's job. We are HIS workmanship.

Even when we are told the to do list of 1050 commands in the N.T. for Christians to obey, we can obey nothing without the Spirit of Christ. The flesh wars against the spirit. The commands we are to keep are obeyed in Faith, by Faith and through Faith. Faith is belief and we can not even believe unless we are caused and blessed to believe through the Spirit of Christ. We have nothing, can do nothing, can only be nothing without Him but with HIM we shall obey all the commands and worship in His Spirit and Truth when finally we are perfected into His Image.  

Joh 6:28  Then they said to Him, What shall we do that we might work the works of God?
Joh 6:29 Jesus answered and said to them, This is the work of God, that you believe on Him whom He has sent.

Arc

[Kat]

Hi Gallenwalsh,

Here are a few email that should give you a little help to understand what you should be doing if you think you are 'chosen.'

http://forums.bible-truths.com/index.php/topic,4814.0.html --------

Dear Nate: I get asked this a lot, but there is no easy formula for me to give you. You know that you should obey God. This is the primary thing we must all do. But for me to tell you how to live your life on a daily basis, I'm afraid I can't do.  If you don't know whether you should continue living in the Babylonian Church system, what good would it be for me to tell you that God says, "COME OUT OF HER MY PEOPLE...." (Rev. 18:4)?  If you try to convert your family, friends, and relatives to your new-found truths, they will think you crazy or may even turn on you.  So leave them alone. The way you conduct your life will speak volumes about what you believe, however, clever arguments will convince no one.  Of the tens of thousands of detractors who have tried to contradict my teachings, which I then answered and proved them wrong with the Scriptures, how many do you suppose said: "Oh, okay, now I see it.  I'm sorry. I was deceived. I see now that you do teach the truth"?  Would you believe 2 or 3? That's right--2 or 3 out of tens of thousands.

You will face ever-changing challenges in your life--every few seconds, minutes, and hours of every day. You will have to decide how to handle these situations, one at a time. Learn the Truth and then live by the Truth.  Did Jesus teach His apostles how to react to every situation that would confront them after He was gone?  No, no He didn't.  Life is indeed a challenge, and in the final analysis it all comes down to YOU AND GOD.  I am at the same place that you are, Nate.  No one tells me how to solve all my problems. I just obey God and rely on Him to see me through.  Many people want to be teachers after learning a few of the basic truths of God. This is generally a mistake, as it takes more to be a teacher than a desire to teach.  I might desire to be a great singer, or a great speller--the reality is both are totally out of the question.  I am what I am by the grace of God. I realize that most think it is rather scary to try and live a righteous life not knowing exactly what to do and how to do it.  Your darn right it's scary.  Life is scary.  But knowing that there is a loving God Who is carrying out a righteous and wise purpose on this earth is a giant aid to our infirmities.

There is no better way to assuage our own inadequacies than to help others with theirs.  I remember when I was going to college back in California, we took a weekend camping trip to the San Bernadino Mountains. One day we climbed this mountain. A couple of chaperone's brought their children. At one place high up the mountain we followed a trail that was precariously close to a cliff with a long drop. I was getting a little nervous. However, close to me was one of the children (a girl of maybe 8 or 9 years), and she was beginning to have a panic attack.  I took her by the hand and put her on the inside and assured her that we would not fall.  My fear left me immediately, and the little girl did just fine also.  I never forgot that experience.  Help and love others, and your life will begin to take on meaning.


http://forums.bible-truths.com/index.php/topic,7162.0.html ------

As for overcoming sin, this is something I am asked nearly daily. We all want to be sin free. This is a life long endeavor. Our first giant victory is when sin no longer "REIGNS over us." But from there, sins continually crop us (often unseen and un-noticed).  God gives His Holy Spirit to only those who obey Him, and no one can obey Him until HE grants one repentance. And then we still continue to suffer in our struggle against sin. God intends for us to fight. This life is spiritual warfare. The battle is never over. You need to cry out to God for the desire, then patience to suffer, and finally the power to overcome it. There is no magic formula. There is no magic prayer.  There is no sowing a seed or buying your way out of carnality. We must struggle and fight and overcome and endure until the end.


http://bible-truths.com/email3.htm#coward --------------------

I would be happy to give your some Scriptures of encouragement.

When we can see our faults and weaknesses and admit them instead of denying them, we are already on the way to recovery.

Of Course, Jesus is the answer to EVERYTHING. But maybe you have already heard that, but it may not mean that much to you. How does that really work in the real world?

Notice in Matt. 11:20 what Jesus was doing AND WHY HE WAS DOING IT: 

"Then began he [Jesus] to UPBRAID [reprove or correct them very sharply] the cities wherein most of his mighty works were done, BECAUSE THEY REPENTED NOT"

That is the very same problem we have all had in our lives, WE DON'T REPENT OF THE THINGS THAT WE KNOW ARE WRONG.  Repent means to see it, acknowledge it, and get rid of it!

When you repent of your sins and evils you automatically feel better and God Himself will give you rest (SPIRITUAL REST) from all your very heavy burdens. A guilty conscience is probably the worst burden that anyone can carry. But you will never, ever, get rid of a guilty conscience until you begin to REPENT and change your ways.

Down a few verses Jesus tells us what will happen if we will REPENT and start to OBEY His commandments: 

"Come unto ME, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I WILL GIVE YOU REST! Take My yoke [this means to live your life with all its trials and tribulations, by living it CHRIST'S WAY] upon you, and LEARN OF ME [read your Bible and DO WHAT CHRIST SAYS TO DO and DON'T DO WHAT HE SAYS NOT TO DO]; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and YOU SHALL FIND REST UNTO YOUR SOULS.  For My yoke is easy [it will enable you to overcome the world, because Jesus overcame with world with His humble and meek attitude] and my burden light" (Matt. 11:28-30).

When you find that you're too weak to overcome your sins and faults, IT WILL DRIVE YOU TO YOUR KNEES!  You will call out to God, because you will know in your heart that you do not have the POWER to stop all of your sins. When you cry out to God He will hear, and He will give you strength and power to do what seemed so hard before.

Notice what fruit the Spirit of God will produce in your life: 

"But the fruit of the Spirit is LOVE, JOY, PEACE, PATIENCE, GENTLENESS, GOODNESS, FAITH, MEEKNESS, SELF CONTROL: against such there is no law" (Gal. 5:22-23).

We all want these qualities in our lives, but they only come by crucifying our old carnal, selfish selves.  The key is to: REPENT and OBEY. Read Matthew chapters 5, 6, and 7. They are filled with the things we are to do to find peace with God and peace with ourselves.

There are many Scriptures of encouragement, and you will learn them as you read and study God's Word. But you need a starting point and you need it RIGHT NOW!  STOP DOING the obvious wrong things that you are doing and go to God in prayer and ask Him to CLEAN YOU UP!  Trust me, he will answer your prayer.


http://www.forums.bible-truths.com/index.php/topic,24.0.html ----

You are in God's Hands, and God will lead you to see the sinfullness of your ways, and He is able to bring you to repentence (Rom. 2:4).  Trust God that He will lead you at His pace, not yours. I would certainly encourage you to keep reading the material on our site, as this may well be the means by which He brings you to see yourself and your sins, as He sees you.


http://forums.bible-truths.com/index.php/topic,7541.0.html -------

Dear AJ:  God has a purpose and a plan (now there's a theological revelation unheard of in the world of Christendom).  God is preparing a people during this time (the Few Chosen Elect as they are called).  When this process is completed, He will return and reign on this earth, which will then be another difference phase of His plan and purpose. For details of His plan and purpose, read the rest of my site.

    God be with you,
    Ray

[aqrinc]

and now that you are called ( and chosen) what should one do regarding oneself as an individual and as a body. How does one overcome the world and the works of the devil .What I'm asking is , what are we called to do and to be? I have my own thoughts, but truly am not sure what that true and perfect will of God is for me?

From Roy Coates:

A good place you may want to consider starting
2Ti 2:15  Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
I found this email to Ray that may also help you. It covers some of the topic in your question I think. One thing I can say with certainty is that God is in control and He will sustain you. Peace

Arc Noted:

Anything that we can do that is worthy, is done because God has gone before us into the good works He orchestrates that we are to walk in.
Eph 2:10  For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to good works, which God has before ordained that we should walk in them.

As Craig noted, none of us know if we are Chosen; called Yes, Chosen Only GOD Knows. Here are a few verses that instruct you in your conduct, whether called or Chosen.

Mat 10:16 (GNB)
"Listen! I am sending you out just like sheep to a pack of wolves. You must be as cautious as snakes and as gentle as doves.


2Co 6:13-7:1 (GNB)
13  I speak now as though you were my children: show us the same feelings that we have for you. Open your hearts wide!
14  Do not try to work together as equals with unbelievers, for it cannot be done. How can right and wrong be partners? How can light and darkness live together?
15  How can Christ and the Devil agree? What does a believer have in common with an unbeliever?
16  How can God's temple come to terms with pagan idols? For we are the temple of the living God! As God himself has said, "I will make my home with my people and live among them; I will be their God, and they shall be my people."

17  And so the Lord says, "You must leave them and separate yourselves from them. Have nothing to do with what is unclean, and I will accept you.

18  I will be your father, and you shall be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty."

7:1  All these promises are made to us, my dear friends. So then, let us purify ourselves from everything that makes body or soul unclean, and let us be completely holy by living in awe of God.

george .

[G. Driggs]

A very timely post gallenwalsh, thank you for asking, and thank you all for the great answers. Very encouraging.

What can you do? What can any of us do? Do your best with the grace God has given you, hope for the best with faith, run the race to win the prize with all endurance, repent and be patient. He will finish the good work He has started, its all up to Him.

1Co 9:24  Do you not know that those running in a race all run, but one receives the prize? So run, that you may obtain.
1Co 9:25  And everyone who strives for the mastery is temperate in all things. Then those truly that they may receive a corruptible crown, but we an incorruptible.
1Co 9:26  So then I run, not as if I were uncertain. And so I fight, not as one who beats the air.
1Co 9:27  But I buffet my body, and lead it captive, lest proclaiming to others I myself might be rejected.

Heb 12:1  Therefore since we also are surrounded with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight and the sin which so easily besets us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,
Heb 12:2  looking to Jesus the Author and Finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and sat down at the right of the throne of God.

G.Driggs