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[MG]

Hi Ray,

This is Rene' from Virginia.  I pray that all is well with you.  I was thinking about what Jesus said in Matt. 24:24 regarding "false prophets" attempting to deceive, if possible, even the "elect", and I realized how blessed we few have been in the last couple of months.  I pray that you see this also.

My question:  I express a lot of zeal and excitement when given the opportunity to share the truths I have been shown from God's word to others.  1 Peter 3:4 speaks of a wife with a "gentle and quiet spirit" which is very precious in the sight of God.  How can I manifest such a spirit even in my zeal?

Your Sister In Christ,

Rene'


Dear Rene':
A "gentle and quiet spirit" is a GIFT from God. One cannot attain such gifts by themselves or on their own.  You will develop the fruit of the Spirit by living a godly life.
God be with you,
Ray

You will develop the fruit of the Spirit by living a godly life

This statement seems backward to me. I get that red flag when I read it because the church always put such importance on living a godly life and I never could do it. They said it was all finished by Christ and all I had to do was appropriate that into my life and go and sin no more. I kept failing. Then God used the commandments to show me my sin nature and all I could do was confess and tell the truth about who I am. Since that time the truth that God taught me set me free from a lot of things that held me captive. I believe that anything that holds us captive is a lie. If it's the truth that sets us free then it must be a lie that holds us captive. If I'm not free that tells me that I'm still deceived in areas of my life. If I am set free then I am set free to live a godly life by the law of the spirit of life.

Romans 8:2
2For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.

I'm sorry this is long.

When I look in at myself all I can see is my sinful nature in thought, words, and deeds. Outwardly I don't look that bad, but inwardly my sin nature is always present and utterly sinful. My "Godly" living feels like a white washed tomb to me. 15 years ago God took me out of the church spent 5 years of revealing truth to me. Then God was completely silent for 10 years. I've spent years searching for others who of like mind. It has only been my brother and myself for all these years. We went through this journey together. God would show him part and me part and when we put it together we learned amazing truth.

God made me a promise.

2 Corinthians 3:3

3 clearly you are an epistle of Christ, ministered by us, written not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of flesh, that is, of the heart.

The Spirit, Not the Letter

   4 And we have such trust through Christ toward God. 5 Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God, 6 who also made us sufficient as ministers of the new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit;[a] for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

If Christ is the new covenant then it is Christ that will be written on our hearts by the Spirit of the Living God. I think this is what it means when the bible tells us they will make their abode in us.

John 14:23-24
 23Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.

 24He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings: and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father's which sent me.

On the 50th day Moses received the law on tablets of stone at Mt Sinai and 3000 died
On the 50th day the believers received the new covenant written on their hearts at Pentecost and 3000 were saved.

I feel like I've been stuck between the 2 laws for years. It's really hard to live that way.

Thanks for listening.

[gmik]

Quick- go read the thread on Foreign Gods!!!

[orion77]

I hear ya, MG.

God originally created us marred, then ground us to powder and created us anew.  Everything is all about what He does, not us.  We can do nothing in ourselves and there is noone who does good, no not one.

The great change that has taken place in each of our lives has nothing to do with what we have done, it's all Him.  God is completely and totallly soverign.

Here is the new covenant promised by God:


(Jer 31:30)  But every man will die in his iniquity. Every man who eats the sour grapes, his teeth will be dull.

(Jer 31:31)  Behold, the days come, says Jehovah, that I will cut a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah,

(Jer 31:32)  not according to the covenant that I cut with their fathers in the day I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt (which covenant of Mine they broke, although I was a husband to them, says Jehovah).

(Jer 31:33)  But this shall be the covenant that I will cut with the house of Israel: After those days, declares Jehovah, I will put My Law in their inward parts, and I will write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.

(Jer 31:34)  And they shall no longer each man teach his neighbor, and each man his brother, saying, Know Jehovah. For they shall all know Me, from the least of them even to the greatest of them, declares Jehovah. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sins no more.


Praise be to His name, for if it were up to us, as many believe, where would be the hope?  He is the Great I AM, luckily for us.

God bless,

Gary

[MG]

Thank you.

[mongoose]

MG,
  I can't thank you enough for sharing that.  I had similar thoughts when I read that email but was afraid to post on it.  It seems from the comments on the other threads that most of us have tried to force ourselves to live "godly lives" and failed totally.  I still am so tempted from time to time to do so......I seriously need to learn patience.  Sometimes I want to say to God "What is taking you so long?"  Isn't that terrible?  I feel far from having a gentle and quiet spirit or a lot of other things.  What I can say is that when I hit bottom and totally gave up (please please tell me that was the bottom) about 9 years ago, that is when things started to change for me.  Years of trying to make myself good with no result and then I give up and was so mad at God and that's when He stepped in to comfort me.  And I have been slowly changing ever since...but it seems like only it continues to progress only when I dont' push.  I sometimes feel like God is doing things slowly so I will learn to wait on Him.  Perhaps I am wrong in that.  Anyway, I am so glad He brought you here and you shared that.  I read that verse in 2 corinth last night and though I had read it before it was like I had never seen it.  Peace and love to you.

mongoose